Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA): A Research Evaluation Tool for Emerging Geotechnologies

Geotechnical infrastructure projects consume large quantities of energy and resources and can have significant impacts on the environment. Life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) provides a more holistic approach compared to current geotechnical design decision making by providing a framework for quantitatively evaluating and weighing the sustainability tradeoffs of viable alternatives for a given application. This paper describes the LCSA evaluation tool developed and employed by the Center for Bio-mediated and Bio-inspired Geotechnics ( CBBG), which serves to guide sustainability-oriented research, development, and deployment of CBBG technologies and inform CBBG leadership funding decisions. The framework for and methods of the LCSA review process are described, and three examples of how LCSA has driven decision making and advancements in CBBG research are given. The examples demonstrate how the LCSA evaluation tool can be applied to a diverse portfolio of projects at different stages of development and with different applications. Finally, the paper proposes ways in which the LCSA evaluation tool could be implemented by others in academia or industry.