Session
WE.2.B || Social Life Cycle Assessment of Products
Authors
Gompf, Katharina; Traverso, Marzia; Hetterich, Jörg
Abstract
The main purpose of this S-LCA case study is to analyse social impacts of free-floating car sharing is a holistic way, taking into account positive as well as negative impacts. The use phase plays an important role for the assessment of mobility services, which is why particular attention has been paid to the use phase assessment. That way, this study aims to contribute to answer the question whether car sharing can improve quality of life in cities. For the analysis, free-floating car sharing was chosen in the city of Berlin, Germany, as well as the car in private ownership, for comparison. Five stakeholder groups that are outlined in the S-LCA Guidelines were taken into account: Local Community, Consumer, Worker, Value Chain Actors and Society. For a detailed analysis of all relevant aspects, 37 indicators were analysed, out of which 23 are quantitative and 14 are qualitative. For data collection, several different data sources were used, including publicly available data e.g. from statistics as well as own data from interviews. For comparability, all results are displayed on a 5-point scale from -2 to +2, in line with the Handbook and the S-LCA Guidelines. For some indicators, the results of the case study are as expected, for other indicators, however, the results are specific for free-floating car sharing in Berlin and therefore give new insights and reveal new aspects. The main challenge of this S-LCA case study was data availability and data quality, which is why assumptions and simplifications had to be made. The study illustrates specific results for the city of Berlin, showing positive as well as negative social impacts of free-floating car sharing and outlines a procedure for further studies. That way, this case study contributes to answer the overlying question whether free-floating car sharing can improve quality of life in cities.