Inventory Data Definition for Comparative Sustainability Assessment of Three Types of Retail Space Models

Sustainability has evolved to embody the so-called three pillars or triple bottom line that includes economy, society and environment. Although there is not a standard or a consolidated methodology for sustainability design and sustainability assessment of products and systems that takes into consideration these three dimensions, Life Cycle Sustainability Analysis (LCSA) is gaining credence as the best approach, but still scarce studies and no unanimously accepted indicators exist for comprehensive sustainability assessment. This paper aims to contribute to the progress in this field taking retail spaces intervention as the object of study. Being retail stores amongst the building typologies with a highest carbon and energy intensity, they have been also identified as important organisational layers to a sustainable society: they provide services easily reachable to citizens, configure its identity, and are part of their economic and sociocultural structure. Within this realm, companies are proposing new typologies for intervene in retail spaces, alternatives to the standard brand-new construction works: Pop-Up and Quick Updates (also called Refreshing or Renewal works). Scope of works, schedule, economic costs, human resources involved or estimated life time of each of these types are different, but the sustainability of each of these interventions has not been properly assessed, nor sustainability indicators have been detected or proposed for developing a comparative sustainability study that can improve the knowledge in this field. These paper aims to propose adequate indicators for the sustainability assessment of these interventions looking simultaneously at economic aspects, environmental issues and social concerns.