4. Interpretation of results

As in the case of LCA, the key elements are checking for completeness, significance and consistency with the goal of the study, and carrying out sensitivity analyses.

Ideally the interpretation should be carried out in collaboration with stakeholders and will normally be qualitative-discursive. Nevertheless there are a range of situations which require the use of (semi-) quantitative interpretation frameworks, e.g. portfolio screening as an internal company exercise, product testing involving the comparison of multiple products, or the integration of many individual results into an overall evaluation of sustainability.

Quantitative or semi-quantitative interpretations are supported in PROSA by means of the SocioGrade interpretation framework (cf. the section on ProFitS). In this framework the indicators and weightings are user-defined.

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