FuturE-Pack. Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment in advanced packaging design

This contribution explores the integration of Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) within advanced packaging design, in the framework of the FuturE-Pack project (MICS – Spoke 1). The study addresses the need to assess the triple impact of packaged products—environmental, economic, and social—particularly in sectors characterized by high logistics intensity such as e-commerce and fashion. Building on ISO-based Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Life Cycle Costing (LCC), and Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA), the research develops a systematized conceptual grid of sustainability indicators structured according to the three pillars of sustainability. A structured literature review (25 selected publications) was conducted through a meta-analytic approach, mapping trends, application fields, geographical distribution, and methodological orientations. The results highlight the predominance of environmental LCA applications, while integrated LCSA approaches and social dimensions remain less developed. The study defines a preliminary set of environmental, economic, and social indicators applicable to packaging systems and proposes their integration into a systemic evaluation framework. In parallel, 25 assessment methods and tools (software, toolkits, guidelines) were collected and catalogued in a dedicated database to support future development of operational guidelines and KPIs. The research lays the methodological foundation for embedding LCSA within digitally enhanced packaging solutions, enabling improved traceability, transparency, and data communication along the Made in Italy supply chain, and supporting informed design and strategic decision-making processes.