Geotechnical engineering work contributes to the total environmental impact and monetary cost occurring from the construction sector. Decisions made regarding geotechnical engineering aspects have a profound effect on the environmental impact and the monetary cost of the structure during its life cycle. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) are established methods for assessing the environmental impacts and monetary cost from construction works. This paper presents the results from a literature review of 56 published papers regarding the current situation of the use of LCA and LCCA methods in geotechnical engineering. It is found that only limited research has been published in applying LCA and LCCA to geotechnical engineering structures. Further research should focus on developing a framework using LCA and LCCA for geotechnical engineering structures and also identify and fill data gaps in computer software databases. This would help geotechnical engineers in their daily work to reduce the environmental impact and monetary costs throughout the life cycles of the designed structures.

Emissions from infrastructure projects and construction projects have a large impact on the environment. Construction activities and materials, including geotechnical engineering works, account for a great share of that impact and the monetary costs of the projects. In railway projects, crushed bedrock is often used as fill material in the embankments, and less suitable soil is excavated and transported to a landfill causing emissions. Despite that, sustainability assessments are rarely made when comparing the crushed bedrock fill method with other alternative methods, when the geotechnical engineer is designing an embankment. This paper, therefore, shows how climate impact and monetary costs can be compared for two fill methods in a railway embankment in Sweden, namely crushed rock fill and fill made of cement-stabilized sandy till. A comparing life cycle assessment (LCA) of climate impact and a life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) of monetary costs were made for the two methods. Activities and materials used in the production and construction stages were assessed. The results show that the stabilized sandy till method had both a smaller climate impact and lower life cycle cost (LCC) than the crushed bedrock fill method. 

Construction and infrastructure projects account for a large share of global emissions. Included in these projects are geotechnical engineering works, which cause environmental impact and costs throughout their lifecycle. In the geotechnical design process, the geotechnical engineer often has design choices where different methods and materials can be used. If assessments of environmental impact and costs were to be integrated into the geotechnical design process, the geotechnical work could be made more sustainable. As a result of this, there is a need for research on integrating the assessments of environmental impact and costs in the geotechnical design process. This paper, therefore, presents a methodology showing how Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) could be integrated into the geotechnical design process. The presented methodology is then illustrated in a case study for assessing the climate impact and costs of high-speed railway embankment fill methods.