From LCA to Action: A Decision Framework for Improving Environmental Performance in Special-Purpose Vehicles

This study examines direct and indirect environmental impacts along corporate activity chains using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). While LCAs provide detailed Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) and Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) results, their heterogeneous indicators often complicate decision-making. To address this, a novel LCA-based Environmental Decision Matrix (EDM) was developed to systematically prioritize environmental aspects and optimization measures.

A simplified cradle-to-gate LCA of Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) was conducted using the Ecoinvent database and the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF 3.1) method covering 18 impact categories. Results were normalized and integrated into the EDM, where environmental aspects and processes were evaluated by relevance, controllability, and optimization potential.

Findings show that the EDM enables structured prioritization of environmental aspects and processes. For SPVs, manufacturing represents the highest environmental priority, with key improvement potential in materials, energy use, and air emissions. The EDM thus provides a flexible decision-support tool for environmental performance optimization.