An Indicator Based Social Life Cycle Assessment Framework for CO₂ Marine Transport within Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage Value Chains

Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) is a key decarbonisation option for hard-to-abate industries, where process emissions cannot be fully eliminated through conventional means, leaving captured CO₂ utilisation or geological storage as the primary pathways forward. For geological storage, particularly offshore, marine transportation of CO₂ is increasingly seen as a flexible and scalable option within the supply chain. Most studies have focused on technical and economic aspects of CO₂ marine transportation, with limited attention to structured social sustainability assessment. This study presents the development of a preliminary, indicator-based Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) framework, following the S-LCA international standard and guidelines, that focuses on the operationalisation of social sustainability indicators for CO₂ marine transportation. The study developed 32 indicators covering 7 stakeholder categories and 19 impact subcategories, spanning themes such as occupational health and safety, working conditions, employment quality, community safety, access to information, emergency preparedness, and governance transparency. The framework is intended to support future social sustainability assessments of CO₂ marine transport projects in CCUS value chains.