REMEDIATION Winter 2015 Integrating the Social Dimension in Remediation Decision-Making: State of the Practice and Way Forward Melissa Harclerode Debora Reanne Ridsdale Dominique Darmendrail Paul Bardos Filip Alexandrescu Paul Nathanail Lisa Pizzol Erika Rizzo Sustainable remediation guidance, frameworks, and case studies have been published at an in- ternational level illustrating established sustainability assessment methodologies and successful implementation. Though the terminology and indicators evaluated may differ, one common theme among international organizations and regulatory bodies is more comprehensive and transparent methods are needed to evaluate the social sphere of sustainable remediation. Based on a literature review and stakeholder input, this paper focused on three main areas: (1) status quo of how the so- cial element of sustainable remediation is assessed among various countries and organizations; (2) methodologies to quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate societal impacts; and (3) fndings from this research, including challenges, obstacles, and a path forward. In conclusion, several existing social impact assessment techniques are readily available for use by the remediation community, including rating and scoring system evaluations, enhanced cost beneft analysis, surveys/interviews, social network analysis, and multicriteria decision analysis. In addition, a list of 10 main social indi- cator categories were developed: health and safety, economic stimulation, stakeholder collabora- tion, benefts community at large, alleviate undesirable community impacts, equality issues, value of ecosystem services and natural resources, risk-based land management and remedial solutions, regional and global societal impacts, and contributions to other policies. Evaluation of the social element of remedial activities is not without challenges and knowledge gaps. Identifcation of ob- stacles and gaps during the project planning process is essential to defning sustainability objectives and choosing the appropriate tool and methodology to conduct an assessment. Challenges iden- tifed include meaningful stakeholder engagement, risk perception of stakeholders, and trade-offs among the various triple bottom line dimensions. c⃝ 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. INTRODUCTION Over the past decade, the remediation community has begun to realize and consciously embrace remediating contaminated sites in a more sustainable way, a practice known as sustainable remediation. Sustainability evaluations support and improve the remediation strategy selection decision-making process by providing a broader context of the benefcial and detrimental impacts of remediation activities. Guidance, frameworks, and case studies have been published at an international level illustrating established sustainability assessment methodologies and successful implementation within the remediation industry c⃝ 2015 The Authors Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI: 10.1002/rem.21447 11