In this chapter, the authors, dealing with an uncertain and complex context, defend that socio-ecological literacy is crucial for societal evolution since it contributes to changes in attitudes and behaviors, and, as a consequence, it promotes society transformation. This can be accomplished through Social Labs (SL), carefully designed and professionally facilitated, promoting genuine dialogue. These SL end up operating as privileged learning spaces contributing to socio-ecological literacy citizenship. Through evaluative interviews of the stakeholders involved in the SL created within the MARGov Project, the authors show how the SL created were able to bring to the table angry stakeholders and turn a negative discourse into a positive one, engaging the community in search of joint solutions. As reported by the participants, knowledge was expanded and new knowledge was built during the sessions showing that the multiplicity of learnings does contribute to the promotion of a more resilient and sustainable community, while increasing the socio-ecological literacy of the ones engaged.

Porous stones are widely used in historical constructions and represent a major component of built cultural heritage. Their conservation commonly depends on multiple single-function products, such as consolidants, hydrophobic agents, biocides, or cleaning agents, which are often toxic and environmentally burdensome. This study performs an environmental assessment of a novel multi-function product designed for the sustainable conservation of porous stones and compares it with other conservation treatment alternatives. This product integrates green chemistry and nanotechnology through a water-based alkoxysilane modified with layered double hydroxide (LDH) particles. Laboratory and field tests on Portuguese monuments demonstrated suitable technical performance, including high substrate compatibility, effective consolidation depth, durable hydrophobicity, biocidal effect, and minimal visual alteration. To evaluate its environmental performance, a life cycle assessment (LCA) was carried out, from cradle-to-grave. The system boundaries encompassed production, application, and transportation stages, with 1 m² of treated sandstone surface as the functional unit. LCA was performed using CML-IA and ReCiPe methodologies in the SimaPro software. The results revealed the extent of environmental impacts of the novel product, addressing the multi-function strategy compared with conventional products and treatment scenarios. They identified critical life cycle stages for improvement to further enhance environmental performance across scenarios, particularly the influence of perfluorodecyltrimethoxysilane on the environmental burden of the novel product. Overall, this study demonstrates the value of LCA as a design and decision support tool for developing sustainable, multifunctional materials for cultural heritage conservation.