Quantitative Assessment of Product-Service System Sustainability: A Literature Review

The adoption of Product Service Systems (PSS) offers an innovative perspective to promote sustainability. However, assessing the overall impact of PSS requires an accurate evaluation of their economic, environmental and social implications. Specifically, there is a need to quantify these impacts. Therefore, this study focuses on the analysis of quantitative methods and methodologies to assess the sustainability of PSS solutions, considering the economic, environmental and social dimensions of the Triple Bottom Line (TBL). Through a literature review, the different quantitative methods and methodologies were analysed and the main economic, environmental and social sustainability indicators evaluated by them were collected and discussed. The review shed light on five aspects (i.e., life cycle perspective, stochasticity, TBL comprehensiveness, TBL interdependencies, and interpretation of the results) that are critical for a comprehensive and holistic assessment of PSS sustainability. These aspects are widely discussed and future research directions for the PSS sustainability assessment are suggested.