Social life cycle assessment in Indian steel sector: a case study

Social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) studies have been undertaken to evaluate the social impacts of various products across different geographies, but there is a need for a study which can help in evaluating impacts for peculiar social conditions of country like India. This paper presents a pilot-level case study for identifying hotspots against social impact for an Indian steel company using a S-LCA approach. An aggregation approach has been developed at pilot scale for identification of social hotspots in value chain which is aligned with social context and regional perspective. Categories, subcategories and metrics were determined in the form of social impact indicators using United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)/Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) methodological sheets while incorporating feedback from stakeholders and management group. Impact indicators were selected against these subcategories on the basis of their importance to steel industry as well as geographical context. Stakeholder surveys were conducted for key suppliers, employees, customers and community members. Databases of social indicators published by the government were also used for capturing information. Management perspective was captured by interviewing identified senior management. Aggregation and analysis of inventory data was performed and supply chain evaluated. Social impact assessment of life cycle stages was carried out, and aggregated scores were evaluated on the scale of 0 to 1 for each life cycle stage. Total aggregated score was 3.13 against the maximum value of 5 across the entire value chain. For life cycle stages of raw material, transportation, manufacturing, customer and end-of-life scores were found to be above cut-off, indicating an average response of neutral or positive impact as perceived by respondents. Evaluation of the perspectives of stakeholders against management revealed that economic prosperity, training and skill development, healthcare facilities, access to clean water, infrastructure, access to education and workplace safety for workers are key hotspots which are requiring attention and needing improvement. Attempt has been made to develop an aggregation approach for S-LCA in Indian context. Steel sector-specific indicators and perspective of diverse stakeholders across the supply chain were captured. Outcomes of this study reflect the quantitative results of pressing social issues aimed for identification and implementation of social projects targeted at the needs of stakeholders. Some limitations include use of equal weights for indicators, lack of site-specific data, lack of awareness of few stakeholders, hybrid aggregation approach and lacking sensitivity analysis.