Life Cycle Assessment and System Dynamics: an integrated approach for the dimension stone sector

The Italian traditional sector of dimension stones (mostly marbles and granites) has begun to recognize the importance of improving its sustainability. Nevertheless, a lot of different variables, sometimes in conflict, influence the production system from the economical, environmental and social point of view. As a consequence, a global and holistic approach is required. The on-going study aims to provide some tools facilitating the analysis of this complex system through the integration of the Life Cycle Thinking and the System Dynamic (SD) Approach. On-site data were collected in order to perform a more accurate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) with boundaries from-cradle-to-gate. An SD model was then developed to interlink the obtained values of environmental potential impacts with economical aspects and to dynamically simulate the behaviour of the system.