From context to operationalization: Exploring chances for the integration of social scientific perspectives in life cycle assessments of energy technologies

The life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology is a well-established tool to assess the environmental impacts of products, services, and technologies. Despite of its standardization, the methodology lacks guidance and formalization for the consideration of behavioral effects impacting the energy consumption related to the usage of technologies. As digital and smart technologies are supposed to play a major role in the energy transition, a consideration of these effects is crucial for the comprehensive assessment of environmental impacts caused by these technologies. In order to address the lack of formalized approaches for the integration of behavioral effects into LCA studies, a qualitative interview study with experts from the social sciences and LCA practice was set up, identifying challenges and chances for the interdisciplinary alignment of the LCA methodology with social scientific approaches. On the basis of the content analysis, the study highlights barriers for the transfer of knowledge between the disciplines and offers insights on challenges faced by practitioners (e.g. lack of time and financing resources or skepticism experienced by peers). Social scientific perspectives and recommendations expressed by the researchers were aligned with the standardized steps of an LCA, providing insights on possible contributions of the social scientific methods to a more comprehensive assessment of environmental impacts caused by energy-using technologies. The interdisciplinary study thereby connects methodological and empirical insights from research practice, enabling the understanding of socio-technical and socio-environmental dependencies in order to assess environmental impacts of energy using technologies in a comprehensive way. • Qualitative analysis of data handling in LCA practice and social scientific research. • Challenges faced in interdisciplinary research on energy technologies. • Expert opinions on the inter-dependencies of socio-ecological impacts of energy management systems and smart home technologies. • Implications for the alignment of social scientific methods with the LCA methodology.