Development of an LCA-based framework for environmental performance interpretation in energy-intensive industries

ABSTRACT: This paper presents the IMPRINT framework, a structured method to enhance the interpretation of EF 3.1 midpoint indicators in energy-intensive industries. By clustering the 25 indicators into five domains—climate and energy, human health, aquatic quality, air emissions, and resource depletion—the framework improves the readability of LCA results, highlights environmental hotspots and trade-offs, and supports more informed decision-making in industrial technology evaluation and sustainability planning.