DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW MODEL FOR THE SOCIAL LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICES

This study proposes a new methodological framework for Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) applied to public services, filling a significant gap in the existing literature. The study focuses on two key sectors: water supply in Venice and Treviso and social housing in Padua. In contrast to previous work, which focused mainly on products/services and organizations, this study develops a specific model for assessing the social impact of public services that include a variety of actors and subcategories of social impact. The developed methodological framework is in line with the guidelines of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP, 2020). It contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly concerning access to drinking water (SDG 6), reducing inequalities (SDG 10), and sustainable cities (SDG 11). The study identifies specific stakeholders and develops impact subcategories for each sector analyzed, improving the accuracy of the social assessments. For example, for water supply, subcategories such as equitable access and user participation in management were integrated. In contrast, for social housing, aspects such as resident safety and social cohesion were assessed. The results show that the proposed framework can effectively assess the social performances of public services at different levels of performance - positive, negative, or potential - despite challenges related to data confidentiality, the complexity of public services, and the diversity of stakeholders. Although some limitations, such as sample representativeness and data accessibility, were noted, this work represents a significant advance in the application of S-LCA to complex sectors and paves the way for future research to strengthen transparency and stakeholder engagement in this area.