Life Cycle Assessment of Sustainable Manufacturing Processes: A Comparative Analysis of Materials Used for Lighting Poles

Abstract

To ensure sustainable selection of materials in light of rapid global changes, a fundamental alteration of the approach to the material selection process is required in order to mitigate harms to the environment. A case study was conducted in terms of life cycle assessment (LCA), which compares the environmental impacts of the prevalent materials in the industry of lighting pole manufacturing, namely, steel, galvanized steel, stainless steel, and aluminum. The study employed the ReCiPe 2016 method with the use of OpenLCA software that covered a wide range of midpoint and endpoint impact categories, the main ones being energy consumption, global warming potential, ecotoxicity, and human health impacts. The results showed that aluminum has the smallest environmental footprint in most categories of the impacts; thus, it is the most environmentally friendly material. In contrast, stainless steel exhibits the most environmental concerns in several categories, particularly, the toxic impacts. While steel has higher energy requirements and global warming potential, galvanized steel has a greater impact on ecotoxicity.