Paper contribution

Sustainability in Rockfall Protection Works: State-of-the-Art and LCA-Based Approaches

Laura Turbessi; Isabella Bianco; Giovanni Andrea Blengini; Anna Maria Ferrero; Gessica Umili

Proceedings
EUROCK 2026
Pages
707-712
Submitted
28 January 2026
Accepted
15 June 2026
Published
12 August 2026

Summary

Abstract

Starting from the early 2000s, the concept of sustainability has been progressively integrated into the design of civil works, through the reuse of excavation and demolition materials, the reduction of non-renewable resource consumption, the mitigation of landscape impacts, and the improvement of structural durability. Considering the high environmental impact of the construction sector - both in terms of natural resource and energy consumption and in the large volumes of waste generated - it is necessary to orient design practices toward sustainability. Geotechnical engineering can make a significant contribution to sustainable development by promoting environmentally friendly and economically viable solutions. Despite the widespread research on rockfall, it shows a limited correlation between sustainability and rockfall protection structures. Existing studies mainly focus on block trajectory analysis, fragmentation effects or risk assessment, but they don’t systematically address environmental aspects of these structures. At present, no comprehensive environmental evaluations have been conducted to consider the full life cycle of rockfall protection works and to compare alternative design solutions from a sustainability perspective. The only available data come from Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) voluntarily published by some of the leading manufacturers in the sector. In contrast, other areas of geomechanics - such as tunneling - already benefit from a regulatory framework that integrates sustainability criteria throughout project phases. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of the art concerning sustainability in rockfall protection works, analyzing existing practices and regulatory guidelines. The analysis seeks to identify the main knowledge gaps and to lay the groundwork for future research focused on environmental assessment and the application of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodologies. The ultimate goal is to develop a sustainable design framework for rockfall protection structures, capable of combining environmental responsibility with the high safety standards required for this type of intervention.

Contributors

Authors

  1. Laura Turbessi Università di Torino, Italy ORCID 0009-0006-6257-970X
  2. Isabella Bianco Politecnico di Torino, Italy
  3. Giovanni Andrea Blengini Università di Torino, Italy
  4. Anna Maria Ferrero Università di Torino, Italy
  5. Gessica Umili Università di Torino, Italy

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References

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