Social impact analysis is a methodology that illustrates how a process affects society, although complex due to the nature of these impacts, it is the only approach that systematically addresses these challenges. For the social analysis of the hydrocracking process, a combined methodology of theory of change and social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) was used. The analysis considered two locations, along with a scenario for the integrated process. From the theory of change, research and development, adoption of more rigorous management system of resources and increasing stakeholder engagement are considered main strategies for improving social performance of the process as they are considered to lead to higher productivity, lower environmental impact and higher economic and social integration of the chemical plant. On the other hand, It was found that the process has acceptable social impacts, aligning with the identified performance benchmarks, with the Colombian plant achieving a better performance score (0,51) compared to the Spanish plant (0,50). Among the various subcategories, those related to employment and other actors in the supply chain performed best, with indicators such as training, vacation periods, local suppliers, and supplier monitoring scoring above compliance (around 1). In contrast, indicators associated with more technical aspects, such as energy and water consumption and scope emissions, fell below compliance (below 0,5), as the performance targets (PRDs) are designed to be met within 5 to 10 years frame. Moreover, process integration improved overall performance from 0,51 to 0,54. Water consumption and regional GDP contribution increased significantly, unlike scope 1 emissions and energy consumption indicators (as more units are required). However, a limitation was encountered in assessing the economic performance boost from reduced raw material consumption (e.g., water), as at least 14 indicators remained unchanged when they should have, highlighting the need for simple, streamline methods for obtaining numerical values. Additionally, corporate reports should be more standardized, using consistent units, and clear goals should be established for purely socio-economic criteria.
Keywords: hydrocracking, life cycle, social, theory of change, LCA.
