Constructive lifecycle assessment: implementing a responsible research and innovation approach for synthetic biology

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The doctoral research will explore the sustainability implications of innovation in biotechnology, specifically the case of synthetic biology products. The research focus will be on developing and testing a constructive and anticipatory approach to the assessment of synthetic biology application building on life cycle assessments (LCA). LCA is already widely used to assess environmental impacts throughout all stages of a product's life. However, the anticipatory application of LCA to emerging technologies in order to inform innovation policies and strategies, is a relatively novel approach. This approach would go beyond anticipatory LCA to also consider the wide range of societal, technical and environmental aspects of synthetic biology necessary for achieving responsible research and innovation (RRI) in the field. Drawing on multi-stakeholder reflection and deliberation, the research would explore the interplay between these aspects and how they can be integrated to inform governance and decision-making in synthetic biology, culminating with the development of a framework for constructive LCA. The research would build on research previously funded by EPSRC developing LCA frameworks for emerging technologies.