A critical analysis of the integration of life cycle methods and quantitative methods for sustainability assessment

Abstract The utilization of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and its corresponding methodologies gained considerable attention within the realm of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability assessment. Nevertheless, a lack of extensive investigation on their integration along with quantitative procedures, for example, statistical techniques and artificial intelligence (AI), has emerged. The purpose of this literature review is to investigate the extent to which these methodologies have been connected so far in order to achieve objectives concerning the assessment of sustainability. The scope of the study was restricted to articles published in peer‐reviewed journals throughout the period from 1960 to 2022. The investigation was conducted by using a broad set of keywords, encompassing both life cycle methods, including Life Cycle Assessment, Environmental Life Cycle Costing and Emergy Accounting, and quantitative methods, such as mathematical methods, economic methods and building information modeling methods. A total of 144 articles addressing the combined use of life cycle methods and quantitative methodologies for the evaluation of sustainability were identified in the literature review. The greater part of these studies relied on the combined use of LCA with mathematical models, statistical methods and AI methods. As a result, the studies proven that the joint application of such methods can improve consistency of sustainability assessment and enhance CSR. Additionally, many articles suggested novel approaches, including a combined use of LCA and building information modeling as well as simulation methods. The combined use of life cycle methods alongside quantitative methods offers promise in enhancing sustainability assessment by offering more precise and consistent outcomes. However, it becomes imperative to carefully evaluate the hypotheses, accuracy of data, and uncertainty associated with each method within the integration process. Additional research needs to be conducted in order to establish standardized protocols for combining these methodologies as well as to identify the most suitable procedures for their integration with respect to specific objectives concerning sustainability assessment.