Decision Support System for sustainable forest management based on Life Cycle Assessment

The valorisation of biomass resources is recognized as a new frontier of economically sustainable and environmentally friendly processes; nevertheless, it is not possible to assume a positive comprehensive balance in term of sustainability of products based only on the fact that they are bio-based, but it is necessary to perform exhaustive studies in a life cycle perspective, considering also site-specific characteristics (e.g. the local availability of raw material and the distance from the processing plant to the delivery point) and the sustainability of the system in term of energy efficiency, total material requirement, CO2 emissions, etc [1]. The present research focuses on the application of LCA as a main tool for sustainability technology assessment about forest management and harvesting, comparing different technological solutions referred to a specific local context, with the aim of shifting from a theoretical comparison of different technologies to a more practical assessment of technology feasibility and sustainability in a specific context, considering the potential drawbacks related to a short supply chain implementation. Considering the complexity and the multidimensional features of this kind of assessment, a Decision Support System (DSS) is considered a useful tool for the evaluation; therefore, the objective of the study is the definition of a set of sustainability indicators composing a DSS able to help local decision makers (local authorities that have to define the forest management plan and private business that need to optimize the harvesting activities) to choose the more effective solution in term of environmental, economic and social sustainability. In order to produce relevant information for decision making about the sustainability of the options under evaluation, the DSS is composed by a multidisciplinary set of indicators considering environmental, economic and social sustainability aspects applying a Life Cycle perspective; moreover, the definition of indicators is a way to introduce quantification, measurability and comparability of technology assessment studies.