A transferable methodological framework for using EIA documentation as a data source for sector-level environmental footprinting

Sector-level environmental assessment of mining is frequently constrained by the limited availability of consistent and publicly accessible operational inventory data. Although Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) documentation contains detailed engineering information on mining projects, its potential as a source of life cycle inventory (LCI) data has received little attention. This study develops and demonstrates a transferable bottom-up methodological framework that uses EIA documentation as a source of operational inventory data for sector-level environmental footprinting. The framework integrates project-level information extracted from publicly available EIA studies with official national mining statistics to estimate extraction-stage greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, land-use intensity, and water use. Croatia was selected as the demonstration case because publicly available EIA documentation can be systematically linked with official production and concession data. A total of 68 EIA studies describing 75 mining operations prepared between 2015 and 2024 were analysed. The estimated extraction-stage GHG emissions of the Croatian mining sector amount to 0.164 Mt. CO₂-eq, corresponding to approximately 2–3% of industrial GHG emissions. Construction stone and aggregates dominate total emissions because of their production volume, whereas dimension stone quarrying exhibits the highest specific GHG emissions and land-use intensity. The results further demonstrate that production scale primarily determines total environmental burdens, while extraction technology exerts a stronger influence on specific environmental intensities. Beyond the presented case study, the principal contribution of this research lies in demonstrating how publicly available regulatory documentation can be systematically transformed into operational inventory data suitable for sector-level environmental assessment. The proposed framework complements conventional LCA and national environmental inventories by improving the visibility of extraction-stage impacts and provides a transferable methodological approach for jurisdictions where comparable regulatory and statistical data are available.