D3.3 - Social assessment of selected CARINA concepts

This report presents the methodological foundations of the social assessment applied to the selected innovative bio-based value chains of the CARINA project, carried out within WP3 (Sustainability Assessment) and specifically linked to T3.3 (Social assessment of selected CARINA concepts). In this context, a set of social indicators was defined in T3.1 (Identification of sustainability indicators) as part of the overall project framework. To address these indicators comprehensively and ensure a holistic evaluation, the social risk and opportunities of the selected CARINA value chains were assessed through a simplified Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) methodology. This document reports exclusively on those indicators examined from a life cycle perspective, presenting a first-round assessment. The preliminary results serve a dual purpose: (i) to identify social hotspots across the different phases of the selected CARINA value chains, thereby providing decision support for developing more sustainable process routes, and (ii) to refine both the data inputs and the methodological framework applied. A second-round assessment will be presented in a forthcoming deliverable (D3.5), in which the full set of social indicators will be evaluated as part of a broader Integrated Sustainability Assessment (T3.5). This will be complemented by an economic (T3.2) and an environmental assessment (T3.4), ensuring a multidimensional perspective on sustainability performance. In conclusion, this assessment represents an initial step for the evaluation of the social sustainability of CARINA concepts. Although results remain preliminary and constrained by data availability, they already provide some insights on social hotspots and performance within CARINA value chains. Future assessments, incorporating more comprehensive datasets and building on the know-how developed during the first two years of experimental trials, are expected to provide a more robust and consolidated analysis.