LCA of Wood Waste Management Systems: Guiding Proposal for the Standardization of Studies Based on a Critical Review

Abstract

In environmental management, there are many opportunities to improve wood waste (WW) management practices. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), according to ISO 14040, is a tool used to assess the environmental impacts related to a product throughout its life cycle. Thus, this article aims to propose guidelines for the creation of future LCAs of wood waste management systems in a consistent and standardized way based on the deficiencies and examples found in the studies that comprise the extensive bibliographic review of this research. During the selection of studies, the methodology termed Methodi Ordinatio was used, which considers the three most relevant points to qualify a scientific study: the impact factor; the year of publication; and the number of citations. Fifty (50) articles were identified to create a general map of the literature relevant to the topic under study. We carried out a critical review that highlights the lack of standardization and clarity of the research in this area. For example, in relation to the total number of studies analyzed, 67% did not clarify the type of analysis (attributional or consequential). Several recommendations and perspectives within the LCA of WW management were highlighted, such as the need to analyze impact categories other than climate change and to include economic and social analyses in new studies. In order to leverage all these research opportunities, it is important that LCA practitioners adopt global standardization. In future research, the guiding proposal presented in this study can improve the comparison between scenarios and the consistency of results.