Blockchain technology in life cycle assessment: opportunities and current challenges

The large-scale adoption of life cycle assessment is limited by seve- ral barriers, among which is pivotal the difficulty in collecting reliable data. Background data are often outdated, while the collection of foreground data represents a difficult and time-consuming activity. By allowing the decen- tralized, systematic, and standardized collection of data and by guaranteeing storage and traceability in a transparent and tamper-proof way, Blockchain technology could represent a practical solution to the above-mentioned bar- riers. Hence, the present study aims to shed light on the benefits the appli- cation of blockchain technology might bring to the LCA field. Moreover, the paper points out the challenges that characterize blockchain adoption in LCA analysis and provides suggestions on future research to overcome these challenges and facilitate the penetration of the technology for LCA purposes.