Integrating sustainable development goals into life cycle thinking: a multidimensional approach for advancing sustainability

Achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 remains a significant challenge, with 30% of targets showing no progress, regression, or severe deviations. Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) is a valuable method for monitoring and accelerating progress toward sustainable development by evaluating systems, processes, or products from environmental, economic, and societal perspectives. This work provides insights for integrating SDGs into LCT and advancing sustainability science. The study utilized bibliometric analysis of 21,783 publications from 2013 to 2022 to map LCT research to SDGs. It introduces a novel framework for integrating the SDGs into LCT studies, allowing for comprehensive assessments across environmental, societal, and economic dimensions. Thematic analysis identified five main areas of focus: waste management, infrastructure, agriculture, energy transitions, and integrated approaches to sustainable development. The highest emphasis was on SDGs 7 (Affordable Energy), 8 (Decent Work), 9 (Industry and Innovation), 12 (Responsible Consumption), and 13 (Climate Action). The study identified key institutions, journals, and countries contributing significantly to achieving SDGs through LCA and discussed future research topics with potential for shaping strategies towards a sustainable future. This research highlights innovation and evidence-based solutions in critical areas such as clean energy, sustainable urban development, and environmental conservation towards addressing SDGs. The prominence analysis revealed 23 topical clusters, with significant contributions in energy, construction, and pollution control aligning with multiple SDGs. However, the need for collaborative research and policy-making is evident in clusters like corporate social responsibility, supply chains, and air quality, which currently have fewer mappings to SDGs.