Social - Organizational Life Cycle Assessment: An Empirical Study with Special Reference to ABC Garments (Pvt) Ltd

Abstract

In the past, many environmental, social, and economic issues occurred due to mass production. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Environmental Life Cycle Assessment (ELCA), can be categorized as tools that can be used to assess the impacts that occur due to business processes and activities. Other than those tools, the Social Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA) assesses the social impacts associated with the product life cycle. In Sri Lanka, the apparel industry has established a solid reputation. People are the key factor in the apparel industry. Therefore, significant social impacts may arise through the papparel manufacturing production process. ABC Garments (Pvt.) Ltd is the leading apparel company around the world. The main objective of this research is to quantify the social impacts and social hot-spots of ABC (Pvt) Ltd. The study used a quantitative approach and the reference scale method is used to assess the collected secondary data. Accordingly, the reference scale consisted of five scales namely, non compliant situation and no actions taken (-2), non-compliant situation but actions taken (-1), compliance with local laws and/or aligned with international standards (0), progress beyond compliance (+1) and ideal performance; a positive output achieved (+2). According to the findings of the study along the production process, most of the labour hours are gathered in the sewing stage and it is 73%. Moreover, it has the highest risk which is 51% than other production processes. In the sewing department, the highest risk associated activity is button attach and heat seal operation. When the social performance of the ABC Garments toward the worker category is taken into consideration, all subcategories have ideal performance. The wage rate of the company’s workers is 106% higher than the standard wage rate in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, the working hours of the factory are 28% lower than the standard working hours in Sri Lanka. In addition, the women's representation of ABC is 81% higher than the male workers, and the child labor force is 0%. Considering the results, ABC Garment (Pvt) Ltd is encouraged to enhance its social performance and to follow United Nations Human Rights.