Sustainability of hydrogen supply chain. Part I: Identification of critical criteria and cause–effect analysis for enhancing the sustainability using DEMATEL

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ren, Jingzheng; Manzardo, Alessandro; Toniolo, Sara

2013-01-01

The enhancement of sustainability of hydrogen supply chain is of vital importance for the stakeholders/decision-makers to design a sustainable hydrogen supply chain. The objective of this paper is to develop a method for prioritizing the influential factors, identifying the key driving factors...... that influence the sustainability of hydrogen supply chain and mapping the cause–effect relationships to improve the sustainability of hydrogen supply chain. In this paper, thirty seven criteria in four aspects including economic, technological, environmental and societal aspects are considered for enhancing...... the sustainability of hydrogen supply chain, and decision making trial and evaluation laboratory has been used to analyze the relationships among these criteria. The status of hydrogen supply chain in China has been studied by the proposed method, and the results are consistent with the actual conditions. It could...

Sustainable national transport planning: Managing multiple objectives and criteria

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Anders Vestergaard; Salling, Kim Bang; Leleur, Steen

not included in the CBA. One important part of the assessment is the selection of criteria to be included and this aspect will be examined by an appraisal study of the Rail Baltica corridor. In the study various alternatives are appraised with an explicit consideration of each alternative’s sustainability...... performance....

Evaluation of a School Building in Turkey According to the Basic Sustainable Design Criteria

Science.gov (United States)

Arslan, H. D.

2017-08-01

In Turkey, as well as many other developing countries, the significance of sustainable education buildings has only recently become recognized and the issue of sustainability issue has not been sufficiently involved in laws and regulations. In this study, first of all architectural sustainability with basic design criteria has been explained. After that selected type primary school project in Turkey has been evaluated according to the sustainable design criteria. Type project of school buildings significantly limits the sustainability performance expected from buildings. It is clear that type projects shorten the planning time as they include a designing process that is independent of settlement and they are repeated in various places with different characteristics, indeed. On the other hand; abundance of disadvantages such as the overlook of the natural physical and structural properties of the location mostly restricts the sustainable design of the building. For sustainable buildings, several factors such as the environment, land, climate, insolation, direction etc. shall be taken into consideration at the beginning stage. Therefore; implementation of type projects can be deemed to be inappropriate for sustainability.

Relevancy of the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC about Sustainable Energy for Adolescents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maija Aksela

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Sustainable energy is one of the biggest global challenges today. This paper discusses how we can promote adolescents’ learning of sustainable energy with the help of an international massive open online course (MOOC. The aim of this case study is to understand: (i What do the adolescents find relevant in the MOOC course about sustainable energy? and (ii What are the opportunities and challenges of the MOOC for the adolescents to learn sustainable energy? In our study, 80 voluntary adolescents around the world, who were at least 15 year old, took part in two surveys. The themes of our MOOC course were, e.g., sustainable growth, solar power, wind power, biofuel production and smart power generation. This 38 work-hour, free of charge, online course includes an introduction video, interviews of specialists, lecture videos, reading materials of the newest research and multiple choice questions on the topics. Research data was classified by using content analysis. The study indicates that adolescents feel that both the MOOC course and sustainable energy as a subject are relevant to them. Their decision to take part in an online course was mostly influenced by individual relevance and partly influenced by both societal and vocational relevance, according to the relevancy theory used. The MOOC was experienced to be relevant for the three following reasons: (i good content (e.g., energy production and implementation of the course; (ii the course makes it possible to study in a new way; and (iii the course is personally useful. The characteristics of the MOOC, such as being available anywhere and anytime, free access, and online learning, bringing out a flexible, new way of learning and thus promoting Education for Sustainable Development (ESD in the context of sustainable energy at school level around the world. This MOOC provided the school students with choice-based learning and expanded their learning opportunities in understanding sustainable

Sustainable and safe design of footwear integrating ecological footprint and risk criteria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herva, Marta; Alvarez, Antonio; Roca, Enrique

2011-01-01

Highlights: → The ecological footprint (EF) is a suitable screening indicator to assist the assessment of the sustainability of an ecodesign proposal. → The EF does not consider the risk derived from hazardous substances in its evaluation. → Environmental risk assessment (ERA) successfully complemented the evaluation of the EF providing safety criteria. → Options that exceeded the safety limits for Hazard Quotient and Cancer Risk where discarded, thus guaranteeing the protection of children. → Trade-offs among criteria could be established by the application of fuzzy logic techniques to derive an ecodesign index. - Abstract: The ecodesign of a product implies that different potential environmental impacts of diverse nature must be taken into account considering its whole life cycle, apart from the general design criteria (i.e. technical, functional, ergonomic, aesthetic or economic). In this sense, a sustainability assessment methodology, ecological footprint (EF), and environmental risk assessment (ERA), were combined for the first time to derive complementary criteria for the ecodesign of footwear. Four models of children's shoes were analyzed and compared. The synthetic shoes obtained a smaller EF (6.5 gm 2 ) when compared to the leather shoes (11.1 gm 2 ). However, high concentrations of hazardous substances were detected in the former, even making the Hazard Quotient (HQ) and the Cancer Risk (CR) exceed the recommended safety limits for one of the synthetic models analyzed. Risk criteria were prioritized in this case and, consequently, the design proposal was discarded. For the other cases, the perspective provided by the indicators of different nature was balanced to accomplish a fairest evaluation. The selection of fibers produced under sustainable criteria and the reduction of the materials consumption was recommended, since the area requirements would be minimized and the absence of hazardous compounds would ensure safety conditions during the

Sustainable and safe design of footwear integrating ecological footprint and risk criteria

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Herva, Marta [Sustainable Processes and Products Engineering Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Santiago de Compostela, Campus Vida, 15705 Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Alvarez, Antonio [Industrias de Diseno Textil, S.A., Edificio Inditex, Av. de la Diputacion s/n, Poligono de Sabon, 15142 Arteixo - A Coruna (Spain); Roca, Enrique, E-mail: enrique.roca@usc.es [Sustainable Processes and Products Engineering Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Santiago de Compostela, Campus Vida, 15705 Santiago de Compostela (Spain)

2011-09-15

Highlights: {yields} The ecological footprint (EF) is a suitable screening indicator to assist the assessment of the sustainability of an ecodesign proposal. {yields} The EF does not consider the risk derived from hazardous substances in its evaluation. {yields} Environmental risk assessment (ERA) successfully complemented the evaluation of the EF providing safety criteria. {yields} Options that exceeded the safety limits for Hazard Quotient and Cancer Risk where discarded, thus guaranteeing the protection of children. {yields} Trade-offs among criteria could be established by the application of fuzzy logic techniques to derive an ecodesign index. - Abstract: The ecodesign of a product implies that different potential environmental impacts of diverse nature must be taken into account considering its whole life cycle, apart from the general design criteria (i.e. technical, functional, ergonomic, aesthetic or economic). In this sense, a sustainability assessment methodology, ecological footprint (EF), and environmental risk assessment (ERA), were combined for the first time to derive complementary criteria for the ecodesign of footwear. Four models of children's shoes were analyzed and compared. The synthetic shoes obtained a smaller EF (6.5 gm{sup 2}) when compared to the leather shoes (11.1 gm{sup 2}). However, high concentrations of hazardous substances were detected in the former, even making the Hazard Quotient (HQ) and the Cancer Risk (CR) exceed the recommended safety limits for one of the synthetic models analyzed. Risk criteria were prioritized in this case and, consequently, the design proposal was discarded. For the other cases, the perspective provided by the indicators of different nature was balanced to accomplish a fairest evaluation. The selection of fibers produced under sustainable criteria and the reduction of the materials consumption was recommended, since the area requirements would be minimized and the absence of hazardous compounds would

National report on sustainable forests—2015: conservation of biological diversity

Science.gov (United States)

Mark D. Nelson; Curtis Flather; Kurt H. Riitters; Carolyn Sieg; James D. Garner

2015-01-01

The National Report on Sustainable Forests—2015 relies on Montrèal Process Criteria and Indicators (C&I) for Forest Sustainability to organize and present data relevant to U.S. forests. The 2015 report addresses seven criteria, the first of which is Conservation of Biological Diversity, which is organized into nine indicators that address three sub-criteria:...

Striving to further harmonization of sustainability criteria for bioenergy in Europe: Recommendations from a stakeholder questionnaire

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dam, J. van; Junginger, M.

2011-01-01

This questionnaire analyzed the ongoing development of sustainability criteria for solid and liquid bioenergy in the European Union and further actions needed to come to a harmonization of certification systems, based on EU stakeholder views. The questionnaire, online from February to August 2009, received 473 responses collected from 25 EU member countries and 9 non-European countries; 285 could be used for further processing. A large majority of all stakeholders (81%) indicated that a harmonized certification system for biomass and bioenergy is needed, albeit some limitations. Amongst them, there is agreement that (i) a criterion on 'minimization of GHG emissions' should be included in a certification system for biomass and bioenergy, (ii) criteria on optimization of energy and on water conservation are considered of high relevance, (iii) the large variety of geographical areas, crops, residues, production processes and end-uses limits development towards a harmonized certification system for sustainable biomass and bioenergy in Europe, (iv) making better use of existing certification systems and standards improves further development of a harmonized European biomass and bioenergy sustainability certification system and (v) it is important to link a European certification system to international declarations and to expand such a system to other world regions. - Highlights: → The majority of stakeholders agree on the need of a certification system for biomass and bioenergy. → Limitations for harmonizing a European system include the geographical diversity, crops and processes for biomass and bioenergy. → It is important to consider the international declarations when developing a European system.

Sustainable development criteria for Built Environment projects in South Africa (CSIR)

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Gibberd, Jeremy T

2010-01-01

Full Text Available This paper is based on work undertaken for the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD) developing a set of sustainable development criteria for built environment projects requiring environmental impact assessments. (Gibberd...

Criteria for a sustainable use of bioenergy on a global scale

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fehrenbach, Horst; Giegrich, Juergen; Reinhardt, Guido; Schmitz, Jutta [ifeu-Institut fuer Energie- und Umweltforschung GmbH, Heidelberg (Germany); Sayer, Uwe; Gretz, Marco; Seizinger, Elmar [FSC Arbeitsgruppe Deutschland, Freiburg (Germany); Lanje, Kerstin [Germanwatch (Germany)

2008-08-15

The German Biokraftstoffquotengesetz, the EU Biofuel Directive and other policy making initiatives lead to promote the production and use of bioenergy, liquid biofuel for transportation in particular. Such an increase requires a reliable verification on compliance with sustainability principles on a global scale. Domestic biofuels (e.g. RME) have to meet the same standards as palm oil or ethanol from sugarcane imported from tropical regions and vice verse. As a first step the German government has passed the Draft Biomass Sustainability Regulation in December 2007 hat die Bundesregierung. This research project supported UBA and BMU to prepare that regulation. The overall goal was to examine the applicability of exis The analysis of existing certification systems featured number of good practice examples, e.g. FSC, SAN, RSPO.ting certification systems in terms of sustainability approval for biomass and to propose a set of criteria. But in fact none of the existing systems addresses all sustainability issues raised by biomass production and use. Selection of the proposed set of criteria has taken into account the current international state of discussion. Just to name above others: Minimum target of GHG saving; avoidance of losses of HNV areas an losses of Biodiversity; minimizing the risk of water scarcity; involvement of stakeholders into decision making processes; respecting international labour standards. Within this research project the GHG methodology and the default values implemented in the Draft Biomass Sustainability Regulation have been elaborated. (orig.)

Searchers' relevance judgments and criteria in evaluating Web pages in a learning style perspective

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Papaeconomou, Chariste; Zijlema, Annemarie F.; Ingwersen, Peter

2008-01-01

The paper presents the results of a case study of searcher's relevance criteria used for assessments of Web pages in a perspective of learning style. 15 test persons participated in the experiments based on two simulated work tasks that provided cover stories to trigger their information needs. Two...... learning styles were examined: Global and Sequential learners. The study applied eye-tracking for the observation of relevance hot spots on Web pages, learning style index analysis and post-search interviews to gain more in-depth information on relevance behavior. Findings reveal that with respect to use......, they are statistically insignificant. When interviewed in retrospective the resulting profiles tend to become even similar across learning styles but a shift occurs from instant assessments with content features of web pages replacing topicality judgments as predominant relevance criteria....

Steps to discern sustainability criteria for a certification scheme of bioethanol in Brazil: Approach and difficulties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delzeit, R.; Holm-Mueller, K.

2009-01-01

Taking Brazilian bioethanol as an example, this paper presents possible sustainability criteria for a certification scheme aimed to minimize negative socio-ecological impacts and to increase the sustainable production of biomass. We describe the methods that have led us to the identification of a first set of feasible sustainability criteria for Brazilian bioethanol and discuss issues to be considered when developing certification schemes for sustainability. General problems of a certification scheme lie in the inherent danger of introducing new non-tariff trade barriers and in the problems of including important higher scale issues like land conversion and food security. A certification system cannot replace a thorough analysis of policy impacts on sustainability issues. (author)

Criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management: an alternative for monitoring

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorge Luis Cué García

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The work was developed in the province of Cienfuegos, Cuba, with the hope of presenting an alternative methodology for monitoring criteria and indicators of sustainable forest management. Participatory workshops were used with actors and makers of SilviculturalUnits in the definition of criteria and indicators, based on the rules set forth by Herrero (2005. The Delphi method was used in the validation of the proposal. A hierarchical system that facilitates standardization of indicators and their aggregation to indices as well as the procedural guide indicators and checklist of them was used. The adequacy of Sustainability Barometer Prescott-Allen, 1997, quoted by Van Bellen (2004 was performed. The results of the analysis of the reliability of the instrument applied to the expert are acceptable because the Hotelling T2 value was 322.46 p = 0.007, there is a strong significant correlation between the elements of the instrument, expressed in an intraclass correlation coefficient from 0.756 to p = 0.038, Alpha reliability coefficient Cronbach 0.806, Spearman-Brown coefficient equal to 0.656 and Guttman split halves coefficient of 0.606. This alternative ensures a more comprehensive and holistic observance of the attributes of a system of sustainability indicators in the field of specialized forest Cuban business sector, enabling the assessment of the trend of sustainable forest management according to the specifics of each forestry unit.

A framework of performance criteria defining sustainable construction technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sturges, W.G.

1992-01-01

As our global culture encounters accelerating rates of resource depletion, environmental degradation, and societal inequality, it increasingly needs tools to rate building systems by environmental and socioeconomic criteria. By investigating light frame structural systems based on principles of ecological design, it is possible to not only identify the structures' potential impacts on the health of their site and larger community, but also to establish a framework of performance criteria for comparatively evaluating a variety of construction technologies. This paper summarizes the development and application of such a framework, based upon the ecosystems and culture of the Pacific Northwest's Cascadia Bioregion. The framework has been comparatively applied to solid-sawn lumber, trusses, and composite wood I-joists. These three framing technologies together represent traditional, contemporary, and progressive structural systems. Their individual and collective performance, based upon the application of the hypothesized criteria, offer insights into what might be a more ideal framing system of the sustainable future

Construction Projects Assessment Based on the Sustainable Development Criteria by an Integrated Fuzzy AHP and Improved GRA Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seyed Morteza Hatefi

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Due to the increasing population and earth pollution, managing construction and infrastructure projects with less damage to the environment and less pollution is very important. Sustainable development aims at reducing damage to the environment, making projects economical, and increasing comfort and social justice. This study proposes fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP and improved grey relational analysis (GRA to assess construction projects based on the sustainable development criteria. For doing so, sustainable development criteria are first identified in economic, social, and environmental dimensions using literature review, and are then customized for urban construction projects using experts’ opinions. After designing questionnaires and collecting data, fuzzy AHP is used for determining the importance of sustainable development criteria and their subcriteria. Then, improved GRA is employed for assessing six recreational, commercial, and official centers in Isfahan regarding the weights of criteria and subcriteria. The proposed fuzzy AHP-improved GRA help us to prioritize construction projects based on the sustainable development criteria. The results of applying fuzzy AHP show that the weights of economic, social, and environmental criteria are equal to 0.330, 0.321, and 0.349, respectively, which are close to each other. This means that the importance of all three aspects of sustainability is almost equal to each other. Furthermore, “Having profits for the society”, “Increasing social justice”, and “Adherence to environmental policies” are identified as the most important indicators of sustainable development in terms of economic, social, and environmental aspects, respectively. Finally, the results of employing improved GRA determine Negin Chaharbagh recreational and commercial complex as the best project.

Supplier selection criteria for sustainable supply chain management in thermal power plant

Science.gov (United States)

Firoz, Faisal; Narayan Biswal, Jitendra; Satapathy, Suchismita

2018-02-01

Supplies are always in great demand when it comes to industrial operations. The quality of raw material their price accompanied by sustainability and environmental effects are a major concern for industrial operators these days. Supply Chain Management is the subject which is focused on how the supply of different products is carried out. The motive is that each operation performed can be optimized and inherently the efficiency of the whole chain is integrated. In this paper we will be dealing with all the criteria that are required to be evaluated before selecting a supplier, in particular, focusing on Thermal Power Plant. The most suppliers of the thermal power plant are the coal suppliers. The quality of coal directly determines the efficiency of the whole plant. And when there are matters concerning coal environmental pollution plays a very crucial role. ANP method has been used here to select suppliers of thermal power sectors in Indian context. After applying ANP to prioritize the sustainable supplier selection criteria, it is found that for thermal power industries best suppliers are Nationalized/State owned suppliers then 2nd ranked suppliers are imported supplier. Private owned suppliers are ranked least. So private owned suppliers must be more concerned about their performance. Among these suppliers it is found that to compete in the global market privatized suppliers have to give more emphasize on most important criteria like sustainability, then fuel cost and quality. Still some sub-criteria like a clean program, environmental issues, quality, reliability, service rate, investment in high technology, green transportation channel, waste management etc needs for continuous improvement as per their priority.

Sustainable and safe design of footwear integrating ecological footprint and risk criteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Herva, Marta; Álvarez, Antonio; Roca, Enrique

2011-09-15

The ecodesign of a product implies that different potential environmental impacts of diverse nature must be taken into account considering its whole life cycle, apart from the general design criteria (i.e. technical, functional, ergonomic, aesthetic or economic). In this sense, a sustainability assessment methodology, ecological footprint (EF), and environmental risk assessment (ERA), were combined for the first time to derive complementary criteria for the ecodesign of footwear. Four models of children's shoes were analyzed and compared. The synthetic shoes obtained a smaller EF (6.5 gm(2)) when compared to the leather shoes (11.1 gm(2)). However, high concentrations of hazardous substances were detected in the former, even making the Hazard Quotient (HQ) and the Cancer Risk (CR) exceed the recommended safety limits for one of the synthetic models analyzed. Risk criteria were prioritized in this case and, consequently, the design proposal was discarded. For the other cases, the perspective provided by the indicators of different nature was balanced to accomplish a fairest evaluation. The selection of fibers produced under sustainable criteria and the reduction of the materials consumption was recommended, since the area requirements would be minimized and the absence of hazardous compounds would ensure safety conditions during the use stage. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Development and Use of Sustainability Criteria in SuRF-UK’s Sustainable Remediation Framework

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Paul Bardos

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Sustainability considerations have become widely recognised in contaminated land management and are now accepted as an important component of remediation planning and implementation around the world. The Sustainable Remediation Forum for the UK (SuRF-UK published guidance on sustainability criteria for consideration in drawing up (or framing assessments, organised across 15 “headline” categories, five for the environment element of sustainability, five for the social, and five for the economic. This paper describes how the SuRF-UK indicator guidance was developed, and the rationale behind its structure and approach. It describes its use in remediation option appraisal in the UK, and reviews the international papers that have applied or reviewed it. It then reviews the lessons learned from its initial use and the opinions and findings of international commentators, and concludes with recommendations on how the indicator categories might be further refined in the future. The key findings of this review are that the SuRF-UK framework and indicator guidance is well adopted into practice in the UK. It is widely recognised as the most appropriate mechanism to support sustainability-based decision making in contaminated land decision making. It has influenced the development of other national and international guidance and standards on sustainable remediation. However, there is room for some fine tuning of approach based on the lessons learned during its application.

Review of Multi-Criteria Decision Aid for Integrated Sustainability Assessment of Urban Water Systems - MCEARD

Science.gov (United States)

Integrated sustainability assessment is part of a new paradigm for urban water decision making. Multi-criteria decision aid (MCDA) is an integrative framework used in urban water sustainability assessment, which has a particular focus on utilising stakeholder participation. Here ...

RELEVANCE OF ECONOMIC INSTRUMENTS USED IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

SORINA-GEANINA MĂRGĂRIT (STĂNESCU

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The interaction between environmental, economic and social factors influences the ecological balance and generates the change of living conditions and those of socio-economic development. One of the essential conditions for building a sustainable economic development is the identification and implementation of active or voluntary instruments to influence economic and social activity towards ensuring their sustainability. In this paper, we intend to introduce the tools used in the process of sustainable development, which have a key role in adopting an environmentally responsible behavior. The results of this study are represented by the drafting of the advantages and disadvantages of using these economic and financial instruments. The purpose of this paper is to present the evolution of costs for environmental protection and the relevance of instruments used at the national level in environmental protection.

Sustainable energy planning by using multi-criteria analysis application in the island of Crete

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsoutsos, Theocharis; Drandaki, Maria; Frantzeskaki, Niki; Iosifidis, Eleftherios; Kiosses, Ioannis

2009-01-01

The sustainable energy planning includes a variety of objectives, as the decision-making is directly related to the processes of analysis and management of different types of information (technological, environmental, economic and social). Very often, the traditional evaluation methods, such as the cost-benefit analysis and macro-economic indicators, are not sufficient to integrate all the elements included in an environmentally thorough energy plan. On the contrary the multiple criteria methods provide a tool, which is more appropriate to assemble and to handle a wide range of variables that is evaluated in different ways and thus offer valid decision support. This paper exploits the multi-criteria methodology for the sustainable energy planning on the island of Crete in Greece. A set of energy planning alternatives are determined upon the implementation of installations of renewable energy sources on the island and are assessed against economic, technical, social and environmental criteria identified by the actors involved in the energy planning arena. The study constitutes an exploratory analysis with the potential to assist decision makers responsible for regional energy planning, providing them the possibility of creating classifications of alternative sustainable energy alternatives.

Application of US and EU Sustainability Criteria to Analysis of Biofuels-Induced Land Use Change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krissana Treesilvattanakul

2014-08-01

Full Text Available This research asks and answers a question that had been avoided by all the previous research on biofuels impacts. That is, to what extent are the US and EU biofuels sustainability criteria binding in the sense that if applied, sufficient land would be available to implement the programs? In answering the question, we simulate the global land by agro-ecological zone that would be needed to supply feedstocks for the US and EU biofuel programs using an advanced version of the GTAP-BIO model. Then we estimate the global area of land that would not be available due to sustainability criteria restrictions, again by agro-ecological zone. Finally, we determine the extent to which the US and EU sustainability criteria are binding and find that they are not binding at the biofuel levels currently targeted by the US and EU. In addition, we evaluate the same question, but this time freezing global food consumption, and get the same answer—plenty of land is available to meet the targets and supply food demands.

Sustainability: criteria and indicators for the energy area; Nachhaltigkeit: Kriterien und Indikatoren fuer den Energiebereich

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Walter, F.; Gubler, F. [Ecoplan, Berne (Switzerland); Brodmann, U. [Factor Consulting und Management AG, Zuerich (Switzerland)

2001-07-01

This report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) presents the results of a study made on the concept of sustainability with reference to the energy area. The importance of energy topics in the fundamental ideas behind sustainability - ecological compatibility, economic efficiency and social fairness - is discussed. The methods used to define the criteria and indicators for sustainability are discussed on the basis of existing systems. >From these, criteria and indicators are proposed for the energy area, including indicators for the influence of energy on the environment, economy and society, activity-indicators and indicators for energy efficiency and politics. The system boundaries for the indicators are discussed, as are grey energy and other 'grey' effects in the environmental, economic and social areas. The various criteria, indicators and the effort needed to collect data on them are presented in table form. The report is completed with a discussion of recommendations on what is still to be done in the area, how the results of the study can be used and what actions are still to be taken.

Multi-Criteria Indicator for Sustainability Rating in Suppliers of the Oil and Gas Industries in Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Felipe Figueiredo Barata

2014-02-01

Full Text Available The necessity of sustainability evaluation is rapidly growing alongside the expansion of civilization. Likewise, the supply chain suitability improvement is a need that has arisen in the petroleum industry, especially as it is responsible for the most part of CO2 emissions in the atmosphere. The modeling of this kind of problem deals with multiple criteria evaluations. This paper proposes an original multiple-criteria based approach to classifying the degree of organizational sustainability. This proposal was applied to evaluate a representative set of companies, which are suppliers of the Brazilian petroleum industry. The data collection was supported by a questionnaire. The results highlight that the studied companies have not yet reached an advanced level of maturity in the sustainability context. In a comprehensive vision of sustainability based on Triple Bottom Line (TBL, these companies are either in the initial stage or in the implementation phase of the sustainability practices.

Relevant criteria for testing the quality of turbulence models

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frandsen, Sten Tronæs; Ejsing Jørgensen, Hans; Sørensen, J.D.

2007-01-01

Seeking relevant criteria for testing the quality of turbulence models, the scale of turbulence and the gust factor have been estimated from data and compared with predictions from first-order models of these two quantities. It is found that the mean of the measured length scales is approx. 10......% smaller than the IEC model, for wind turbine hub height levels. The mean is only marginally dependent on trends in time series. It is also found that the coefficient of variation of the measured length scales is about 50%. 3sec and 10sec pre-averaging of wind speed data are relevant for MW-size wind...... turbines when seeking wind characteristics that correspond to one blade and the entire rotor, respectively. For heights exceeding 50-60m the gust factor increases with wind speed. For heights larger the 60-80m, present assumptions on the value of the gust factor are significantly conservative, both for 3...

MULTI-CRITERIA APPROACH FOR DESIGNING SUSTAINABLE DRAINAGE IN MALANG RESIDENTIAL AREA INDONESIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

HAPSARI Ratih Indri

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Environmentally sound approach for sustainable urban drainage could promote infiltration and lower the risk of flooding. This study presents the framework to evaluate the drainage alternatives considering multiple aspects including water quantity, life cycle cost and amenity. This approach is verified through application at a residential area in Malang city Indonesia. Different combinations of drainage components comprising of drainage channels, infiltration wells and biopore absorption holes are assessed regarding runoff reduction, present value of life cycle cost, and willingness to pay for the convenience. The first part describes the effective designs of sustainable drainage components in the houses as well as in the public spaces of the housing. The second part of this study describes the use of analytic hierarchy process for weight assignment of sustainability criteria and multiple benefit calculation. The study recommends infiltration wells and biopore absorption holes together with drainage channels as the best management practice of sustainable drainage system based on its overall sustainability index.

The Legal Design of Sustainability Criteria on Biofuels Used by the European Union

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Basse, Ellen Margrethe

2013-01-01

This article describes the legal power of the European Union - and the use of this power - to promote the sustainable use of biofuels by formally binding criteria in the Renewable Energy Directive. The use of the criteria has the twofold goal of making it possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions...... caused by the use of fuels and to prevent the conversion of land characterized by high carbon stock and high biodiversity for biofuel production....

Evaluating governance for sustainable development - Insights from experiences in the Dutch fen landscape.

Science.gov (United States)

den Uyl, Roos M; Driessen, Peter P J

2015-11-01

Prominent strands of discussion in the literature on governance for sustainable development debate how change can be induced to enhance sustainability, and how to evaluate the interventions aimed at prompting such change. Strikingly, there are few contributions about how prominent ideas of inducing change deal with multiple governance criteria for pursuing sustainable development. Moreover, the way ideas about inducing change relate to criteria of governance for sustainable development is not yet studied in an empirical context. This paper therefore comparatively analyses how three prominent modes of sustainable development governance - adaptive management, transition management and payments for environmental services - relate to a set of five prominent criteria reported in the literature, namely: equity, democracy, legitimacy, the handling of scale issues and the handling of uncertainty issues. It finds that the academic debates on these three modes address these criteria with varying attention and rather fragmented, while in the empirical setting of the Dutch fen landscape several aspects relating to the studied criteria were present and substantially influenced the functioning of the three modes of sustainable development. Together, the analysis of the literature debate and the empirical data are able to show that a narrow evaluation perspective may fail to diagnose and capture relevant struggles and complexities coming along with governance for sustainable development relevant issues. The study shows that in order to advance our understanding of governance for sustainable development, it is indeed important to include multiple criteria in studying these modes. Moreover, the study shows the importance of including empirical experiences which manifest when different modes for sustainable development are applied in real-world settings. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sustainability concept for energy, water and environment systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Afgan, N.H.

2004-01-01

This review is aimed to introduce historical background for the sustainability concept development for energy, water and environment systems. In the assessment of global energy and water resources attention is focussed in on the resource consumption and its relevancy to the future demand. In the review of the sustainability concept development special emphasize is devoted to the definition of sustainability and its relevancy to the historical background of the sustainability idea. In order to introduce measuring of sustainability the attention is devoted to the definition of respective criteria. There have been a number of attempts to define the criterions for the assessment of the sustainability of the market products. Having those criterions as bases, it was introduced a specific application in the energy system design

Perception of User Criteria in the Context of Sustainability of Modern Methods of Construction Based on Wood

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jozef Švajlenka

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Recent developments in the construction industry have brought more efficient and sustainable technologies, technological procedures, and materials. An example of this are modern methods of construction, which offer larger production volumes with a higher quality and shorter procurement time. The goal of those methods is to improve construction sustainability through quality improvement, customer satisfaction, shortened construction time, and reduced environmental impact. The main goal of this research is to demonstrate, by means of theoretical assumptions, surveys, and analyses, the sustainability of modern methods of construction based on wood. The work focuses on identifying the user criteria for construction sustainability. Selected user criteria of construction sustainability are applied in a socio-economic survey whose purpose is to determine how users perceive the efficiency of selected construction systems. We evaluate certain user parameters in the context of sustainability by relying on the users of buildings (family houses which have already been built and compare the results with declared design parameters.

Optimal diversity of renewable energy alternatives under multiple criteria: An application to the UK

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Shmelev, S.E.; van den Bergh, J.C.J.M.

2016-01-01

We propose a multi-criteria analysis of alternative combinations of renewable energy technologies to meet a sustainable energy supply. It takes into account a range of criteria to reflect relevant environmental, social and economic considerations, capture the value of diversity, and reflect

Sustainability Assessment of Electricity Generation Technologies in Egypt Using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mostafa Shaaban

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Future electricity planning necessitates a thorough multi-faceted analysis of the available technologies in order to secure the energy supply for coming generations. To cope with worldwide concerns over sustainable development and meet the growing demands of electricity we assess the future potential technologies in Egypt through covering their technical, economic, environmental and social aspects. In this study we fill the gap of a lacking sustainability assessment of energy systems in Egypt where most of the studies focus mainly on the economic and technical aspects of planning future installation of power plants in Egypt. Furthermore, we include the stakeholder preferences of the indicators in the energy sector into our assessment. Moreover, we perform a sensitivity analysis through single dimension assessment scenarios of the technologies as well as a sustainable scenario with equal preferences of all dimensions of the sustainability. We employ two multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA methodologies: the analytical hierarchy process for weighing the assessment criteria, and the weighted sum method for generating a general integrated sustainability index for each technology. The study investigates seven technologies: coal, natural gas, wind, concentrated solar power, photovoltaics, biomass and nuclear. The results reveal a perfect matching between the ranking of the technologies by the stakeholders and the sustainable scenario showing the highest ranking for natural gas and the lowest for nuclear and coal. There is a strong potential for renewable energy technologies to invade the electricity market in Egypt where they achieve the second ranking after natural gas. The Monte-Carlo approach gives photovoltaics a higher ranking over concentrated solar power as compared to the sample data ranking. The study concludes the importance of a multi-dimensional evaluation of the technologies while considering the preferences of the stakeholders in

A decision support tool for sustainable supplier selection in manufacturing firms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ifeyinwa Orji

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Purpose: Most original equipment manufacturers (OEMs are strategically involved in supplier base rationalization and increased consciousness of sustainable development thus, reinforcing need for accurately considering sustainability in supplier selection to improve organizational performance. In real industrial case, imprecise data, ambiguity of human judgment, uncertainty among sustainability factors and the need to capture all subjective and objective criteria are unavoidable and pose huge challenge to accurately incorporate sustainability factors into supplier selection.Methodology: This study develops a model based on integrated multi- criteria decision making (MCDM methods to solve such problems. The developed model applies Fuzzy logic, DEMATEL and TOPSIS to effectively analyze the interdependencies between sustainability criteria and to select the best sustainable supplier in fuzzy environment while capturing all subjective and objective criteria. A case study is illustrated to test the proposed model in a gear manufacturing company, an OEM to provide insights and for practical applications.Findings: Results show that social factors of sustainability ranks as the most important in supplier selection. However, the most influential sustainability sub- criteria are work safety (WS and quality.Originality/Value: The model is capable of capturing all subjective and objective criteria in fuzzy environment to accurately incorporate sustainability factors in supplier selection. It is decision support tool relevant for providing insights to managers while implementing sustainable supplier selection.

Elimination Method of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA: A Simple Methodological Approach for Assessing Agricultural Sustainability

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Byomkesh Talukder

2017-02-01

Full Text Available In the present world context, there is a need to assess the sustainability of agricultural systems. Various methods have been proposed to assess agricultural sustainability. Like in many other fields, Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA has recently been used as a methodological approach for the assessment of agricultural sustainability. In this paper, an attempt is made to apply Elimination, a MCDA method, to an agricultural sustainability assessment, and to investigate its benefits and drawbacks. This article starts by explaining the importance of agricultural sustainability. Common MCDA types are discussed, with a description of the state-of-the-art method for incorporating multi-criteria and reference values for agricultural sustainability assessment. Then, a generic description of the Elimination Method is provided, and its modeling approach is applied to a case study in coastal Bangladesh. An assessment of the results is provided, and the issues that need consideration before applying Elimination to agricultural sustainability, are examined. Whilst having some limitations, the case study shows that it is applicable for agricultural sustainability assessments and for ranking the sustainability of agricultural systems. The assessment is quick compared to other assessment methods and is shown to be helpful for agricultural sustainability assessment. It is a relatively simple and straightforward analytical tool that could be widely and easily applied. However, it is suggested that appropriate care must be taken to ensure the successful use of the Elimination Method during the assessment process.

Biomass sustainability criteria: Greenhouse gas accounting issues for biogas and biomethane facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adams, P.W.R.; Mezzullo, W.G.; McManus, M.C.

2015-01-01

Biomass sustainability criteria were introduced in the UK following the EU Renewable Energy Directive. Criteria are now applicable to solid biomass and biogas, however because it is not mandatory criteria can be adapted by member states with the risk of different interpretation. Operators are required to report greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for every MJ of energy produced. This paper provides a rigorous analysis of the current GHG emissions accounting methodology for biogas facilities to assess expected compliance for producers. This research uses data from operating CHP and biomethane facilities to calculate GHG emissions using the existing methodology and Government calculator. Results show that whilst many biogas facilities will meet GHG thresholds, as presently defined by Government, several operators may not comply due to methodological uncertainties and chosen operating practices. Several GHG accounting issues are identified which need to be addressed so the biogas industry achieves its reporting obligations and is represented objectively with other bioenergy technologies. Significant methodological issues are highlighted; including consignment definition, mass balance allocation, measurement of fugitive methane emissions, accounting for digestate co-products, fossil fuel comparators, and other accounting problems. Recommendations are made to help address the GHG accounting issues for policy makers and the biogas industry. - Highlights: • GHG accounting issues identified that affect potential compliance with legislation. • Appropriate recognition of digestate value is a key issue for biogas industry. • Fugitive methane emissions measurement is critical for sustainability criteria. • Chosen fossil fuel comparator value determines the potential GHG saving. • Rigorous analysis of GHG accounting methodology for biogas and biomethane systems.

Sustainable Seafood Consumption in Action: Relevant Behaviors and their Predictors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Isabel Richter

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Within the discussion around sustainable diets, seafood consumption is still a relatively neglected field. This article discusses relevant behaviours consumers can perform to consume seafood sustainably. The predictive power of intention, descriptive social norms, trust, awareness and pro-environmental attitudes are theoretically discussed and statistically tested across two studies in regards to (a using sustainable seafood labels, and (b using sustainable seafood guides. Data analysis (N1 = 309, N2 = 881 Norwegian adults shows that intentions, social norms and trust predict seafood label use across studies. The variables predicting seafood guide use are less stable which might be due to this behaviour being performed by a very small fraction of consumers only. Causal relationships have been identified in study 2 by applying cross-lagged panel analyses between intentions, trust and social norms and seafood label use. Further causal relationships were found between intentions, trust and awareness and seafood guide use. A bidirectional relationship was confirmed between descriptive social norms and seafood guide use. Potential strategies to promote seafood label- and seafood guide use, are discussed based on these results.

Multi-criteria decision making support tool for freight integrators: selecting the most sustainable alternative

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G. Simongáti

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Sustainable development has turned into a daily concept by now. Similarly, sustainable transport also appears increasingly often, primarily in transport policy and strategic plans. However, it would be equally important if we could apply this aspect for certain activities such as haulage and forwarding that are a part of transport. Today, forwarders select an optimal alternative concerning only the criteria related to the economic effectiveness of the transport task. In many cases, shippers are not aware neither of the concept of sustainable transport nor of harmful effects they generate. Hence, although there is a concept of ‘freight integrator’, only very few are able to meet the requirements laid down for it. No widespread method has been developed yet to compare transportation options. A similar situation can be faced discussing a traditional, purely economic approach and a theoretical modern aspect that would be in accordance with the principles of sustainable transport. The model that was developed at the Department of Aircraft and Ships of Budapest University of Technology and Economics was designed specifically to compare various options in terms of sustainability. The indicators as the elements of decision-making criteria applied in the model were derived from the indicators used for assessing the transport sector but modified according to the requirements of the decision-making task for a freight integrator. Finally, such sustainable performance index of certain alternatives is determined by two fundamentally different aggregation methods as ‘fineness index’. This article presents the model structure and application using a concrete example.

Sustainability of Brazilian ethanol: a proposal of principles and criteria; Sustentabilidade do etanol brasileiro: uma proposta de principios e criterios

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Silva, Leonardo Daemon d' Oliveira

2010-03-15

This research mainly aims to contribute with a greater sustainability of the ethanol produced in Brazil. The work assumed that only the zoning of sugar cane released by the government would not be sufficient to ensure the sustainable production of Brazilian ethanol. One solution to this problem would be the use of a marketing tool, in this case, a certification system. Throughout the study were raised the majors certification systems used in Brazil, the main sustainability criteria proposed in the world for the production of bio fuels, the certifications in development for the Brazilian ethanol and cases on the effectiveness of the certification. Finally were proposed principles and criteria for sustainable production of Brazilian ethanol in order to subsidize a future certification system. For the development of this proposal has been made a comparative analysis of sustainability criteria studied with the critical factors of Brazilian ethanol's production. At the conclusion of this study, was observed the need for a joint action of legal instruments, market instruments and public policies to promote greater sustainability of ethanol production in Brazil. (author)

Sustainability of Brazilian ethanol: a proposal of principles and criteria; Sustentabilidade do etanol brasileiro: uma proposta de principios e criterios

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Silva, Leonardo Daemon d' Oliveira

2010-03-15

This research mainly aims to contribute with a greater sustainability of the ethanol produced in Brazil. The work assumed that only the zoning of sugar cane released by the government would not be sufficient to ensure the sustainable production of Brazilian ethanol. One solution to this problem would be the use of a marketing tool, in this case, a certification system. Throughout the study were raised the majors certification systems used in Brazil, the main sustainability criteria proposed in the world for the production of bio fuels, the certifications in development for the Brazilian ethanol and cases on the effectiveness of the certification. Finally were proposed principles and criteria for sustainable production of Brazilian ethanol in order to subsidize a future certification system. For the development of this proposal has been made a comparative analysis of sustainability criteria studied with the critical factors of Brazilian ethanol's production. At the conclusion of this study, was observed the need for a joint action of legal instruments, market instruments and public policies to promote greater sustainability of ethanol production in Brazil. (author)

The Renewable Energy Directive: biofuels, biomass and sustainable development criteria. How to check in France the compliance of marketed biofuels with sustainability criteria defined by the Directive on renewable energies? (Phase 1: biofuels and bio-liquids)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-06-01

After having recalled and commented the main principles of the European directive which sets objectives in terms of renewable energy promotion and consumption, this report analyses the quantitative and qualitative sustainability criteria which must be applied particularly to biofuels and bio-liquids produced from agricultural activities, and their application perspectives. It gives recommendations to assess these criteria. It also comments the modalities used to control the compliance of biofuels with these criteria

Measuring the sustainability of a natural system by using multi-criteria distance function methods: Some critical issues.

Science.gov (United States)

Diaz-Balteiro, L; Belavenutti, P; Ezquerro, M; González-Pachón, J; Ribeiro Nobre, S; Romero, C

2018-05-15

There is an important body of literature using multi-criteria distance function methods for the aggregation of a battery of sustainability indicators in order to obtain a composite index. This index is considered to be a proxy of the sustainability goodness of a natural system. Although this approach has been profusely used in the literature, it is not exempt from difficulties and potential pitfalls. Thus, in this paper, a significant number of critical issues have been identified showing different procedures capable of avoiding, or at least of mitigating, the inherent potential pitfalls associated with each one. The recommendations made in the paper could increase the theoretical soundness of the multi-criteria distance function methods when this type of approach is applied in the sustainability field, thus increasing the accuracy and realism of the sustainability measurements obtained. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multi-criteria decision support framework for sustainable implementation of effective green supply chain management practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Boutkhoum, Omar; Hanine, Mohamed; Boukhriss, Hicham; Agouti, Tarik; Tikniouine, Abdessadek

2016-01-01

At present, environmental issues become real critical barriers for many supply chain corporations concerning the sustainability of their businesses. In this context, several studies have been proposed from both academia and industry trying to develop new measurements related to green supply chain management (GSCM) practices to overcome these barriers, which will help create new environmental strategies, implementing those practices in their manufacturing processes. The objective of this study is to present the technical and analytical contribution that multi-criteria decision making analysis (MCDA) can bring to environmental decision making problems, and especially to GSCM field. For this reason, a multi-criteria decision-making methodology, combining fuzzy analytical hierarchy process and fuzzy technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (fuzzy TOPSIS), is proposed to contribute to a better understanding of new sustainable strategies through the identification and evaluation of the most appropriate GSCM practices to be adopted by industrial organizations. The fuzzy AHP process is used to construct hierarchies of the influential criteria, and then identify the importance weights of the selected criteria, while the fuzzy TOPSIS process employs these weighted criteria as inputs to evaluate and measure the performance of each alternative. To illustrate the effectiveness and performance of our MCDA approach, we have applied it to a chemical industry corporation located in Safi, Morocco.

Strategies and arguments of ergonomic design for sustainability.

Science.gov (United States)

Marano, Antonio; Di Bucchianico, Giuseppe; Rossi, Emilio

2012-01-01

Referring to the discussion recently promoted by the Sub-Technical Committee n°4 "Ergonomics and design for sustainability", in this paper will be shown the early results of a theoretical and methodological study on Ergonomic design for sustainability. In particular, the research is based on the comparison between the common thematic structure characterizing Ergonomics, with the principles of Sustainable Development and with criteria adopted from other disciplines already oriented toward Sustainability. The paper identifies an early logical-interpretative model and describes possible and relevant Strategies of Ergonomic design for sustainability, which are connected in a series of specific Sustainable Arguments.

Sustainability Balanced Scorecard Disclosures and Corporate Commitment to Sustainability: An Australian Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Evangeline O. Elijido-Ten

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research is to analyse corporate sustainability commitment level (SCL and its determinants by examining the extent of Sustainability Balanced Scorecard (SBSC public disclosures provided by Australia‟s largest publicly listed companies. First, content analysis is used to scrutinise publicly available disclosures. Then, logistic regression is conducted to analyse the determinants of SCL. The analysis shows that the company‟s level of commitment to sustainability can be determined from voluntary disclosures using a set of criteria developed from the relevant SBSC and environmental management literature. It is also found that SCL is significantly associated to size, leverage, industry and government reporting legislation but not to profitability.

Are the criteria of Tabar and Dean still relevant to radial scar?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boute, Veronique [Department of Senology, Centre Francois Baclesse, 14076 Caen, Cedex 5 (France); Goyat, Isabelle [Department of Senology, Centre Francois Baclesse, 14076 Caen, Cedex 5 (France); Denoux, Yves [Department of Pathology, Centre Francois Baclesse, 14076 Caen, Cedex 5 (France); Lacroix, Joelle [Department of Senology, Centre Francois Baclesse, 14076 Caen, Cedex 5 (France); Marie, Brigitte [Department of Senology, Centre Francois Baclesse, 14076 Caen, Cedex 5 (France); Michels, Jean-J. [Department of Pathology, Centre Francois Baclesse, 14076 Caen, Cedex 5 (France)]. E-mail: michels@baclesse.fr

2006-11-15

Objective: Aschoff's center of proliferation (ACP), poses significant problems of differential diagnosis both in imagery and histology with infiltrating carcinoma. Up to now the criteria of Tabar and Dean (classical criteria) are considered as diagnostically relevant. Material: A retrospective study of 113 cases, enabled us to study their clinical, radiological and histological aspects. Results: The ACP is a subclinical and seldom palpable entity (12%). The radiological signs of ACP are quite variable. The classical criteria lack specificity and are observed only in 48% of our stellate images. Whereas the frequency of microcalcifications is high (58.5% of the cases), their presence and their type are not predictive of an associated malignancy. The echographic diagnosis of ACP could be made in 55% of the cases but the echographic semiology lacked specificity. We noticed an associated atypical epithelial hyperplasia in 28.5% of the cases, intraductal or lobular in situ carcinoma in 9% and/or a ductal invasive carcinoma in 2% of the cases. Neither tumor size, age of the patients, nor any radiological signs were predictive of such an association. Conclusions: The classical criteria are not completely reliable and are observed only in half of our stellate images, whereas microcalcifications are often present but are not predictive of an associated malignancy.

International Perspectives and Implementation of Sustainability Criteria in the Development of Biofuels for Transport

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Meza, Maria Josefina Figueroa; Gudmundsson, Henrik

Establishing sustainability criteria for the development of biofuels is an important step for the consolidation of an international market on biofuels for transport for several reasons: Biofuels are expected to play a significant role in a transition to low carbon future in transport in particular...

Drawing students' attention to relevant assessment criteria: effects on self-assessment skills and performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fastré, Greet; Van der Klink, Marcel; Sluijsmans, Dominique; Van Merriënboer, Jeroen

2012-01-01

Fastré, G. M. J., Van der Klink, M. R., Sluijsmans, D., & Van Merriënboer, J. J. G. (2012). Drawing students’ attention to relevant assessment criteria: effects on self-assessment skills and performance. Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 64(2), 185-198. doi:10.1080/13636820.2011.630537

ASTA - A method for multi-criteria evaluation of water supply technologies to Assess the most SusTainable Alternative for Copenhagen

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Godskesen, Berit; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky; Albrechtsen, Hans-Jørgen

2018-01-01

these environmental, economic and social sustainability dimensions we introduce a novel multi-criteria assessment method for evaluation of water supply technologies. The method is presented and demonstrated for four alternatives for water supply based on groundwater, rain- & stormwater or seawater developed...... for augmenting Copenhagen's current groundwater based water supply. To identify the most sustainable technology, we applied rank order distribution weights to a multi-criteria decision analysis to combine the impact assessments of environment, economy and society. The three dimensions were assessed using 1) life...... weight was assigned to the environmental dimension of sustainability then the alternative of 'Rain- & stormwater harvesting' was the most sustainable water supply technology; when the highest weight was assigned to the economy or society dimensions then an alternative with 'Groundwater abstraction...

Potential and relevance of urban mining in the context of sustainable cities

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Rachna Arora

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The objective of urban mining is the safeguarding of the environment and the promotion of resource conservation through reuse, recycling, and recovery of secondary resources from waste. Urban mining maximises the resource and economic value of the waste streams generated in urban spaces and will be a significant concept in the planning and designing of sustainable cities, making the process consistent with the sustainable development goals. This review article brings out comprehensive information on urban mining as a concept and its relevance to the Indian and international context as a source of secondary raw material.

Scientific Issues Relevant to Setting Regulatory Criteria to Identify Endocrine-Disrupting Substances in the European Union.

Science.gov (United States)

Slama, Rémy; Bourguignon, Jean-Pierre; Demeneix, Barbara; Ivell, Richard; Panzica, Giancarlo; Kortenkamp, Andreas; Zoeller, R Thomas

2016-10-01

Endocrine disruptors (EDs) are defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as exogenous compounds or mixtures that alter function(s) of the endocrine system and consequently cause adverse effects in an intact organism, or its progeny, or (sub)populations. European regulations on pesticides, biocides, cosmetics, and industrial chemicals require the European Commission to establish scientific criteria to define EDs. We address the scientific relevance of four options for the identification of EDs proposed by the European Commission. Option 1, which does not define EDs and leads to using interim criteria unrelated to the WHO definition of EDs, is not relevant. Options 2 and 3 rely on the WHO definition of EDs, which is widely accepted by the scientific community, with option 3 introducing additional categories based on the strength of evidence (suspected EDs and endocrine-active substances). Option 4 adds potency to the WHO definition, as a decision criterion. We argue that potency is dependent on the adverse effect considered and is scientifically ambiguous, and note that potency is not used as a criterion to define other particularly hazardous substances such as carcinogens and reproductive toxicants. The use of potency requires a context that goes beyond hazard identification and corresponds to risk characterization, in which potency (or, more relevantly, the dose-response function) is combined with exposure levels. There is scientific agreement regarding the adequacy of the WHO definition of EDs. The potency concept is not relevant to the identification of particularly serious hazards such as EDs. As is common practice for carcinogens, mutagens, and reproductive toxicants, a multi-level classification of ED based on the WHO definition, and not considering potency, would be relevant (corresponding to option 3 proposed by the European Commission). Slama R, Bourguignon JP, Demeneix B, Ivell R, Panzica G, Kortenkamp A, Zoeller RT. 2016. Scientific issues relevant

A Multi-Criteria Methodology to Support Public Administration Decision Making Concerning Sustainable Energy Action Plans

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Chiara Novello

2013-08-01

Full Text Available For municipalities that have joined the Covenant of Mayors promoted by the European Commission, the Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP represents a strategic tool for achieving the greenhouse gas reductions required by 2020. So far as the energy retrofit actions in their residential building stock are concerned, which in the small-to-medium municipalities are responsible for more than 60% of CO2 emissions, the scenarios for intervening are normally decided on the basis of an economic (cost/performance analysis. This type of analysis, however, does not take into account important aspects for small and medium-sized communities such as social aspects, environmental impacts, local economic development and employment. A more comprehensive and effective tool to support the choices of public administrators is the multi-criteria analysis. This study proposes a methodology that integrates multi-criteria analysis in order to support Public Administration/Local Authorities in programming Sustainable Energy Action Plans with a more targeted approach to sustainability. The methodology, based on the ELECTRE III method, was applied to a medium-size municipality in the Lombardy region of Italy. The results obtained with this approach are discussed in this paper.

Sustainability focused decision-making in building renovation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kamari, Aliakbar; Corrao, Rossella; Kirkegaard, Poul Henning

2017-01-01

of the sustainability issues through support of decision-making and communication with relevant stakeholders. Early in a project, it can be used to identify key performance criteria, and later to evaluate/compare the pros and cons of alternative retrofitting solutions either during the design stage or upon the project...

Sustainability assessment of alternative end-uses for disused areas based on multi-criteria decision-making method.

Science.gov (United States)

De Feo, Giovanni; De Gisi, Sabino; De Vita, Sabato; Notarnicola, Michele

2018-08-01

The main aim of this study was to define and apply a multidisciplinary and multi-criteria approach to sustainability in evaluating alternative end-uses for disused areas. Taking into account the three pillars of sustainability (social, economic and environmental dimension) as well as the need for stakeholders to have new practical instruments, the innovative approach consists of four modules stated (i) sociological, (ii) economic, (iii) environmental and (iv) multi-criteria assessment. By means of a case study on a small Municipality in Southern Italy, three end-uses alternatives, representing three essential services for citizens, were selected: Municipal gym; Market area; Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) separate collection centre. The sociological module was useful to select the most socially sound alternative by means of a consultative referendum, simulated with the use of a structured questionnaire administered to a sample of the population. The economic evaluation was conducted defining the bill of quantities with regarding to six main items (soil handling, landfill disposal tax, public services, structure and services, completion work, equipment and furnishings). The environmental evaluation was performed applying the Delphi method with local technicians who were involved in a qualitative-quantitative evaluation of the three alternatives with regarding to eight possible environmental impacts (landscape impact, soil handling, odour, traffic, noise, atmospheric pollution, wastewater, waste). Finally, the Simple Additive Weighting was used as multi-criteria technique to define alternatives priorities. The obtained results showed how the multi-criteria analysis is a useful decision support tool able to identify transparently and efficiently the most sustainable solutions to a complex social problem. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Towards sustainability assessment follow-up

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Morrison-Saunders, Angus, E-mail: a.morrison-saunders@murdoch.edu.au [Murdoch University (Australia); North-West University (South Africa); Pope, Jenny, E-mail: jenny@integral-sustainability.net [North-West University (South Africa); Integral Sustainability (Australia); Curtin University (Australia); Bond, Alan, E-mail: alan.bond@uea.ac.uk [North-West University (South Africa); University of East Anglia (United Kingdom); Retief, Francois, E-mail: francois.retief@nwu.ac.za [North-West University (South Africa)

2014-02-15

This paper conceptualises what sustainability assessment follow-up might entail for three models of sustainability assessment: EIA-driven integrated assessment, objectives-led integrated assessment and the contribution to sustainability model. The first two are characterised by proponent monitoring and evaluation of individual impacts and indicators while the latter takes a holistic view based around focused sustainability criteria relevant to the context. The implications of three sustainability challenges on follow-up are also examined: contested time horizons and value changes, trade-offs, and interdisciplinarity. We conclude that in order to meet these challenges some form of adaptive follow-up is necessary and that the contribution to sustainability approach is the best approach. -- Highlights: • We explore sustainability follow-up for three different sustainability models. • Long-time frames require adaptive follow-up and are a key follow-up challenge. • Other key challenges include interdisciplinarity, and trade-offs. • Sustainability follow-up should be a direction of travel and not an outcome. • Only the follow-up for contribution to sustainability model addresses sustainability challenges sufficiently.

Towards sustainability assessment follow-up

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morrison-Saunders, Angus; Pope, Jenny; Bond, Alan; Retief, Francois

2014-01-01

This paper conceptualises what sustainability assessment follow-up might entail for three models of sustainability assessment: EIA-driven integrated assessment, objectives-led integrated assessment and the contribution to sustainability model. The first two are characterised by proponent monitoring and evaluation of individual impacts and indicators while the latter takes a holistic view based around focused sustainability criteria relevant to the context. The implications of three sustainability challenges on follow-up are also examined: contested time horizons and value changes, trade-offs, and interdisciplinarity. We conclude that in order to meet these challenges some form of adaptive follow-up is necessary and that the contribution to sustainability approach is the best approach. -- Highlights: • We explore sustainability follow-up for three different sustainability models. • Long-time frames require adaptive follow-up and are a key follow-up challenge. • Other key challenges include interdisciplinarity, and trade-offs. • Sustainability follow-up should be a direction of travel and not an outcome. • Only the follow-up for contribution to sustainability model addresses sustainability challenges sufficiently

Assessing sustainable remediation frameworks using sustainability principles.

Science.gov (United States)

Ridsdale, D Reanne; Noble, Bram F

2016-12-15

The remediation industry has grown exponentially in recent decades. International organizations of practitioners and remediation experts have developed several frameworks for integrating sustainability into remediation projects; however, there has been limited attention to how sustainability is approached and operationalized in sustainable remediation frameworks and practices - or whether sustainability plays any meaningful role at all in sustainable remediation. This paper examines how sustainability is represented in remediation frameworks and the guidance provided for practical application. Seven broad sustainability principles and review criteria are proposed and applied to a sample of six international remediation frameworks. Not all review criteria were equally satisfied and none of the frameworks fully met all criteria; however, the best performing frameworks were those identified as sustainability remediation frameworks. Intra-generational equity was addressed by all frameworks. Integrating social, economic and biophysical components beyond triple-bottom-line indicators was explicitly addressed only by the sustainable remediation frameworks. No frameworks provided principle- or rule-based guidance for dealing with trade-offs in sustainability decisions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An Integrated Multi-Criteria Decision Making Model and AHP Weighting Uncertainty Analysis for Sustainability Assessment of Coal-Fired Power Units

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dianfa Wu

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The transformation of the power generation industry from coal-based to more sustainable energy sources is an irreversible trend. In China, the coal-fired power plant, as the main electric power supply facility at present, needs to know its own sustainability level to face the future competition. A hybrid multi-criteria decision making (MCDM model is proposed in this paper to assess the sustainability levels of the existing Chinese coal-fired power units. The areal grey relational analysis (AGRA method is involved in the hybrid model, and a combined weighting method is used to determine the priorities of the criteria. The combining weight fuses the fuzzy rough set (FRS and entropy objective weighting method together with the analytic hierarchy process (AHP subjective weighting method by game theory. Moreover, an AHP weighting uncertainty analysis using Monte Carlo (MC simulation is introduced to measure the uncertainty of the results, and a 95 percent confidence interval (CI is defined as the uncertainty measurement of the alternatives. A case study about eight coal-fired power units is carried out with a criteria system, which contains five aspects in an operational perspective, such as the flexibility, economic, environmental, reliability and technical criterion. The sustainability assessment is performed at the unit level, and the results give a priority rank of the eight alternatives; additionally, the uncertainty analysis supplies the extra information from a statistical perspective. This work expands a novel hybrid MCDM method to the sustainability assessment of the power generation systems, and it may be a benefit to the energy enterprises in assessing the sustainability at the unit level and enhance its ability in future sustainable development.

Evaluation according to criteria and indicators of sustainable forest management: Saçinka Forest Planning Unit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Burak Çavdar

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The reasons such as; decrease in forest areas, deterioration in the structure, fragmented structures, decrease in water sources, environmental pollution and increase in carbon level in air are considered as the main sources of problems like global warming and global climate change. Countries have been trying to develop cooperative solutions for these problems since the mid-20th century. Sustainable forest management criteria and indicators, which were outcomes of Biological Diversity Agreement and the processes afterwards, have also been specified in Turkey based on Pan-European process indicators. According to this set of criteria and indicators, data are collected in the scale of Forest Enterprises and the current situation is evaluated in the meetings held by Regional Directorates of Forestry. Most of the data to be evaluated are obtained from forest management plans in the scale of Forest Planning Units and a great deal of economic indicators are dealt in the scale of Forestry Enterprises. Starting from this point of view; this study analyzes the SFM criteria and indicators set data of Saçinka Forest Planning Unit. Accordingly, it examines whether forest ecosystem is conducted in a sustainable way or not.

Prioritization of Bioethanol Production Pathways in China based on Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment and Multi-Criteria Decision-Making

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ren, Jingzheng; Manzardo, Alessandro; Mazzi, Anna

2015-01-01

Purpose The study objectives are two-fold: (i) combining the life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) framework and the multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methodology for sustainability assessment; (ii) determining the most sustainable scenario for bioethanol production in China according......’s proposed method investigates an illustrative case about three alternative bioethanol production scenarios (wheat-based, corn-based and cassava-based): the prior sequence (based on the sustainability performances) in descending order is cassava-based, corn-based and wheat-based. The proposed methodology...... is to test the combination of a MCDM methodology and LCSA for sustainability decision-making by studying three alternative pathways for bioethanol production in China. The proposed method feasibly enables the decision-makers/stakeholders to find the most sustainable scenario to achieve their objectives among...

Clinical relevance of the proposed sexual addiction diagnostic criteria: relation to the Sexual Addiction Screening Test-Revised.

Science.gov (United States)

Carnes, Patrick J; Hopkins, Tiffany A; Green, Bradley A

2014-01-01

The present article examines and compares the various diagnostic rubrics proposed to codify symptoms of sexual addiction, and then briefly summarizes the ongoing controversy on whether sexual addiction is a valid construct. Using the diagnostic criteria proposed by , the prevalence rate of each criterion is examined in terms of scores on the Sexual Addiction Screening Test-Revised scales (). Differences in diagnostic criteria endorsement associated with sex, sexual orientation, and setting were also explored. Results from a clinical sample of men and women seeking treatment for sexual addiction demonstrated clinical relevance of the criteria, in that all but 3 criteria are endorsed at more than 50% of participants screening positive for sexual addiction on the Sexual Addiction Screening Test-Revised. Sex differences were also noted for endorsement rates of several of the criteria. Finally, several proposed criteria may pose a higher clinical threshold and thus be utilized by clinicians to identify patients with increased pathology. Results are discussed in the context of existing diagnostic frameworks across etiological perspectives.

Clinical relevance of surgical site infection as defined by the criteria of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Henriksen, N A; Meyhoff, C S; Wetterslev, J

2010-01-01

Surgical site infection (SSI) is a common complication after abdominal surgery and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) criteria are commonly used for diagnosis and surveillance. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether SSI diagnosed according to CDC is clinically relevant...... diagnosed with SSI and a matched control group (N=46) without SSI according to the CDC criteria after laparotomy. Two blinded experienced surgeons evaluated the hospital records and determined whether patients had CRSSI, based on the following criteria: antibiotic treatment, surgical intervention, prolonged...... hospital stay or referral to an intensive care unit for SSI. The rate of CRSSI was 38 of 54 (70%) in patients with CDC-diagnosed SSI and none in patients without a CDC-diagnosed SSI. Sixty-one percent of the CDC-diagnosed SSIs were superficial, of which 48% were considered clinically relevant...

Sustainable nanotechnology decision support system: bridging risk management, sustainable innovation and risk governance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Subramanian, Vrishali; Semenzin, Elena; Hristozov, Danail; Zabeo, Alex; Malsch, Ineke; McAlea, Eamonn; Murphy, Finbarr; Mullins, Martin; Harmelen, Toon van; Ligthart, Tom; Linkov, Igor; Marcomini, Antonio

2016-01-01

The significant uncertainties associated with the (eco)toxicological risks of engineered nanomaterials pose challenges to the development of nano-enabled products toward greatest possible societal benefit. This paper argues for the use of risk governance approaches to manage nanotechnology risks and sustainability, and considers the links between these concepts. Further, seven risk assessment and management criteria relevant to risk governance are defined: (a) life cycle thinking, (b) triple bottom line, (c) inclusion of stakeholders, (d) risk management, (e) benefit–risk assessment, (f) consideration of uncertainty, and (g) adaptive response. These criteria are used to compare five well-developed nanotechnology frameworks: International Risk Governance Council framework, Comprehensive Environmental Assessment, Streaming Life Cycle Risk Assessment, Certifiable Nanospecific Risk Management and Monitoring System and LICARA NanoSCAN. A Sustainable Nanotechnology Decision Support System (SUNDS) is proposed to better address current nanotechnology risk assessment and management needs, and makes. Stakeholder needs were solicited for further SUNDS enhancement through a stakeholder workshop that included representatives from regulatory, industry and insurance sectors. Workshop participants expressed the need for the wider adoption of sustainability assessment methods and tools for designing greener nanomaterials.

Sustainable nanotechnology decision support system: bridging risk management, sustainable innovation and risk governance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Subramanian, Vrishali, E-mail: vrishali.subramanian@unive.it; Semenzin, Elena; Hristozov, Danail; Zabeo, Alex [University Ca’ Foscari of Venice, Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics (Italy); Malsch, Ineke [Malsch TechnoValuation (Netherlands); McAlea, Eamonn; Murphy, Finbarr; Mullins, Martin [University of Limerick, Kemmy Business School (Ireland); Harmelen, Toon van; Ligthart, Tom [TNO (Netherlands); Linkov, Igor; Marcomini, Antonio, E-mail: marcom@unive.it [University Ca’ Foscari of Venice, Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics (Italy)

2016-04-15

The significant uncertainties associated with the (eco)toxicological risks of engineered nanomaterials pose challenges to the development of nano-enabled products toward greatest possible societal benefit. This paper argues for the use of risk governance approaches to manage nanotechnology risks and sustainability, and considers the links between these concepts. Further, seven risk assessment and management criteria relevant to risk governance are defined: (a) life cycle thinking, (b) triple bottom line, (c) inclusion of stakeholders, (d) risk management, (e) benefit–risk assessment, (f) consideration of uncertainty, and (g) adaptive response. These criteria are used to compare five well-developed nanotechnology frameworks: International Risk Governance Council framework, Comprehensive Environmental Assessment, Streaming Life Cycle Risk Assessment, Certifiable Nanospecific Risk Management and Monitoring System and LICARA NanoSCAN. A Sustainable Nanotechnology Decision Support System (SUNDS) is proposed to better address current nanotechnology risk assessment and management needs, and makes. Stakeholder needs were solicited for further SUNDS enhancement through a stakeholder workshop that included representatives from regulatory, industry and insurance sectors. Workshop participants expressed the need for the wider adoption of sustainability assessment methods and tools for designing greener nanomaterials.

Sustainability-Oriented Financial Resource Allocation in a Project Portfolio through Multi-Criteria Decision-Making

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nomeda Dobrovolskienė

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Modern portfolio theory attempts to maximize the expected return of a portfolio for a given level of portfolio risk, or equivalently minimize risk for a given level of expected return. The reality, however, shows that, when selecting projects to a portfolio and allocating resources in the portfolio, an increasing number of organizations take into account other aspects as well. As a result of the sole purpose (risk-return, it offers only a partial solution for a sustainable organization. Existing project portfolio selection and resource allocation methods and models do not consider sustainability. Therefore, the aim of this article is to develop a sustainability-oriented model of financial resource allocation in a project portfolio by integrating a composite sustainability index of a project into Markowitz’s classical risk-return scheme (mean-variance model. The model was developed by applying multi-criteria decision-making methods. The practicability of the model was tested by an empirical study in a selected construction company. The proposed sustainability-oriented financial resource allocation model could be used in allocating financial resources in any type of business. The use of the model would not only help organisations to manage risk and achieve higher return but would also allow carrying out sustainable projects, thereby promoting greater environmental responsibility and giving more consideration to the wellbeing of future generations. Moreover, the model allows quantifying the impact of the integration of sustainability into financial resource allocation on the return of a portfolio.

Evaluation of the Three Gorges Dam project using multi-criteria analysis (MCA) based on a sustainable perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Yue; Zheng, Wei; Guo, Junshan; Ma, Yihe; Ding, Junqi; Zhu, Lingkai; Che, Yongqiang; Zhang, Yanpeng

2018-02-01

Abstract . The Three Gorges dam of China is one of the largest and expensive hydropower projects of the world. The four main purposes of the project are flood control,energy production, improved navigation and fresh water supply. The dam project has been completed and running successfully with the potential benefits. However, this project is still a controversial issue among many environmentalists and socialists due to various impacts. This study focuses on the benefit and the impacts of the project, and also evaluates the performance of the project using multi-criteria analysis (MCA) approach from a sustainable perspective. Different sustainability criteria related with the dam project have been identified and used for the ranking and rating process. The final result of MCA comes with this scoring process and pairwise comparison, which evaluates the performance of the project considering different positive and negative aspects.

Sustainability Reporting and Value Relevance of Financial Statements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bambang Sutopo

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This study examines whether information about the winners of the Sustainability Reporting Award (SRA contributes to the usefulness of the information in financial statements. This study used a sample consisting of 110 winners of SRA (SRA firms and 110 companies that did not receive SRA (non-SRA firms from 2008 to 2016. The study found that earnings per share (EPS, earnings per share change (EPSC, and book value per share (BVPS are value-relevant information. Results of comparison between SRA firms and non-SRA firms show that the positive association between EPS and stock price (P and the positive association of EPS with stock returns (R for SRA firms are higher than that for the non-SRA firms. In addition, findings of this study indicate that EPSC is positively associated with R when EPSC and R are measured by Indonesian rupiah (IDR instead of by percentage, and the positive association between EPSC and R for the SRA firms is higher than that for the non-SRA firms. Thus, the results are sensitive to measures of the variables. However, this study found that value relevance of BVPS for SRA firms is lower than for non-SRA firms. Implication of this study is that information about the winners of SRA contributes to the usefulness of financial statements, especially the information of EPS and EPSC.

Sustainable waste management through end-of-waste criteria development.

Science.gov (United States)

Zorpas, Antonis A

2016-04-01

The Waste Framework Directive 2000/98 (WFD) contains specific requirements to define end-of-waste criteria (EWC). The main goal of EWC is to remove and eliminate the administrative loads of waste legislation for safe and high-quality waste materials, thereby facilitating and assisting recycling. The target is to produce effective with high quality of recyclables materials, promoting product standardization and quality and safety assurance, and improving harmonization and legal certainty in the recyclable material markets. At the same time, those objectives aim to develop a plan in order to improve the development and wider use of environmental technologies, which reduce pressure on environment and at the same time address the three dimensions of the Lisbon strategy: growth, jobs and environment. This paper presents the importance of EWC, and the approach of setting EWC as EWC affect several management systems as well as sustainable and clean technologies.

Is sustainable resource utilisation a relevant concept in Avanersuaq? The walrus case

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Astrid Oberborbeck; Heide-Jorgensen, Mads Peter; Flora, Janne

2018-01-01

analyse how walruses acquire multiple values as they circulate in different networks. Sustainable resource utilisation, we conclude, is a concept that is relevant in Avanersuaq and beyond, because it works as a biological standard, and hence organises laws, norms, and practices of formal management......This article addresses the role of Atlantic walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) in present-day Avanersuaq from anthropological and biological perspectives, and asks whether or not sustainable resource utilisation is a useful concept in northwest Greenland. We describe the relations that unfold...... around walrus and walrus hunting, in the communities living adjacent to the North Water polynya on the eastern side of Smith Sound. We examine the interplay of walrus population abundance, hunting practices, uses, and formal (governmental) and informal (traditional) ways of regulating the hunt, and we...

Transportation of Organs by Air: Safety, Quality, and Sustainability Criteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Mantecchini, L; Paganelli, F; Morabito, V; Ricci, A; Peritore, D; Trapani, S; Montemurro, A; Rizzo, A; Del Sordo, E; Gaeta, A; Rizzato, L; Nanni Costa, A

2016-03-01

The outcomes of organ transplantation activities are greatly affected by the ability to haul organs and medical teams quickly and safely. Organ allocation and usage criteria have greatly improved over time, whereas the same result has not been achieved so far from the transport point of view. Safety and the highest level of service and efficiency must be reached to grant transplant recipients the healthiest outcome. The Italian National Transplant Centre (CNT), in partnership with the regions and the University of Bologna, has promoted a thorough analysis of all stages of organ transportation logistics chains to produce homogeneous and shared guidelines throughout the national territory, capable of ensuring safety, reliability, and sustainability at the highest levels. The mapping of all 44 transplant centers and the pertaining airport network has been implemented. An analysis of technical requirements among organ shipping agents at both national and international level has been promoted. A national campaign of real-time monitoring of organ transport activities at all stages of the supply chain has been implemented. Parameters investigated have been hospital and region of both origin and destination, number and type of organs involved, transport type (with or without medical team), stations of arrival and departure, and shipping agents, as well as actual times of activities involved. National guidelines have been issued to select organ storage units and shipping agents on the basis of evaluation of efficiency, reliability, and equipment with reference to organ type and ischemia time. Guidelines provide EU-level standards on technical equipment of aircrafts, professional requirements of shipping agencies and cabin crew, and requirements on service provision, including pricing criteria. The introduction in the Italian legislation of guidelines issuing minimum requirements on topics such as the medical team, packaging, labeling, safety and integrity, identification

APPLICATION OF SUSTAINABILITY CRITERIA TO STELLA, MISSOURI-ECONOMIC PLANNING-PRELIMINARY SITE INFORMATION AND ELEMENTS OF THE MASTER PLAN-16NOV2006 (1130)

Science.gov (United States)

Economic systems constraints and performance requirements that are essential to providing goods and services, jobs, and a functioning economic system form a list of criteria for planning a sustainable economy. This presentation places these economic criteria in the context of Ste...

Clinical relevance of surgical site infection as defined by the criteria of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Henriksen, N A; Meyhoff, C S; Wetterslev, J

2010-01-01

Surgical site infection (SSI) is a common complication after abdominal surgery and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) criteria are commonly used for diagnosis and surveillance. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether SSI diagnosed according to CDC is clinically relevant (C...... a suitable standard definition for monitoring and identifying SSI, even if some cases of less clinically significant superficial SSI are included.......Surgical site infection (SSI) is a common complication after abdominal surgery and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) criteria are commonly used for diagnosis and surveillance. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether SSI diagnosed according to CDC is clinically relevant...... hospital stay or referral to an intensive care unit for SSI. The rate of CRSSI was 38 of 54 (70%) in patients with CDC-diagnosed SSI and none in patients without a CDC-diagnosed SSI. Sixty-one percent of the CDC-diagnosed SSIs were superficial, of which 48% were considered clinically relevant...

Fuzzy Multi-actor Multi-criteria Decision Making for Sustainability Assessment of biomass-based technologies for hydrogen production

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ren, Jingzheng; Fedele, Andrea; Mason, Marco

2013-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to develop a sustainability assessment method to rank the prior sequence of biomass-based technologies for hydrogen production. A novel fuzzy Multi-actor Multi-criteria Decision Making method which allows multiple groups of decision-makers to use linguistic variables...

Towards sustainable settlement growth: A new multi-criteria assessment for implementing environmental targets into strategic urban planning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schetke, Sophie, E-mail: schetke@uni-bonn.de [Institute of Geodesy and Geoinformation, Dept. of Urban Planning and Real Estate Management, University of Bonn, Nussallee 1, 53115 Bonn (Germany); Haase, Dagmar, E-mail: dagmar.haase@ufz.de [Humboldt University of Berlin, Department of Geography, Rudower Chaussee 16, 10099 Berlin, Germany, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Department of Computational Landscape Ecology, Permoserstr. 15, 04318 Leipzig (Germany); Koetter, Theo, E-mail: koetter@uni-bonn.de [Institute of Geodesy and Geoinformation, Dept. of Urban Planning and Real Estate Management, University of Bonn, Nussallee 1, 53115 Bonn (Germany)

2012-01-15

For nearly one decade, the German political and research-agenda has been to a large extent determined by the ongoing question of how to limit the expansion of settlement areas around cities in order to preserve natural resources, make settlement growth more sustainable and to strengthen the re-use of existing inner-urban areas (see a.o. Koetter et al. 2009a, 2010; Schetke et al. 2009, 2010b). What is already under discussion within the international literature are the recommendations of the German Council for Sustainability to quantitatively reduce the daily greenfield consumption from the current rate of over 100 ha per day to a rate of 30 ha per day in 2020 and to bring urban infill development up to a ratio of 3:1 with greenfield development (German Council for Sustainability, 2004).). This paper addresses the added value beyond those abstract political targets and presents an innovative, multi-criteria assessment (MCA) of greenfield and infill sites to evaluate their sustainability and resource efficiency. MCA development and its incorporation into a Decision Support System (DSS) were accomplished by utilising a stakeholder-driven approach. The resulting tool can be applied in preparing and revising land-use plans. The paper presents the concept and the development process of the MCA-DSS. Test runs with planners prove that the evaluation of potential housing sites using individually weighted environmental indicators helps to identify those strategies of housing development that accord most closely with sustainability goals. The tests further show that the development of greenfield sites generally exhibits less sustainability than that of infill sites. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer This paper presents an innovative, multi-criteria assessment (MCA) of greenfield and infill sites. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The MCA evaluates sustainability and resource efficiency of potential housing sites in a stakeholder-driven approach. Black

Towards sustainable settlement growth: A new multi-criteria assessment for implementing environmental targets into strategic urban planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schetke, Sophie; Haase, Dagmar; Kötter, Theo

2012-01-01

For nearly one decade, the German political and research-agenda has been to a large extent determined by the ongoing question of how to limit the expansion of settlement areas around cities in order to preserve natural resources, make settlement growth more sustainable and to strengthen the re-use of existing inner-urban areas (see a.o. Kötter et al. 2009a, 2010; Schetke et al. 2009, 2010b). What is already under discussion within the international literature are the recommendations of the German Council for Sustainability to quantitatively reduce the daily greenfield consumption from the current rate of over 100 ha per day to a rate of 30 ha per day in 2020 and to bring urban infill development up to a ratio of 3:1 with greenfield development (German Council for Sustainability, 2004).). This paper addresses the added value beyond those abstract political targets and presents an innovative, multi-criteria assessment (MCA) of greenfield and infill sites to evaluate their sustainability and resource efficiency. MCA development and its incorporation into a Decision Support System (DSS) were accomplished by utilising a stakeholder-driven approach. The resulting tool can be applied in preparing and revising land-use plans. The paper presents the concept and the development process of the MCA-DSS. Test runs with planners prove that the evaluation of potential housing sites using individually weighted environmental indicators helps to identify those strategies of housing development that accord most closely with sustainability goals. The tests further show that the development of greenfield sites generally exhibits less sustainability than that of infill sites. - Highlights: ► This paper presents an innovative, multi-criteria assessment (MCA) of greenfield and infill sites. ► The MCA evaluates sustainability and resource efficiency of potential housing sites in a stakeholder-driven approach. ► Test runs with planners identified prominent environmental indicators

Guidance to the regulations on sustainability criteria for biofuels and liquid biofuels. Version 2.0; Vaegledning till regelverket om haallbarhetskriterier foer biodrivmedel och flytande biobraenslen. Version 2.0

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Engstroem, Lina; Jozsa, Emmi; Hagberg, Linus; Wollin, Per; Petren Axner, Margareta

2012-11-01

For biofuels and liquid biofuels: Swedish Energy Agency's guidance on the regulatory framework on sustainability criteria have been updated and expanded with new sections on control systems, independent auditing, sustainability statements and verification of land criteria in Sweden.

Local Action Groups and Rural Sustainable Development. A spatial multiple criteria approach for efficient territorial planning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Palmisano, Giovanni Ottomano; Govindan, M.E., PhD.,, Kannan; Boggia, Antonio

2016-01-01

Local Action Groups in order to promote the objectives of Rural Sustainable Development within rural municipalities. Each Local Action Group applies the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats analysis in order to identify for its own rural municipalities the strategic elements to which...... and a Weakness factors and decision alternatives, as well as impossibility of ranking the decision alternatives. Thus, this research aims to overcome the drawbacks of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats analysis and to support Local Action Group partnerships in the sustainability evaluation...... of their rural municipalities, and therefore to aid the identification of a common Rural Sustainable Development strategy to allocate the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development budget. This decision problem was tackled by applying a Multiple Criteria Spatial Decision Support System that integrates...

A fuzzy multi criteria approach for measuring sustainability performance of a supplier based on triple bottom line approach

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Govindan, Kannan; Khodaverdi, R.; Jafarian, A.

2013-01-01

responsibility. Sustainable supply chain initiatives like supplier environmental and social collaboration can play a significant role in achieving the "triple bottom line" of social, environmental, and economic benefits. Supplier selection plays an important role in the management of a supply chain......Sustainable supply chain management has received much attention from practitioners and scholars over the past decade owing to the significant attention given by consumers, profit and not-for-profit organizations, local communities, legislation and regulation to environmental, social and corporate....... Traditionally, organizations consider criteria such as price, quality, flexibility, etc. when evaluating supplier performance. While the articles on the selection and evaluation of suppliers are abundant, those that consider sustainability issues are rather limited. This paper explores sustainable supply chain...

Relevant Criteria for Testing the Quality of Models for Turbulent Wind Speed Fluctuations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frandsen, Sten Tronæs; Ejsing Jørgensen, Hans; Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

2008-01-01

Seeking relevant criteria for testing the quality of turbulence models, the scale of turbulence and the gust factor have been estimated from data and compared with predictions from first-order models of these two quantities. It is found that the mean of the measured length scales is approximately...... 10% smaller than the IEC model for wind turbine hub height levels. The mean is only marginally dependent on trends in time series. It is also found that the coefficient of variation of the measured length scales is about 50%. 3  s and 10  s preaveraging of wind speed data are relevant for megawatt......-size wind turbines when seeking wind characteristics that correspond to one blade and the entire rotor, respectively. For heights exceeding 50-60  m, the gust factor increases with wind speed. For heights larger than 60-80  m, present assumptions on the value of the gust factor are significantly...

A Review of Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Methods Applied to the Sustainable Bridge Design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vicent Penadés-Plà

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The construction of bridges has been necessary for societies since ancient times, when the communication between and within towns, cities or communities was established. Until recently, the economic factor has been the only one considered in the decision-making of any type of construction process for bridges. However, nowadays, the objective should not be just the construction of bridges, but of sustainable bridges. Economic, social and environmental factors, which form the three pillars of sustainability, have been recently added. These three factors usually have conflicting perspectives. The decision-making process allows the conversion of a judgment into a rational procedure to reach a compromise solution. The aim of this paper is to review different methods and sustainable criteria used for decision-making at each life-cycle phase of a bridge, from design to recycling or demolition. This paper examines 77 journal articles for which different methods have been used. The most used methods are briefly described. In addition, a statistical study was carried out on the Multiple Attribute Decision-making papers reviewed.

The Criteria People Use in Relevance Decisions on Health Information: An Analysis of User Eye Movements When Browsing a Health Discussion Forum.

Science.gov (United States)

Pian, Wenjing; Khoo, Christopher Sg; Chang, Yun-Ke

2016-06-20

People are increasingly accessing health-related social media sites, such as health discussion forums, to post and read user-generated health information. It is important to know what criteria people use when deciding the relevance of information found on health social media websites, in different situations. The study attempted to identify the relevance criteria that people use when browsing a health discussion forum, in 3 types of use contexts: when seeking information for their own health issue, when seeking for other people's health issue, and when browsing without a particular health issue in mind. A total of 58 study participants were self-assigned to 1 of the 3 use contexts or information needs and were asked to browse a health discussion forum, HealthBoards.com. In the analysis, browsing a discussion forum was divided into 2 stages: scanning a set of post surrogates (mainly post titles) in the summary result screen and reading a detailed post content (including comments by other users). An eye tracker system was used to capture participants' eye movement behavior and the text they skim over and focus (ie, fixate) on during browsing. By analyzing the text that people's eyes fixated on, the types of health information used in the relevance judgment were determined. Post-experiment interviews elicited participants' comments on the relevance of the information and criteria used. It was found that participants seeking health information for their own health issue focused significantly more on the poster's symptoms, personal history of the disease, and description of the disease (P=.01, .001, and .02). Participants seeking for other people's health issue focused significantly more on cause of disease, disease terminology, and description of treatments and procedures (P=.01, .01, and .02). In contrast, participants browsing with no particular issue in mind focused significantly more on general health topics, hot topics, and rare health issues (P=.01, .01, and .01

The Criteria People Use in Relevance Decisions on Health Information: An Analysis of User Eye Movements When Browsing a Health Discussion Forum

Science.gov (United States)

Khoo, Christopher SG; Chang, Yun-Ke

2016-01-01

Background People are increasingly accessing health-related social media sites, such as health discussion forums, to post and read user-generated health information. It is important to know what criteria people use when deciding the relevance of information found on health social media websites, in different situations. Objective The study attempted to identify the relevance criteria that people use when browsing a health discussion forum, in 3 types of use contexts: when seeking information for their own health issue, when seeking for other people’s health issue, and when browsing without a particular health issue in mind. Methods A total of 58 study participants were self-assigned to 1 of the 3 use contexts or information needs and were asked to browse a health discussion forum, HealthBoards.com. In the analysis, browsing a discussion forum was divided into 2 stages: scanning a set of post surrogates (mainly post titles) in the summary result screen and reading a detailed post content (including comments by other users). An eye tracker system was used to capture participants’ eye movement behavior and the text they skim over and focus (ie, fixate) on during browsing. By analyzing the text that people’s eyes fixated on, the types of health information used in the relevance judgment were determined. Post-experiment interviews elicited participants’ comments on the relevance of the information and criteria used. Results It was found that participants seeking health information for their own health issue focused significantly more on the poster’s symptoms, personal history of the disease, and description of the disease (P=.01, .001, and .02). Participants seeking for other people’s health issue focused significantly more on cause of disease, disease terminology, and description of treatments and procedures (P=.01, .01, and .02). In contrast, participants browsing with no particular issue in mind focused significantly more on general health topics, hot

Steps towards the development of a certification system for sustainable bio-energy trade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewandowski, I.; Faaij, A.P.C.

2006-01-01

It is expected that international biomass trade will significantly increase in the coming years because of the possibly lower costs of imported biomass, the better supply security through diversification and the support by energy and climate policies of various countries. Concerns about potential negative effects of large-scale biomass production and export, like deforestation or the competition between food and biomass production, have led to the demand for sustainability criteria and certification systems that can control biomass trade. Because neither such criteria and indicator sets nor certification systems for sustainable biomass trade are yet available, the objective of this study is to generate information that can help to develop them. For these purposes, existing certification systems, sets of sustainability criteria or guidelines on environmental or social sound management of resources are analyzed with the purpose to learn about the requirements, contents and organizational set ups of a certification system for sustainable biomass trade. First, an inventory of existing systems was made; second, their structures were analyzed. Key finding from the analysis of internationally applied certification systems was that they are generally led by an international panel that represents all countries and stakeholders involved in the biomass production and trade activities. In third and fourth steps different approaches to formulate standards were described and a list of more than 100 social, economic, ecological and general criteria for sustainable biomass trade was extracted from the reviewed systems. Fifth, methods to formulate indicators, that make sustainability criteria measurable, and verifiers that are used to control the performance of indicators are described. It is recommended to further develop the criteria and indicator (C and I) sets for sustainable biomass trade by involvement of the relevant stakeholders (e.g. biomass producer and consumer) and the

Is UN Sustainable Development Goal 15 relevant to governing the intimate land-use/groundwater linkage?

Science.gov (United States)

Foster, Stephen

2018-06-01

The close link between land use and groundwater has long been recognised, but not widely translated into integrated policy and management practices. Common understanding is needed to facilitate cross-sector dialogue on governance. The process of land-use planning advocated by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UN-SDG) 15 for 2030, coupled with the launch of an independent global land-use monitoring initiative known as Land Matrix, appear to provide windows of opportunity for hydrogeologists to make specific proposals for the inclusion of groundwater protection needs in national land-use plans and the consideration of groundwater sustainability threats from major land deals and contracts. Ignoring the groundwater dimension in land-use management can result in high long-run costs for drinking-water supply and aquatic ecosystems. Thus, coordinated governance based on a coherent set of land-use sustainability criteria, aimed at enhancing both the food and groundwater harvest, is crucial for the future.

Is UN Sustainable Development Goal 15 relevant to governing the intimate land-use/groundwater linkage?

Science.gov (United States)

Foster, Stephen

2018-05-01

The close link between land use and groundwater has long been recognised, but not widely translated into integrated policy and management practices. Common understanding is needed to facilitate cross-sector dialogue on governance. The process of land-use planning advocated by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UN-SDG) 15 for 2030, coupled with the launch of an independent global land-use monitoring initiative known as Land Matrix, appear to provide windows of opportunity for hydrogeologists to make specific proposals for the inclusion of groundwater protection needs in national land-use plans and the consideration of groundwater sustainability threats from major land deals and contracts. Ignoring the groundwater dimension in land-use management can result in high long-run costs for drinking-water supply and aquatic ecosystems. Thus, coordinated governance based on a coherent set of land-use sustainability criteria, aimed at enhancing both the food and groundwater harvest, is crucial for the future.

Nuclear power in the frame of sustainable development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Constantin, M.

2003-01-01

Nuclear energy is treated taking into account the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic, environmental and social. Some nuclear energy relevant indicators are identified and used in the analysis. The economic efficiency is a relevant indicator insofar as market prices reflect the full costs for society of a given product or activity. For nuclear energy the economic criteria applicable to market competition and subsidies are used. The core indicators for the environmental dimension of sustainable development include criteria related to natural resource management, climate change, air and water quality, biodiversity and landscaping. The nuclear electricity generation chain does not release gases or particles that acidify rains, contribute to urban smog or deplete of the ozone layer. The human and social dimension comprises human capital in the form of knowledge, education and employment opportunities, human welfare, equity and participation, social capital in the form of effective institutions and voluntary associations, the rule of law, and social cohesion. From this point of view the nuclear energy is characterized by a net contribution to human and social capital and a challenge in terms of public acceptability and widely varying perceptions of the risks and benefits. (authors)

Hybrid multiple criteria decision-making methods

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zavadskas, Edmundas Kazimieras; Govindan, K.; Antucheviciene, Jurgita

2016-01-01

Formal decision-making methods can be used to help improve the overall sustainability of industries and organisations. Recently, there has been a great proliferation of works aggregating sustainability criteria by using diverse multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques. A number of revi...

Learning preferences and attitudes by multi-criteria overlap dominance and relevance functions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Franco de los Ríos, Camilo; Hougaard, Jens Leth; Nielsen, Kurt

2018-01-01

This paper proposes an interval-valued multi-criteria method for learning preferences and attitudes, identifying priorities with maximal robustness for decision support. The method is based on the notion of weighted overlap dominance, formalized by means of aggregation operators and interval......-valued fuzzy sets. The procedure handles uncertainty by estimating the likelihood of dominance among pairs of alternatives, inducing an attitude-based system of dominance and indifference relations. This system allows conflicting situations of indifference/dependency to arise, which need to be resolved...... for properly identifying preferences under any attitude. In order to do so, relevance functions are examined over the whole system of relations, obtaining a weak preference order together with its associated attitude and robustness index. As a result, the proposed method allows learning preferences...

Criteria for prioritization of HIV programs in Viet Nam: a discrete choice experiment.

Science.gov (United States)

Safarnejad, Ali; Pavlova, Milena; Son, Vo Hai; Phuong, Huynh Lan; Groot, Wim

2017-11-13

With the decline in funding for Viet Nam's response to the HIV epidemic, there is a need for evidence on the criteria to guide the prioritization of HIV programs. There is a gap in the research on the relative importance of multiple criteria for prioritizing a package of interventions. This study elicits preferences and the trade-offs made between different HIV programs by relevant stakeholders and decision-makers in Viet Nam. It also pays attention to how differences in social and professional characteristics of stakeholders and their agency affiliations shape preferences for HIV program criteria in Viet Nam. This study uses self-explicated ranking and discrete choice experiments to determine the relative importance of five criteria - effectiveness, feasibility, cost-effectiveness, rate of investment and prevention/treatment investment ratio - to stakeholders when they evaluate and select hypothetical HIV programs. The study includes 69 participants from government, civil society, and international development partners. Results of the discrete choice experiment show that overall the feasibility criterion is ranked highest in importance to the participants when choosing a hypothetical HIV program, followed by sustainability, treatment to prevention spending ratio, and effectiveness. The participant's work in management, programming, or decision-making has a significant effect on the importance of some criteria to the participant. In the self-explicated ranking effectiveness is the most important criterion and the cost-effectiveness criterion ranks low in importance across all groups. This study has shown that the preferred HIV program in Viet Nam is feasible, front-loaded for sustainability, has a higher proportion of investment on prevention, saves more lives and prevents more infections. Similarities in government and civil society rankings of criteria can create common grounds for future policy dialogues between stakeholders. Innovative models of planning should

Ranking the criteria for sustainability of community-based rural homestay programmes from the perspective of the operators

Science.gov (United States)

Ramli, Rohaini; Kasim, Maznah Mat; Ramli, Razamin; Kayat, Kalsom; Razak, Rafidah Abd

2015-12-01

Homestay is one of the government's products that promote the cultural tourism of country around the world. Homestay in Malaysia is not only thriving, but also its operation is moving gradually toward development of economic growth. Many homestays have been built throughout the country and this will give tourists an opportunity to enjoy the different and interesting environment in Malaysia. However, most of them receive less support from tourists and only certain numbers of homestays have operated consistently. This paper examines eleven sustainability criteria for homestay programme in Malaysia covering environmental, economic and sociocultural dimensions. The required data were collected through a survey of 246 homestay operators using a structured questionnaire. Data obtained was analyzed by utilizing percentage and arithmetic average. The findings revealed that the three most important criteria for homestay to remain sustained in this business area are ability and capacity, leadership and conservation of community resources. In order to improve the business performance of homestays in this country, homestay operators should focus on improving their ability and capacity and focus on enhancing their leadership skills.

Grassland Sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Deborah U. Potter; Paulette L. Ford

2004-01-01

In this chapter we discuss grassland sustainability in the Southwest, grassland management for sustainability, national and local criteria and indicators of sustainable grassland ecosystems, and monitoring for sustainability at various scales. Ecological sustainability is defined as: [T]he maintenance or restoration of the composition, structure, and processes of...

Impact assessment procedures for sustainable development: A complexity theory perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nooteboom, Sibout

2007-01-01

The author assumes that effective Impact Assessment procedures should somehow contribute to sustainable development. There is no widely agreed framework for evaluating such effectiveness. The author suggests that complexity theories may offer criteria. The relevant question is 'do Impact Assessment Procedures contribute to the 'requisite variety' of a social system for it to deal with changing circumstances?' Requisite variety theoretically relates to the capability of a system to deal with changes in its environment. The author reconstructs how thinking about achieving sustainable development has developed in a sequence of discourses in The Netherlands since the 1970s. Each new discourse built on the previous ones, and is supposed to have added to 'requisite variety'. The author asserts that Impact Assessment procedures may be a necessary component in such sequences and derives possible criteria for effectiveness

Multi-Criteria Analysis of Electricity Generation Scenarios for Sustainable Energy Planning in Pakistan

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Nayyar Hussain Mirjat

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The now over a decade-long electricity crisis in Pakistan has adversely affected the socio-economic development of the country. This situation is mainly due to a lack of sustainable energy planning and policy formulation. In this context, energy models can be of great help but only a handful of such efforts have been undertaken in Pakistan. Two key shortcomings pertaining to energy models lead to their low utilization in developing countries. First, the models do not effectively make decisions, but rather provide a set of alternatives based on modeling parameters; and secondly, the complexity of these models is often poorly understood by the decision makers. As such, in this study, the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP methodology of Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM has been used for the sustainability assessment of energy modeling results for long-term electricity planning. The four scenario alternatives developed in the energy modeling effort, Reference (REF, Renewable Energy Technologies (RET, Clean Coal Maximum (CCM and Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EEC, have been ranked using the Expert Choice® tool based on the AHP methodology. The AHP decision support framework of this study revealed the EEC scenario as the most favorable electricity generation scenario followed by the REF, RET and CCM scenarios. Besides that, this study proposes policy recommendations to undertake integrated energy modeling and decision analysis for sustainable energy planning in Pakistan.

A Multi-Criteria Goal Programming Model to Analyze the Sustainable Goals of India

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Srikant Gupta

2018-03-01

Full Text Available There is an ever-growing demand for sustainable development (SD plans, in order to foster a country’s economic growth by implementing suitable policies and initiative programs for the development of the primary, the secondary and the tertiary sectors. We present a multi-criteria modeling approach using the linear programming problem (LPP framework for a simultaneous optimization of these three sectors. Furthermore, we develop a fuzzy goal programming (FGP model that provides an optimal allocation of resources by achieving future goals on the gross domestic product (GDP, the electricity consumption (EC and the greenhouse gas (GHG emissions. Furthermore, a weighted model of FGP is presented to obtain varying solutions according to the priorities set by the decision-maker for achieving future goals of GDP growth, EC and GHG emissions. The presented models provide useful insight for decision-makers when implementing strategies across different sectors. As a model country, we chose India by the year 2030. A study of economic policies and sustainable development goals (SDGs for India is finally carried out.

Rethinking exergy efficiency in favor of exergy sustainability as a criteria for design. Paper no. IGEC-1-ID12

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seager, T.P.

2005-01-01

'Full text:' Engineering design in power generation or conversion has typically focused on minimizing exergy losses (entropy gains), or maximizing economic returns. Both entropy minimization and profit maximization are readily obtainable and acceptable objective criteria for design of thermodynamic processes. However, alternative criteria are imaginable. This research presents a framework for considering minimal environmental impact or maximum renewability as alternative design criteria. In the environmental case, fuel source is based upon an exergetic environmental metric called pollution potential. In the case of renewability, a life-cycle metric describing the replacement time frame of the fuel source is employed. When coupled, the two metrics together partially assess the overall sustainability of the design. (author)

Multi criteria analysis for sustainability assessments of electricity generation systems in a rural community in South Africa

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Amigun, B.; Mehlwana, M. [Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria (South Africa). Sustainable Energy Futures, Natural Resources and the Environment; Musango, J.K. [Department of Energy (DoE), Pretoria (South Africa); Brent, A.C. [Stellenbosch Univ. (South Africa). Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies

2011-07-01

One of the key challenges of the energy policy in South Africa is to ensure that rural areas have access to electricity. This is reflected in the key energy policy documents (the 1998 Energy White Paper and the 2002 Renewable Energy White Paper). Both these documents identified renewable energy resources as immediate alternatives to grid electricity in especially remote rural communities that are characterised by low population densities. Centralised energy generation and transmission is very costly and inefficient in these areas due to greater transmission and distribution losses. While the cost of electricity in South Africa is relatively cheaper, it is not accessible for many rural households. There are still over two million households in rural areas without access to electricity. This paper presents a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique to compare various electricity technologies (mainly renewables) in a specific rural community of South Africa using social, economic, environment and technical indicators. These technologies were than ranked against each indicator assuming that the high-level criteria have equal importance for sustainable development. It is demonstrated that energy from wind is the most sustainable, followed by photovoltaic, anaerobic digestion (biogas) and then gasification. A sensitivity analysis was also performed to verify the stability of the priority ranking. The outcome of this study will specifically assist energy planners and decision-makers to choose the best alternative from a range of technology alternatives in a milieu of conflicting and competing criteria. (orig.)

Alternative microbial methods: An overview and selection criteria.

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Jasson, Vicky; Jacxsens, Liesbeth; Luning, Pieternel; Rajkovic, Andreja; Uyttendaele, Mieke

2010-09-01

This study provides an overview and criteria for the selection of a method, other than the reference method, for microbial analysis of foods. In a first part an overview of the general characteristics of rapid methods available, both for enumeration and detection, is given with reference to relevant bibliography. Perspectives on future development and the potential of the rapid method for routine application in food diagnostics are discussed. As various alternative "rapid" methods in different formats are available on the market, it can be very difficult for a food business operator or for a control authority to select the most appropriate method which fits its purpose. Validation of a method by a third party, according to international accepted protocol based upon ISO 16140, may increase the confidence in the performance of a method. A list of at the moment validated methods for enumeration of both utility indicators (aerobic plate count) and hygiene indicators (Enterobacteriaceae, Escherichia coli, coagulase positive Staphylococcus) as well as for detection of the four major pathogens (Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, E. coli O157 and Campylobacter spp.) is included with reference to relevant websites to check for updates. In a second part of this study, selection criteria are introduced to underpin the choice of the appropriate method(s) for a defined application. The selection criteria link the definition of the context in which the user of the method functions - and thus the prospective use of the microbial test results - with the technical information on the method and its operational requirements and sustainability. The selection criteria can help the end user of the method to obtain a systematic insight into all relevant factors to be taken into account for selection of a method for microbial analysis. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Steps towards the development of a certification system for sustainable Bio-energy trade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faaij, A.; Lewandoski, I.

2004-07-01

It is expected that international biomass trade will significantly increase in the coming years because of the possibly lower costs of imported biomass, the better supply security through diversification and the support by energy and climate policies of various countries. Concerns about potential negative effects of large scale biomass production and export, like deforestation or the competition between food and biomass production, have led to the demand for sustainability criteria and certification systems that can control biomass trade. Because neither such criteria and indicator sets nor certification systems for sustainable biomass trade are yet available the objective of this study is to generate information that can help to develop them. For this purposes existing certification systems, sets of sustainability criteria or guidelines on environmental or social sound management of resources are analyzed with the purpose to learn about the requirements, contents and organizational set ups of a certification system for sustainable biomass trade. First an inventory of existing systems was made; next, their structures were analyzed. Key finding from the analysis of internationally applied certification systems was that they are generally led by an international panel that represents all countries and stakeholder involved in the biomass production and trade activities. In a third and fourth step different approaches to formulate standards were described and a list of more than 100 social, economic, ecological and general criteria for sustainable biomass trade was extracted from the reviewed systems. In step five, methods to formulate indicators, that make sustainability criteria measurable, and verification tools that are used to control the performance of indicators are described. It is recommended to further develop the criteria and indicator (C and I) sets for sustainable biomass trade by involvement of the relevant stakeholder (e.g. biomass producer and consumer

Basic criteria for a sustainable water management at the U.S.-México border: the case of ambos Nogales

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Luis Ernesto Cervera Gómez

2003-01-01

Full Text Available This article aims to analyze some basic criteria for a sustainable use of water in an international watershed shared by Mexico and the United States. The study area comprises the region of Ambos Nogales, which is located inside the Upper Santa Cruz River Basin. This portion of the watershed represents the main ecosystem and the main source of water for urban and rural populations located in this region. Following criteria of sustainability the authors revise and adapt to the case of Ambos Nogales, a set of guidelines proposed by the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security. These guidelines include the following elements: basic water requirements needed to maintain quality of life in the population and the health of ecosystems; water quality that meets certain minimum standards; human actions and their impact on long-term renewability of freshwater stocks and flows; collection of data concerning water resources, use and quality of water; institutional mechanisms to prevent and resolve conflicts; and a democratic process of water-planning and decision-making. These twin cities have a long history of cooperation and conflict linked to water resources, which makes available enough information to create a diagnostic about the water management inside a binational arena, and allowing to explore possibilities for a better water resources management under a sustainable regime and from an international perspective. Keywords: Sustainability, binational water management, ambos Nogales region.

Nuclear energy and sustainable development: contradiction or challenge?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laes, E.; Meskens, G.

2001-01-01

The concept of sustainable development is widely accepted as a principle for decision-making. However, it needs to be put into operation. Two classical approaches, cost-benefit analysis and multi-criteria analysis, are not suitable on account of the underlying rational choice theory and value system. Insights from these methods need to be complemented by the inherently pluralistic approach of cultural theory. This offers the prospects of the identification of all relevant criteria for the comparison of different energy vectors, broadening the perspective through an interdisciplinary working process, confronting uncertainty at a fundamental level, and the explicit integration of values and world views. (author)

Nuclear energy and sustainable development: contradiction or challenge?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Laes, E.; Meskens, G. [SCK.CEN, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre, Mol (Belgium)

2001-07-01

The concept of sustainable development is widely accepted as a principle for decision-making. However, it needs to be put into operation. Two classical approaches, cost-benefit analysis and multi-criteria analysis, are not suitable on account of the underlying rational choice theory and value system. Insights from these methods need to be complemented by the inherently pluralistic approach of cultural theory. This offers the prospects of the identification of all relevant criteria for the comparison of different energy vectors, broadening the perspective through an interdisciplinary working process, confronting uncertainty at a fundamental level, and the explicit integration of values and world views. (author)

Selection criteria for water disinfection techniques in agricultural practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Haute, Sam van; Sampers, Imca; Jacxsens, Liesbeth; Uyttendaele, Mieke

2015-01-01

This paper comprises a selection tool for water disinfection methods for fresh produce pre- and postharvest practices. A variety of water disinfection technologies is available on the market and no single technology is the best choice for all applications. It can be difficult for end users to choose the technology that is best fit for a specific application. Therefore, the different technologies were characterized in order to identify criteria that influence the suitability of a technology for pre- or postharvest applications. Introduced criteria were divided into three principal components: (i) criteria related to the technology and which relate to the disinfection efficiency, (ii) attention points for the management and proper operation, and (iii) necessities in order to sustain the operation with respect to the environment. The selection criteria may help the end user of the water disinfection technology to obtain a systematic insight into all relevant aspects to be considered for preliminary decision making on which technologies should be put to feasibility testing for water disinfection in pre- and postharvest practices of the fresh produce chain.

Identification of the Criteria for Decision Making of Cut-Away Peatland Reuse.

Science.gov (United States)

Padur, Kadi; Ilomets, Mati; Põder, Tõnis

2017-03-01

The total area of abandoned milled peatlands which need to be rehabilitated for sustainable land-use is nearly 10,000 ha in Estonia. According to the agreement between Estonia and the European Union, Estonia has to create suitable conditions for restoration of 2000 ha of abandoned cut-away peatlands by 2023. The decisions on rehabilitation of abandoned milled peatlands have so far relied on a limited knowledgebase with unestablished methodologies, thus the decision making process needs a significant improvement. This study aims to improve the methodology by identifying the criteria for optimal decision making to ensure sustainable land use planning after peat extraction. Therefore relevant environmental, social and economic restrictive and weighted comparison criteria, which assess reuse alternatives suitability for achieving the goal, is developed in cooperation with stakeholders. Restrictive criteria are arranged into a decision tree to help to determine the implementable reuse alternatives in various situations. Weighted comparison criteria are developed in cooperation with stakeholders to rank the reuse alternatives. The comparison criteria are organised hierarchically into a value tree. In the situation, where the selection of a suitable rehabilitation alternative for a specific milled peatland is going to be made, the weighted comparison criteria values need to be identified and the presented approach supports the optimal and transparent decision making. In addition to Estonian context the general results of the study could also be applied to a cut-away peatlands in other regions with need-based site-dependent modifications of criteria values and weights.

The Criteria and Principles of Sustainable Development in Terms of Changing the Quality of It

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Modiga Georgeta

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Along with responsible addressing for future generations, efficient use of natural resources, energy, materials, informational andtechnologic presumes, in the same time, intensifying the activity of durable economy for satisfying today’s requests of human society. Sustainabledevelopment provides a framework trough which the communities can use the resources efficiently, create efficient infrastructures, protect andimprove the quality of life and new technologies, create new activities, which will strengthen their economy. It can help at creating of healthycommunities that can sustain both our new generation, and those that follow. The sustainable development was the innovative concept ofdevelopment, after that, from the general and theoretic plan of development, to be founded the solutions of particularization of it on activitydomains, concomitantly with the appropriate measures of practice realization the principles of the concept. Efficient use of natural, energetic,material and informational resources suppose both the responsible approach for the future generations and the intensifying of the sustainableeconomy working for the actual requirements satisfaction of the society. The work treats a unified and coherent set of criteria and principlesspecifics for the strategic and integrated management of sustainable development in relation with increasing the efficiency of using naturalresources, energetic, material and informational.

TECHNOLOGY NEEDS ASSESSMENT (TNA FOR CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION IN AGRICULTURE SECTOR: CRITERIA, PRIORITIZING AND BARRIERS

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Kasdi Subagyono

2010-11-01

greenhouse gas emission, yet technologies need for have not been assessed. The technology needs assessment for the agriculture sector cover paddy field, perennial crops, peat soil, and livestock. The concern of the assessment is categorized into technology options, priority/key technology, barriers, and modalities. Selected technologies are based on criteria and priority options of technology needs. Data and information have been collected from related agencies, center, institutes and other relevant sources as well as through a workshop. Technology selection process for mitigation considered general criteria of reducing GHG emissions from crops and livestock, promoting resource conservation, promoting sustainable biodiversity, promoting green energy, sustaining food security, and promoting energy alternative; and specific criteria of promoting local technology for mitigation, sustaining site-specific germ plasms, promoting simple and cheap technology for poor farmers, promoting less emission crop varieties, substituting chemical with organic fertilizers/compost, and reduce CH4 emissions. Those criteria are scored into 4 classes, i.e. high value/high relevant/high impact (score: 5, Medium value/relevant/med impact (score: 3; Low value/less relevant/less impact (score: 1; nil – not relevant/no impact (score: 0. The assessment has come up with the results that priority technologies needed for mitigation are (a low methane emitter crops varieties, appropriate fertilizing, no tillage, and intermittent irrigation for paddy fields, (b appropriate slash and burn and bio-fuel for perennial crops, (c composting manure and biogas production for livestock, and (d overcoming slash and burn, avoiding over drain and maintaining soil moisture for peat soils.

Application of multi-criteria decision making to sustainable energy planning - a review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pohekar, S.D.; Ramachandram, M. [Birla Inst. of Technology and Science, Pilani (India)

2004-08-01

Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) techniques are gaining popularity in sustainable energy management. The techniques provide solutions to the problems involving conflicting and multiple objectives. Several methods based on weighted averages, priority setting, outranking, fuzzy principles and their combinations are employed for energy planning decisions. A review of more than 90 published papers is presented here to analyze the applicability of various methods discussed. A classification on application areas and the year of application is presented to highlight the trends. It is observed that Analytical Hierarchy Process is the most popular technique followed by outranking techniques PROMETHEE and ELECTRE. Validation of results with multiple methods, development of interactive decision support systems and application of fuzzy methods to tackle uncertainties in the data is observed in the published literature. (author)

On the contribution of labelled Certified Emission Reductions to sustainable development: A multi-criteria evaluation of CDM projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nussbaumer, Patrick

2009-01-01

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has a twofold objective, to offset greenhouse gas emissions and to contribute to sustainable development in the host country. The contribution to the latter objective seems marginal in most CDM activities. Also, CDM activities are unevenly spread among developing countries. In response to these concerns, initiatives with the objective of promoting CDM projects with broad local sustainable development dividends have been launched, such as the Gold Standard and the Community Development Carbon Fund. The Gold Standard label rewards best-practice CDM projects while the Community Development Carbon Fund focuses on promoting CDM activities in underprivileged communities. Using a multi-criteria method, the potential contribution to local sustainable development of those CDM projects with particular attributes is compared with ordinary ones. This evaluation suggests that labelled CDM activities tend to slightly outperform comparable projects, although not unequivocally

A framework to assess the value of application of formal criteria to check clinical relevance in RCTs as part of a benefit assessment strategy.

Science.gov (United States)

Vach, Werner; Gladstone, Beryl Primrose

2016-01-01

Recently, the topic of assessing clinical relevance on top of statistical significance in the analysis of randomized control trials (RCTs) has got increasing attention, in particular as part of benefit assessments. Several formal criteria to serve this purpose have been published. In this paper, we present a framework to assess the value of the application of such criteria. We propose to quantify the need for the assessment of clinical relevance by the actual risk of having accepted a benefit for a treatment with an irrelevant effect in a successful RCT. We then study how this risk can be controlled by two popular criteria based on comparing the effect estimate or the lower bound of the confidence interval with a given threshold. We further propose to quantify the impact of using formal criteria by considering the expected costs when specifying error-specific costs for each of the three possible types of errors: A benefit may be accepted for a treatment, which is actually inferior, or which is not inferior, but only implies an irrelevant improvement, or a benefit may be rejected for a treatment implying a relevant improvement. This way we can demonstrate that the impact depends on parameters which are typically not explicitly defined in the frame of benefit assessments. Depending on the values of these parameters, formal checks of clinical relevance may imply better decisions on average, but they may also imply more harm than good on average. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Criteria for prioritization of HIV programs in Viet Nam: a discrete choice experiment

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Ali Safarnejad

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background With the decline in funding for Viet Nam’s response to the HIV epidemic, there is a need for evidence on the criteria to guide the prioritization of HIV programs. There is a gap in the research on the relative importance of multiple criteria for prioritizing a package of interventions. This study elicits preferences and the trade-offs made between different HIV programs by relevant stakeholders and decision-makers in Viet Nam. It also pays attention to how differences in social and professional characteristics of stakeholders and their agency affiliations shape preferences for HIV program criteria in Viet Nam. Methods This study uses self-explicated ranking and discrete choice experiments to determine the relative importance of five criteria - effectiveness, feasibility, cost-effectiveness, rate of investment and prevention/treatment investment ratio - to stakeholders when they evaluate and select hypothetical HIV programs. The study includes 69 participants from government, civil society, and international development partners. Results Results of the discrete choice experiment show that overall the feasibility criterion is ranked highest in importance to the participants when choosing a hypothetical HIV program, followed by sustainability, treatment to prevention spending ratio, and effectiveness. The participant’s work in management, programming, or decision-making has a significant effect on the importance of some criteria to the participant. In the self-explicated ranking effectiveness is the most important criterion and the cost-effectiveness criterion ranks low in importance across all groups. Conclusions This study has shown that the preferred HIV program in Viet Nam is feasible, front-loaded for sustainability, has a higher proportion of investment on prevention, saves more lives and prevents more infections. Similarities in government and civil society rankings of criteria can create common grounds for future

Sustainable Enterprise Excellence and the Continuously Relevant and Responsible Organization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Edgeman, Rick; Bøllingtoft, Anne; Eskildsen, Jacob Kjær

2013-01-01

Innovation and sustainability are critical to the design, activities, results, and financial viability of organizations. These support one another, with “sustainable innovation” addressing economic sustainability, and “innovating for sustainability” addressing societal and environmental...... sustainability. Both sustainable innovation and innovation for sustainability have gained traction as partial means of confronting economic, environmental and societal challenges. Although garnering footholds is promising, the growth rate of these challenges has thus far exceeded trajectory, scale, and velocity...... issues surrounding enterprise innovation and sustainability efforts and capabilities. Innovation and sustainability of the necessary trajectory, scale, and velocity are strategically integrated to deliver what we refer to as innovating sustainability. This provides an accelerated means path toward...

Sustainability Tools Inventory - Initial Gaps Analysis | Science ...

Science.gov (United States)

This report identifies a suite of tools that address a comprehensive set of community sustainability concerns. The objective is to discover whether "gaps" exist in the tool suite’s analytic capabilities. These tools address activities that significantly influence resource consumption, waste generation, and hazard generation including air pollution and greenhouse gases. In addition, the tools have been evaluated using four screening criteria: relevance to community decision making, tools in an appropriate developmental stage, tools that may be transferrable to situations useful for communities, and tools with requiring skill levels appropriate to communities. This document provides an initial gap analysis in the area of community sustainability decision support tools. It provides a reference to communities for existing decision support tools, and a set of gaps for those wishing to develop additional needed tools to help communities to achieve sustainability. It contributes to SHC 1.61.4

Management of complex knowledge in planning for sustainable development: The use of multi-criteria decision aids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kain, Jaan-Henrik; Soederberg, Henriette

2008-01-01

The vision of sustainable development entails new and complex planning situations, confronting local policy makers with changing political conditions, different content in decision making and planning and new working methods. Moreover, the call for sustainable development has been a major driving force towards an increasingly multi-stakeholder planning system. This situation requires competence in working in, and managing, groups of actors, including not only experts and project owners but also other categories of stakeholders. Among other qualities, such competence requires a working strategy aimed at integrating various, and sometimes incommensurable, forms of knowledge to construct a relevant and valid knowledge base prior to decision making. Consequently, there lies great potential in methods that facilitate the evaluation of strategies for infrastructural development across multiple knowledge areas, so-called multi-criteria decision aids (MCDAs). In the present article, observations from six case studies are discussed, where the common denominators are infrastructural planning, multi-stakeholder participation and the use of MCDAs as interactive decision support. Three MCDAs are discussed - NAIADE, SCA and STRAD - with an emphasis on how they function in their procedural context. Accordingly, this is not an analysis of MCDA algorithms, of software programming aspects or of MCDAs as context-independent 'decision machines'-the focus is on MCDAs as actor systems, not as expert systems. The analysis is carried out across four main themes: (a) symmetrical management of different forms of knowledge; (b) management of heterogeneity, pluralism and conflict; (c) functionality and ease of use; and (d) transparency and trust. It shows that STRAD, by far, seems to be the most useful MCDA in interactive settings. NAIADE and SCA are roughly equivalent but have their strengths and weaknesses in different areas. Moreover, it was found that some MCDA issues require further

An experts survey on sustainability across twenty-seven extensive European systems of grassland management.

Science.gov (United States)

Caballero, Rafael; Gil, Angel; Fernández-Santos, Xavier

2008-08-01

European Large Scale Grazing Systems (LSGS) are at a crossroad with environmental, agronomic, and social factors interacting on their future viability. This research assesses the current environmental and socio-economic status of a wide range of European LSGS according to an agreed subset of sustainability criteria and indicators, which have been recognized by corresponding experts and privileged observers on their respective case-study system. A survey questionnaire was drafted containing five main criteria (pastoral use, environmental, economic, social, and market and development), with four conceptual-scored variables (indicators) within each criterion. Descriptive, analytical and clustering statistical techniques helped to draw a synthesis of the main result and to standardize sustainability variables across different biogeographical regions and management situations. The results show large multicollinearity among the 20 variables proposed. This dependence was revealed by the reduction to six main factor-components, which accounted for about 73% of the total variance in responses. Aggregation of point-score indicators across criteria to obtain a sustainability index can be of less policy relevance than responses to specific criteria or indicators. Affinity between case-study systems, as judged by collaborative-expert responses, was not related to biogeographical location, operating livestock sector, or population density in their areas. The results show larger weaknesses and constraints in the economic and social criteria than in the pastoral and environmental criteria, and the large heterogeneity of responses appears in the social criterion.

Is light water reactor technology sustainable?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rothwell, G.; Van der Zwaan, B.

2001-01-01

This paper proposes criteria for determining ''intermediate sustainability'' over a 500-year horizon. We apply these criteria to Light Water Reactor (LWR) technology and the LWR industry. We conclude that LWR technology does not violate intermediate sustainability criteria for (1) environmental externalities, (2) worker and public health and safety, or (3) accidental radioactive release. However, it does not meet criteria to (1) efficiently use depleted uranium and (2) avoid uranium enrichment technologies that can lead to nuclear weapons proliferation. Finally, current and future global demand for LWR technology might be below the minimum needed to sustain the current global LWR industry. (author)

Multiple-Criteria Decision Support for a Sustainable Supply Chain: Applications to the Fashion Industry

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Kim Leng Poh

2017-10-01

Full Text Available With increasing globalization and international cooperation, the importance of sustainability management across supply chains has received much attention by companies across various industries. Companies therefore strive to implement effective and integrated sustainable supply chain management initiatives to improve their operational and economic performance while also minimizing unnecessary damage to the environment and maintaining their social reputation and images. The paper presents an easy-to-use decision-support approach based on multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM methodologies that aim to help companies develop effective models for timely decision-making involving sustainable supply chain management strategies. The proposed approach can be used by practitioners to ultimately build a comprehensive Analytic Network Process model that will adequately capture and reveal all the interrelationships and interdependency among the elements in the problem, which is often a very difficult task. To facilitate and simplify this complex process, we propose that hierarchical thinking be used first to structure the essences of the problem capturing only the major issues, and an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP model be built. Users can learn from the modeling process and gain much insight into the problem. The AHP can then be extended to an Analytic Network Process (ANP model so as to capture the relationships and interdependencies among the elements. Our approach can reduce the sustainable expertise, effort and information that are often needed to build an ANP model from scratch. We apply our approach to the evaluation of sustainable supply chain management strategies for the fashion industry. Three main dimensions of sustainability—environmental, economic and social—are considered. Based on the literature, we identified four alternative supply chain management strategies. It was found that the Reverse Logistics alternative appears to be the

Sustainable Forest Management in a Mediterranean region: social preferences

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maroto, C.; Segura, M.; Ginestar, C.; Uriol, J.; Segura, B.

2013-07-01

Aim of study: There is a lack of empirical research that deals with sustainable forest management in Mediterranean regions, among the most vulnerable ecosystems. The main purpose of this work is to define the strategic criteria and objectives for sustainable forest management and aggregate the preferences of stake holders in a Mediterranean region, using AHP and Goal Programming. Area of study: Valencian Community (Spain). Material and Methods: Firstly, we identified forest stake holders and structured a decision hierarchy. Then a workshop was carried out to test and validate the proposed criteria and objectives, as well as a survey to determine social preferences. Secondly, another survey was conducted amongst experts to prioritize action plans. Main results: Stake holders preferences gave the greatest importance to the environmental criteria (hydrological regulation and erosion, climate change mitigation and biodiversity) with an average weight of 40%. Social criteria (employment, recreational activities and landscape) had a weight of 38% and 22% the economic criteria case (wood, hunting and fishing, livestock, renewable energies, rural tourism and mining). The results showed that new products and services such as tourism, renewable energies, landscape, hydrological regulation and erosion control, biodiversity or climate change mitigation are very relevant objectives. We also prioritized action plans comparing them with the distribution of the administration budget. Research highlights: The environmental and social criteria are much more important than the economic ones in the regional planning of the Mediterranean forest, regardless of the method used to aggregate the social preferences and if the forest is public or private. (Author)

Is light water reactor technology sustainable?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rothwell, G. [Stanford Univ., Dept. of Economics, CA (United States); Van der Zwaan, B. [Vrije Univ., Amsterdam, Inst. for Environmental Studies (Netherlands)

2001-07-01

This paper proposes criteria for determining ''intermediate sustainability'' over a 500-year horizon. We apply these criteria to Light Water Reactor (LWR) technology and the LWR industry. We conclude that LWR technology does not violate intermediate sustainability criteria for (1) environmental externalities, (2) worker and public health and safety, or (3) accidental radioactive release. However, it does not meet criteria to (1) efficiently use depleted uranium and (2) avoid uranium enrichment technologies that can lead to nuclear weapons proliferation. Finally, current and future global demand for LWR technology might be below the minimum needed to sustain the current global LWR industry. (author)

Planning, architecture, seismic, construction and energy-related criteria for sustainable spatial development in the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve area

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vasile Meiţă

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve represents a complex of ecosystems embedding a biome that had been included on UNESCO World Heritage list due to its global environmental importance. The outstanding natural diversity, including ecosystems, habitats and species situated at the top of European and International conservation lists, is mixed with an equally rich and important cultural (ethnic and religious diversity of the human communities inhabiting the area. According to the guidelines of the Man and the Biosphere Programme of UNESCO, the biosphere reserves including human settlements should be managed such that they could constitute an example for what sustainable development means. Starting from the spatial dimension added to the traditional socioeconomic, ecological and cultural pillars of sustainable development, the paper examines planning, architecture, seismic, construction and energy-related criteria that could substantiate a sustainable development model applicable to the Danube Delta, and counter the effects of clime change in the area. The results suggest that the traditional practices of the inhabitants could offer sustainable solutions and help preserving the natural and cultural diversity of the region.

Sustainable Forest Management in a Mediterranean region: Social preferences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Maroto Álvarez

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Aim of study: There is a lack of empirical research that deals with sustainable forest management in Mediterranean regions, among the most vulnerable ecosystems. The main purpose of this work is to define the strategic criteria and objectives for sustainable forest management and aggregate the preferences of stakeholders in a Mediterranean region, using AHP and Goal Programming.Area of study: Valencian Community (Spain.Material and Methods: Firstly, we identified forest stakeholders and structured a decision hierarchy. Then a workshop was carried out to test and validate the proposed criteria and objectives, as well as a survey to determine social preferences. Secondly, another survey was conducted amongst experts to prioritize action plans.Main results: Stakeholders’ preferences gave the greatest importance to the environmental criteria (hydrological regulation and erosion, climate change mitigation and biodiversity with an average weight of 40%.  Social criteria (employment, recreational activities and landscape had a weight of 38% and 22% the economic criteria case (wood, hunting and fishing, livestock, renewable energies, rural tourism and mining. The results showed that new products and services such as tourism, renewable energies, landscape, hydrological regulation and erosion control, biodiversity or climate change mitigation are very relevant objectives. We also prioritized action plans comparing them with the distribution of the administration budget.Research highlights: The environmental and social criteria are much more important than the economic ones in the regional planning of the Mediterranean forest, regardless of the method used to aggregate the social preferences and if the forest is public or private.Key words: Multiple Criteria Decision Making; Goal Programming; Analytic Hierarchy Process; Preferences Aggregation.

[Prioritization and Consentation of Criteria for the Appraisal, Funding and Evaluation of Projects from the German Innovationsfonds: A multi-perspective Delphi study].

Science.gov (United States)

Schmitt, J; Petzold, T; Nellessen-Martens, G; Pfaff, H

2015-09-01

The German Innovationsfonds provides the chance for evidence-based developments of the German healthcare system. Prioritization of recommendations for an effective, efficient, fair, transparent, and sustainable granting of funds through a transparent, evidence-driven consensus-process involving all relevant stakeholder groups. Representatives from health and research policy, payers, patient representatives, healthcare providers, and scientists were invited to nominate participants for an electronic 3 round iterative Delphi-study to prioritize the thematic focus, requirements concerning study methods, the team of applicants, evaluation, utilization of study results, and for the selection of reviewers. Criteria considered as relevant by at least 60% of the panel (consensus definition) in the first 2 Delphi rounds were rated as facultative, preferable, or obligatory criteria for project funding. Data were analyzed descriptively. ( Datenbank Versorgungsforschung Deutschland VfD_15_003561). All invited stakeholder groups except payers participated. 34 (85%) of 40 nominated representatives participated in the Delphi-study. A total of 64 criteria were consented as relevant for project review and funding concerning the thematic focus (n=28), methodological requirements (n=13), requirements for applicants (n=4), for the evaluation (n=4), utilization (n=6), and selection of peer reviewers (n=9). It is the collective responsibility of all stakeholders to spend the designated funds as efficient and sustainable as possible. The consented recommendations shall serve decision makers as a resource for the granting of funds and the evaluation of the Innovationsfonds. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Balancing relevance criteria through multi-objective optimization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Doorn, J.; Odijk, D.; Roijers, D.M.; de Rijke, M.

2016-01-01

Offline evaluation of information retrieval systems typically focuses on a single effectiveness measure that models the utility for a typical user. Such a measure usually combines a behavior-based rank discount with a notion of document utility that captures the single relevance criterion of

Optimal Siting of Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles Based on Fuzzy Delphi and Hybrid Multi-Criteria Decision Making Approaches from an Extended Sustainability Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huiru Zhao

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Optimal siting of electric vehicle charging stations (EVCSs is crucial to the sustainable development of electric vehicle systems. Considering the defects of previous heuristic optimization models in tackling subjective factors, this paper employs a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM framework to address the issue of EVCS siting. The initial criteria for optimal EVCS siting are selected from extended sustainability theory, and the vital sub-criteria are further determined by using a fuzzy Delphi method (FDM, which consists of four pillars: economy, society, environment and technology perspectives. To tolerate vagueness and ambiguity of subjective factors and human judgment, a fuzzy Grey relation analysis (GRA-VIKOR method is employed to determine the optimal EVCS site, which also improves the conventional aggregating function of fuzzy Vlsekriterijumska Optimizacijia I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR. Moreover, to integrate the subjective opinions as well as objective information, experts’ ratings and Shannon entropy method are employed to determine combination weights. Then, the applicability of proposed framework is demonstrated by an empirical study of five EVCS site alternatives in Tianjin. The results show that A3 is selected as the optimal site for EVCS, and sub-criteria affiliated with environment obtain much more attentions than that of other sub-criteria. Moreover, sensitivity analysis indicates the selection results remains stable no matter how sub-criteria weights are changed, which verifies the robustness and effectiveness of proposed model and evaluation results. This study provides a comprehensive and effective method for optimal siting of EVCS and also innovates the weights determination and distance calculation for conventional fuzzy VIKOR.

Biofuels Sustainability Criteria. Relevant issues to the proposed Directive on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources. (COM(2008) 30 final). Consolidated study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Johnson, Francis X.; Roman, Mikael (Stockholm Environment Institute, SE-10691 Stockholm (Sweden)) (and others)

2008-06-15

The role envisioned for liquid biofuels for transport has come under increased scrutiny in the past year or two, due to the potential social and environmental impacts associated with scaling up biofuels production and use from its low level - currently representing about 1% of transport fuels globally. The proposed EU Directive setting a target of 10% biofuels in transport sector by 2020 has therefore raised a number of concerns. The concerns about sustainability are addressed within the proposed Directive through criteria related mainly to GHG emissions, but also to biodiversity and other environmental impacts. The use of first generation biofuels in temperate climates is land-intensive and inefficient in technical terms, whereas first generation biofuels in tropical climates and second generation biofuels in general - offer a much more effective use of land resources. The use of GHG reduction criteria can provide incentives for producers to rely on the most productive feedstocks when sourcing biofuels for the EU market, which will often mean import of biofuels. A threshold of 50% or more would tend to eliminate many of the first generation biofuels produced in temperate climates. Member States should be encouraged to link financial incentives to the GHG reduction capabilities. Moreover, such incentives could be better linked to development cooperation in the case of imports, so as to insure that Least Developed Countries (i.e. in Africa) can gain access to larger markets rather than only the major producers such as Brazil. The calculation of GHG emissions associated with biofuels is complicated by the addition of factors associated with land use change, since the GHG impacts of land use change are beset by uncertainty both in physical terms as well as in the attribution of particular changes to production of particular biofuels. A further complication is introduced when indirect land use changes are incorporated, since these occur through combinations of market

Impact of an increasing supply of bioenergy sources on the sustainability of agricul-tural enterprises, evaluated with the Criteria System for Sustainable Agriculture (CSSA); Folgenabschaetzung einer zunehmenden Bereitstellung von Bioenergietraegern auf die Nachhaltigkeit landwirtschaftlicher Unternehmen, bewertet mit dem Kriteriensystem Nachhaltige Landwirtschaft (KSNL)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Breitschuh, Thorsten; Eckert, Hans; Maier, Uta; Gernand, Ulrich; Mueller, Anja [Thueringer Landesanstalt fuer Landwirtschaft (TLL), Jena (Germany); Verband fuer Agrarforschung und Bildung Thueringen e.V., Jena (Germany)

2009-07-15

The report investigates how an increasing supply of bioenergy sources affects the sustainability situation of farms at different sites and with different structures. The ''Criteria System for Sustainable Agriculture'' (CSSA) was used as analysis and assessment criteria system. The CSSA is based on 34 selected criteria in the field of economy, environment and social conditions. Each criterion indicates a defined pres-sure or state and evaluates the results on the basis of defined tolerance ranges. In the study short-term scenarios of an increasing provision of bioenergy based on real data from agricultural farms were evaluated with the CSSA system. Altogether, 30 scenarios were analysed. As a result the most sustainable scenario for the supply of bioenergy was identified for each farm considered. Using this approach, the most important adaptation reactions of agricultural enterprises were determined and evaluated. Potential applications of the explained procedure are the ex-ante simulation and ex- ante evaluation of agricultural processes and the creation and evaluation of sup-port programmes. (orig.)

The sustainability, a relevant approach for defining the road-map for future nuclear fuel cycles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Poinssot, C.; Bourg, S.; Grandjean, S. [CEA Centre de Macoule, Nuclear Energy Division, Radiochemistry and Processes Department, BP11, F-30207 Bagnols sur Ceze (France); Boullis, B. [CEA Centre de Saclay, Nuclear Energy Division, Innovation and Industrial Support Division, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France)

2016-07-01

Developing sustainable energy systems is a key driver for mitigating the global climate change in the framework of COP21 conference commitments. Nuclear energy is strongly concerned by such a perspective and we have developed a thorough approach to define relevant objectives to fulfill in order to meet such a requirement. On this basis nuclear energy systems need to be improved to increase the preservation of uranium natural resource and reduce their environmental footprints. It requires in both cases increasing energetic material recycling based first on the current LWR reactor fleet, in the future on SFR which would allow a much more efficient use of neutrons to consume uranium and produce energy. Furthermore, such reactor type would also allow minor actinides recycling, which would significantly reduce the ultimate waste toxicity and lifetime, and the repository footprint. In this perspective, recycling the actinides is clearly the cornerstone of any sustainable nuclear fuel cycle.

The sustainability, a relevant approach for defining the road-map for future nuclear fuel cycles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poinssot, C.; Bourg, S.; Grandjean, S.; Boullis, B.

2016-01-01

Developing sustainable energy systems is a key driver for mitigating the global climate change in the framework of COP21 conference commitments. Nuclear energy is strongly concerned by such a perspective and we have developed a thorough approach to define relevant objectives to fulfill in order to meet such a requirement. On this basis nuclear energy systems need to be improved to increase the preservation of uranium natural resource and reduce their environmental footprints. It requires in both cases increasing energetic material recycling based first on the current LWR reactor fleet, in the future on SFR which would allow a much more efficient use of neutrons to consume uranium and produce energy. Furthermore, such reactor type would also allow minor actinides recycling, which would significantly reduce the ultimate waste toxicity and lifetime, and the repository footprint. In this perspective, recycling the actinides is clearly the cornerstone of any sustainable nuclear fuel cycle

Biofuels and sustainability.

Science.gov (United States)

Solomon, Barry D

2010-01-01

Interest in liquid biofuels production and use has increased worldwide as part of government policies to address the growing scarcity and riskiness of petroleum use, and, at least in theory, to help mitigate adverse global climate change. The existing biofuels markets are dominated by U.S. ethanol production based on cornstarch, Brazilian ethanol production based on sugarcane, and European biodiesel production based on rapeseed oil. Other promising efforts have included programs to shift toward the production and use of biofuels based on residues and waste materials from the agricultural and forestry sectors, and perennial grasses, such as switchgrass and miscanthus--so-called cellulosic ethanol. This article reviews these efforts and the recent literature in the context of ecological economics and sustainability science. Several common dimensions for sustainable biofuels are discussed: scale (resource assessment, land availability, and land use practices); efficiency (economic and energy); equity (geographic distribution of resources and the "food versus fuel" debate); socio-economic issues; and environmental effects and emissions. Recent proposals have been made for the development of sustainable biofuels criteria, culminating in standards released in Sweden in 2008 and a draft report from the international Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels. These criteria hold promise for accelerating a shift away from unsustainable biofuels based on grain, such as corn, and toward possible sustainable feedstock and production practices that may be able to meet a variety of social, economic, and environmental sustainability criteria.

INTEGRATED APPROACH TO MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION MAKING FOR SUSTAINABLE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tarun Soota

2014-12-01

Full Text Available New product developments are a moving target which become increasing complex due to a number of factors some known and others unknown. NPD is an interdisciplinary activity that transforms a market opportunity and technological concept to a successful product. The key steps towards creating a winning product must include a robust product strategy taking into consideration the positioning options, its viability and adopting a flexible development approach. The lack of structure to the allocation of product development resources causes customer expectations to get lost, in the complexity of the product development process. The replication of strategy and methods for a successful product may not guarantee success. Fuzzy Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA methods namely the analytic hierarchy process, analytic network process, technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solutions (TOPSIS and Elimination and choice translating reality (ELECTRE offer valuable tools to handle complex situations incorporating the imprecise and uncertain information. As each method has its strengths it may be proper to explore and adapt different techniques according to product for sustainable development. Company should be able to put together the combination of features and value that unlocks a profitable new market.

Exploring the relative importance of “Reward” and “Reflection” in food orientations : Relevance for healthier and more sustainable diets

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Boer, Joop; Schösler, Hanna; Aiking, H.

2018-01-01

This paper develops a new perspective on the relevance of different food orientations for healthier and more sustainable diets. Consumers’ food orientations vary in the relative importance of sensory- and reward-related factors (hereafter called Reward) or beliefs and values that are causes for

A Systematic Review of the Measurement of Sustainable Diets123

Science.gov (United States)

Hoey, Lesli; Blesh, Jennifer; Miller, Laura; Green, Ashley; Shapiro, Lilly Fink

2016-01-01

Sustainability has become an integral consideration of the dietary guidelines of many countries in recent decades. However, a lack of clear metrics and a shared approach to measuring the multiple components of sustainable diets has hindered progress toward generating the evidence needed to ensure the credibility of new guidelines. We performed a systematic literature review of empirical research studies on sustainable diets to identify the components of sustainability that were measured and the methods applied to do so. Two independent reviewers systematically searched 30 databases and other sources with the use of a uniform set of search terms and a priori exclusion criteria. In total, 113 empirical studies were included in the final review. Nearly all of the studies were focused on high-income countries. Although there was substantial heterogeneity in the components of sustainability measured, the estimated greenhouse gas emissions (GHGEs) of various dietary patterns were by far most commonly measured (n = 71 studies). Estimating the GHGEs of foods through various stages of production, use, and recycling with the use of the Life Cycle Assessment approach was the most common method applied to measure the environmental impacts of diets (n = 49 studies). Many components of sustainable diets identified in existing conceptual frameworks are disproportionately underrepresented in the empirical literature, as are studies that examine consumer demand for sustainable dietary alternatives. The emphasis in the literature on high-income countries also overlooks the production and dietary alternatives most relevant to low- and middle-income countries. We propose 3 methodological and measurement approaches that would both improve the global relevance of our understanding of sustainable diets and attend more completely to the existing multidimensional, multiscale conceptual framing of sustainable diets. PMID:27422501

Sustainable seafood consumption in action: Relevant behaviours and their predictors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Richter, Isabel; Thøgersen, John; Klöckner, Christian A.

2017-01-01

The current dominance of unsustainable seafood consumption threatens future food security. To preserve marine food resources over the long term more sustainable ways to consume seafood have to be promoted. This paper discusses consumer actions that represent the sustainable consumption of seafood...... in Norway. The predictive power of intention, social norms, trust and general pro-environmental attitudes are theoretically discussed and statistically tested in regards to (a) using sustainable seafood labels, and (b) using sustainable seafood guides. Data analysis (N=1190 Norwegian adults) shows that both...... behaviors are related to social norms, intentions and trust. This pattern also turns out to be stable over time as a second data collection on the same sample four weeks later shows. Causal relationships have been identified by applying a cross-lagged panel analysis between intentions and sustainable...

Approaches for assessing sustainable remediation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Søndergaard, Gitte Lemming; Binning, Philip John; Bjerg, Poul Løgstrup

Sustainable remediation seeks to reduce direct contaminant point source impacts on the environment, while minimizing the indirect cost of remediation to the environment, society and economy. This paper presents an overview of available approaches for assessing the sustainability of alternative...... remediation strategies for a contaminated site. Most approaches use multi-criteria assessment methods (MCA) to structure a decision support process. Different combinations of environmental, social and economic criteria are employed, and are assessed either in qualitative or quantitative forms with various...... tools such as life cycle assessment and cost benefit analysis. Stakeholder involvement, which is a key component of sustainable remediation, is conducted in various ways. Some approaches involve stakeholders directly in the evaluation or weighting of criteria, whereas other approaches only indirectly...

Incorporating sustainable development principles in the governance of Dutch domestic tourism. The relevance of boundary judgments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bressers, H.; Dinica, V.

2008-08-14

survey revealed that among such 'insiders' the support for sustainable tourism governance and policies was generally much larger than the positions their organizations take in practice until now. Large majorities prove in favor of some form of national coordination and of the application of national policy instruments to guide subnational policy and planning, though most prefer rather weak instruments. We investigate what backgrounds explain to what extent such opinions are held. On the one hand we discern the growth and protection orientations. These are linked to the concern for environmental and nature impacts of tourism and the desire to capture a share of international tourism growth. These orientations have a clear link with the nature of the organizations the respondents are part of. On the other hand we investigate the relation with the perception of the domain of 'sustainable tourism'. What policy subfields are regarded as relevant for 'sustainable tourism'? Interpretation of what sustainable tourism is all about is an aspect of problem perception that in principle can frame a lot of other relevant perceptions and opinions. On the issue of these so-called 'boundary judgments' we see substantial differences among the respondents too. Divergent boundary judgments can impede any attempt to develop more coordinated governance and more coherent policies. The two most important dimensions (or 'factors') among the boundary judgments are again one that loads predominantly on growth related aspects and one that loads predominantly on protection related aspects. While there are correlations between the boundary judgments and the orientations, they are far from identical. Both orientations and boundary judgments seem to contribute to the explanation of opinions on governance of the tourism sector and instruments for sustainable tourism. This provides an interesting extra opportunity to influence the debate. While there is a

Sustainable building organisation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schmid, P.

1998-01-01

Sustainable Development and Sustainable Building is mainly a question of (human) environmentally-conscious Organisation and Management Criteria are needed in order to capture the best practices in the field. Therefore we developed modells and methods, which help to choose the most adequate

Environmental quality and sustainability in the province of Reggio Emilia (Italy): using multi-criteria analysis to assess and compare municipal performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferrarini, A; Bodini, A; Becchi, M

2001-10-01

Sustainability has become an increasingly significant issue, although practical implementation remains difficult. In Italy, promoting sustainability is particularly problematic at the provincial and municipal level, where the lack of resources and expertise, and the effects of uncoordinated policies make it difficult to achieve minimum requirements to make sustainable policies operational. One essential requirement is knowledge of baseline environmental conditions in each municipality. In the province of Reggio Emilia (Northern Italy) Legambiente, an environmental association, launched an initiative called 'Ecopaese' aimed at gathering data on environmental conditions and stimulating local administrations to implement sustainable policies. To this end, the state of the environment in the 45 municipalities within the province has been monitored using 25 indicators. Their values have been used to rank the municipalities by multiple criteria analysis (MCA). The results of this comparative approach provide information about the level of sustainability attained in the province as a whole as well as in the single municipalities. It is hoped that it will provide the basis for direct action plans at the provincial level by identifying areas for remedial action, as recommended by Agenda 21, the declaration adopted by many countries attending the Rio Summit in 1992.

Sustainability in product development: a proposal for classification of approaches

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrícia Flores Magnago

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The product development is a process that addresses sustainability issues inside companies. Many approaches have been discussed in academy concerning sustainability, as Natural Capitalism, Design for Environment (DfE and Life Cycle Analysis (LCA, but a question arises: which is indicated for what circumstance? This article aim is the proposition of a classification, based on a literature review, for 15 of these approaches. The criteria were: (i approach nature, (ii organization level, (iii integration level in Product Development Process (PDP, and (iv approach relevance for sustainability dimensions. Common terms allowed the establishment of connections among the approaches. As a result the researchers concluded that, despite they come from distinct knowledge areas they are not mutually excludent, on the contrary, the approaches may be used in a complementary way by managers. The combined use of complementary approaches is finally suggested in the paper.

Guidance to the regulations on sustainability criteria for biofuels and bioliquids Version 3.0; Vaegledning till regelverket om haallbarhetskriterier foer biodrivmedel och flytande biobraenslen Version 3.0

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-07-01

Swedish Energy Agency is the regulatory authority for enforcement of the Act (2010:598) concerning sustainability criteria for biofuels and bioliquids. The Act implements into Swedish law provisions on sustainability criteria in the so-called renewable-directive. Authority is based on the authorization issued regulations, but there are many details that are not regulated by statute. Many of the interested companies contacts the authority and want to know more about what will apply in various respects. The Agency has therefore chosen, in this guide, to introduce more detailed explanations of the rules that exist in law and regulation. It is thus not a question of legally binding rules. This third version of the guidance has been supplemented with sections on reporting. The Agency will gradually expand the guide to include more parts of the acquis. The guidance has been produced by the unit for sustainable fuels. Before the content was fixed definitively the guidance has been circulated to NGOs and government.

Evaluation Criteria for Implementation of a Sustainable Sanitation and Wastewater Treatment System at Jiuzhaigou National Park, Sichuan Province, China

Science.gov (United States)

Gaulke, Linda S.; Weiyang, Xiao; Scanlon, Andrew; Henck, Amanda; Hinckley, Tom

2010-01-01

The administration of Jiuzhaigou National Park in Sichuan Province, China, is in the process of considering a range of upgrades to their sanitation and wastewater treatment systems. Their case history involves an ongoing series of engineering design flaws and management failures. The administration of the Park identified sustainability, environmental protection, and education goals for their sanitation and wastewater treatment system. To meet the goal of sustainability, environmental and economic concerns of the Park’s administration had to be balanced with socio-cultural needs. An advanced reconnaissance method was developed that identified reasons for previous failures, conducted stakeholder analysis and interviews, determined evaluation criteria, and introduced innovative alternatives with records of successful global implementations. This evaluation also helped the Park to better define their goals . To prevent future failures, the administration of the Park must commit to a balanced and thorough evaluation process for selection of a final alternative and institute effective long-term management and monitoring of systems. In addition, to meet goals and achieve energy efficient, cost-effective use of resources, the Park must shift their thinking from one of waste disposal to resource recovery. The method and criteria developed for this case study provides a framework to aid in the successful implementation of sanitation projects in both underdeveloped and developed areas of the world, incorporating socio-cultural values and resource recovery for a complex group of stakeholders.

Identification of Appropriate Biodiversity Indicators for Ecologically Sustainable Forest Management at National Level

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tolunay, A.; Akyol, A.

2015-01-01

Sustainable forest management (SFM) practices have started in 1999 in Turkey. A set of criteria and indicators, composed by the General Directorate of Forestry (GDF) on the basis of the criteria and indicators defined in the Pan-European and Near Eastern Processes, was enquired via a survey to serve this purpose. GDF tested the sustainability under the following titles: Situation of forest resources, biodiversity, health and vitality, production capacity and functions, protective functions and environmental and socio-economic functions. There were problems in identification and definition of SFM criteria and indicators. Biological diversity indicators has been selected, described and developed in this study. At this phase, the survey was completed upon receiving the views of the scientists interested in different dimensions of this topic as well as the views of other interest groups affiliated with forestry. As a result, there were 13 indicators that may be used as the basis of a regional or forest management unit level for the purpose of protecting, developing and maintaining biodiversity. Furthermore, these indicators are instruments, which may easily be used by relevant decision-makers in the management of forest resources in a more effective and productive manner. (author)

Sustainable nuclear energy dilemma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Afgan Naim H.

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Sustainable energy development implies the need for the emerging potential energy sources which are not producing adverse effect to the environment. In this respect nuclear energy has gained the complimentary favor to be considered as the potential energy source without degradation of the environment. The sustainability evaluation of the nuclear energy systems has required the special attention to the criteria for the assessment of nuclear energy system before we can make firm justification of the sustainability of nuclear energy systems. In order to demonstrate the sustainability assessment of nuclear energy system this exercise has been devoted to the potential options of nuclear energy development, namely: short term option, medium term option, long term option and classical thermal system option. Criteria with following indicators are introduced in this analysis: nuclear indicator, economic indicator, environment indicator, social indicator... The Sustainability Index is used as the merit for the priority assessment among options under consideration.

Life cycle tools combined with multi-criteria and participatory methods for agricultural sustainability: Insights from a systematic and critical review.

Science.gov (United States)

De Luca, Anna Irene; Iofrida, Nathalie; Leskinen, Pekka; Stillitano, Teodora; Falcone, Giacomo; Strano, Alfio; Gulisano, Giovanni

2017-10-01

Life cycle (LC) methodologies have attracted a great interest in agricultural sustainability assessments, even if, at the same time, they have sometimes been criticized for making unrealistic assumptions and subjective choices. To cope with these weaknesses, Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) and/or participatory methods can be used to balance and integrate different sustainability dimensions. The purpose of this study is to highlight how life cycle approaches were combined with MCDA and participatory methods to address agricultural sustainability in the published scientific literature. A systematic and critical review was developed, highlighting the following features: which multi-criterial and/or participatory methods have been associated with LC tools; how they have been integrated or complemented (methodological relationships); the intensity of the involvement of stakeholders (degree of participation); and which synergies have been achieved by combining the methods. The main typology of integration was represented by multi-criterial frameworks integrating LC evaluations. LC tools can provide MCDA studies with local and global information on how to reduce negative impacts and avoid burden shifts, while MCDA methods can help LC practitioners deal with subjective assumptions in an objective way, to take into consideration actors' values and to overcome trade-offs among the different dimensions of sustainability. Considerations concerning the further development of Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) have been identified as well. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Assessment Criteria for Competency-Based Education: A Study in Nursing Education

Science.gov (United States)

Fastré, Greet M. J.; van der Klink, Marcel R.; Amsing-Smit, Pauline; van Merriënboer, Jeroen J.

2014-01-01

This study examined the effects of type of assessment criteria (performance-based vs. competency-based), the relevance of assessment criteria (relevant criteria vs. all criteria), and their interaction on secondary vocational education students' performance and assessment skills. Students on three programmes in the domain of nursing and care…

Development of statewide geriatric patients trauma triage criteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Werman, Howard A; Erskine, Timothy; Caterino, Jeffrey; Riebe, Jane F; Valasek, Tricia

2011-06-01

The geriatric population is unique in the type of traumatic injuries sustained, physiological responses to those injuries, and an overall higher mortality when compared to younger adults. No published, evidence-based, geriatric-specific field destination criteria exist as part of a statewide trauma system. The Trauma Committee of the Ohio Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Board sought to develop specific criteria for geriatric trauma victims. A literature search was conducted for all relevant literature to determine potential, geriatric-specific, field-destination criteria. Data from the Ohio Trauma Registry were used to compare elderly patients, defined as age >70 years, to all patients between the ages of 16 to 69 years with regards to mortality risk in the following areas: (1) Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score; (2) systolic blood pressure (SBP); (3) falls associated with head, chest, abdominal or spinal injury; (4) mechanism of injury; (5) involvement of more than one body system as defined in the Barell matrix; and (6) co-morbidities and motor vehicle collision with one or more long bone fracture. For GCS score and SBP, those cut-off points with equal or greater risk of mortality as compared to current values were chosen as proposed triage criteria. For other measures, any criterion demonstrating a statistically significant increase in mortality risk was included in the proposed criteria. The following criteria were identified as geriatric-specific criteria: (1) GCS score trauma; (2) SBP trauma. In addition, these data suggested that elderly patients with specific co-morbidities be given strong consideration for evaluation in a trauma center. The state of Ohio is the first state to develop evidence-based geriatric-specific field-destination criteria using data from its state-mandated trauma registry. Further analysis of these criteria will help determine their effects on over-triage and under-triage of geriatric victims of traumatic injuries and the impact on the

Sustainable development and justification in radiation protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Jager, D.; Blok, K.

1992-04-01

The advantages and disadvantages of ionizing radiation must be listed in order to be able to justify the application of this technique, based on criteria by which ionizing radiation can be assessed. In this note the development of so-called sustainability criteria, by which environmental protection aspects can be assessed, is initiated. The sustainability criteria must include the subjects integrated chain management, energy extending, quality improvement and the perception of risks, as indicated in the memo Handling of Radiation Risks. The sustainability criteria can be applied absolute (testing of the marginal values), as well as relative (choice for the least hazardous effect). An overall outline is given of the impact of applying these criteria. The most discriminative criterion appears to be the waste criterion. Generally spoken, only ionizing radiation of instruments and applications of some short-living isotopes, produced by means of accelerators, can meet this criterion. 4 figs., 2 tabs., 1 appendix, 17 refs

Advancing the Relevance Criteria for Video Search and Visual Summarization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rudinac, S.

2013-01-01

To facilitate finding of relevant information in ever-growing multimedia collections, a number of multimedia information retrieval solutions have been proposed over the past years. The essential element of any such solution is the relevance criterion deployed to select or rank the items from a

Multi-criteria evaluation in strategic environmental assessment for waste management plan, a case study: The city of Belgrade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Josimović, Boško; Marić, Igor; Milijić, Saša

2015-01-01

Highlights: • The paper deals with the specific method of multi-criteria evaluation applied in drafting the SEA for the Belgrade WMP. • MCE of the planning solutions, assessed according to 37 objectives of the SEA and four sets of criteria, was presented in the matrix form. • The results are presented in the form of graphs so as to be easily comprehensible to all the participants in the decision-making process. • The results represent concrete contribution proven in practice. - Abstract: Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is one of the key instruments for implementing sustainable development strategies in planning in general; in addition to being used in sectoral planning, it can also be used in other areas such as waste management planning. SEA in waste management planning has become a tool for considering the benefits and consequences of the proposed changes in space, also taking into account the capacity of space to sustain the implementation of the planned activities. In order to envisage both the positive and negative implications of a waste management plan for the elements of sustainable development, an adequate methodological approach to evaluating the potential impacts must be adopted and the evaluation results presented in a simple and clear way, so as to allow planners to make relevant decisions as a precondition for the sustainability of the activities planned in the waste management sector. This paper examines the multi-criteria evaluation method for carrying out an SEA for the Waste Management Plan for the city of Belgrade (BWMP). The method was applied to the evaluation of the impacts of the activities planned in the waste management sector on the basis of the environmental and socioeconomic indicators of sustainability, taking into consideration the intensity, spatial extent, probability and frequency of impact, by means of a specific planning approach and simple and clear presentation of the obtained results

Multi-criteria evaluation in strategic environmental assessment for waste management plan, a case study: The city of Belgrade

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Josimović, Boško, E-mail: bosko@iaus.ac.rs; Marić, Igor; Milijić, Saša

2015-02-15

Highlights: • The paper deals with the specific method of multi-criteria evaluation applied in drafting the SEA for the Belgrade WMP. • MCE of the planning solutions, assessed according to 37 objectives of the SEA and four sets of criteria, was presented in the matrix form. • The results are presented in the form of graphs so as to be easily comprehensible to all the participants in the decision-making process. • The results represent concrete contribution proven in practice. - Abstract: Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is one of the key instruments for implementing sustainable development strategies in planning in general; in addition to being used in sectoral planning, it can also be used in other areas such as waste management planning. SEA in waste management planning has become a tool for considering the benefits and consequences of the proposed changes in space, also taking into account the capacity of space to sustain the implementation of the planned activities. In order to envisage both the positive and negative implications of a waste management plan for the elements of sustainable development, an adequate methodological approach to evaluating the potential impacts must be adopted and the evaluation results presented in a simple and clear way, so as to allow planners to make relevant decisions as a precondition for the sustainability of the activities planned in the waste management sector. This paper examines the multi-criteria evaluation method for carrying out an SEA for the Waste Management Plan for the city of Belgrade (BWMP). The method was applied to the evaluation of the impacts of the activities planned in the waste management sector on the basis of the environmental and socioeconomic indicators of sustainability, taking into consideration the intensity, spatial extent, probability and frequency of impact, by means of a specific planning approach and simple and clear presentation of the obtained results.

A preliminary study on the relevancy of sustainable building design ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This preliminary study aims to explore the relationship between sustainable building design paradigms and commercial property depreciation, to assist in the understanding of sustainable building design impact towards commercial building value and rental de employs the qualitative method and analyses valuers' current ...

Managing uncertainty in multiple-criteria decision making related to sustainability assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dorini, Gianluca Fabio; Kapelan, Zoran; Azapagic, Adisa

2011-01-01

In real life, decisions are usually made by comparing different options with respect to several, often conflicting criteria. This requires subjective judgements on the importance of different criteria by DMs and increases uncertainty in decision making. This article demonstrates how uncertainty can......: (1) no uncertainty, (2) uncertainty in data/models and (3) uncertainty in models and decision-makers’ preferences. The results shows how characterising and propagating uncertainty can help increase the effectiveness of multi-criteria decision making processes and lead to more informed decision....... be handled in multi-criteria decision situations using Compromise Programming, one of the Multi-criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) techniques. Uncertainty is characterised using a probabilistic approach and propagated using a Monte Carlo simulation technique. The methodological approach is illustrated...

Survey sustainability Biomass. Appendix. Results of the international respondents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bergsma, G.C.; Groot, M.I.

2006-06-15

As part of an array of strategies to combat climate change, biomass is being used increasingly as a substitute for fossil fuels. It is important that the sustainability benefits thus accruing to the Netherlands are not at the expense of sustainable development in producer countries. Against this background the 'Sustainable biomass imports' project group is developing a set of criteria for evaluating the sustainability of biomass projects. To assess support for such criteria, CE conducted an internet survey among the various stakeholders (NGOs, industry, government), drawing a total of 104 responses. This report presents all the results and conclusions of the survey, for each category of stakeholders and overall. Among the most striking conclusions are the following: The majority of respondents see a sustainability audit on biomass as feasible, provided the sustainability criteria are adequate for the purpose (68%); Almost all the respondents are of the opinion that such sustainability criteria should apply to all applications of biomass (90%); On the issue of whether these criteria should vary according to the producer region concerned, respondents were divided (50% for, 50% against); Many NGOs state there should be different sustainability criteria in force for different biomass flows (50%), in contrast to industry, which argues for a uniform set of criteria for all flows; Most respondents hold that any biomass criteria should apply to both subsidised and unsubsidised projects; At the same time, a sizable majority of respondents state that subsidisation of biomass projects should depend on the degree of sustainability (72%) and in particular on the CO2 emission cuts achieved, this being regarded as the single most important factor; When it comes to the issue of GMO, opinions differ markedly between NGOs and industry, with some 75% of NGOs wanting this aspect included, but only 10% of industry; Respondents also commented on a number of additional issues

Sustainability Appraisal of Water Governance Regimes: The Case of Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Science.gov (United States)

Kuzdas, Christopher; Wiek, Arnim; Warner, Benjamin; Vignola, Raffaele; Morataya, Ricardo

2014-08-01

Sustainability appraisals produce evidence for how well water governance regimes operate and where problems exist. This evidence is particularly relevant for regions that face water scarcity and conflicts. In this study, we present a criteria-based and participatory sustainability appraisal of water governance in a region with such characteristics—the dry tropics of NW Costa Rica. Data collection included 47 interviews and three stakeholder workshops. The appraisal was conducted through a collaborative and iterative process between researchers and stakeholders. Out of the 25 sustainability criteria used, seven posed a significant challenge for the governance regime. We found challenges faced by the governance regime primarily clustered around and were re-enforced by failing coordination related to the use, management, and protection of groundwater resources; and inadequate leadership to identify collective goals and to constructively deliberate alternative ways of governing water with diverse groups. The appraisal yielded some positive impact in the study area, yet we found its application provided only limited strategic information to support broader problem-solving efforts. Insights from this study suggest key starting points for sustainable water governance in the Central American dry tropics, including investing in increasingly influential collective organizations that are already active in water governance; and leveraging policy windows that can be used to build confidence and disperse more governing authority to regional and local governing actors that are in-tune with the challenges faced in the dry tropics. We conclude the article with reflections on how to produce research results that are actionable for sustainable water governance.

Sustainability of knowledge translation interventions in healthcare decision-making: protocol for a scoping review.

Science.gov (United States)

Tricco, Andrea C; Cogo, Elise; Ashoor, Huda; Perrier, Laure; McKibbon, K Ann; Grimshaw, Jeremy M; Straus, Sharon E

2013-05-14

Knowledge translation (KT also known as research utilisation, translational medicine and implementation science) is a dynamic and iterative process that includes the synthesis, dissemination, exchange and ethically sound application of knowledge to improve health. After the implementation of KT interventions, their impact on relevant outcomes should be monitored. The objectives of this scoping review are to: (1) conduct a systematic search of the literature to identify the impact on healthcare outcomes beyond 1 year, or beyond the termination of funding of the initiative of KT interventions targeting chronic disease management for end-users including patients, clinicians, public health officials, health services managers and policy-makers; (2) identify factors that influence sustainability of effective KT interventions; (3) identify how sustained change from KT interventions should be measured; and (4) develop a framework for assessing sustainability of KT interventions. Comprehensive searches of relevant electronic databases (eg, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials), websites of funding agencies and websites of healthcare provider organisations will be conducted to identify relevant material. We will include experimental, quasi-experimental and observational studies providing information on the sustainability of KT interventions targeting chronic disease management in adults and focusing on end-users including patients, clinicians, public health officials, health services managers and policy-makers. Two reviewers will pilot-test the screening criteria and data abstraction form. They will then screen all citations, full articles and abstract data in duplicate independently. The results of the scoping review will be synthesised descriptively and used to develop a framework to assess the sustainability of KT interventions. Our results will help inform end-users (ie, patients, clinicians, public health officials, health services managers

Dismissal: Important criteria in managerial decision-making

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabricio Stocker

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Knowledge about dismissal decision-making, particularly concerning the criteria used by managers in choosing who will be dismissed and why, is scarce. Considering the implications of such decisions for organizations and society, in this paper, we identify the seven most frequently used criteria in dismissal decisions and examine their importance for managers. We collected data through a survey among 385 managers and used the rational ranking and the multicriteria Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP to analyze them. The results show that commitment, performance records, and trust have the greatest impact on the dismissal decision, whereas interpersonal relationship, growth potential, and professional experience are considered secondary criteria. These results contribute to extending our knowledge about dismissal decisions and showing the most relevant criteria in these choices and the relevance assigned to each of the criteria so that greater transparency can be achieved.

A mixed biomass-based energy supply chain for enhancing economic and environmental sustainability benefits: A multi-criteria decision making framework

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mirkouei, Amin; Haapala, Karl R.; Sessions, John; Murthy, Ganti S.

2017-01-01

Highlights: •A mixed supply chain is developed to enhance sustainability benefits of bioenergy. •A decision-making framework is constructed to balance sustainability dimensions. •A stochastic optimization model is developed to explore the effects of uncertainty. •This study provides insights on bio-oil production processes and system structure. -- Abstract: Bioenergy sources have been introduced as a means to address challenges of conventional energy sources. The uncertainties of supply-side (upstream) externalities (e.g., collection and logistics) represent the key challenges in bioenergy supply chains and lead to reduce cross-cutting sustainability benefits. We propose a mixed biomass-based energy supply chain (consisting of mixed-mode bio-refineries and mixed-pathway transportation) and a multi-criteria decision making framework to address the upstream challenges. Our developed framework supports decisions influencing the economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability. Economic analysis employs a support vector machine technique, to predict the pattern of uncertainty parameters, and a stochastic optimization model, to incorporate uncertainties into the model. The stochastic model minimizes the total annual cost of the proposed mixed supply chain network by using a genetic algorithm. Environmental impact analysis employs life cycle assessment to evaluate the global warming potential of the cost-effective supply chain network. Our presented approach is capable of enhancing sustainability benefits of bioenergy industry infrastructure. A case study for the Pacific Northwest is used to demonstrate the application of the methodology and to verify the models. The results indicate that mixed supply chains can improve sustainability performance over traditional supply infrastructures by reducing costs (up to 24%) and environmental impacts (up to 5%).

Mitigating Pollution of Hazardous Materials from WEEE of China: Portfolio Selection for a sustainable future based on Multi-Criteria Decision Making

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

An, Da; Yang, Yu; Chai, Xilong

2015-01-01

In order to solve the environmental contaminations and human health problems caused by the inappropriate treatment of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in China, sustainable e-waste treatment has emerged in China's WEEE recycling industry. This study aims to develop a multi......-criteria decision making method by integrating interval Analytic Hierarchy Process and interval VIKOR method for China's stakeholders to select the most efficacious portfolio for solving the severe problems caused by the informal e-waste recycling and promote the development of China's WEEE recycling industry...... in a sustainable approach. An illustrative case in Guiyu has been studied by the developed method, and the results show that the portfolio of supporting the informal peddlers for legal transition, investing on infrastructure for WEEE recycling, training and education on China's residents, and restricting...

Technology assessment HTR. Part 8. Nuclear energy and sustainable development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turkenburg, W.C.

1996-06-01

The small social acceptance of nuclear power for power generation suggests that in the present situation nuclear technology does not meet certain sustainable criteria. First, the concept of sustainable development is explained and which dimensions can be distinguished. Next, the sustainable development with regard to the development of the energy supply is outlined and the energy policy to obtain this situation is discussed. Subsequently, the impact of the sustainable development and the policy used to realize this on the nuclear technology are dealt with. As a result, criteria are formulated that can be used to verify how nuclear technology will meet this criteria and which demands should be used to fit this technology so it can be used in a sustainable development of the society. 55 refs

Multi area and multistage expansion-planning of electricity supply with sustainable energy development criteria: a multi objective model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Unsihuay-Vila, Clodomiro; Marangon-Lima, J.W.; Souza, A.C Zambroni de [Universidade Federal de Itajuba (UNIFEI), MG (Brazil)], emails: clodomirounsihuayvila @gmail.com, marangon@unifei.edu.br, zambroni@unifei.edu.br; Perez-Arriaga, I.J. [Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Madrid (Spain)], email: ipa@mit.edu

2010-07-01

A novel multi objective, multi area and multistage model to long-term expansion-planning of integrated generation and transmission corridors incorporating sustainable energy developing is presented in this paper. The proposed MESEDES model is a multi-regional multi-objective and 'bottom-up' energy model which considers the electricity generation/transmission value-chain, i.e., power generation alternatives including renewable, nuclear and traditional thermal generation along with transmission corridors. The model decides the optimal location and timing of the electricity generation/transmission abroad the multistage planning horizon. The MESEDES model considers three objectives belonging to sustainable energy development criteria such as: a) the minimization of investments and operation costs of : power generation, transmission corridors, energy efficiency (demand side management (DSM) programs) considering CO2 capture technologies; b) minimization of Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions (LC GHG); c) maximization of the diversification of electricity generation mix. The proposed model consider aspects of the carbon abatement policy under the CDM - Clean Development Mechanism or European Union Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading Scheme. A case study is used to illustrate the proposed framework. (author)

Evaluation of sustainability indicators for decision-making in mining companies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miletić Slavica

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Evaluation of sustainability indicators in terms of their importance for decision making in mining companies (RTB Bor, RTB can significantly affect the steady economic growth and development of the country. In the paper are ranked sustainability indicators in terms of their importance by illustration of implementation of multicriteria decision making. The essence of the problem is to reduce the subjectivity in the mining companies (RTB Bor who are carriers of the economic development of the country. Evaluation of sustainability indicators of mining companies was carried out using the PROMETHEE methods for multi-criteria decision making. In this method the determination of criteria weights for ranking is done firstly, then the assessment of sustainability indicators and their complete ranking is performed. Based on the obtained results by PROMETHEE method, it is determined the most important sustainability indicators for decision-making, and that is an alternative A1 (economic indicators. The most influential criteria for a complete ranking of sustainability indicators is criteria C1 (increase the utilization of resources and C3 (environmental protection. The obtained result indicates to managers how the implementation of MCDM method should treat the indicators of sustainability during the planning and management process, all with aim to sustain mining companies (RTB Bor.

How to get residents/owners in housing cooperatives to agree on sustainable renovation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lappegard Hauge, A. [SINTEF Building and Infrastructure, P.O. Box 124, Blindern, 0314 Oslo (Norway); Thomsen, J. [SINTEF Building and Infrastructure, 7465 Trondheim (Norway); Loefstroem, E. [SINTEF Building and Infrastructure, 7491 Trondheim (Norway)

2013-05-15

What factors increase the chance that residents/owners in housing cooperatives agree on sustainable energy efficient renovation? Based on 30 qualitative interviews with professional advisors in cooperative housing associations and chairman/board and residents in three chosen case studies, an analysis of opportunities and barriers for making a common decision on renovation is performed. Success criteria and barriers are found on the societal level as well as on the organizational/individual level. The barriers and success criteria identified on the societal level are: knowledge level on energy-efficient renovation among relevant actors, owner structure of the housing cooperative, and existing regulations and incentives. On the organizational and individual level, the following categories influencing renovation processes were identified: the time frame and organization of the process, understanding the residents' needs, economy, the information given, and the existence of available exemplary projects and role models. Based on the results of the study, ten guidelines that contribute to more successful decision making processes and increase the chances of sustainable energy efficient renovation in housing cooperatives are presented.

From Words to Action: Incorporation of Sustainability in Architectural Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Badiossadat Hassanpour

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Schools of architecture play a major role in motivating and inspiring students to gain competencies in sustainability through pedagogical practices. However, at the operational level, the incorporation of sustainability within architectural programmes needs to be integrated into both the curricula and teaching methods. There are few studies on how architectural programmes’ curricula and pedagogical practices can be institutionally articulated, as well as on how the required coherency among components can be empowered operationally. Since the interrelation of the courses form the structure of the curricula and provide certain inputs for the students’ knowledge and skill, any operational risk can harm the quality assurance. Therefore, an operational framework aimed for a coordinated incorporation of sustainability in architectural programmes is required. In order to achieve this, scrutinising substantial equivalence programmes could provide constructive outcomes for the improvement of the existing programmes and future experiences for students. In order to determine the articulation of sustainability issues in architectural education, in this research, a recently accredited school in the Eastern Mediterranean region was chosen as a case study. The study includes an analysis of course descriptions, teaching methods, and teacher and student perceptions about the incorporation of sustainability into the courses. Also, jury sessions’ evaluation criteria are assessed as a pedagogical tool. Then, the horizontal and vertical articulation of courses within the curricula and their coordination were studied accordingly. The findings reveal that horizontal and vertical relations between different course types that share similar learning objectives are very important. However, this relation and continuum should be perceivable by students, tutors, and the relevant stakeholders; otherwise, any attempt would remain superficial. Accordingly, the association

Comparing Sustainable Forest Management Certifications Standards: A Meta-analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Rawson. Clark

2011-03-01

Full Text Available To solve problems caused by conventional forest management, forest certification has emerged as a driver of sustainable forest management. Several sustainable forest management certification systems exist, including the Forest Stewardship Council and those endorsed by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, such as the Canadian Standards Association - Sustainable Forestry Management Standard CAN/CSA - Z809 and Sustainable Forestry Initiative. For consumers to use certified products to meet their own sustainability goals, they must have an understanding of the effectiveness of different certification systems. To understand the relative performance of three systems, we determined: (1 the criteria used to compare the Forest Stewardship Council, Canadian Standards Association - Sustainable Forestry Management, and Sustainable Forestry Initiative, (2 if consensus exists regarding their ability to achieve sustainability goals, and (3 what research gaps must be filled to improve our understanding of how forest certification systems affect sustainable forest management. We conducted a qualitative meta-analysis of 26 grey literature references (books, industry and nongovernmental organization publications and 9 primary literature references (articles in peer-reviewed academic journals that compared at least two of the aforementioned certification systems. The Forest Stewardship Council was the highest performer for ecological health and social sustainable forest management criteria. The Canadian Standards Association - Sustainable Forestry Management and Sustainable Forestry Initiative performed best under sustainable forest management criteria of forest productivity and economic longevity of a firm. Sixty-two percent of analyses were comparisons of the wording of certification system principles or criteria; 34% were surveys of foresters or consumers. An important caveat to these results is that only one comparison was based on

Cascading biomethane energy systems for sustainable green gas production in a circular economy.

Science.gov (United States)

Wall, David M; McDonagh, Shane; Murphy, Jerry D

2017-11-01

Biomethane is a flexible energy vector that can be used as a renewable fuel for both the heat and transport sectors. Recent EU legislation encourages the production and use of advanced, third generation biofuels with improved sustainability for future energy systems. The integration of technologies such as anaerobic digestion, gasification, and power to gas, along with advanced feedstocks such as algae will be at the forefront in meeting future sustainability criteria and achieving a green gas supply for the gas grid. This paper explores the relevant pathways in which an integrated biomethane industry could potentially materialise and identifies and discusses the latest biotechnological advances in the production of renewable gas. Three scenarios of cascading biomethane systems are developed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

How to ensure greenhouse gas emission reductions by increasing the use of biofuels? - Suitability of the European Union sustainability criteria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soimakallio, Sampo; Koponen, Kati

2011-01-01

Biofuels are promoted in many parts of the world. However, concern of environmental and social problems have grown due to increased production of biofuels. Therefore, many initiatives for sustainability criteria have been announced. As a part of the European Union (EU) renewable energy promotion directive (RED), the EU has introduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emission-saving requirements for biofuels along with the first-ever mandate methodology to calculate the GHG emission reduction. As explored in this paper, the RED methodology, based on life-cycle assessment (LCA) approach, excludes many critical issues. These include indirect impacts due to competition for land, biomass and other auxiliary inputs. Also, timing issues, allocation problems, and uncertainty of individual parameters are not yet considered adequately. Moreover, the default values provided in the RED for the GHG balances of biofuels may significantly underestimate their actual impacts. We conclude that the RED methodology cannot ensure the intended GHG emission reductions of biofuels. Instead, a more comprehensive approach is required along with additional data and indicators. Even if it may be very difficult to verify the GHG emission reductions of biofuels in practice, it is necessary to consider the uncertainties more closely, in order to mitigate climate change effectively. -- Highlights: → The EU introduced mandatory criteria for greenhouse gas emissions of biofuels. → The aim of the criteria is to ensure reduction in GHG emissions. → We analysed and discussed the suitability of the criteria. → The criteria may significantly underestimate the actual GHG emissions. → A more comprehensive approach is required along with additional data and indicators.

Is Nuclear Energy Sustainable - A Comparative Perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirschberg, S.

2002-01-01

The electric utility sector is of central importance for economic growth and social development. While numerous societal and economic benefits arise from electricity production, it can also have impacts which may not be fully and unanimously reconciled with the concept of sustainability. Moving the electricity sector towards sustainable development calls for the integration of environmental, social and economic aspects in the decision-making process. As an input to such a process, one needs to assess how the different options perform with respect to specific sustainability criteria. As a part of the ''Comprehensive Assessment of Energy Systems'', carried out by the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), the electricity and heat supply systems are examined in view of sustainability criteria and the associated indicators, thus allowing operationalization of the sustainability concept

The relevance of operational skills towards business sustainability: A focus on SMME manufacturers in the Vaal triangle region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Naidoo

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose: Activities in the manufacturing sector are often considered the bedrock of an economy and a key driver of growth and development. Within the South African manufacturing sector, operations skills are reported to be deficient and are often cited as a main cause of failure in small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs. This study explores and tests this fragile relationship between operations skills and SMME sustainability. Empirical investigations are conducted in a high-density SMME manufacturing environment - the Vaal Triangle Region. Design/Methodology/Approach: Building on previously established literature on SMME sustainability and operations skills, various measures are developed and tested for reliability and validity. Factor analysis is used to identify relevant factors in terms of operations skills. Co-relational analysis is then employed to test the hypothesised relationship. The study is cross-sectional in design and relies on trained fieldworkers administering surveys for data collection. Findings: Five clear factors for operations skills are identified through factor analysis with an overall high reliability value. Based on descriptive and co-relational analysis results reveal that operations skills are positively associated with sustainability. Implications: SMME owners, educators and service providers may benefit from the study's findings in terms of the nature and associations that operational skills have on developing sustainable SMME's. Originality/Value: The study focused on a neglected area of SMMEs - the importance of operations towards business sustainability, and made an important contribution towards theory development through empirical explorations. In South Africa, this is the first time an instrument measuring operations skills has been validated and associated with SMMEs in a manufacturing context.

Relevant Education for Sustainable Human Development in Nigeria ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In human development, conscious efforts are made to enlarge people's choices to enable them live a healthy and prolonged life, acquire knowledge, and have access to resources needed to earn a decent living. Obviously, sustained improvement in African human development still falls short of those experienced in other ...

Designing for sustainability: ergonomics--carpe diem.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, K; Legg, S; Brown, C

2013-01-01

Sustainability is a global issue that has worldwide attention but the role of ergonomics in designing for sustainability is poorly understood and seldom considered. An analysis of the literature on ergonomics, design and sustainability was conducted via a search of electronic databases: Scopus, Business Source Complete, Google Scholar, Emerald Publishing, Academic Search Premiere, Web of Science, Discover and Ergonomics Abstracts, for the years 1995-2012. A total of 1934 articles fulfilled the search criteria, but content analysis of the abstracts indicated that only 14 refereed articles addressed the main search criteria. Of those seven were in ergonomics journals and seven were in other journals (and were not written by ergonomists). It is concluded that the contribution of ergonomics to sustainability and sustainable design has been limited, even though the goals of sustainability and ergonomics are congruent. Ergonomists have not been at the forefront of research contributing to sustainability - and it is time for them to 'seize the day' - 'carpe diem'. This literature review shows that ergonomics contribution to sustainability is limited but since there is congruence between the disciplines it calls for ergonomists to become more involved and to seize the day - carpe diem.

A Hybrid Multiple Criteria Decision Making Model for Supplier Selection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chung-Min Wu

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The sustainable supplier selection would be the vital part in the management of a sustainable supply chain. In this study, a hybrid multiple criteria decision making (MCDM model is applied to select optimal supplier. The fuzzy Delphi method, which can lead to better criteria selection, is used to modify criteria. Considering the interdependence among the selection criteria, analytic network process (ANP is then used to obtain their weights. To avoid calculation and additional pairwise comparisons of ANP, a technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS is used to rank the alternatives. The use of a combination of the fuzzy Delphi method, ANP, and TOPSIS, proposing an MCDM model for supplier selection, and applying these to a real case are the unique features of this study.

Urban Sewage Sludge, Sustainability, and Transition for Eco-City

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ren, Jingzheng; Liang, Hanwei; Chan, Felix T. S.

2017-01-01

The treatment of urban sewage sludge is of vital importance for mitigating the risks of environmental contaminations, and the negative effects on human health. However, there are usually various different technologies for the treatment of urban sewage sludge; thus, it is difficult for decision......-makers/stakeholders to select the most sustainable technology among multiple alternatives. This study aims at developing a generic multi-criteria decision support framework for sustainability assessment of the technologies for the treatment of urban sewage sludge. A generic criteria system including both hard and soft criteria...... in economic, environmental, social and technological aspects was developed for sustainability assessment. The improved analytic hierarchy process method, namely Best-Worst method, was employed to determine the weights of the criteria and the relative priorities of the technologies with respect to the soft...

Sustainable energy-economic-environmental scenarios

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2002-03-31

IIASA's Environmentally Compatible Energy Strategies (ECS) Project has proposed a quantitative 'working definition' of sustainable development E3 (energy-economic-environmental) scenarios. ECS has proposed four criteria for sustainability: economic growth is sustained throughout the time horizon; socioeconomic inequity among world regions is reduced over the 21st century; reserves-to-production (R/P) ratio for exhaustible primary energy resources do not decline; and long-term environmental stress is mitigated. Using these criteria, 40 long-term E3 scenarios generated by ECS models were reviewed and analyzed. Amongst the conclusions drawn were: slow population growth or stabilization of global population appears to be prerequisite for sustainable development; economic growth alone does not guarantee a sustainable future; carbon intensities of total primary energy must decrease faster than the historical trend; strategies for fossil fuel consumption must aim at non-decreasing R/P ratios; and carbon emissions must be near or below today's levels at the end of this century. The analysis of sustainable development scenarios is an important step towards formulating long-term strategies aimed at climate stabilization. 6 figs., 1 tab.

Management of Business Transformation to Sustainable Business

OpenAIRE

Grunda, Rokas

2011-01-01

Having examined the concepts of sustainable business and advantages and disadvantages of business sustainability management models, the objective of the dissertation is to formulate a management model of business transformation to sustainable business and to verify it in present business conditions in Lithuania. In the dissertation, the essence of the concepts of sustainable development and sustainability is characterized, the criteria of sustainable society are distinguished and the concept ...

Paradigms of global climate change and sustainable development: Issues and related policies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prabhat Kumar Rai

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Combating climate change is intimately linked with peace and resource equity. Therefore, critical link establishment between climate change and sustainable development is extremely relevant in global scenario. Following the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, the international sustainable development agenda was taken up by the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD; the climate change agenda was carried forward by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC. International and local climate change mitigation policies need to be assessed based on sustainability criteria. The increasing concern over climate change drives towards the search of solutions enabling to combat climate change into broader context of sustainable development. The core element of sustainable development is the integration of economic, social and environmental concerns in policy-making. Therefore, article also analyzes post-Kyoto climate change mitigation regimes and their impact on sustainable development. Wide range of post- Kyoto climate change mitigation architectures has different impact on different groups of countries. Nevertheless, there are several reasons for optimism that sustainable consumption patterns might develop. One is the diversity of current consumption patterns and the growing minority concerned with ethical consumption. Another is the growing understanding of innovation processes, developed to address technological change, but applicable to social innovation. A third reason is the growing reflexivity of communities and institutions.

Review of issues relevant to acceptable risk criteria for nuclear waste management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cohen, J.J.

1978-01-01

Development of acceptable risk criteria for nuclear waste management requires the translation of publicly determined goals and objectives into definitive issues which, in turn, require resolution. Since these issues are largely of a subjective nature, they cannot be resolved by technological methods. Development of acceptable risk criteria might best be accomplished by application of a systematic methodology for the optimal implementation of subjective values. Multi-attribute decision analysis is well suited for this purpose

Sustainability in Supply Chain Management: Aggregate Planning from Sustainability Perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Türkay, Metin; Saraçoğlu, Öztürk; Arslan, Mehmet Can

2016-01-01

Supply chain management that considers the flow of raw materials, products and information has become a focal issue in modern manufacturing and service systems. Supply chain management requires effective use of assets and information that has far reaching implications beyond satisfaction of customer demand, flow of goods, services or capital. Aggregate planning, a fundamental decision model in supply chain management, refers to the determination of production, inventory, capacity and labor usage levels in the medium term. Traditionally standard mathematical programming formulation is used to devise the aggregate plan so as to minimize the total cost of operations. However, this formulation is purely an economic model that does not include sustainability considerations. In this study, we revise the standard aggregate planning formulation to account for additional environmental and social criteria to incorporate triple bottom line consideration of sustainability. We show how these additional criteria can be appended to traditional cost accounting in order to address sustainability in aggregate planning. We analyze the revised models and interpret the results on a case study from real life that would be insightful for decision makers.

Sustainability in Supply Chain Management: Aggregate Planning from Sustainability Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Türkay, Metin; Saraçoğlu, Öztürk; Arslan, Mehmet Can

2016-01-01

Supply chain management that considers the flow of raw materials, products and information has become a focal issue in modern manufacturing and service systems. Supply chain management requires effective use of assets and information that has far reaching implications beyond satisfaction of customer demand, flow of goods, services or capital. Aggregate planning, a fundamental decision model in supply chain management, refers to the determination of production, inventory, capacity and labor usage levels in the medium term. Traditionally standard mathematical programming formulation is used to devise the aggregate plan so as to minimize the total cost of operations. However, this formulation is purely an economic model that does not include sustainability considerations. In this study, we revise the standard aggregate planning formulation to account for additional environmental and social criteria to incorporate triple bottom line consideration of sustainability. We show how these additional criteria can be appended to traditional cost accounting in order to address sustainability in aggregate planning. We analyze the revised models and interpret the results on a case study from real life that would be insightful for decision makers. PMID:26807848

Criteria for Sustainable Transport Planning - what, how and why to measure?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gudmundsson, Henrik

2014-01-01

Sustainability has become a key concern for transport policy and planning, not only in terms of reducingimpacts like climate change or developing specific solutions such as electromobility, but also as a strategic overarching policy framework rooted in sustainability science and governance...

Sustainability Decision Support Framework for Industrial System Prioritization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ren, Jingzheng; Wei, Shunan; Goodsite, Michael Evan

2016-01-01

A multicriteria decision-making methodology for the sustainability prioritization of industrial systems is proposed. The methodology incorporates a fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process method that allows the users to assess the soft criteria using linguistic terms. A fuzzy Analytic Network Process...... method is used to calculate the weights of each criterion, which can tackle the interdependencies and interactions among the criteria. The Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation approach is used to prioritize the sustainability sequence of the alternative systems. Moreover......, a sensitivity analysis method was developed to investigate the most critical and sensitive criteria. The developed methodology was illustrated by a case study to rank the sustainability of five alternative hydrogen production technologies. The advantages of the developed methodology over the previous approaches...

Sustainability assessment of electricity generation technologies using weighted multi-criteria decision analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maxim, Alexandru

2014-01-01

Solving the issue of environmental degradation due to the expansion of the World's energy demand requires a balanced approach. The aim of this paper is to comprehensively rank a large number of electricity generation technologies based on their compatibility with the sustainable development of the industry. The study is based on a set of 10 sustainability indicators which provide a life cycle analysis of the plants. The technologies are ranked using a weighted sum multi-attribute utility method. The indicator weights were established through a survey of 62 academics from the fields of energy and environmental science. Our results show that large hydroelectric projects are the most sustainable technology type, followed by small hydro, onshore wind and solar photovoltaic. We argue that political leaders should have a more structured and strategic approach in implementing sustainable energy policies and this type of research can provide arguments to support such decisions. - Highlights: • We rank 13 electricity generation technologies based on sustainability. • We use 10 indicators in a weighted sum multi-attribute utility approach. • Weights are calculated based on a survey of 62 academics from the field. • Large hydroelectric projects are ranked as the most sustainable. • Decision makers can use the results to promote a more sustainable energy industry

Decision aid systems for evaluating sustainability: a critical survey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brunner, Norbert; Starkl, Markus

2004-01-01

Assessing sustainability in compliance with the EU water framework directive is affected by numerous conflicting interests. As they can no longer be resolved by means of intuitive reasoning, some authors propose the integration of the major fragmented indicators into one common indicator of the overall sustainability by means of a codified multi-criteria decision support methodology (DSM). Practitioners in urban water management, however, usually object to the use of a codified DSM, as in the legal context (negotiations between the stakeholders, tendering procedure) it might jeopardize the feasibility of the decision making process (DMP). Here we show that a feasible implementation of a DSM into the DMP is possible. To this end, we design a cooperative approach, which by means of an axiomatic evaluation helps to select an appropriate DSM. We illustrate it by a hypothetical dialogue between the relevant authority and the developer. It will expose the inherent limitations of the DSM, which are due to their underlying mathematical features

Sustainable diet policy development: implications of multi-criteria and other approaches, 2008-2017.

Science.gov (United States)

Lang, Tim; Mason, Pamela

2017-12-04

The objective of the present paper is to draw lessons from policy development on sustainable diets. It considers the emergence of sustainable diets as a policy issue and reviews the environmental challenge to nutrition science as to what a 'good' diet is for contemporary policy. It explores the variations in how sustainable diets have been approached by policy-makers. The paper considers how international United Nations and European Union (EU) policy engagement now centres on the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals and Paris Climate Change Accord, which require changes across food systems. The paper outlines national sustainable diet policy in various countries: Australia, Brazil, France, the Netherlands, Qatar, Sweden, UK and USA. While no overarching common framework for sustainable diets has appeared, a policy typology of lessons for sustainable diets is proposed, differentiating (a) orientation and focus, (b) engagement styles and (c) modes of leadership. The paper considers the particularly tortuous rise and fall of UK governmental interest in sustainable diet advice. Initial engagement in the 2000s turned to disengagement in the 2010s, yet some advice has emerged. The 2016 referendum to leave the EU has created a new period of policy uncertainty for the UK food system. This might marginalise attempts to generate sustainable diet advice, but could also be an opportunity for sustainable diets to be a goal for a sustainable UK food system. The role of nutritionists and other food science professions will be significant in this period of policy flux.

A hybrid life cycle and multi-criteria decision analysis approach for identifying sustainable development strategies of Beijing's taxi fleet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cai, Yanpeng; Applegate, Scott; Yue, Wencong; Cai, Jianying; Wang, Xuan; Liu, Gengyuan; Li, Chunhui

2017-01-01

To identify and evaluate sustainable strategies of taxi fleet in Beijing in terms of economic, policy, and environmental implications, a hybrid approach was developed through incorporating multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) methods within a general life-cycle analysis (LCA) framework. The approach can (a) help comprehensive evaluate environmental impacts of multiple types of vehicles, (b) facilitate analysis of environmental, economic and policy features of such vehicles, and (c) identify desirable taxi fleet development strategies for the city. The developed approach represented an improvement of the decision-making capability for taxi implementation based on multiple available technologies and their performance that can be specifically tailored to Beijing. The results demonstrated that the proposed approach could comprehensively reflect multiple implications of strategies for the taxi fleet in Beijing to reduce air pollution in the city. The results also indicated that the electric vehicle powered with the year 2020 electricity projections would be the ideal solution, outranking the other alternatives. The conventional vehicle ranked the lowest among the alternatives. The plug-in hybrid vehicle powered by 2020 electricity projects ranked the third, followed by the plug-in hybrid vehicle ranking the fourth, and the hybrid vehicle ranking the fifth. - Highlights: • An hybrid approach was proposed for evaluating sustainable strategies of Beijing's taxi fleet. • This approach was based on the combination of multi-criteria decision analysis methods and life-cycle assessment. • Environmental, economic and policy performances of multiple strategies were compared. • Detailed responses of taxi drivers and local residents were interviewed. • The electric vehicle would be the ideal solution for Beijing Taxi fleet.

A statistical study on consumer's perception of sustainable products

Science.gov (United States)

Pater, Liana; Izvercian, Monica; Ivaşcu, Larisa

2017-07-01

Sustainability and sustainable concepts are quite often but not always used correctly. The statistical research on consumer's perception of sustainable products has tried to identify the level of knowledge regarding the concept of sustainability and sustainable products, the selected criteria concerning the buying decision, the intention of purchasing a sustainable product, main sustainable products preferred by consumers.

Sustainability impact assessment to improve food security of smallholders in Tanzania

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schindler, Jana; Graef, Frieder; König, Hannes Jochen; Mchau, Devotha; Saidia, Paul; Sieber, Stefan

2016-01-01

The objective of this paper was to assess the sustainability impacts of planned agricultural development interventions, so called upgrading strategies (UPS), to enhance food security and to identify what advantages and risks are assessed from the farmer's point of view in regards to social life, the economy and the environment. We developed a participatory methodological procedure that links food security and sustainable development. Farmers in four different case study villages in rural Tanzania chose their priority UPS. For these UPS, they assessed the impacts on locally relevant food security criteria. The positive impacts identified were mainly attributed to increased agricultural production and its related positive impacts such as increased income and improved access to necessary means to diversify the diet. However, several risks of certain UPS were also indicated by farmers, such as increased workload, high maintenance costs, higher competition among farmers, loss of traditional knowledge and social conflicts. We discussed the strong interdependence of socio-economic and environmental criteria to improve food security for small-scale farmers and analysed several trade-offs in regards to UPS choices and food security criteria. We also identified and discussed the advantages and challenges of our methodological approach. In conclusion, the participatory impact assessment on the farmer level allowed a locally specific analysis of the various positive and negative impacts of UPS on social life, the economy and the environment. We emphasize that only a development approach that considers social, economic and environmental challenges simultaneously can enhance food security.

GIS-based Multi-criteria land suitability analysis for sustainable ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

43

of Tadla plain (Morocco) using geographic information system (GIS) and analytical ... clean water and air, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, preserving natural ... criteria decision making (MCDM) methods allowed having information from ...

Sustainable Disruptions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Friis, Silje Alberthe Kamille; Kjær, Lykke Bloch

2016-01-01

Since 2012 the Sustainable Disruptions (SD) project at the Laboratory for Sustainability at Design School Kolding (DK) has developed and tested a set of design thinking tools, specifically targeting the barriers to economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable business development....... The tools have been applied in practice in collaboration with 11 small and medium sized companies (SMEs). The study investigates these approaches to further understand how design thinking can contribute to sustainable transition in a business context. The study and the findings are relevant to organizations...... invested in the issue of sustainable business development, in particular the leaders and employees of SMEs, but also to design education seeking new ways to consciously handle and teach the complexity inherent in sustainable transformation. Findings indicate that the SD design thinking approach contributes...

Patent Keyword Extraction for Sustainable Technology Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jongchan Kim

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Recently, sustainable growth and development has become an important issue for governments and corporations. However, maintaining sustainable development is very difficult. These difficulties can be attributed to sociocultural and political backgrounds that change over time [1]. Because of these changes, the technologies for sustainability also change, so governments and companies attempt to predict and manage technology using patent analyses, but it is very difficult to predict the rapidly changing technology markets. The best way to achieve insight into technology management in this rapidly changing market is to build a technology management direction and strategy that is flexible and adaptable to the volatile market environment through continuous monitoring and analysis. Quantitative patent analysis using text mining is an effective method for sustainable technology management. There have been many studies that have used text mining and word-based patent analyses to extract keywords and remove noise words. Because the extracted keywords are considered to have a significant effect on the further analysis, researchers need to carefully check out whether they are valid or not. However, most prior studies assume that the extracted keywords are appropriate, without evaluating their validity. Therefore, the criteria used to extract keywords needs to change. Until now, these criteria have focused on how well a patent can be classified according to its technical characteristics in the collected patent data set, typically using term frequency–inverse document frequency weights that are calculated by comparing the words in patents. However, this is not suitable when analyzing a single patent. Therefore, we need keyword selection criteria and an extraction method capable of representing the technical characteristics of a single patent without comparing them with other patents. In this study, we proposed a methodology to extract valid keywords from

Multi-criteria decision analysis of energy system transformation pathways: A case study for Switzerland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Volkart, Kathrin; Weidmann, Nicolas; Bauer, Christian; Hirschberg, Stefan

2017-01-01

Two recent political decisions are expected to frame the development of the Swiss energy system in the coming decades: the nuclear phase-out and the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction target. To accomplish both of them, low-carbon technologies based on renewable energy and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) are expected to gain importance. The objective of the present work is to support prospective Swiss energy policy-making by providing a detailed sustainability analysis of possible energy system transformation pathways. For this purpose, the results of the scenario quantification with an energy system model are coupled with multi-criteria sustainability analysis. Two climate protection and one reference scenario are addressed, and the trade-offs between the scenarios are analysed based on a set of 12 interdisciplinary indicators. Implementing a stringent climate policy in Switzerland is associated with co-benefits such as less fossil resource use, less fatalities in severe accidents in the energy sector, less societal conflicts and higher resource autonomy. The availability and implementation of CCS allows for achieving the GHG emission reduction target at lower costs, but at the expense of a more fossil fuel-based energy system. - Highlights: • Three energy system transformation pathways for Switzerland are analysed. • A set of policy-relevant sustainability indicators are quantified for each pathway. • Implementing a stringent climate policy in Switzerland is associated with co-benefits. • In the CCS scenario fossil fuel use increases, but the total system costs are lower. • Fossil-fuelled transport substantially contributes to most of the addressed criteria.

The Renewable Energy Directive: biofuels, biomass and sustainable development criteria. How to check in France the compliance of marketed biofuels with sustainability criteria defined by the Directive on renewable energies? (Phase 1: biofuels and bio-liquids); Directive Energies Renouvelables: Biocarburants, biomasse et criteres de developpement durable. Comment verifier, en France, la conformite des biocarburants mis sur le marche aux criteres de durabilite prevus par la Directive sur les energies renouvelables? (Phase 1: biocarburants et bioliquides)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2009-06-15

After having recalled and commented the main principles of the European directive which sets objectives in terms of renewable energy promotion and consumption, this report analyses the quantitative and qualitative sustainability criteria which must be applied particularly to biofuels and bio-liquids produced from agricultural activities, and their application perspectives. It gives recommendations to assess these criteria. It also comments the modalities used to control the compliance of biofuels with these criteria

Determinants of Sustainability and Organisational Effectiveness in Non-Profit Organisations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chux Gervase Iwu

2015-07-01

Full Text Available This case study investigates the criteria for organizational effectiveness in non-profit organizations (NPOs with the aim to determine how the elements of sustainability fit within the criteria. To achieve this, the study utilized the research questions: “what criteria do NPOs use to evaluate their effectiveness?” and “how is sustainability embedded in NPO effectiveness?” The research design was interpretivist, adopting focus group interviews to obtain data. Specifically, two focus group interviews were held with the top management of an NPO which revealed that both financial and non-financial criteria were equally essential for NPO effectiveness. This finding is consistent with the literature, although it contradicts the initial assumption of the study that NPO effectiveness was based more on non-financial criteria than financial criteria. The study also found that the effectiveness of an NPO should be viewed in two ways: firstly, “the full achievement of its mandate” and, secondly, “the ability to run business projects to cover cost.” It also emerged that both the ability to cover costs and the achievement of a mandate should be done in a sustainable manner (a sustainable manner is seen as one that is harmonious with the natural and the socio-political environment. The results of this paper present a practical case for the management of NPOs by reiterating that the full achievement of the NPO mandate and the successful running of social projects to generate funds for sustainability are key elements of effectiveness. Given the essential role that NPOs play in developing countries, this study has provided the foundation for more widespread enquiry into the sustainability and effectiveness of NPOs.

Assessment of the sustainability of a water resource system expansion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjeldsen, Thomas Rødding; Rosbjerg, Dan

2001-01-01

A sustainability assessment method involving risk criteria related to reliability, resilience and vulnerability, has been applied to quantify the relative sustainability of possible expansions of a water resources system in the KwaZulu-Natal province South Africa. A river basin model has been setup....... Based on initial experience the method was modified leading to more credible results. A problem with assessing sustainability using risk criteria is a favouring of supply-oriented solutions, in particular when aspects not directly related to demand and availability of water are excluded....... for the water resources system, comprising all important water users within the catchment. Measures to meet the growing water demand in the catchment are discussed. Six scenarios including both supply and demand oriented solutions are identified, modelled and compared in tenus of the sustainability criteria...

Building a Metaframework for Sustainable Transport Indicators

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cornet, Yannick; Gudmundsson, Henrik

2015-01-01

and operationalize sustainability for transportation-related planning and decision making. Often these studies presented frameworks that would allow sustainability indicators and measures to be included in, for example, agency strategies and practices. Moreover, some papers suggested criteria for the selection...... of individual indicators and performance measures. The studies, however, did not always agree on the definition of a framework or how to use one to make sustainability-based decisions, and they tended to differ on underscored aspects and concerns. The current study addressed the issue of frameworks more...... generically and explored what was termed a "metaframework" with a set of associated criteria to guide the framing of indicators for sustainable transportation. On the basis of an explicit framework theory, the three functions of conceptualization, operationalization, and utilization were found to provide...

Strategic environmental assessment for sustainability: A review of a decade of academic research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

White, Lisa; Noble, Bram F.

2013-01-01

This paper examines the strategic environmental assessment (SEA)–sustainability relationship over the past decade, from 2000 to 2010, focusing in particular on the incorporation of sustainability in SEA. A total of 86 papers from the academic literature containing the terms ‘sustainability’ or ‘sustainable development’ and ‘strategic environmental assessment’ were identified and reviewed. Several common themes emerged by which SEA can support sustainability, including providing a framework to support decision making for sustainability; setting sustainability objectives, ensuring the consideration of ‘more sustainable’ alternatives, and integrating sustainability criteria in PPP development; and promoting sustainability outcomes through tiering and institutional learning. At the same time, our review identified many underlying barriers that challenge SEA for sustainability, including the variable interpretations of the scope of sustainability in SEA; the limited use of assessment criteria directly linked to sustainability objectives; and challenges for decision-makers in operationalizing sustainability in SEA and adapting PPP development decision-making processes to include sustainability issues. To advance SEA for sustainability there is a need to better define the scope of sustainability in SEA; clarify how to operationalize the different approaches to sustainability in SEA, as opposed to simply describing those approaches; provide guidance on how to operationalize broad sustainability goals through assessment criteria in SEA; and understand better how to facilitate institutional learning regarding sustainability through SEA application. -- Highlights: ► There is significant potential for SEA to support sustainability in PPP development. ► However, there are still many barriers in place that challenge SEA for sustainability. ► The scope and approaches to sustainability in SEA must be better defined and described. ► Guidance is needed to

Strategic environmental assessment for sustainability: A review of a decade of academic research

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

White, Lisa, E-mail: lisa.white@usask.ca [School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, 117 Science Place, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada S7N 5A5 (Canada); Noble, Bram F., E-mail: b.noble@usask.ca [Department of Geography and Planning, School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, 117 Science Place, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada S7N 5A5 (Canada)

2013-09-15

This paper examines the strategic environmental assessment (SEA)–sustainability relationship over the past decade, from 2000 to 2010, focusing in particular on the incorporation of sustainability in SEA. A total of 86 papers from the academic literature containing the terms ‘sustainability’ or ‘sustainable development’ and ‘strategic environmental assessment’ were identified and reviewed. Several common themes emerged by which SEA can support sustainability, including providing a framework to support decision making for sustainability; setting sustainability objectives, ensuring the consideration of ‘more sustainable’ alternatives, and integrating sustainability criteria in PPP development; and promoting sustainability outcomes through tiering and institutional learning. At the same time, our review identified many underlying barriers that challenge SEA for sustainability, including the variable interpretations of the scope of sustainability in SEA; the limited use of assessment criteria directly linked to sustainability objectives; and challenges for decision-makers in operationalizing sustainability in SEA and adapting PPP development decision-making processes to include sustainability issues. To advance SEA for sustainability there is a need to better define the scope of sustainability in SEA; clarify how to operationalize the different approaches to sustainability in SEA, as opposed to simply describing those approaches; provide guidance on how to operationalize broad sustainability goals through assessment criteria in SEA; and understand better how to facilitate institutional learning regarding sustainability through SEA application. -- Highlights: ► There is significant potential for SEA to support sustainability in PPP development. ► However, there are still many barriers in place that challenge SEA for sustainability. ► The scope and approaches to sustainability in SEA must be better defined and described. ► Guidance is needed to

Assessment Schemes for Sustainability Design through BIM: Lessons Learnt

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kamaruzzaman Syahrul Nizam

2016-01-01

Full Text Available There is increasing demand on sustainability-led design to reduce negative impacts brought by construction development. The capability of Building Information Modeling (BIM to achieve sustainability is widely acknowledged. Various sustainability analysis and calculation can be performed at early stages to help the designers in decision making. However, the level of implementation is still not popular in the construction industry. Many of the industry players are still rely on traditional 2D method for designing and analysis. Hence, this study aims to demonstrate a proof concept of using BIM for sustainability design. The first phase of this study conducted a critical review of existing assessment schemes: BREEAM, LEED, SBTool, CASBEE, BEAM Plus, Green Star, Green Mark and GBI, to develop a set of main criteria to be considered for sustainability design. The findings revealed that fourteen criteria are considered, which are management, sustainable site, transport, indoor environmental quality, energy, waste, water, material, pollution, innovation, economics, social, culture and quality of services. It was found that most of the existing schemes emphasized on environmental aspect as compared to economics, social and culture except SBTool. The next phase of this study will conduct a case study to demonstrate sustainability design through BIM by using the criteria developed from the first phase.

Sustainability in Supply Chain Management: Aggregate Planning from Sustainability Perspective.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Metin Türkay

Full Text Available Supply chain management that considers the flow of raw materials, products and information has become a focal issue in modern manufacturing and service systems. Supply chain management requires effective use of assets and information that has far reaching implications beyond satisfaction of customer demand, flow of goods, services or capital. Aggregate planning, a fundamental decision model in supply chain management, refers to the determination of production, inventory, capacity and labor usage levels in the medium term. Traditionally standard mathematical programming formulation is used to devise the aggregate plan so as to minimize the total cost of operations. However, this formulation is purely an economic model that does not include sustainability considerations. In this study, we revise the standard aggregate planning formulation to account for additional environmental and social criteria to incorporate triple bottom line consideration of sustainability. We show how these additional criteria can be appended to traditional cost accounting in order to address sustainability in aggregate planning. We analyze the revised models and interpret the results on a case study from real life that would be insightful for decision makers.

Biorefinery Sustainability Analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

J. S. M. Silva, Carla; Prunescu, Remus Mihail; Gernaey, Krist

2017-01-01

This chapter deals with sustainability analysis of biorefinery systems in terms of environmental and socio-economic indicators . Life cycle analysis has methodological issues related to the functional unit (FU), allocation , land use and biogenic carbon neutrality of the reference system and of t......This chapter deals with sustainability analysis of biorefinery systems in terms of environmental and socio-economic indicators . Life cycle analysis has methodological issues related to the functional unit (FU), allocation , land use and biogenic carbon neutrality of the reference system...... and of the biorefinery-based system. Socio-economic criteria and indicators used in sustainability frameworks assessment are presented and discussed. There is not one single methodology that can aptly cover the synergies of environmental, economic, social and governance issues required to assess the sustainable...

Evaluating Emergency Response Solutions for Sustainable Community Development by Using Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Group Decision Making Approaches: IVDHF-TOPSIS and IVDHF-VIKOR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Junling Zhang

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Emergency management is vital in implementing sustainable community development, for which community planning must include emergency response solutions to potential natural and manmade hazards. To help maintain such solution repository, we investigate effective fuzzy multi-criteria group decision making (FMCGDM approaches for the complex problems of evaluating alternative emergency response solutions, where weights for decision makers and criteria are unknown due to problem complexity. We employ interval-valued dual hesitant fuzzy (IVDHF set to address decision hesitancy more effectively. Based on IVDHF assessments, we develop a deviation maximizing model to compute criteria weights and another compatibility maximizing model to calculate weights for decision makers. Then, two ideal-solution-based FMCGDM approaches are proposed: (i by introducing a synthesized IVDHF group decision matrix into TOPSIS, we develop an IVDHF-TOPSIS approach for fuzzy group settings; (ii when emphasizing both maximum group utility and minimum individual regret, we extend VIKOR to develop an IVDHF-VIKOR approach, where the derived decision makers’ weights are utilized to obtain group decision matrix and the determined criteria weights are integrated to reflect the relative importance of distances from the compromised ideal solution. Compared with aggregation-operators-based approach, IVDHF-TOPSIS and IVDHF-VIKOR can alleviate information loss and computational complexity. Numerical examples have validated the effectiveness of the proposed approaches.

Factors Affecting Entrepreneurship and Business Sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Tur-Porcar

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Sustainability is becoming increasingly important for society, and the creation of business ventures is one area where sustainability is critical. We examined the factors affecting actions that are designed to foster business sustainability. These factors are related to the environment, behavior, human relations, and business activity. Based on questionnaire responses from experts, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP method was used to rank sustainable business criteria according to their importance for entrepreneurs starting sustainable businesses. The results indicate that the most important drivers of sustainable entrepreneurship are behavioral factors and business factors. Ethical principles and values, together with competitive intelligence, are crucial for undertaking actions that lead to sustainability.

Sustainability in retailing – a summative content analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wiese, Anne; Kellner, Julian; Lietke, Britta

2012-01-01

and industrial branches in the sustainability literature relevant to retail supply chains, and sustainability considerations in retail practice. Findings – Sustainability-related issues have been discussed for many years and the term sustainability has received increased attention in research since the mid-1990s....... In retail research, there seems to be a time lag of more than ten years in using the term sustainability compared to other fields in research and industry. However, some of these other research fields and industries have an impact on retail supply chains. At the same time, it seems that sustainability has...... and industries relevant to retail supply chains....

Navigating the sustainability landscape: a systematic review of sustainability approaches in healthcare.

Science.gov (United States)

Lennox, L; Maher, L; Reed, J

2018-02-09

Improvement initiatives offer a valuable mechanism for delivering and testing innovations in healthcare settings. Many of these initiatives deliver meaningful and necessary changes to patient care and outcomes. However, many improvement initiatives fail to sustain to a point where their full benefits can be realised. This has led many researchers and healthcare practitioners to develop frameworks, models and tools to support and monitor sustainability. This work aimed to identify what approaches are available to assess and influence sustainability in healthcare and to describe the different perspectives, applications and constructs within these approaches to guide their future use. A systematic review was carried out following PRISMA guidelines to identify publications that reported approaches to support or influence sustainability in healthcare. Eligibility criteria were defined through an iterative process in which two reviewers independently assessed 20% of articles to test the objectivity of the selection criteria. Data were extracted from the identified articles, and a template analysis was undertaken to identify and assess the sustainability constructs within each reported approach. The search strategy identified 1748 publications with 227 articles retrieved in full text for full documentary analysis. In total, 62 publications identifying a sustainability approach were included in this review (32 frameworks, 16 models, 8 tools, 4 strategies, 1 checklist and 1 process). Constructs across approaches were compared and 40 individual constructs for sustainability were found. Comparison across approaches demonstrated consistent constructs were seen regardless of proposed interventions, setting or level of application with 6 constructs included in 75% of the approaches. Although similarities were found, no approaches contained the same combination of the constructs nor did any single approach capture all identified constructs. From these results, a consolidated

Human Systems Design Criteria

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Jens

1982-01-01

This paper deals with the problem of designing more humanised computer systems. This problem can be formally described as the need for defining human design criteria, which — if used in the design process - will secure that the systems designed get the relevant qualities. That is not only...... the necessary functional qualities but also the needed human qualities. The author's main argument is, that the design process should be a dialectical synthesis of the two points of view: Man as a System Component, and System as Man's Environment. Based on a man's presentation of the state of the art a set...... of design criteria is suggested and their relevance discussed. The point is to focus on the operator rather than on the computer. The crucial question is not to program the computer to work on its own conditions, but to “program” the operator to function on human conditions....

Development of the EU Ecolabel Criteria and Revision of the EU Green Public Procurement Criteria for Cleaning Services

OpenAIRE

DE ALMEIDA FERREIRA NETO BELMIRA; WOLF Oliver; FIELD Bethany; JENKIN Nicola; TAM Max; BENJAMIN Oscar

2016-01-01

The objective of this project is to develop a new EU Ecolabel and revise the existing EU Green Public Procurement (GPP) criteria for professional cleaning services (hereafter referred to as cleaning services). This preliminary report investigates the market, operational and sustainability aspects of cleaning services, with a goal to develop a robust evidence base and prioritise key environmental and social issues to support the development of EU Ecolabel criteria and the revision of the EU GP...

Sustainability performance evaluation: Literature review and future directions.

Science.gov (United States)

Büyüközkan, Gülçin; Karabulut, Yağmur

2018-07-01

Current global economic activities are increasingly being perceived as unsustainable. Despite the high number of publications, sustainability science remains highly dispersed over diverse approaches and topics. This article aims to provide a structured overview of sustainability performance evaluation related publications and to document the current state of literature, categorize publications, analyze and link trends, as well as highlight gaps and provide research recommendations. 128 articles between 2007 and 2018 are identified. The results suggest that sustainability performance evaluation models shall be more balanced, suitable criteria and their interrelations shall be well defined and subjectivity of qualitative criteria inherent to sustainability indicators shall be considered. To address this subjectivity, group decision-making techniques and other analytical methods that can deal with uncertainty, conflicting indicators, and linguistic evaluations can be used in future works. By presenting research gaps, this review stimulates researchers to establish practically applicable sustainability performance evaluation frameworks to help assess and compare the degree of sustainability, leading to more sustainable business practices. The review is unique in defining corporate sustainability performance evaluation for the first time, exploring the gap between sustainability accounting and sustainability assessment, and coming up with a structured overview of innovative research recommendations about integrating analytical assessment methods into conceptual sustainability frameworks. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Developing Sustainable Life Support System Concepts

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Evan A.

2010-01-01

Sustainable spacecraft life support concepts may allow the development of more reliable technologies for long duration space missions. Currently, life support technologies at different levels of development are not well evaluated against each other, and evaluation methods do not account for long term reliability and sustainability of the hardware. This paper presents point-of-departure sustainability evaluation criteria for life support systems, that may allow more robust technology development, testing and comparison. An example sustainable water recovery system concept is presented.

Confirmatory factor analysis of Post-Occupancy Evaluation Model (POEM) for sustainable neighborhood development

Science.gov (United States)

Yaman, R.; Thadaniti, S.; Abdullah, J.; Ahmad, N.; Ishak, N. M.

2018-02-01

The sustainable urban development growth in the ASEAN region has accelerated tremendously. More demand on the sustainable development has led to bigger market driven certified green neighborhood and buildings. However, there is a lack of post-occupancy evaluation study conducted in assessing the end-users perspective on the certified sustainable neighborhood development. This paper aims to investigate the end-users point of view on sustainable dimension pillar (SDP) adaptation based on environment dimension, social dimension and economic dimension using Post-Occupancy Evaluation Model (POEM) framework. The research methodology employed stakeholders-Inclusion Approach survey questionnaires in order to obtained the sustainable dimensional adaptation score. The results show that there is sustainable dimension gap in POEM evaluation, hence, suggested the pre- occupancy criteria did not fulfill the SDP adaptation and pre-occupancy criteria and variables if differ from post-occupancy criteria and variables.

A RESEARCH ON BARRIERS TO SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT AND SUSTAINABLE SUPPLIER SELECTION CRITERIA (SÜRDÜRÜLEBİLİR TEDARİK ZİNCİRİ YÖNETİMİ İÇİN ENGELLER VE SÜRDÜRÜLEBİLİR TEDARİKÇİ SEÇİM KRİTERLERİ ÜZERİNE BİR ARAŞTIRMA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Funda ÖZÇELİK

2014-04-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT: Firms have started to become aware of the fact that their suppliers’ responsibility for sustainability has a great impact on their own development and reputation and that any organization’s environmental sustainability is impossible without incorporating sustainable supply chain management applications into their activities. In this study, a survey was conducted on the firms that issue sustainability reports in Turkey. The purpose of the study is to examine issues that businesses see as obstacles to sustainable supply chain management and to search rankings of the criteria that can be used in sustainable supplier selection. According to the results of the study, supplier firm culture and financial costs are seen as obstacles to sustainable supply chain management, and amongst the criteria given for sustainable supplier selection, three criteria identified to have the highest importance value are, respectively, abolition of child labor and working conditions, quality, and reliability. According to the overall rankings of the criteria, economic criteria rank first, followed by environmental and social criteria. Keywords: Sustainability, Triple Bottom Line, Supply Chain Management, Sustainable Supply Chain Management. ÖZ: İşletmeler tedarikçilerinin sürdürülebilirlik konularındaki sorumluluklarının kendi gelişim ve itibarları üzerindeki etkisinin ve herhangi bir örgütün çevresel sürdürülebilirliğinin, sürdürülebilir tedarik zinciri yönetimi uygulamalarını içermeden imkânsız olduğunun farkına varmaya başlamışlardır. Yapılan çalışmada, Türkiye’de sürdürülebilirlik raporu yayınlayan işletmeler üzerine anket yoluyla bir araştırma yapılmıştır. Çalışmanın amacı, işletmelerin sürdürülebilir tedarik zinciri için engel olarak gördükleri konuları ve sürdürülebilir tedarikçi seçimi için kullanılacak kriterlerin önem derecelerini araştırmaktır. Araştırmanın sonu

Sustainability impact assessment to improve food security of smallholders in Tanzania

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schindler, Jana, E-mail: jana.schindler@zalf.de [Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Institute of Land Use Systems, Eberswalder Straße 84, 15374 Müncheberg (Germany); Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Faculty of Agriculture and Horticulture, Invalidenstr. 42, 10099 Berlin (Germany); Graef, Frieder, E-mail: graef@zalf.de [Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Institute of Land Use Systems, Eberswalder Straße 84, 15374 Müncheberg (Germany); König, Hannes Jochen, E-mail: hkoenig@zalf.de [Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Institute of Land Use Systems, Eberswalder Straße 84, 15374 Müncheberg (Germany); Mchau, Devotha, E-mail: dvtmchau@yahoo.com [Agricultural Research Institute (ARI Hombolo/Makutupora), P. O. Box 1676, Dodoma (Tanzania, United Republic of); Saidia, Paul, E-mail: saidiapaul@gmail.com [Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) Morogoro, Department of Crop Science and Production, P O. Box 3005, Morogoro (Tanzania, United Republic of); Sieber, Stefan, E-mail: stefan.sieber@zalf.de [Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Institute of Socio-Economics, Eberswalder Straße 84, 15374 Müncheberg (Germany)

2016-09-15

The objective of this paper was to assess the sustainability impacts of planned agricultural development interventions, so called upgrading strategies (UPS), to enhance food security and to identify what advantages and risks are assessed from the farmer's point of view in regards to social life, the economy and the environment. We developed a participatory methodological procedure that links food security and sustainable development. Farmers in four different case study villages in rural Tanzania chose their priority UPS. For these UPS, they assessed the impacts on locally relevant food security criteria. The positive impacts identified were mainly attributed to increased agricultural production and its related positive impacts such as increased income and improved access to necessary means to diversify the diet. However, several risks of certain UPS were also indicated by farmers, such as increased workload, high maintenance costs, higher competition among farmers, loss of traditional knowledge and social conflicts. We discussed the strong interdependence of socio-economic and environmental criteria to improve food security for small-scale farmers and analysed several trade-offs in regards to UPS choices and food security criteria. We also identified and discussed the advantages and challenges of our methodological approach. In conclusion, the participatory impact assessment on the farmer level allowed a locally specific analysis of the various positive and negative impacts of UPS on social life, the economy and the environment. We emphasize that only a development approach that considers social, economic and environmental challenges simultaneously can enhance food security.

Sustainable building assessment tool: integrating sustainability into current design and building processes

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Gibberd, Jeremy T

2008-09-01

Full Text Available the carrying capacity of supporting ecosystems. ( International Union for Conservation of Nature 1991) These definitions focus on what Wackernagel and Yount call the “socio-economic” and “ecological imperatives” of sustainability (Wackernagel et al, 2000.... Figure 1 Human development and ecological footprints 2003 (from the Living Planet Report) The figure is interesting in that it suggest that only one country (in Latin America and the Caribbean) meets the minimum criteria for sustainability...

Global climate change mitigation and sustainable forest management--The challenge of monitoring and verification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Makundi, Willy R.

1997-12-31

In this paper, sustainable forest management is discussed within the historical and theoretical framework of the sustainable development debate. The various criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management put forth by different institutions are critically explored. Specific types of climate change mitigation policies/projects in the forest sector are identified and examined in the light of the general criteria for sustainable forest management. Areas of compatibility and contradiction between the climate mitigation objectives and the minimum criteria for sustainable forest management are identified and discussed. Emphasis is put on the problems of monitoring and verifying carbon benefits associated with such projects given their impacts on pre-existing policy objectives on sustainable forest management. The implications of such policy interactions on assignment of carbon credits from forest projects under Joint Implementation/Activities Implemented Jointly initiatives are discussed. The paper concludes that a comprehensive monitoring and verification regime must include an impact assessment on the criteria covered under other agreements such as the Biodiversity and/or Desertification Conventions. The actual carbon credit assigned to a specific project should at least take into account the negative impacts on the criteria for sustainable forest management. The value of the impacts and/or the procedure to evaluate them need to be established by interested parties such as the Councils of the respective Conventions.

PATHWAYS TO SUSTAINABLE BANKING MANAGEMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dragan (Santamarian Oana Raluca

2012-12-01

Full Text Available This paper describes one of the major challenges of the future: the sustainable development of the society. Sustainability is now increasingly recognized as central to the growth of emerging market economies. For the banking sector, this represents both a demand for greater social and environmental responsibility as well as a new landscape of business opportunity. Several years ago, the main part of the banks did not consider the social and environmental problems relevant for their operations. Recently, the banks began to realize the major impact of the sustainable development over the way of ulterior development of the society and, implicitly over the way of creating of the banking value in the future. In this context, the development of a banking management system, based on sustainable principles represents one of the provocations of these days.Starting from literature in the sustainable banking management field in this paper are presented several relevant issues related to risk management in the context of sustainable banking financing: the need to implement the sustainable management principles in financial and banking industry; the role of banks in sustainable development of society; social and environmental risk management policies, events that have shaped the role of the banking sector in sustainable development; international standards regarding sustainable banking management such us: Equator Principles for sustainable investment projects’ financing or GRI principles for sustainable reporting. Furthermore, we developed a practical case study related to the implementation of sustainable banking management at Bank of America.

Sustainability assessment of cogeneration sector development in Croatia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liposcak, Marko; Afgan, Naim H.; Duic, Neven; Graca Carvalho, Maria da

2006-01-01

The effective and rational energy generation and supply is one of the main presumptions of sustainable development. Combined heat and power production, or co-generation, has clear environmental advantages by increasing energy efficiency and decreasing carbon emissions. However, higher investment cost and more complicated design and maintenance sometimes-present disadvantages from the economical viability point of view. As in the case of most of economies in transition in Central and Eastern Europe, Croatia has a strong but not very efficient co-generation sector, delivering 12% of the final energy consumption. District heating systems in the country's capital Zagreb and in city of Osijek represent the large share of the overall co-generation capacity. Besides district heating, co-generation in industry sector is also relatively well developed. The paper presents an attempt to assess the sustainability of Croatian co-generation sector future development. The sustainability assessment requires multi-criteria assessment of specific scenarios to be taken into consideration. In this respect three scenarios of Croatian co-generation sector future development are taken into consideration and for each of them environmental, social and economic sustainability indicators are defined and calculated. The assessment of complex relationships between environmental, social and economic aspects of the system is based on the multi-criteria decision-making procedure. The sustainability assessment is based on the General Sustainability Index rating for different cases reflecting different criteria and their priority. The method of sustainability assessment is applied to the Croatian co-generation sector contributing to the evaluation of different strategies and definition of a foundation for policy related to the sustainable future cogeneration sector development

A Conceptual Model for the Sustainable Governance of Integrated Management of National Water Resources with a Focus on Training and Capacity Building

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alaleh Ghaemi

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The instabilities over the past two decades in governing water resources have led to the need for an integrated approach to the problem. Moreover, the decent and sustainable governance of water resources has come to be recognized as the supplement to the integrated management of water resources. The present study strives to develop a conceptual model of water reources sustainable governance with emphasis on training and capacity-building. For this purpose, expert views presented to different international meetings and world conferences on water were reviewed to develop a comprehensive and all-embracuing conceptual model of sustainable governance for the integrated management of water resources with a focus on training and capacity-building. In a second stage of the study, both internationally published literature and the regulatory documents on water management approved at the national level were consulted to derive appropriate standards, criteria, and indicators for the implementation of the proposed conceptual model. The relevance of these indicators was validated by soliciting expert views while their stability was calculated via the Cronbach’s alpha formula to be 0.94. The third stage of the study involved the ranking and gradation of the indicators using the relevant software in a fuzzy decision-making environment based on interviews with 110 senior water executives, academics working in the field, senior agricultural managers, water experts in local communities, and NGO activists. The emerging model finally consisted of 9 criteria and 52 indicators, amongst which the criterion of public participation and the indicator of training and capacity-building won the highest scores. It may be claimed that the proposed conceptual model is quite relevant and adapted to the sustainable governance presently sought. The key roles in this model are played by public participation as well as training and capacity building that must be on the priority

Community-Based Rural Tourism: A Proposed Sustainability Framework

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kayat Kalsom

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Many tourism projects run by community in the rural areas are labelled as Community-based Rural Tourism (CBRT, a type of a more ‘responsible’ tourism that contributes to sustainable development. However, a framework is needed to enable planners and managers to understand its criteria thus ensuring that the CBRTs fulfil the sustainability requirement. This paper presents findings from a literature review on previous writings in this topic. Findings from an analysis on the criteria of a sustainable CBRT product are discussed. It is found that in order for it to play a role in sustainable development, a CBRT product must focus on competitive management, resource conservation, and benefit creation to the community. The three elements need to be supported, in turn, by community involvement and commitment. As the proposed conceptual framework of sustainable CBRT product can be a basis for further research in CBRT, it offers producing theoretical and practical implications.

Sustainable Technology and Business Innovation Framework – A Comprehensive Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maja Levi Jakšić

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Despite of the rising awareness of the urgency in finding more efficient and effective ways to achieve sustainable development, comprehensive and consistent meaning is still elusive both in theory and practice. The aim of this paper is to create a more structured theoretical framework related to macro and micro perspectives of sustainable development, relevant also to enhancing sustainable practices. We here propose a comprehensive framework model for structuring multiple sustainability principles and practices, detected in the literature as different sustainability categories related to both macro and micro perspectives of sustainability in the economy and society. The focus is on relevant sustainability principles of technology and business innovation in relation to basic technology and business innovation models as a contribution to less investigated theoretical aspects of sustainable business development. We developed a set of related matrices indicating the relevant roles and relationships between these principles in achieving sustainable business goals related to sustainable economy dimensions. Finally, the paper shows that the proposed Related Matrices Framework fulfils the main objective set in the initial research stages, i.e. to be of both theoretical and practical relevance. As a contribution to the theory it meets the need of building a structured, integrated, comprehensive model that serves the needs of better understanding different sustainability of macro and micro categories, indicating mutual relations and influences. In a practical sense, it can be used as a tool to support the management of change in companies oriented at achieving sustainable business goals based on sustainable technology and business innovation.

A comparative study on the reliability criteria determination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jerng, Dong Wook; Ju, Tae Young

2009-01-01

There are two methods to determine the reliability criteria for maintenance effectiveness monitoring; using the failure probability, and the importance from PRA. Comparisons of the results from these two methods provides an insight on the relevancy of setting the reliability criteria to improve the maintenance effectiveness. (author)

Clinical relevance of routine semen analysis and controversies surrounding the 2010 World Health Organization criteria for semen examination

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandro C. Esteves

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Semen analysis is the corner stone of infertility evaluation as it provides information on the functional status of the seminiferous tubules, epididymis and accessory sex glands. The methods on how the human semen should be evaluated are provided by the World Health Organization, which periodically releases manuals that include specific protocols and reference standards. In 2010, the WHO published new criteria for human semen characteristics that were markedly lower than those previously reported. In this review initially it is discussed the limitations of semen analysis as a surrogate measure of a man’s ability to father a pregnancy. Secondly, it is analyzed methodology issues that could explain why the newly released reference values were different from those earlier reported. Thirdly, it is speculated on the likely effects of the 2010 WHO criteria in the management of male infertility. Due to the several inherent limitations of semen analysis as a surrogate marker of male infertility, physicians should exercise caution when interpreting results. A template for semen analysis reports that incorporates the distribution of the semen characteristics of recent fathers in centiles rather than solely the minimum thresholds could aid clinicians to better understand how a given patient results compare with the reference population. Importantly, a male infertility evaluation must go far beyond a simple semen analysis, as it has to be complemented with a proper physical examination, a comprehensive history taking, and relevant endocrine, genetic, and other investigations.

An Empirical Exploration, Typology, and Definition of Corporate Sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manfred Max Bergman

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The relationship between business and society is evolving. On the one hand, social, environmental, and long-term economic issues subsumed under the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development are inspiring intergovernmental organizations, governments, NGOs, NPOs, foundations, and civic society to legislate and regulate corporate behavior toward a greater concern for the wellbeing of groups, regions, or entire societies. On the other, a growing trend toward protectionism, nationalism, and populism may be the consequence or expression of a dissatisfaction with the perceived dissociation of the private sector from society. As a form of self-regulation, corporate responsibility deals with the complex responsibilities businesses have toward society. However, it tends to be hampered by an emphasis on theology and philosophy-based business ethics, which are difficult to integrate into day-to-day business operations or to translate between national or corporate cultures. In this article, we argue that corporate sustainability could be a more useful concept to help improve on how government, the private sector, and academia understand the links between business and society, and how to translate the interdependence between business and society from one culture to another. For this purpose, we empirically analyzed the relevant academic literature on corporate sustainability, using Content Configuration Analysis. Our analyses revealed three conceptual types and nine subtypes of corporate sustainability. Based on their assessment, we suggest conceptual preferences and a definition of corporate sustainability, which fulfil criteria that may render the concept more useful to global political and socioeconomic negotiations among stakeholder groups for the long-term benefit of business and society.

Catalysis and sustainable (green) chemistry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Centi, Gabriele; Perathoner, Siglinda [Dipartimento di Chimica Industriale ed Ingegneria dei Materiali, University of Messina, Salita Sperone 31, 98166 Messina (Italy)

2003-01-15

Catalysis is a key technology to achieve the objectives of sustainable (green) chemistry. After introducing the concepts of sustainable (green) chemistry and a brief assessment of new sustainable chemical technologies, the relationship between catalysis and sustainable (green) chemistry is discussed and illustrated via an analysis of some selected and relevant examples. Emphasis is also given to the concept of catalytic technologies for scaling-down chemical processes, in order to develop sustainable production processes which reduce the impact on the environment to an acceptable level that allows self-depuration processes of the living environment.

Criteria for evaluating alternative uses of energy resources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hogg, R. J.

1977-10-15

Criteria that should be considered in evaluating the alternative use of energy resources are examined, e.g., energy policies must be compatible with overall national objectives; the demands of the energy sector must be sustainable; energy supplies must be reliable; resource depletion rates must be minimized; community interests must be protected; and economic costs must be minimized. Case studies using electricity and natural gas for the application of these criteria are presented.

Using sustainable development actions to promote the relevance of mountain wines in export markets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Graça António R.

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (WCED, 1987. For the business community, sustainability is more than mere window-dressing. By adopting sustainable practices, companies can gain a competitive edge, increase their market share, and boost shareholder value (IISD, 2013. The wine industry has incorporated sustainability into its business strategy for a long time. In the USA, several industry organizations promoted its adoption by both grape growers and winemakers. In mountain wine regions, sustainability becomes more important as these regions generally struggle with reduced competitiveness due to inherent difficulties such as accessibility, remoteness, sparseness of business and population, topography and pedoclimatology (EUROMONTANA 2005. Therefore, any improvement in sustainability is a key factor for the viability of mountain wine producers. Sogrape Vinhos farms 480 ha of mountain vineyards in DWR securing the quality base of grapes for its SANDEMAN Port and CASA FERREIRINHA Douro wines. The company continuously adopted sustainable practices across the whole value chain, from grape to glass. This paper illustrates how a simple, but comprehensive, sustainability assessment, as proposed by a US-based award, can be used to monitor and improve sustainable development practices for a wine business set in an adverse environment, while raising awareness in a key market for wines produced in a mountain vineyard area such as the DWR.

Evaluation of sustainable supply chain risk management using an integrated fuzzy TOPSIS- CRITIC approach

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rostamzadeh, Reza; Ghorabaee, Mehdi Keshavarz; Govindan, Kannan

2018-01-01

Supply chain risk management research has mainly mistreated the important of sustainability issues. Moreover, there is little knowledge about sustainable management of risk and supply chain and the way they impose losses for firms. Risk management's duty in the supply chain is to identify, analyze......, and provide solutions for accountability, control and monitor the risks in the economic and production cycle. This study aims to develop a framework for the sustainable supply chain risk management (SSCRM) evaluation. To this end, an integrated fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach is proposed...... based on the technique in order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) and criteria importance through inter-criteria correlation (CRITIC) methods. The literature was reviewed and the potential criteria were identified. Through an expert panel the criteria were filtered. Seven main...

Sustainability and Organizational Change

OpenAIRE

Sitnikov, Catălina

2012-01-01

The relevant and, above all, remarkable feature of sustainability is due to its "duality": on the one hand, it is an indispensable element within the companies even if, on the other hand, it increases the costs of many activities and processes. Facing the challenge of sustainability will determine and create, in the coming years, emerging organizational forms. If ten years ago, many managers clearly expressed their doubts regarding the financial feasibility of sustainability, today, they admi...

legal analysis of the european union sustainability criteria for biofuels

African Journals Online (AJOL)

State.3 Renewable energy could come from a variety of sources, but for the .... Sustainability Restrictions Defined by the European Renewable Energy Directive .... the GHG emissions during the production of biofuels and the impact of the.

Sustainable agriculture in the picture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brouwer, F.M.; De Bont, C.J.A.M.; Leneman, H.; Van der Meulen, H.A.B.

2004-01-01

Sustainable agriculture in the picture provides a systematic overview of the available data that are relevant for debate on transitions towards sustainable agriculture. Review for the agrocomplex, greenhouse horticulture, dairy farming and pig farming. Indicators on economy, environment, nature, animal welfare, human and animal health. Results achieved in practice for the three dimensions of sustainable agriculture, namely economics ('profit'), ecology ('planet') and socio-cultural ('people') [nl

Life cycle considerations for improving sustainability assessments in seafood awareness campaigns.

Science.gov (United States)

Pelletier, Nathan; Tyedmers, Peter

2008-11-01

It is widely accepted that improving the sustainability of seafood production requires efforts to reverse declines in global fisheries due to overfishing and to reduce the impacts to host ecosystems from fishing and aquaculture production technologies. Reflective of on-going dialogue amongst participants in an international research project applying Life Cycle Assessment to better understand and manage global salmon production systems, we argue here that such efforts must also address the wider range of biophysical, ecological, and socioeconomic impacts stemming from the material and energetic throughput associated with these industries. This is of particular relevance given the interconnectivity of global environmental change, ocean health, and the viability of seafood production in both fisheries and aquaculture. Although the growing popularity of numerous ecolabeling, certification, and consumer education programs may be making headway in influencing Western consumer perceptions of the relative sustainability of alternative seafood products, we also posit that the efficacy of these initiatives in furthering sustainability objectives is compromised by the use of incomplete criteria. An emerging body of Life Cycle Assessment research of fisheries and aquaculture provides valuable insights into the biophysical dimensions of environmental performance in alternative seafood production and consumption systems, and should be used to inform a more holistic approach to labeling, certifying, and educating for sustainability in seafood production. More research, however, must be undertaken to develop novel techniques for incorporating other critical dimensions, in particular, socioeconomic considerations, into our sustainability decision-making.

Advances in Multiple Criteria Decision Making for Sustainability: Modeling and Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kao-Yi Shen

2018-05-01

Full Text Available With the surging complexity of real-world problems in important domains such as sustainability, there is a need to leverage advanced modern computational methods or intelligent techniques to support decisions or policy-making. In this Special Issue, 15 selected and formally peer-reviewed papers contribute their novelty and findings, by applying various advanced decision methods or computational techniques to resolve different sustainability problems. Despite the innovations of the proposed models, most of the selected papers involve domain expert’s opinions and knowledge with in-depth discussions. These case studies enrich the practical contributions of this Special Issue.

Contesting legitimacy of voluntary sustainability certification schemes: valuation languages and power asymmetries in the roundtable on sustainable palm oil in Colombia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Marin-Burgos, V.; Clancy, Joy S.; Lovett, Jonathan Cranidge

2015-01-01

Voluntary certification schemes aimed at assuring producer compliance with a set of sustainability criteria have emerged as market-based instruments (MBIs) of sustainability governance. However, the impacts they tackle can be part of a complex arena of socio-environmental conflict, where values and

Effective integrated frameworks for assessing mining sustainability.

Science.gov (United States)

Virgone, K M; Ramirez-Andreotta, M; Mainhagu, J; Brusseau, M L

2018-05-28

The objectives of this research are to review existing methods used for assessing mining sustainability, analyze the limited prior research that has evaluated the methods, and identify key characteristics that would constitute an enhanced sustainability framework that would serve to improve sustainability reporting in the mining industry. Five of the most relevant frameworks were selected for comparison in this analysis, and the results show that there are many commonalities among the five, as well as some disparities. In addition, relevant components are missing from all five. An enhanced evaluation system and framework were created to provide a more holistic, comprehensive method for sustainability assessment and reporting. The proposed framework has five components that build from and encompass the twelve evaluation characteristics used in the analysis. The components include Foundation, Focus, Breadth, Quality Assurance, and Relevance. The enhanced framework promotes a comprehensive, location-specific reporting approach with a concise set of well-defined indicators. Built into the framework is quality assurance, as well as a defined method to use information from sustainability reports to inform decisions. The framework incorporates human health and socioeconomic aspects via initiatives such as community-engaged research, economic valuations, and community-initiated environmental monitoring.

Mapping Sustainability Preferences of West African Economic and Monetary Union. Case Study: Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger

OpenAIRE

Satoguina, Honorat

2006-01-01

This study discusses the concept of sustainability, in particular with respect to the CDM. In addition, based on cross-section interviews, the sustainability criteria for CDM projects in energy sectors in the studied countries are determined. These criteria could serve as a starting point for discussing and designing sustainable development criteria in the West African Economic and Monetary Union. Moreover, issues related to the location of Designated National Authorities (DNA) and their fund...

Modeling a Decision Support Tool for Buildable and Sustainable Building Envelope Designs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natee Singhaputtangkul

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Sustainability and buildability requirements in building envelope design have significantly gained more importance nowadays, yet there is a lack of an appropriate decision support system (DSS that can help a building design team to incorporate these requirements and manage their tradeoffs at once. The main objective of this study is to build such a tool to facilitate a building design team to take into account sustainability and buildability criteria for assessment of building envelopes of high-rise residential buildings in Singapore. Literature reviews were conducted to investigate a comprehensive set of the sustainability and buildability criteria. This also included development of the tool using a Quality Functional Deployment (QFD approach combined with fuzzy set theory. A building design team was engaged to test the tool with the aim to evaluate usefulness of the tool in managing the tradeoffs among the sustainability and buildability criteria. The results from a qualitative data analysis suggested that the tool allowed the design team to effectively find a balance between the tradeoffs among the criteria when assessing multiple building envelope design alternatives. Main contributions of using this tool are achievement of a more efficient assessment of the building envelopes and more sustainable and buildable building envelope design.

Assessment of Sustainability of Sports Events (Slovenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aleksandra Golob

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Events industry plays an important role in nowadays economy and can have a substantial impact for a successful business; in addition, sustainability-oriented tourism is becoming an important component of development and planning of a tourist destination. Thus, organizing sustainability-oriented events is crucial and should focus on the zero waste event management and consider as many elements of sustainable development as possible. The same stands for organizing sports events. The aim of this paper was to find out to which level the organizers of existing sports events in Slovenia are taking into account different domains of sustainable development. Answering to a common questionnaire the organizers gave us a feedback considering four main areas: environmental, social, cultural, and economic criteria. The plan was to determine the level of sustainability of three sports events and compare them to each other according to the outstanding areas as well as to draw the attention to the importance of organizing sustainability-oriented sports events and minimizing negative effects of those. Since the field of research is complex, dynamic, and has an interdisciplinary character the results were attained using the DEX software which supports a qualitative approach and allows the modelling of complex decision-making processes with a large number of parameters and alternatives. Such methodology enables the input of a preliminary set of sustainability criteria and can be used as a support when deciding on the evaluation of sustainability of events in general.

Sustainability of Advanced Fuel Cycles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuznetsov, Vladimir

2013-01-01

⇒ The IAEA’s International Project on Innovative Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycles (INPRO) was established in 2000. ⇒ INPRO cooperates with Member States to ensure that sustainable nuclear energy is available to help meet the energy needs of the 21st century. ⇒ INPRO is part of the integrated services of the IAEA provided to Member States considering initial development or expansion of nuclear energy programmes. ⇒ INPRO Methodology for nuclear energy system assessment - a comprehensive set of internationally agreed basic principles, requirements and criteria in the important areas of economics, safety, waste management, proliferation resistance, physical protection, environment and infrastructure. ⇒ Meeting the INPRO criteria in all of the areas ensures sustainability of nuclear energy system and its high potential to meet growing energy demand throughout the present century

INTERBANK DEPOSIT MARKET RELEVANCE FOR CROATIAN BANKING SYSTEM SUSTAINABILITY

OpenAIRE

Ercegovac, Roberto; Kundid, Ana

2011-01-01

Existence, functionality and sustainability of the interbank deposit market signifi cantly determinate bank’s asset and liability management (ALM) potentials and thus an overall banking sector performance. Among other numerous factors in the banking business, key roles of the interbank deposit market like availability of short-term liquidity sources, ensuring investment and lending opportunities as well as allowing hedging potentials, considerably contribute to commercial bank’s risk – return...

An Index to Measure Sustainability of a Business Project in the Construction Industry: Lithuanian Case

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nomeda Dobrovolskienė

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The continuous growth of the world population, resource scarcity and the threat of climate change pose numerous environmental and social problems to the world. Therefore, much hope is put in the concept of sustainability. Companies are increasingly coming under strong global pressure to incorporate sustainability considerations into their project decision-making process. Business projects in the construction industry are among the most important, as this sector is one of the largest sectors and of major importance for the national economy and therefore has a huge impact on the environment and society. Thus, we have to explore ways to integrate sustainability into the management of those projects. This paper presents a composite sustainability index of a project (CSIP which has been created following a review of existing literature and a pilot research study. A pilot research study was conducted in the Lithuanian construction industry between January 2015 and June 2015. Sustainability criteria were chosen and grouped on the basis of the analysis of the literature and different standards relating to sustainability applicable in the construction industry. A survey was used to select and rank the most important sustainability criteria. The index was constructed using multi-criteria decision-making methods. The results of the pilot study revealed that practitioners in the Lithuanian construction sector attach most importance to 15 sustainability criteria. A composite sustainability index of a project combining all these criteria may be useful in assessing the sustainability of a business project and making decisions regarding project portfolio selection and financial resource allocation. When addressing the issue of financial resource allocation in a project portfolio, the decision-maker could take into account not only the project’s return and risk, but also its sustainability. The understanding of this study should enable companies to execute

Conceptualising sustainability assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pope, Jenny; Annandale, David; Morrison-Saunders, Angus

2004-01-01

Sustainability assessment is being increasingly viewed as an important tool to aid in the shift towards sustainability. However, this is a new and evolving concept and there remain very few examples of effective sustainability assessment processes implemented anywhere in the world. Sustainability assessment is often described as a process by which the implications of an initiative on sustainability are evaluated, where the initiative can be a proposed or existing policy, plan, programme, project, piece of legislation, or a current practice or activity. However, this generic definition covers a broad range of different processes, many of which have been described in the literature as 'sustainability assessment'. This article seeks to provide some clarification by reflecting on the different approaches described in the literature as being forms of sustainability assessment, and evaluating them in terms of their potential contributions to sustainability. Many of these are actually examples of 'integrated assessment', derived from environmental impact assessment (EIA) and strategic environmental assessment (SEA), but which have been extended to incorporate social and economic considerations as well as environmental ones, reflecting a 'triple bottom line' (TBL) approach to sustainability. These integrated assessment processes typically either seek to minimise 'unsustainability', or to achieve TBL objectives. Both aims may, or may not, result in sustainable practice. We present an alternative conception of sustainability assessment, with the more ambitious aim of seeking to determine whether or not an initiative is actually sustainable. We term such processes 'assessment for sustainability'. 'Assessment for sustainability' firstly requires that the concept of sustainability be well-defined. The article compares TBL approaches and principles-based approaches to developing such sustainability criteria, concluding that the latter are more appropriate, since they avoid many

Toxic chemical risk acceptance criteria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Craig, D.K.; Davis, J.; Lee, L.; Lein, P.; Omberg, S.

1992-01-01

This paper presents recommendations of a subcommittee of the Westinghouse M ampersand 0 Nuclear Facility Safety Committee concerning toxic chemical risk acceptance criteria. Two sets of criteria have been developed, one for use in the hazard classification of facilities, and the second for use in comparing risks in DOE non-reactor nuclear facility Safety Analysis Reports. The Emergency Response Planning Guideline (ERPG) values are intended to provide estimates of concentration ranges for specific chemicals above which exposure would be expected to lead to adverse heath effects of increasing severity for ERPG-1, -2, and -3s. The subcommittee recommends that criteria for hazard class or risk range be based on ERPGs for all chemicals. Probability-based Incremental Cancer Risk (ICR) criteria are recommended for additional analyses of risks from all known or suspected human carcinogens. Criteria are given for both on-site and off-site exposure. The subcommittee also recommends that the 5-minute peak concentration be compared with the relevant criterion with no adjustment for exposure time. Since ERPGs are available for only a limited number of chemicals, the subcommittee has developed a proposed hierarchy of concentration limit parameters for the different criteria

The application of the multi-criteria analysis in evaluating of the road designs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kuzović Ljubiša T.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The analysis of the suitability of applying multi-criteria ranking of road design variants places the emphasis on the danger of fixing the ranking results, by the impact of subjective factors, in the process of determining relevant criteria and their relative weights. This danger is illustrated using two real examples. In the first example, subjective factors did not have a decisive influence since all of the most significant technical exploitation economic and ecological indicators, determined in the appropriate study and project documentation, were taken into account while determining relevant criteria and their relative weights. In the second example, subjective factors had a more decisive influence since all of the most significant technical exploitation economic and ecological indicators, determined in the appropriate study and project documentation, were not taken into account while determining relevant criteria and their relative weights.

Tools and methodologies to support more sustainable biofuel feedstock production.

Science.gov (United States)

Dragisic, Christine; Ashkenazi, Erica; Bede, Lucio; Honzák, Miroslav; Killeen, Tim; Paglia, Adriano; Semroc, Bambi; Savy, Conrad

2011-02-01

Increasingly, government regulations, voluntary standards, and company guidelines require that biofuel production complies with sustainability criteria. For some stakeholders, however, compliance with these criteria may seem complex, costly, or unfeasible. What existing tools, then, might facilitate compliance with a variety of biofuel-related sustainability criteria? This paper presents four existing tools and methodologies that can help stakeholders assess (and mitigate) potential risks associated with feedstock production, and can thus facilitate compliance with requirements under different requirement systems. These include the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT), the ARtificial Intelligence for Ecosystem Services (ARIES) tool, the Responsible Cultivation Areas (RCA) methodology, and the related Biofuels + Forest Carbon (Biofuel + FC) methodology.

Sustainability Criteria for Planning, Constructing, and Operating Contingency Bases

Science.gov (United States)

2012-05-22

common PREREQ 1 Walkable Streets yes Planning, Desi gn, Construction, OaM Medium use areas. Plan careft,j!y to accommodate simftar functions in the...apjly the specific LEED·ND criteria. Pay special attention to roads that connect LSA ~ife support areas) to common Walkable Streets yes Planning... Walkable Streets  Intent: ►To promote transportation efficiency. ►To promote walking by providing: • Safe •Appealing •Comfortable street

The added value of sustainability motivations in understanding sustainable food choices

OpenAIRE

Verain, M.C.D.; Onwezen, M.C.; Sijtsema, S.J.; Dagevos, H.

2016-01-01

Understanding consumer food choices is crucial to stimulate sustainable food consumption. Food choice motives are shown to be relevant in understanding consumer food choices. However, there is a focus on product motives, such as price and taste, whereas process motives (i.e. environmental welfare) are understudied. The current study aims to add to the existing literature by investigating the added value of sustainable process motives (environmental welfare, animal welfare and social justice) ...

Duurzaamheid en grondstoffen voor diervoeding = Sustainability and feed commodity production

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gosselink, J.M.J.; Bindraban, P.S.; Bos, J.F.F.P.

2010-01-01

This study creates a preliminary framework to judge the sustainability of production of agricultural commodities for the purpose of animal nutrition. Criteria are selected according to the economic, societal and ecological dimensions of sustainability.

Analytic network process model for sustainable lean and green manufacturing performance indicator

Science.gov (United States)

Aminuddin, Adam Shariff Adli; Nawawi, Mohd Kamal Mohd; Mohamed, Nik Mohd Zuki Nik

2014-09-01

Sustainable manufacturing is regarded as the most complex manufacturing paradigm to date as it holds the widest scope of requirements. In addition, its three major pillars of economic, environment and society though distinct, have some overlapping among each of its elements. Even though the concept of sustainability is not new, the development of the performance indicator still needs a lot of improvement due to its multifaceted nature, which requires integrated approach to solve the problem. This paper proposed the best combination of criteria en route a robust sustainable manufacturing performance indicator formation via Analytic Network Process (ANP). The integrated lean, green and sustainable ANP model can be used to comprehend the complex decision system of the sustainability assessment. The finding shows that green manufacturing is more sustainable than lean manufacturing. It also illustrates that procurement practice is the most important criteria in the sustainable manufacturing performance indicator.

Selection of Forklift Unit for Warehouse Operation by Applying Multi-Criteria Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Predrag Atanasković

2013-07-01

Full Text Available This paper presents research related to the choice of the criteria that can be used to perform an optimal selection of the forklift unit for warehouse operation. The analysis has been done with the aim of exploring the requirements and defining relevant criteria that are important when investment decision is made for forklift procurement, and based on the conducted research by applying multi-criteria analysis, to determine the appropriate parameters and their relative weights that form the input data and database for selection of the optimal handling unit. This paper presents an example of choosing the optimal forklift based on the selected criteria for the purpose of making the relevant investment decision.

Handling Diversity of Visions and Priorities in Food Chain Sustainability Assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francesca Galli

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Food chain sustainability assessment is challenging on several grounds. Handling knowledge and information on sustainability performance and coping with the diversity of visions around “what counts as sustainable food” are two key issues addressed by this study. By developing a comparative case study on local, regional and global wheat-to-bread chains, and confronting the multidimensionality of sustainability, this work focuses on the differing visions and perspectives of stakeholders. We integrate qualitative and quantitative data, stakeholder consultation and multi-criteria analysis to align the visions and the multiple meanings of sustainability. Because of the complexity and the dynamicity of the food system, the multidimensionality of the sustainability concept and its pliability to stakeholders priorities, sustainability is an object of competition for firms in the agro-food sector and has major implications in the governance of food chains. Results identify key propositions in relation to: (i the value of combining science-led evidence with socio-cultural values; (ii multidimensional sustainability assessment as a self diagnosis tool; and (iii the need to identify shared assessment criteria by communities of reference.

Sustainability assessment of nuclear power: Discourse analysis of IAEA and IPCC frameworks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verbruggen, Aviel; Laes, Erik

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Sustainability assessments (SAs) are methodologically precarious. • Discourse analysis reveals how the meaning of sustainability is constructed in SAs. • Discourse analysis is applied on the SAs of nuclear power of IAEA and IPCC. • For IAEA ‘sustainable’ equals ‘complying with best international practices’. • The IAEA framework largely inspires IPCC Fifth Assessment Report. - Abstract: Sustainability assessments (SAs) are methodologically precarious. Value-based judgments inevitably play a role in setting the scope of the SA, selecting assessment criteria and indicators, collecting adequate data, and developing and using models of considered systems. Discourse analysis can reveal how the meaning and operationalization of sustainability is constructed in and through SAs. Our discourse-analytical approach investigates how sustainability is channeled from ‘manifest image’ (broad but shallow), to ‘vision’, to ‘policy targets’ (specific and practical). This approach is applied on the SA frameworks used by IAEA and IPCC to assess the sustainability of the nuclear power option. The essentially problematic conclusion is that both SA frameworks are constructed in order to obtain answers that do not conflict with prior commitments adopted by the two institutes. For IAEA ‘sustainable’ equals ‘complying with best international practices and standards’. IPCC wrestles with its mission as a provider of “policy-relevant and yet policy-neutral, never policy-prescriptive” knowledge to decision-makers. IPCC avoids the assessment of different visions on the role of nuclear power in a low-carbon energy future, and skips most literature critical of nuclear power. The IAEA framework largely inspires IPCC AR5

The State of Environmentally Sustainable Interior Design Practice

OpenAIRE

Mihyun Kang; Denise A. Guerin

2009-01-01

Problem statement: Research that investigates how interior designers use environmentally sustainable interior design criteria in their design solutions has not been done. To provide a base to develop education strategies for sustainable interior design, this study examined the state of environmentally sustainable interior design practice. Approach: A national, Internet-based survey of interior design practitioners was conducted. To collect data, the random sample of US interior design practit...

Factors associated with sustained remission in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Science.gov (United States)

Martire, María Victoria; Marino Claverie, Lucila; Duarte, Vanesa; Secco, Anastasia; Mammani, Marta

2015-01-01

To find out the factors that are associated with sustained remission measured by DAS28 and boolean ACR EULAR 2011 criteria at the time of diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. Medical records of patients with rheumatoid arthritis in sustained remission according to DAS28 were reviewed. They were compared with patients who did not achieved values of DAS28<2.6 in any visit during the first 3 years after diagnosis. We also evaluated if patients achieved the boolean ACR/EULAR criteria. Variables analyzed: sex, age, smoking, comorbidities, rheumatoid factor, anti-CCP, ESR, CRP, erosions, HAQ, DAS28, extra-articular manifestations, time to initiation of treatment, involvement of large joints, number of tender joints, number of swollen joints, pharmacological treatment. Forty five patients that achieved sustained remission were compared with 44 controls. The variables present at diagnosis that significantly were associated with remission by DAS28 were: lower values of DAS28, HAQ, ESR, NTJ, NSJ, negative CRP, absence of erosions, male sex and absence of involvement of large joints. Only 24.71% achieved the boolean criteria. The variables associated with sustained remission by these criteria were: lower values of DAS28, HAQ, ESR, number of tender joints and number of swollen joints, negative CRP and absence of erosions. The factors associated with sustained remission were the lower baseline disease activity, the low degree of functional disability and lower joint involvement. We consider it important to recognize these factors to optimize treatment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Political Criteria for Sustainable Development Goal (SDG Selection and the Role of the Urban Dimension

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manuel Rivera

2013-11-01

Full Text Available A flood of ideas and proposals on the shape and selection of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs has begun to rise since 2012. This article looks at some of them, trying to understand which kind of “boundary work” between science and policy is done here. Starting with a reflection on the epistemological and practical implications of “discussing SDGs”, it primarily addresses scientists, but also decision makers and activists interested in the post-2015 debate. In practical terms of SDG selection, the argument goes in favor of a self-reflective “politization of science”; i.e., against claims for broad scientific comprehensiveness of SDGs and in favor of an “exemplary” selection of thematic areas and targets, which would combine aspects of (i political opportunity and (ii societal visibility. These criteria are only very partially met in the proposals the article looks at. By applying them, the article emphasizes the political importance of addressing, through SDGs, the subnational level directly, thus making the case for an SDG on cities. Such an SDG should, by the same logic, be rather focused and exemplary than all-encompassing. The recently employed formula of “resilient, inclusive and connected cities” is considered useful, when accompanied by tangible and communicable indicators.

Sustainability rating tools for buildings and its wider application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siew Renard

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper provides a commentary on the latest research in measuring the sustainability of buildings and its wider application. The emergence of sustainability rating tools (SRTs has faced critique from scholars due to their deficiencies such as the overemphasis on environmental criteria, the negligence of uncertainty in scoring and existence of non-scientific criteria benchmarks among many others. This could have attributed to the mixed evidence in the literature on the benefits of SRTs. Future research direction is proposed to advance the state-of-the art in this field.

TTI Phase 2 Institutional Support: Sustainable Development Policy ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

TTI Phase 2 Institutional Support: Sustainable Development Policy Institute. This funding will strengthen the Sustainable Development Policy Institute's (SDPI) role as a credible public policy institution in Pakistan by enhancing its ability to provide high-quality, influential, and policy-relevant research. About the Sustainable ...

Radiation protection criteria in the long-range view

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Snihs, J.O.; Bergman, C.

1989-01-01

The report presents by way of introduction radiation protection criteria applied to radiological activities and to disposal of low-level and intermediate-level radioactive waste. In these cases it is primarily short-range views that are relevant, up to a few thousand years as a maximum. In the case of high-level wastes where the views may extend to more than hundreds of thousands years, there are not for the present any equally well stablished criteria. Based upon preliminary results from a Nordic team for criteria for high-level radioactive wastes, dose estimates in the long-range view and alternative assessment criteria are discussed. Proposals are also presented for 12 criteria that may be applicable. As the work is not yet finshed, the criteria are however merely preliminary

Clinical and functional criteria for predicting asthma in infants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu. L. Mizemitskiy

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: to determine clinical and functional criteria for predicting asthma in children who have sustained acute obstructive bronchitis in infancy. Subjects and methods. A total of 125 infants aged 2 to 36 months who had experienced 1 -2 episodes of acute obstructive bronchitis and treated at hospital were examined when bronchial obstruction syndrome was being relieved. In addition to physical examination, functional studies (computerized bronchophonography and heart rate variability assessment were used. Immunological examination included determination of the serum levels of immunoglobulin E and interleuMn-17A. The infants who had sustained acute obstructive bronchitis were followed up for 12-36 months. Results. The infants who had sustained acute obstructive bronchitis in the presence of mild perinatal CNS damage caused by hypoxia were typified by high respiratory morbidity; early-onset bronchial obstruction; long-term bronchial obstruction relief; high incidence of grade 2 respiratory failure in acute obstructive bronchitis. These patients developed asthma more often than twice and repeated episodes of bronchial obstruction. ROC analysis was used to elaborate clinical and functional criteria for predicting the development of asthma in infants. Conclusion. The proposed additional clinical and functional criteria characterizing external respiratory dysfunction and autonomic homeostatic changes contribute to the early diagnosis of asthma and substantially increase the validity of prediction of its development in children younger than 3 years, which is of great importance for goal-oriented preventive measures.

Advantages of integrated and sustainability based assessment for metabolism based strategic planning of urban water systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Behzadian, Kourosh; Kapelan, Zoran

2015-09-15

Despite providing water-related services as the primary purpose of urban water system (UWS), all relevant activities require capital investments and operational expenditures, consume resources (e.g. materials and chemicals), and may increase negative environmental impacts (e.g. contaminant discharge, emissions to water and air). Performance assessment of such a metabolic system may require developing a holistic approach which encompasses various system elements and criteria. This paper analyses the impact of integration of UWS components on the metabolism based performance assessment for future planning using a number of intervention strategies. It also explores the importance of sustainability based criteria in the assessment of long-term planning. Two assessment approaches analysed here are: (1) planning for only water supply system (WSS) as a part of the UWS and (2) planning for an integrated UWS including potable water, stormwater, wastewater and water recycling. WaterMet(2) model is used to simulate metabolic type processes in the UWS and calculate quantitative performance indicators. The analysis is demonstrated on the problem of strategic level planning of a real-world UWS to where optional intervention strategies are applied. The resulting performance is assessed using the multiple criteria of both conventional and sustainability type; and optional intervention strategies are then ranked using the Compromise Programming method. The results obtained show that the high ranked intervention strategies in the integrated UWS are those supporting both water supply and stormwater/wastewater subsystems (e.g. rainwater harvesting and greywater recycling schemes) whilst these strategies are ranked low in the WSS and those targeting improvement of water supply components only (e.g. rehabilitation of clean water pipes and addition of new water resources) are preferred instead. Results also demonstrate that both conventional and sustainability type performance indicators

A Stochastic Programming Approach with Improved Multi-Criteria Scenario-Based Solution Method for Sustainable Reverse Logistics Design of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hao Yu

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Today, the increased public concern about sustainable development and more stringent environmental regulations have become important driving forces for value recovery from end-of-life and end-of use products through reverse logistics. Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE contains both valuable components that need to be recycled and hazardous substances that have to be properly treated or disposed of, so the design of a reverse logistics system for sustainable treatment of WEEE is of paramount importance. This paper presents a stochastic mixed integer programming model for designing and planning a generic multi-source, multi-echelon, capacitated, and sustainable reverse logistics network for WEEE management under uncertainty. The model takes into account both economic efficiency and environmental impacts in decision-making, and the environmental impacts are evaluated in terms of carbon emissions. A multi-criteria two-stage scenario-based solution method is employed and further developed in this study for generating the optimal solution for the stochastic optimization problem. The proposed model and solution method are validated through a numerical experiment and sensitivity analyses presented later in this paper, and an analysis of the results is also given to provide a deep managerial insight into the application of the proposed stochastic optimization model.

Sustaining Exploration in Mature Basins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bayo, A.

2002-01-01

Exploration is a business like any other business driven by opportunity, resources and expectation of profit. Therefore, exploration will thrive anywhere the opportunities are significant, the resources are available and the outlook for profit (or value creation) is good. To sustain exploration activities anywhere, irrespective of the environment, there must be good understanding of the drivers of these key investment criteria. This paper will examine these investment criteria as they relate to exploration business and address the peculiarity of exploration in mature basin. Mature basins are unique environment that lends themselves a mix of fears, paradigms and realities, particularly with respect to the perception of value. To sustain exploration activities in a mature basin, we need to understand these perceptions relative to the true drivers of profitability. Exploration in the mature basins can be as profitable as exploration in emerging basins if the dynamics of value definition-strategic and fiscal values are understood by operators, regulators and co ventures alike. Some suggestions are made in this presentation on what needs to be done in addressing these dynamic investment parameters and sustaining exploration activities in mature basins

How Frugal Innovation Promotes Social Sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rakhshanda Khan

2016-10-01

Full Text Available There is a need to develop an understanding of how frugal innovation promotes social sustainability. The objective of this paper is to find the connections between the two concepts of social sustainability and frugal innovation, by reviewing the existing literature concerning both fields. This paper presents a framework that identifies essential themes of social sustainability and explores them through frugal innovation. The framework builds on the important themes of social sustainability and shows their relevance in practice through frugal innovation. The notion of frugal innovation can be viewed as an approach towards realizing social sustainability and fulfilling the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Criteria for endocrine disrupters: report from the Danish centre on Endocrine Disrupters (CEHOS)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holbech, Henrik; Bjerregaard, Poul; Hass, Ulla

health and the environment. A number of issues relevant for the development of criteria for EDs were considered such as definition, potency, lead effects, specificity and relevance for humans and the environment. The proposed criteria divide substances into three categories dependent on the available...... and the main purpose of the Centre is to build and gather new knowledge on endocrine disrupters (EDs) with focus on information needed for the preventive work of the regulatory authorities. The aim of the report was to propose scientific criteria for the identification of ED substances of concern for human...

Relevant or determinant: Importance in certified sustainable food consumption

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dam, van Y.K.; Trijp, van J.C.M.

2013-01-01

Perceived relevance and determinance are two distinct constructs, underlying the overall concept of attribute importance. The present study proposes a survey based measure of attribute determinance. Based on construal level theory it is argued and empirically shown that actual choices of certified

A Comparison of the Green Building’s Criteria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bahaudin A.Y.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Designers and clients alike are now emphasising on how to make their buildings green. Currently a lot of green councils worldwide are dealing with innovative ways to implement energy efficient new buildings. They have adopted various criteria and rating systems in an endeavour to classify buildings that contribute to environment sustainability, efficiency and users health. The aim of the paper is to present an overview of the criteria adopted by selected green building councils. This paper discusses five of the rating systems available in terms of their similarities and differences and proposes a new framework based on the project life cycle for the development of the green building criteria. Criteria during the construction phase of the building is certainly lacking such as pollution control in terms of CO2 emission, dust, and other pollutants.

Criteria for operator review of workplace changes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davey, E.

2000-01-01

A set of criteria for reviewing workplace changes has been developed for use by plant Operations staff. The criteria were developed to provide Operations staff with a practical framework for structuring assessments and subsequent review comments with regard to control room modifications and innovations that impact their work environment. The criteria were assembled from design, operations and human factors engineering principles, and system review experiences with plant Operations staff over the past ten years. Operations staff at several CANDU stations helped shape the emphasis for initial criteria definition and have assisted with criteria refinement through trial applications. Use of the criteria is expected to lead to more effective and task relevant equipment evaluations by Operations staff, and ultimately lead to system modifications and innovations that better serve plant operation needs. The paper begins with a discussion of the rationale for criteria development and the attributes of 'good' design. The balance of the paper outlines the project objectives, describes the approach applied in assembling, structuring, and refining the review criteria, and illustrates the application of the criteria in the review of a proposed control room innovation. (author)

Explanation of diagnostic criteria for radiation-induced nervous system disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xing Zhiwei; Jiang Enhai

2012-01-01

National occupational health standard-Diagnostic Criteria for Radiation-Induced Nervous System Disease has been issued and implemented by the Ministry of health. This standard contained three independent criteria of the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerve injury. These three kinds of disease often go together in clinic,therefore,the three diagnostic criteria were merged into radioactive nervous system disease diagnostic criteria for entirety and maneuverability of the standard. This standard was formulated based on collection of the clinical practice experience, extensive research of relevant literature and foreign relevant publications. It is mainly applied to diagnosis and treatment of occupational radiation-induced nervous system diseases, and to nervous system diseases caused by medical radiation exposure as well. In order to properly implement this standard, also to correctly deal with radioactive nervous system injury, the main contents of this standard including dose threshold, clinical manifestation, indexing standard and treatment principle were interpreted in this article. (authors)

Layered evaluation of multi-criteria collaborative filtering for scientific paper recommendation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Manouselis, N.; Verbert, K.; Alexandrov, V.; Lees, M.; Krzhizhanovskaya, V.; Dongarra, J.; Sloot, P.M.A.

2013-01-01

Recommendation algorithms have been researched extensively to help people deal with abundance of information. In recent years, the incorporation of multiple relevance criteria has attracted increased interest. Such multi-criteria recommendation approaches are researched as a paradigm for building

Unveiling scientific communities about sustainability and innovation. A bibliometric journey around sustainable terms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Franceschini, Simone; Faria, Lourenco; Jurowetzki, Roman

2016-01-01

innovation), and they concluded that such terms are mostly interchangeable. These findings surprise in light of the different positions shown in the innovation for sustainability debate. Our bibliometric analysis tracks meanings and communities associated with these four terms and indicates some overlaps......, especially between eco-innovation and environmental innovation. However, we found relevant differences of meanings and communities that reflect the different positions in the innovation for sustainability debate....

Multi-criteria evaluation in strategic environmental assessment for waste management plan, a case study: the city of Belgrade.

Science.gov (United States)

Josimović, Boško; Marić, Igor; Milijić, Saša

2015-02-01

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is one of the key instruments for implementing sustainable development strategies in planning in general; in addition to being used in sectoral planning, it can also be used in other areas such as waste management planning. SEA in waste management planning has become a tool for considering the benefits and consequences of the proposed changes in space, also taking into account the capacity of space to sustain the implementation of the planned activities. In order to envisage both the positive and negative implications of a waste management plan for the elements of sustainable development, an adequate methodological approach to evaluating the potential impacts must be adopted and the evaluation results presented in a simple and clear way, so as to allow planners to make relevant decisions as a precondition for the sustainability of the activities planned in the waste management sector. This paper examines the multi-criteria evaluation method for carrying out an SEA for the Waste Management Plan for the city of Belgrade (BWMP). The method was applied to the evaluation of the impacts of the activities planned in the waste management sector on the basis of the environmental and socioeconomic indicators of sustainability, taking into consideration the intensity, spatial extent, probability and frequency of impact, by means of a specific planning approach and simple and clear presentation of the obtained results. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Defining criteria related to wastes for use in multi-criteria decision tool for nuclear accidents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Silva, Diogo N.G.; Guimaraes, Jean R.D., E-mail: dneves@biof.ufrj.br, E-mail: jeanrdg@biof.ufrj.br [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), RJ (Brazil). Instituto de Biofisica Carlos Chagas Filho; Rochedo, Elaine R.R.; De Luca, Christiano, E-mail: elainerochedo@gmail.com, E-mail: christiano_luca@hotmail.com [Instituto Militar de Engenharia (IME), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Programa de Engenharia Nuclear; Rochedo, Pedro R.R., E-mail: rochedopedro@gmail.com [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), RJ (Brazil). Instituto Alberto Luiz Coimbra de Pos-Graduacao e Pesquisa de Engenharia

2013-07-01

The selection of protective measures and strategies for remediation of contaminated areas after a nuclear accident must be based on previously established criteria in order to prevent stress of the population and the unnecessary exposure of workers. After a nuclear accident resulting in environmental contamination, decisions on remediation of areas is complex due to the large numbers of factors involved in decontamination processes. This work is part of a project which aims to develop a multi-criteria tool to support a decision-making process in cases of a radiological or a nuclear accident in Brazil. First, a database of remediation strategies for contaminated areas was created. In this process, the most relevant aspects for the implementation of these strategies were considered, including technical criteria regarding aspects related to the generation of wastes in a reference urban area, which are discussed in this paper. The specific objective of this study is to define criteria for the aspects of radioactive wastes, resulted by the implementation of some urban measures, in order to be incorporated in a multi-criteria decision tool. Main aspects considered were the type, the amount and the type of treatment necessary for each procedure. The decontamination procedures are then classified according to the selected criteria in order to feed the multi-criteria decision tool. This paper describes the steps for the establishment of these criteria and evaluates the potential for future applications in order to improve predictions and to support the decisions to be made. (author)

Defining criteria related to wastes for use in multi-criteria decision tool for nuclear accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva, Diogo N.G.; Guimaraes, Jean R.D.; Rochedo, Elaine R.R.; De Luca, Christiano; Rochedo, Pedro R.R.

2013-01-01

The selection of protective measures and strategies for remediation of contaminated areas after a nuclear accident must be based on previously established criteria in order to prevent stress of the population and the unnecessary exposure of workers. After a nuclear accident resulting in environmental contamination, decisions on remediation of areas is complex due to the large numbers of factors involved in decontamination processes. This work is part of a project which aims to develop a multi-criteria tool to support a decision-making process in cases of a radiological or a nuclear accident in Brazil. First, a database of remediation strategies for contaminated areas was created. In this process, the most relevant aspects for the implementation of these strategies were considered, including technical criteria regarding aspects related to the generation of wastes in a reference urban area, which are discussed in this paper. The specific objective of this study is to define criteria for the aspects of radioactive wastes, resulted by the implementation of some urban measures, in order to be incorporated in a multi-criteria decision tool. Main aspects considered were the type, the amount and the type of treatment necessary for each procedure. The decontamination procedures are then classified according to the selected criteria in order to feed the multi-criteria decision tool. This paper describes the steps for the establishment of these criteria and evaluates the potential for future applications in order to improve predictions and to support the decisions to be made. (author)

Large-scale bioenergy production: how to resolve sustainability trade-offs?

Science.gov (United States)

Humpenöder, Florian; Popp, Alexander; Bodirsky, Benjamin Leon; Weindl, Isabelle; Biewald, Anne; Lotze-Campen, Hermann; Dietrich, Jan Philipp; Klein, David; Kreidenweis, Ulrich; Müller, Christoph; Rolinski, Susanne; Stevanovic, Miodrag

2018-02-01

Large-scale 2nd generation bioenergy deployment is a key element of 1.5 °C and 2 °C transformation pathways. However, large-scale bioenergy production might have negative sustainability implications and thus may conflict with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) agenda. Here, we carry out a multi-criteria sustainability assessment of large-scale bioenergy crop production throughout the 21st century (300 EJ in 2100) using a global land-use model. Our analysis indicates that large-scale bioenergy production without complementary measures results in negative effects on the following sustainability indicators: deforestation, CO2 emissions from land-use change, nitrogen losses, unsustainable water withdrawals and food prices. One of our main findings is that single-sector environmental protection measures next to large-scale bioenergy production are prone to involve trade-offs among these sustainability indicators—at least in the absence of more efficient land or water resource use. For instance, if bioenergy production is accompanied by forest protection, deforestation and associated emissions (SDGs 13 and 15) decline substantially whereas food prices (SDG 2) increase. However, our study also shows that this trade-off strongly depends on the development of future food demand. In contrast to environmental protection measures, we find that agricultural intensification lowers some side-effects of bioenergy production substantially (SDGs 13 and 15) without generating new trade-offs—at least among the sustainability indicators considered here. Moreover, our results indicate that a combination of forest and water protection schemes, improved fertilization efficiency, and agricultural intensification would reduce the side-effects of bioenergy production most comprehensively. However, although our study includes more sustainability indicators than previous studies on bioenergy side-effects, our study represents only a small subset of all indicators relevant for the

Stakes and Challenges for Sustainable Development

OpenAIRE

COLONNA, Paul

2015-01-01

How can we ensure the sustainability of biological resources? The development of new industries using biomass as raw material to produce a broad range of products, through a large number of different transformation processes, raises new questions on the associated environmental impacts. The current situation, mainly due to the significant development of the bio-fuel industries, is characterized by strong demand for sustainability criteria to apply to these new industries, particularly from a...

Nanotechnology for sustainability: what does nanotechnology offer to address complex sustainability problems?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wiek, Arnim, E-mail: arnim.wiek@asu.edu; Foley, Rider W. [Arizona State University, School of Sustainability (United States); Guston, David H. [Arizona State University, Center for Nanotechnology in Society, Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes (United States)

2012-09-15

Nanotechnology is widely associated with the promise of positively contributing to sustainability. However, this view often focuses on end-of-pipe applications, for instance, for water purification or energy efficiency, and relies on a narrow concept of sustainability. Approaching sustainability problems and solution options from a comprehensive and systemic perspective instead may yield quite different conclusions about the contribution of nanotechnology to sustainability. This study conceptualizes sustainability problems as complex constellations with several potential intervention points and amenable to different solution options. The study presents results from interdisciplinary workshops and literature reviews that appraise the contribution of the selected nanotechnologies to mitigate such problems. The study focuses exemplarily on the urban context to make the appraisals tangible and relevant. The solution potential of nanotechnology is explored not only for well-known urban sustainability problems such as water contamination and energy use but also for less obvious ones such as childhood obesity. Results indicate not only potentials but also limitations of nanotechnology's contribution to sustainability and can inform anticipatory governance of nanotechnology in general, and in the urban context in particular.

Nanotechnology for sustainability: what does nanotechnology offer to address complex sustainability problems?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wiek, Arnim; Foley, Rider W.; Guston, David H.

2012-01-01

Nanotechnology is widely associated with the promise of positively contributing to sustainability. However, this view often focuses on end-of-pipe applications, for instance, for water purification or energy efficiency, and relies on a narrow concept of sustainability. Approaching sustainability problems and solution options from a comprehensive and systemic perspective instead may yield quite different conclusions about the contribution of nanotechnology to sustainability. This study conceptualizes sustainability problems as complex constellations with several potential intervention points and amenable to different solution options. The study presents results from interdisciplinary workshops and literature reviews that appraise the contribution of the selected nanotechnologies to mitigate such problems. The study focuses exemplarily on the urban context to make the appraisals tangible and relevant. The solution potential of nanotechnology is explored not only for well-known urban sustainability problems such as water contamination and energy use but also for less obvious ones such as childhood obesity. Results indicate not only potentials but also limitations of nanotechnology’s contribution to sustainability and can inform anticipatory governance of nanotechnology in general, and in the urban context in particular.

Utilities practices toward sustainable development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

The strategy toward a Sustainable Development is not standardised and it is useful to compare approaches of companies. WG C3.03 analysed a number of Sustainability Reports or Environmental Reports, published by Utilities, exposing their current approaches to the three 'Pillars': environmental aspects, society development and economical performances. Case studies, relevant to the three 'Pillars', show examples of practices

Slovenian Mediterrananean and sustainable development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mitja Bricelj

2002-12-01

Full Text Available Regional approach based on physical, social and economic characteristics of particular landscape what is basic input for sustainable development. The case Slovenian Mediterranean and sustainable development demonstrate public participation in the process of preparation of coastal management plan. For this process new forms of knowledge transfer to relevant public is needed to get their active position about different.

Much ado about nothing? Sustainability disclosure in the banking industry

OpenAIRE

Hummel, Katrin; Festl-Pell, Diana Brigitte

2015-01-01

This paper examines the sustainability disclosure in the banking industry with respect to potential greenwashing. We build a theoretical framework to assess the sustainability disclosure along materiali-ty criteria in the banking industry and apply this framework to the corporate sustainability reporting of two global systemically important banks. The results of our case study point toward the existence of greenwashing mainly in the most material area of the sustainability disclosure of our s...

Sustainability indicators for innovation and research institutes of nuclear area in Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alves, S.F.; Barreto, A.A.; Rodrigues, P.C.H.; Feliciano, V.M.D.

2016-01-01

Indicators are relevant tools for measuring sustainability process. In this study, the relevance of sustainability indicators appropriate for research and innovation institutes in Brazil is discussed. As reference for case study, nuclear research and innovation institutes were chosen. Sixty-nine sustainability indicators were considered. Some of these indicators were obtained from lists in the literature review, distributed between the dimensions environmental, economic, social, cultural and institutional. The other indicators were developed through discussions between professionals from nuclear, environmental, economic, social and cultural areas. Among the investigated indicators, 32 were selected as being the most relevant. Discrepancies were found during the analysis the opinions of the experts in relation to sustainability dimensions proposed. (author)

Achieving More Sustainable Designs through a Process Synthesis-Intensification Framework

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Babi, Deenesh Kavi; Woodley, John; Gani, Rafiqul

2014-01-01

More sustainable process designs refer to design alternatives that correspond to lowervalues of a set of targeted performance criteria. In this paper, a multi-level frameworkfor process synthesis-intensification that leads to more sustainable process designs ispresented. At the highest level of a...

Multi-criteria decision making approaches for green supply chains

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Banasik, Aleksander; Bloemhof-Ruwaard, Jacqueline M.; Kanellopoulos, Argyris; Claassen, G.D.H.; Vorst, van der Jack G.A.J.

2016-01-01

Designing Green Supply Chains (GSCs) requires complex decision-support models that can deal with multiple dimensions of sustainability while taking into account specific characteristics of products and their supply chain. Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) approaches can be used to quantify

Business travel and sustainability

OpenAIRE

AGUILERA, Anne

2013-01-01

Although it contributes significantly to the demand for transport, in particular air transport, business travel has been relatively neglected in thinking about the strategies needed to promote more sustainable mobility practices. This paper provides a two-stage approach to this subject. We begin by showing how the sustainability of business travel is relevant not only in environmental terms, but also from an economic and social perspective. In the second stage, we consider the strategies that...

Hydroelectricity and sustainable development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dubeau, D.

1995-01-01

From 1975 to 1992, hydroelectricity helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Quebec by 20%. For Hydro-Quebec, energy conservation and hydroelectric development are basic complementary tools for sustainable development. Recent studies show that developing only 50% of economically exploitable hydroelectric potential (30% of the gross theoretical potential) of different regions worldwide would considerably reduce greenhouse gas and SO 2 emissions. However, hydroelectric systems produce environmental and social impacts locally that require mitigative measures. To fulfill its mandate in a sustainable development context, Hydro-Quebec has adopted methods such as integrated resource planning, the assessment of externalities, multi criteria decision tools and public participations

Sustainable Development in Engineering Education

Science.gov (United States)

Taoussanidis, Nikolaos N.; Antoniadou, Myrofora A.

2006-01-01

The principles and practice of environmentally and socially sustainable engineering are in line with growing community expectations and the strengthening voice of civil society in engineering interventions. Pressures towards internationalization and globalization are reflected in new course accreditation criteria and higher education structures.…

Farming with future: making crop protection sustainable

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wijnands, F.G.

2011-01-01

The project Farming with future works with parties with a vested interest to promote sustainable crop protection in practice. Besides developing new knowledge, it spends a good deal of its energy in the embedding of sustainable practices within relevant organisations, businesses and agrarian

An image-based multi-criteria assessment of sustainable redevelopment plans of a university campus

NARCIS (Netherlands)

João, Romão; Nijkamp, Peter; Van Leeuwen, Eveline; Karima, Kourtit; Ozasa, Takao; Ikegami, Maki

2015-01-01

The concept of sustainability is increasingly applied in urban facilities planning, including a University campus. A campus can essentially be seen as a living laboratory for the development of ecologically-benign practices connected to the social interactions of an academic environment. Sustainable

Technological, economic and sustainability evaluation of power plants using the analytic hierarchy process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chatzimouratidis, Athanasios I.; Pilavachi, Petros A.

2009-01-01

Complexity of power plant evaluation is steadily rising, as more criteria are involved in the overall assessment while evaluation data change rapidly. Apart from evaluating several aspects of power plants separately, a multicriteria analysis based on hierarchically structured criteria is necessary, so as to address the overall assessment of power plants according to the technological, economic and sustainability aspects. For this reason, in this paper, ten types of power plant are evaluated using nine end node criteria properly structured under the Analytical Hierarchy Process. Moreover, pairwise comparisons allow for accurate subjective criteria weighting. According to the scenario based on the subjective criteria weighting, emphasis is laid on sustainability driving renewable energy power plants at the top of the overall ranking, while nuclear and fossil fuel power plants rank in the last five positions. End node criteria contribution to each power plant and power plant performance per end node criterion is presented for all types of power plant and end node criteria. (author)

THE MULTIPLE CHOICE PROBLEM WITH INTERACTIONS BETWEEN CRITERIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luiz Flavio Autran Monteiro Gomes

2015-12-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT An important problem in Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis arises when one must select at least two alternatives at the same time. This can be denoted as a multiple choice problem. In other words, instead of evaluating each of the alternatives separately, they must be combined into groups of n alternatives, where n = 2. When the multiple choice problem must be solved under multiple criteria, the result is a multi-criteria, multiple choice problem. In this paper, it is shown through examples how this problemcan be tackled on a bipolar scale. The Choquet integral is used in this paper to take care of interactions between criteria. A numerical application example is conducted using data from SEBRAE-RJ, a non-profit private organization that has the mission of promoting competitiveness, sustainable developmentand entrepreneurship in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The paper closes with suggestions for future research.

Multi-criteria evaluation for CHP system options

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pilavachi, P.A.; Roumpeas, C.P.; Minett, S.; Afgan, N.H.

2006-01-01

Several Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system options have been considered for evaluation with respect to the end-user requirements. These included Internal Combustion Engines (Otto and Diesel), Gas Turbines, Steam Turbines and Combined Cycles covering a wide range of electrical output. Data have been obtained from literature and the CHP systems have been evaluated using different criteria such as overall efficiency, investment cost, fuel cost, electricity cost, heat cost, CO 2 production and footprint. A multi-criteria method is used with an agglomeration function based on the statistical evaluation of weight factors. The technical, economic and social aspects of each system have been evaluated in an integrated manner and the results have been compared by means of the Sustainability Index. Based on the above criteria and depending on the user requirements, the best CHP system options have been established

Integrated Sustainability Reporting at HNE Eberswalde--A Practice Report

Science.gov (United States)

Kräusche, Kerstin; Pilz, Stefanie

2018-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present the development of an integrated sustainability reporting. In this paper success criteria are named and empirical values when dealingwith specific challenges are formulated. The focus is on the development of criteria for reporting, the involvement of university members and quality assurance.…

Managing Natural Resources for Sustainable Livelihoods: Uniting ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

31 juil. 2003 ... Management of local resources has a greater chance of a sustainable outcome when there is partnership between local people and external agencies, and agendas relevant to their aspirations and circumstances. Managing Natural Resources for Sustainable Livelihoods analyses and extends this premise ...

Sustainable tourism types

OpenAIRE

Ion-Danut JUGANARU; Mariana JUGANARU; Andreea ANGHEL

2008-01-01

Tourism development must be based on sustainability criteria, be long term bearable economically and ethically and socially equitable for the local populations of the destinations. Tourism forms identified by the literature as being “sustainable” are numerous: ecological tourism (ecotourism), green tourism, soft, rural tourism and agrotourism, community tourism, solidarity and responsible tourism, all these opposing to the traditional, mass tourism. According to some specialists only tourism ...

Tackling Complex Emergency Response Solutions Evaluation Problems in Sustainable Development by Fuzzy Group Decision Making Approaches with Considering Decision Hesitancy and Prioritization among Assessing Criteria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiao-Wen Qi

2017-10-01

Full Text Available In order to be prepared against potential balance-breaking risks affecting economic development, more and more countries have recognized emergency response solutions evaluation (ERSE as an indispensable activity in their governance of sustainable development. Traditional multiple criteria group decision making (MCGDM approaches to ERSE have been facing simultaneous challenging characteristics of decision hesitancy and prioritization relations among assessing criteria, due to the complexity in practical ERSE problems. Therefore, aiming at the special type of ERSE problems that hold the two characteristics, we investigate effective MCGDM approaches by hiring interval-valued dual hesitant fuzzy set (IVDHFS to comprehensively depict decision hesitancy. To exploit decision information embedded in prioritization relations among criteria, we firstly define an fuzzy entropy measure for IVDHFS so that its derivative decision models can avoid potential information distortion in models based on classic IVDHFS distance measures with subjective supplementing mechanism; further, based on defined entropy measure, we develop two fundamental prioritized operators for IVDHFS by extending Yager’s prioritized operators. Furthermore, on the strength of above methods, we construct two hesitant fuzzy MCGDM approaches to tackle complex scenarios with or without known weights for decision makers, respectively. Finally, case studies have been conducted to show effectiveness and practicality of our proposed approaches.

Tackling Complex Emergency Response Solutions Evaluation Problems in Sustainable Development by Fuzzy Group Decision Making Approaches with Considering Decision Hesitancy and Prioritization among Assessing Criteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Qi, Xiao-Wen; Zhang, Jun-Ling; Zhao, Shu-Ping; Liang, Chang-Yong

2017-10-02

In order to be prepared against potential balance-breaking risks affecting economic development, more and more countries have recognized emergency response solutions evaluation (ERSE) as an indispensable activity in their governance of sustainable development. Traditional multiple criteria group decision making (MCGDM) approaches to ERSE have been facing simultaneous challenging characteristics of decision hesitancy and prioritization relations among assessing criteria, due to the complexity in practical ERSE problems. Therefore, aiming at the special type of ERSE problems that hold the two characteristics, we investigate effective MCGDM approaches by hiring interval-valued dual hesitant fuzzy set (IVDHFS) to comprehensively depict decision hesitancy. To exploit decision information embedded in prioritization relations among criteria, we firstly define an fuzzy entropy measure for IVDHFS so that its derivative decision models can avoid potential information distortion in models based on classic IVDHFS distance measures with subjective supplementing mechanism; further, based on defined entropy measure, we develop two fundamental prioritized operators for IVDHFS by extending Yager's prioritized operators. Furthermore, on the strength of above methods, we construct two hesitant fuzzy MCGDM approaches to tackle complex scenarios with or without known weights for decision makers, respectively. Finally, case studies have been conducted to show effectiveness and practicality of our proposed approaches.

Stock Price Synchronicity and Material Sustainability Information

OpenAIRE

Grewal, Jody; Hauptmann, Clarissa; Serafeim, Georgios

2017-01-01

We examine if, and under what conditions, disclosure of sustainability information identified as investor relevant by market-driven innovations in accounting standard-setting, is associated with stock prices reflecting more firm-specific information and thereby lower synchronicity with market and industry returns. We find that firms voluntarily disclosing more sustainability information, identified as material by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), have lower stock price syn...

Development of standards, criteria, specifications. Vol. 2 - Longlife.. Sustainable, energy efficient and resource saving, residential buildings in consideration of unified procedures and new and adapted technologies. Project in the Baltic Sea region programme 2007-2013

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rueckert, Klaus (ed.)

2010-07-01

Energy and Cost Efficiency as the key characteristics of the sustainability have been the main consideration of different parts of research represented in the Longlife 2 Report. Longlife 2 Report is in fact the final result of work package 4 ''Developments of Standards and Criteria for Sustainable Building and Construction''. Work package 4 was created based on the work package 3 ''Analysis and comparison of state of technology, administration and legal procedures, financial situation, demographic needs, similarities and differences in the participant countries: Denmark, Germany, Lithuania, Poland and Russia''. Three competence teams from each participant country studied, analyzed and examined these concepts from different point of view and introduced a framework to define the fundamental concepts of sustainability. This crucial phase of project based on the objectives and activities of each team could be described as follow: Team 1'' Engineering and Building Technology standards'' and related expertise emphasized on the most architectural solutions and characteristics of sustainability in very wide spectrum. That is realized through adaptable methods of design, typology, standards, assessment systems, proper and available materials with the best physical features, the most efficient and advanced structures and technologies in order to have the most possible energy and resource saving beside the less life cycle cost of the residential building. Team 2 '' Method of planning permit and tendering Procedure'' and its expertise from another point of view worked on the legal and administrative aspects of sustainability and examining possibility and capacity of each involved country to realize sustainable construction. Team 3 ''Economical and Financial basis, Industry and quality'' and its related expertise explained and examined the adequate and necessary tools for

Criteria for authorship in bioethics.

Science.gov (United States)

Resnik, David B; Master, Zubin

2011-10-01

Multiple authorship is becoming increasingly common in bioethics research. There are well-established criteria for authorship in empirical bioethics research but not for conceptual research. It is important to develop criteria for authorship in conceptual publications to prevent undeserved authorship and uphold standards of fairness and accountability. This article explores the issue of multiple authorship in bioethics and develops criteria for determining who should be an author on a conceptual publication in bioethics. Authorship in conceptual research should be based on contributing substantially to: (1) identifying a topic, problem, or issue to study; (2) reviewing and interpreting the relevant literature; (3) formulating, analyzing, and evaluating arguments that support one or more theses; (4) responding to objections and counterarguments; and (5) drafting the manuscript. Authors of conceptual publications should participate substantially in at least two of areas (1)-(5) and also approve the final version. [corrected].

Trade-offs in the adoption of sustainability standards

NARCIS (Netherlands)

F.H. Wijen (Frank)

2014-01-01

markdownabstract__Abstract__ The issue of social and environmental sustainability is arguably highly relevant today, as forward-looking, self-interested companies have broadly shown they understand. Adherence to the principles underlying standards to pursue sustainability can, however, deliver

Trade-offs in the adoption of sustainability standards

NARCIS (Netherlands)

F.H. Wijen (Frank)

2014-01-01

textabstractThe issue of social and environmental sustainability is arguably highly relevant today, as forward-looking, self-interested companies have broadly shown they understand. Adherence to the principles underlying standards to pursue sustainability can, however, deliver unintended

The added value of sustainability motivations in understanding sustainable food choices

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verain, M.C.D.; Onwezen, M.C.; Sijtsema, S.J.; Dagevos, H.

2016-01-01

Understanding consumer food choices is crucial to stimulate sustainable food consumption. Food choice motives are shown to be relevant in understanding consumer food choices. However, there is a focus on product motives, such as price and taste, whereas process motives (i.e. environmental welfare)

Sensitivity analysis of technological, economic and sustainability evaluation of power plants using the analytic hierarchy process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chatzimouratidis, Athanasios I.; Pilavachi, Petros A.

2009-01-01

Technological, economic and sustainability evaluation of power plants by use of the analytic hierarchy process and nine end node criteria for a reference scenario based on subjective criteria weighting has been presented in a previous paper by authors. However, criteria weight variations may substantially modify overall evaluations and rankings of power plants. The current paper presents a sensitivity analysis with four alternative scenarios (sets of criteria weights) compared with the reference scenario. The results show that priority to 'technology and sustainability' favors renewable energy power plants, while priority to 'economic' criteria favors mainly nuclear power plants and less the four types of fossil fuel power plant

The positioning of sustainability within residential property marketing.

Science.gov (United States)

Kriese, Ulrich; Scholz, Roland W

2011-01-01

This article investigates the evolution of sustainability positioning in residential property marketing to shed light on the specific role and responsibility of housebuilders and housing investors in urban development. To this end, an analysis is made of housing advertisements published in Basel, Switzerland, over a period of more than 100 years. The paper demonstrates how to draw successfully on advertisements to discern sustainability patterns in housing, using criteria situated along the dimensions building, location and people. Cluster analysis allows five clusters of sustainability positioning to be described—namely, good location, green building, comfort living, pre-sustainability and sustainability. Investor and builder types are differently located in these clusters. Location emerges as an issue which, to a large extent, is advertised independently from other sustainability issues.

Sustainable value chains for bamboo working communities : Integrating the tenets of sustainability through the Rhizome Approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Reubens, R.R.R.; Brezet, J.C.; Christiaans, H.H.C.M.

2010-01-01

There is a growing demand globally for products which impact sustainability positively. Bamboo fulfills these criteria, since it is a highly renewable timber replacement material which does not cause deforestation. It simultaneously has the potential to create livelihood opportunities for both the

Sustainable Supplier Performance Evaluation and Selection with Neofuzzy TOPSIS Method

OpenAIRE

Chaharsooghi, S. K.; Ashrafi, Mehdi

2014-01-01

Supplier selection plays an important role in the supply chain management and traditional criteria such as price, quality, and flexibility are considered for supplier performance evaluation in researches. In recent years sustainability has received more attention in the supply chain management literature with triple bottom line (TBL) describing the sustainability in supply chain management with social, environmental, and economic initiatives. This paper explores sustainability in supply chain...

Sustainable Supplier Selection with A Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision Making Method Based on Triple Bottom Line

OpenAIRE

Öztürk, Burcu Avcı; Özçelik , Funda

2014-01-01

To meet the demands of various stakeholders and to comply with environmental legislations, businesses started to look at their supply chain to enhance their overall sustainability profile. Supply chain operations with sustainability awareness have become an important issue in recent years and make the sustainable supplier performance evaluation and selection process as a central concept of sustainable supply chain management. In this study, supplier selection problem is modelled within the co...

Sustainability Matters for Undergraduate Teaching and Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Fry, Catherine L.; Wei, Cynthia A.

2015-01-01

A growing body of evidence shows that infusing sustainability into undergraduate courses and programs can simultaneously benefit institutional goals, student learning outcomes, and society at large. In addition to being a globally relevant and urgent topic, sustainability can enhance learning of disciplinary concepts and development of broad…

Sustainable material selection for construction industry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Govindan, Kannan; Shankar, Madan; Kannan, Devika

2016-01-01

a hybrid multi criteria decision making (MCDM) methodology with a specific examination of the UAE. The indicators collected from existing literatures were used in evaluation of sustainable construction materials with the assistance of construction sector-based respondents. The proposed framework...

Transitions to sustainable development. On the relevance of exploiting market forces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glasbergen, P.

2002-01-01

Transition management is a new concept in Dutch environmental policy and management. Bringing about transitions in society is a classical issue in planning and policy theory. One of the main debates is on the relationship between market and plan as coordinating mechanisms in society. Based on an examination of this debate, this article argues that there is no contradiction between incremental change and structural changes in society. In terms of these incremental changes, it observes a process of sustainable development that has gone on for years. In the author's view, the key to sustainable development is to be found in private investments. Transitions in a liberal democratic society necessarily take place via the market mechanism and come about as societal learning processes. The main challenge is to develop structures in which private capital is applied to achieve long-term processes of societal change. The FairTrade market and the clean development mechanism are discussed by way of examples [nl

Assessment of Environmental Sustainability in Health Care Organizations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María Carmen Carnero

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Healthcare organizations should set a standard in corporate social responsibility and encourage environmental sustainability, since protection of the environment implies the development of preventive measures in healthcare. Environmental concern has traditionally focused on manufacturing plants. However, a Health Care Organization (HCO is the only type of company which generates all existing classes of waste, and 20% is dangerous, being infectious, toxic or radioactive in nature. Despite the extensive literature analysing environmental matters, there is no objective model for assessing the environmental sustainability of HCOs in such a way that the results may be compared over time for an organization, and between different organizations, to give a comparison or benchmarking tool for HCOs. This paper presents a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis model integrating a Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process and utility theory, to evaluate environmental sustainability in HCOs. The model uses criteria assessed as a function of the number of annual treatments undertaken. The model has been tested in two HCOs of very different sizes.

Sustainability: Environmental Studies and Public Health

OpenAIRE

Scholz, Miklas

2009-01-01

This special issue ‘Sustainability: Environmental Studies and Public Health’ is part of the internationally leading 'International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health’. I was invited to be the guest editor, and to oversee the refereeing process and subsequent selection of timely, relevant and high quality papers highlighting particularly novel aspects concerned with sustainability issues in environmental studies. [...

Assessment of The Most Sustainable “Management Scenario” For An Old Pesticide Dumpsite

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bondgård, Morten; Melvej, Anja; Rüegg, Kasper

(solution 1) to 0.13 mio. EURO/year (solution 4). One management scenario had to be recommended to the decision-makers (the regional politicians) in the Central Denmark Region – so which one of the four solutions are the most sustainable? In order to improve decision-making, a multi-criteria assessment...... method for comparing the sustainability of the remediation alternatives was developed and applied. The model considers cost and effect of remediation, but also time, environmental and societal impacts and involves stakeholders in the derivation of criteria weights. Results The use of the multi-criteria...... solution, although it was by far more expensive and had the highest secondary effects on the environment. The result of the sustainability assessment played an important part in the decision-making process when the politicians in Central Denmark Region decided on which management scenario to choose...

Sustainability Reporting Process Model using Business Intelligence

OpenAIRE

Alxneit, Thorsten Julius

2015-01-01

Sustainability including the reporting requirements is one of the most relevant topics for companies. In recent years, many software providers have launched new software tools targeting companies committed to implementing sustainability reporting. But it’s not only companies willing to use their Business Intelligence (BI) solution, there are also basic principles such as the single source of truth and tendencies to combine sustainability reporting with the financial reporting (...

A pathway to a more sustainable water sector: sustainability-based asset management.

Science.gov (United States)

Marlow, D R; Beale, D J; Burn, S

2010-01-01

The water sectors of many countries are faced with the need to address simultaneously two overarching challenges; the need to undertake effective asset management coupled with the broader need to evolve business processes so as to embrace sustainability principles. Research has thus been undertaken into the role sustainability principles play in asset management. As part of this research, a series of 25 in-depth interviews were undertaken with water sector professionals from around Australia. Drawing on the results of these interviews, this paper outlines the conceptual relationship between asset management and sustainability along with a synthesis of the relevant opinions voiced in the interviews. The interviews indicated that the participating water authorities have made a strong commitment to sustainability, but there is a need to facilitate change processes to embed sustainability principles into business as usual practices. Interviewees also noted that asset management and sustainability are interlinked from a number of perspectives, especially in the way decision making is undertaken with respect to assets and service provision. The interviews also provided insights into the research needed to develop a holistic sustainability-based asset management framework.

The Usage and Perception of Pedestrian Zones in Lithuanian Cities: Multiple Criteria and Comparative Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rūta Dičiūnaitė-Rauktienė

2018-03-01

Full Text Available As pedestrian zones are public spaces in urban areas, they are important in terms of meeting people’s needs. However, it is worth noting that attention should be paid not only to the development of the physical infrastructure, but also to a sustainable balance between the socio-economic and environmental aspects. To guide urban planning and management initiatives towards more sustainable patterns, it is essential to re-examine the already existing characteristics of cities, establishing how they are used and perceived by inhabitants. The present research suggests environmental, economic and social criteria that determine a greater vitality of pedestrian zones in cities and better life quality for the inhabitants. A questionnaire survey was used to assess common attitudes regarding the research topic in major cities in Lithuania. The multiple criteria decision-making COPRAS (COmplex PRoportional ASsessment method was used for the formation of a priority queue. The research results showed the attitudes of inhabitants towards pedestrian zones in Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipėda. The inhabitants of these three cities regarded social and environmental criteria groups as the most significant. Contrary to what was expected and anticipated, respondents do not consider economic criteria as playing a key role in the sustainable preservation and development of pedestrian zones.

Sustainability aspects of biofuel production

Science.gov (United States)

Pawłowski, L.; Cel, W.; Wójcik Oliveira, K.

2018-05-01

Nowadays, world development depends on the energy supply. The use of fossil fuels leads to two threats: depletion of resources within a single century and climate changes caused by the emission of CO2 from fossil fuels combustion. Widespread application of renewable energy sources, in which biofuels play a major role, is proposed as a counter-measure. The paper made an attempt to evaluate to what extent biofuels meet the criteria of sustainable development. It was shown that excessive development of biofuels may threaten the sustainable development paradigms both in the aspect of: intergenerational equity, leading to an increase of food prices, as well as intergenerational equity, resulting in degradation of the environment. The paper presents the possibility of sustainable biofuels production increase.

Conceptualizing Digital Literacies and Digital Ethics for Sustainability Education

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Susan A.

2014-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the need for integrating a focus on digital literacies and digital ethics into sustainability education, proposing a conceptualization of these for sustainability education. Design/methodology/approach: The paper draws on relevant literature in the field of sustainability education and in the field…

Sustainability and Risk Disclosure: An Exploratory Study on Sustainability Reports

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elisa Truant

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Recent policy changes in sustainability reporting, such as the ones related to the new European Directive on non-financial disclosure (2014/95/EU, the standards issued by the American Sustainability Accounting Standard Board (SASB, the G4 guidelines issued by the Global Sustainability Standard Board (GSSB, and the framework of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC stress the importance of extending the disclosure of ethical, social, and environmental risks within financial and social-environmental reporting. Institutional pressure has notably increased among organizations, in setting up risk management tools to understand sustainability risks within managerial and reporting practices. Given such institutional pressure, the corporate reaction in providing additional sustainability risk disclosure calls for attention and scrutiny. Therefore, this study aims at addressing such issues from an exploratory perspective. We based our analysis on a sample of large Italian organizations that issued sustainability disclosure in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI, G4 guidelines, and we tested the relationship between their level of risk disclosure and other relevant variables. Consistently with the literature, we found that “experienced” sustainable reporters provide a significant volume of disclosure, and that disclosure quality on risk is positively influenced by their international presence and reporting experience. However, when accounting for specific risk-related areas of disclosure, only a few of them seem to adopt a managerial perspective linking strategy, risk metrics, and disclosure.

Are Organic Standards Sufficient to Ensure Sustainable Agriculture? Lessons From New Zealand’s ARGOS and Sustainability Dashboard Projects

OpenAIRE

Merfield, Charles; Moller, Henrik; Manhire, Jon; Rosin, Chris; Norton, Solis; Carey, Peter; Hunt, Lesley; Reid, John; Fairweather, John; Benge, Jayson; Le Quellec, Isabelle; Campbell, Hugh; Lucock, David; Saunders, Caroline; MacLeod, Catriona

2015-01-01

Our review concludes that organic standards need to account for a broader set of criteria in order to retain claims to ‘sustainability’. Measurements of the ecological, economic and social outcomes from over 96 kiwifruit, sheep/beef and dairy farms in New Zealand between 2004 and 2012 by The Agricultural Research Group on Sustainability (ARGOS) project showed some enhanced ecosystem services from organic agriculture that will assist a “land-sharing” approach for sustainable land management. H...

Sustainability and Organizational Change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Catălina Sitnikov

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The relevant and, above all, remarkable feature of sustainability is due to its "duality": on the one hand, it is an indispensable element within the companies even if, on the other hand, it increases the costs of many activities and processes. Facing the challenge of sustainability will determine and create, in the coming years, emerging organizational forms. If ten years ago, many managers clearly expressed their doubts regarding the financial feasibility of sustainability, today, they admit the importance of sustainability for the competitive advantage of the companies they manage. Currently, companies have great opportunities to support build a sustainable global economy, becoming one of the solutions to the most pressing societal challenges. Whether it is about reducing pollution, global warming, reducing use of water resources and other limited resources or ensuring a better work environment for employees throughout the supply chain, there are many things that companies can and should do.

Evaluating construction projects of hotels based on environmental sustainability with MCDM framework

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarfaraz Hashemkhani Zolfani

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Environmental issues have got incredible attention among daily life activities. Sustainability penetrated in all society practices specially construction industry due to its substantial impact on the environment. Monitoring and controlling architectural project contains a decision problem with multi-varieties analysis. This study aimed to evaluate construction projects of hotels regarding environmental sustainability. To this end, a hybrid Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM model is proposed. Step‐wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA and Complex proportional assessment (COPRAS compose a unified framework. A private construction project is supposed as a case study. The project is based on establishing a five star hotel in Tehran, Iran. In this research SWARA produces criteria weights and COPRAS will rank decision alternatives. This study can be a strategic route for other similar researches in other fields. Keywords: Architecture projects, Sustainability, Environmental sustainability, SWARA, COPRAS

Sustainability: Environmental Studies and Public Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miklas Scholz

2009-10-01

Full Text Available This special issue ‘Sustainability: Environmental Studies and Public Health’ is part of the internationally leading 'International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health’. I was invited to be the guest editor, and to oversee the refereeing process and subsequent selection of timely, relevant and high quality papers highlighting particularly novel aspects concerned with sustainability issues in environmental studies. [...

Sustainability and Cities as Systems of Innovation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johnson, Bjørn; Lehmann, Martin

Cities often constitute relevant environments for interactive learning and innovation potentially capable of tackling sustainability problems. In this paper we ask if the concept of systems of innovation can increase our understanding of city dynamics and help promoting the sustainable development...... of cities. Through a combination of the innovation system approach and the perspective of creative cities, we argue that a slightly modified concept – sustainable city systems of innovation – may be helpful in this context. To underline this, we discuss certain ‘city-traits’ of sustainability and conclude...

A combined ANP-delphi approach to evaluate sustainable tourism

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garcia-Melon, Monica, E-mail: mgarciam@dpi.upv.es [INGENIO (CSIC-UPV), Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia (Spain); Gomez-Navarro, Tomas, E-mail: tgomez@dpi.upv.es [Depto. Proyectos Ingenieria, Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, Camino de Vera s/n 46022 Valencia (Spain); Acuna-Dutra, Silvia, E-mail: sacuna@unime.edu.ve [Universidad Metropolitana de Caracas, Caracas (Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of)

2012-04-15

The evaluation of sustainable tourism strategies promoted by National Parks (NP) related stakeholders is a key concern for NP managers. To help them in their strategic evaluation procedures, in this paper we propose a methodology based on the Analytic Network Process and a Delphi-type judgment-ensuring procedure. The approach aims at involving stakeholders in a participatory and consensus-building process. The methodology was applied to Los Roques NP in Venezuela. The problem included three sustainable tourism strategies defined by the stakeholders: eco-efficient resorts, eco-friendly leisure activities and ecological transportation systems. Representatives of eight stakeholders participated in the methodology. 13 sustainability criteria were selected. Results provide some important insights into the overall philosophy and underlying participants' conception of what sustainable development of Los Roques NP means. This conception is broadly shared by stakeholders as they coincided in the weights of most of the criteria, which were assigned individually through the questionnaire. It is particularly noteworthy that tourists and environmentalists almost fully match in their assessments of criteria but not of the alternatives. Moreover, there is a great agreement in the final assessment. This suggests that the regular contact among the different stakeholders, i.e. tourists with inhabitants, authorities with environmentalists, tour operators with representatives of the ministry, etc. has led to a common understanding of the opportunities and threats for the NP. They all agreed that the procedure enhances participation and transparency and it is a necessary source of information and support for their decisions.

A combined ANP-delphi approach to evaluate sustainable tourism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

García-Melón, Mónica; Gómez-Navarro, Tomás; Acuña-Dutra, Silvia

2012-01-01

The evaluation of sustainable tourism strategies promoted by National Parks (NP) related stakeholders is a key concern for NP managers. To help them in their strategic evaluation procedures, in this paper we propose a methodology based on the Analytic Network Process and a Delphi-type judgment-ensuring procedure. The approach aims at involving stakeholders in a participatory and consensus-building process. The methodology was applied to Los Roques NP in Venezuela. The problem included three sustainable tourism strategies defined by the stakeholders: eco-efficient resorts, eco-friendly leisure activities and ecological transportation systems. Representatives of eight stakeholders participated in the methodology. 13 sustainability criteria were selected. Results provide some important insights into the overall philosophy and underlying participants' conception of what sustainable development of Los Roques NP means. This conception is broadly shared by stakeholders as they coincided in the weights of most of the criteria, which were assigned individually through the questionnaire. It is particularly noteworthy that tourists and environmentalists almost fully match in their assessments of criteria but not of the alternatives. Moreover, there is a great agreement in the final assessment. This suggests that the regular contact among the different stakeholders, i.e. tourists with inhabitants, authorities with environmentalists, tour operators with representatives of the ministry, etc. has led to a common understanding of the opportunities and threats for the NP. They all agreed that the procedure enhances participation and transparency and it is a necessary source of information and support for their decisions.

Data Science in the Research Domain Criteria Era: Relevance of Machine Learning to the Study of Stress Pathology, Recovery, and Resilience.

Science.gov (United States)

Galatzer-Levy, Isaac R; Ruggles, Kelly; Chen, Zhe

2018-01-01

Diverse environmental and biological systems interact to influence individual differences in response to environmental stress. Understanding the nature of these complex relationships can enhance the development of methods to: (1) identify risk, (2) classify individuals as healthy or ill, (3) understand mechanisms of change, and (4) develop effective treatments. The Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) initiative provides a theoretical framework to understand health and illness as the product of multiple inter-related systems but does not provide a framework to characterize or statistically evaluate such complex relationships. Characterizing and statistically evaluating models that integrate multiple levels (e.g. synapses, genes, environmental factors) as they relate to outcomes that a free from prior diagnostic benchmarks represents a challenge requiring new computational tools that are capable to capture complex relationships and identify clinically relevant populations. In the current review, we will summarize machine learning methods that can achieve these goals.

Sustainability of Hydrogen Supply Chain. Part II: Prioritizing and Classifying the Sustainability of Hydrogen Supply Chains based on the Combination of Extension Theory and AHP

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ren, Jingzheng; Manzardo, Alessandro; Toniolo, Sara

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study is to develop a method for prioritizing and classifying the sustainability of hydrogen supply chains and assist decision-making for the stakeholders/decision-makers. Multiple criteria for sustainability assessment of hydrogen supply chains are considered and multiple...... decision-makers are allowed to participate in the decision-making using linguistic terms. In this study, extension theory and analytic hierarchy process are combined to rate the sustainability of hydrogen supply chains. The sustainability of hydrogen supply chains could be identified according...

Technical assistance for an evaluation of international schemes to promote biomass sustainability. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Londo, M.

2009-12-01

In this technical assistance report to the title subject report is given of Task 1: Review of GREEN-X assumptions on biomass availability and costs; Task 2: Impacts of sustainability criteria on biomass availability and costs; Task 3: Applicability of existing certification schemes; Task 4: Identification of feasible verification options; and Task 5: summary, integration. The key objective of Task 1 is to validate the present and future availability (up to 2020) and costs of biomass energy in the EU 27. The GREEN-X model forecasts the deployment of renewable energy systems under various scenarios in terms of supporting policy instruments, the availability of resources and generation technologies and energy, technology and resource price developments. Objective of task 2 is to assess to what extent the sustainability criteria as specified in the Renewable Energy Directive (RED (EP/EC 2009)) affect availability and costs of biofuels. The objective of task 3 is to assess to what extent national and international certification schemes (existing and under development) would be applicable for safeguarding the sustainability criteria as mentioned in the Renewable Energy Sources (RES) directive. The objective of Task 4 is to identify and analyse feasible options to verify compliance with biomass sustainability criteria, in the case of forest biomass.

An application of the global sustainable tourism criteria in health tourism

Science.gov (United States)

Robert S. Bristow; Wen-Tsann Yang; Mei-Tsen Lu

2010-01-01

Tourism is an important element of the global economy. Yet for the tourism industry to grow and prosper, there is a need to protect local environmental and social well-being. Sustainable tourism seeks a compromise between growth and protection. Today, health tourism is a multi-billion dollar industry tied to individuals' travel overseas for inexpensive and timely...

Criteria for a Sustainable Exploitation of Groundwater. 1. Well Hydraulics and the Regional Simulation of Aquifers; Criterios para una explotacion sustentable del agua subterranea

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Perez Monteagudo, Fernando [Instituto Superior Politecnico Jose A. Echeverrria (Cuba)

2002-12-01

Compared to surface water, groundwater has several disadvantages: its renewal is slow, its potential is more difficult to estimate, and its exploitation often requires more energy. However, it has the advantage of a higher quality. The long-tem storage effect of aquifers guarantees its continuous availability even in regions with wide temporal variations in precipitation. Although at a global scale groundwater use seems small compared with surface water, the order of importance is reversed if only drinking water is considered. Due to its quality, limited vulnerability, and relatively continuous availability, groundwater is a resource of strategic importance. That is why its exploitation must by ruled by sustainability criteria. This work intends to describe in a general framework the basic criteria that must regulate the sustainable management of groundwater. These criteria can be classified as quantitative and qualitative. Both criteria should be integrated to define groundwater resource management strategies. In the first part of this work, the quantitative aspects are emphasized. Among these criteria that rule the limitation of groundwater, drawdowns are of fundamental importance. New, recently developed tools for this purpose are described, which also establish the links between well hydraulics and the regional simulation of aquifers, such as non-Darcy flow, the interference of wells with non-Darcy flow, and the local optimisation approach, among others. The international trends in this field are also discussed. [Spanish] Comparada con el agua superficial, el agua subterranea tiene la siguientes desventajas: una lenta renovacion, un potencial mas dificil de estimar y que con frecuencia se requiere de mas energia para explotarla. Sin embargo, posee una mayor calidad, ademas de que la capacidad de almacenamiento a largo plazo de los acuiferos garantiza la continuidad de su disponibilidad, incluso en regiones con fuertes variaciones temporales de precipitaciones

Criteria for candidate species for aquaculture

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Webber, H H; Riordan, P F

1976-01-01

The nature of the animal taxa that are the most probable candidates for an intensive, commercial aquatic animal husbandry industry is considered. A characterization is presented of those biological criteria that lend the species the necessary physiological and genetic malleability to be adapted and molded into a domesticated race. The animal cultivated must be amenable to intensive management in high-density confinements such as those now being engineered for high-yield aquaculture. Attributes considered are discussed in the context of the various aquacultural ecosystems in which the specific biotype is expected to achieve satisfactory growth and survival. Correlative with bionomic criteria, economic requirements are posed and evaluated in an effort to define a socially and financially profitable agribusiness system. Investment requirements and operating costs are considered in terms of expected returns. However, since production alone is insufficient to sustain an enterprise - i.e., the product must be sold - production costs must be judged against market values. Therefore, ultimate use or consumer acceptance criteria are incorporated into the list of essential requirements for a candidate species for aquafarming.

Energy and sustainable development: issues and options

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Appert, O.

2001-01-01

Future development needs to be sustainable in all of its dimensions if it is to continue to fully contribute to human welfare. In the achievement of this objective, the manner in which energy is produced and consumed is of crucial importance. In the wake of these insights, first attempts begin to provide concrete options for steps towards sustainability in the energy sector. Two criteria can be identified for developing sustainable development policies. First, such policies need to strike a balance between the three dimensions of sustainable development - economic, environmental and social - acknowledging that all three are intrinsically linked. Second, policies in the energy sector need to reduce exposure to large-scale risks and improve the resilience of the energy system through active risk management and diversification. (authors)

Sustainable Tourism: its Interpretation and Operational Scope

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcela Bertoni

2008-01-01

Full Text Available The application of sustainability principles in tourism is an essential reference for the processes of development and promotion of potential destinations and for the restructuring  of current ones. However, there is a dichotomy between the wide spread of the concept of sustainable tourism and the limitations of the reached progress. This paper intends to encourage a theoretical discussion to examine the definitions of sustainable tourism from diverse approaches, viewpoints and scopes, and to analyze the relevant aspects of its operability, related to the integration of massive and sustainable tourism and to the implications of sustainable development, politics and social participation.

SOME ASPECTS OF SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENT AGRICULTURAL LAND USE AREAS WITHIN THE TERRITORIAL COMMUNITIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kapinos N.

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Land Fund in Ukraine is experiencing excessive human impact, which is reflected in its performance exceeding the allowable agricultural development and land structure imbalance. The environmental condition of land resources close to critical. Among the largest land area occupied by agricultural land (71% of which - 76% is arable land. Violation environmentally acceptable ratio of arable land, natural grasslands and forests negatively affected the sustainability of agricultural landscapes. Throughout the widespread land degradation processes, among which the most ambitious is the erosion (about 57.5% of the territory, pollution (20% of the territory, flooding (about 12% of the territory. Sustainable (balanced land is one of the key factors of sustainable nature of territorial entities and may be formed of a priority, taking into account environmental factors. In ecological optimization based on value criteria ekolohostabilizuyuchyh and anthropogenic pressures lands should necessarily provide for withdrawal of intensive land use, which in its modal properties can not ensure sustainability of land use. However, today in Ukraine within the territories of communities no project development to optimize land use on the basis of sustainable development. Accordingly, the purpose of the article was the study of certain aspects of Land Management sustainable development of agricultural land within the territories of local communities. The current structure of the land fund of Ukraine was actually formed in the Soviet period, under the influence of policies of extensive agricultural development. Violation environmentally acceptable ratio of arable land, natural grasslands and forests negatively affected the stability and condition of land, which is confirmed by relevant research. In such circumstances, balancing the land proposed to carry out in two stages - the ecological and economic. In ecological optimization criteria based on land value necessarily

Cities in the global South and the Sustainable Development Goals

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Sustainable development recently topped the global agenda again when, on 25 September 2015, the UN adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), including SDG 11 on cities: 'Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.' Though heralded with pomp and pageantry, in reality the relevance of cities to ...

Sustainability and acceptance - new challenges for nuclear energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lensa, W. von

2001-01-01

This paper discusses the concept of sustainability in relation to acceptance of nuclear energy. Acceptance is viewed in terms of public acceptance, industrial acceptance, and internal acceptance/consensus within the nuclear community. It addresses sustainability criteria, the need for innovation, and the different levels of acceptability. The mechanisms of risk perception are discussed along with the technological consequences from risk perception mechanisms leading to specific objections against nuclear energy. (author)

Stakeholder views on criteria and processes for priority setting in Norway: a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Aidem, Jeremy M

2017-06-01

Since 2013, Norway has engaged in political processes to revise criteria for priority setting. These processes have yielded key efficiency and equity criteria, but excluded potentially relevant social values. This study describes the views of 27 stakeholders in Norway's health system regarding a wider set of priority-setting criteria and procedural characteristics. Between January and February 2016, semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted with a purposive sample of policymakers, hospital administrators, practitioners, university students and seniors. Improving health among low-socioeconomic-status groups was considered an important policy objective: some favored giving more priority to diseases affecting socioeconomically disadvantaged groups, and some believed inequalities in health could be more effectively addressed outside the health sector. Age was not widely accepted as an independent criterion, but deemed relevant as an indicator of capacity to benefit, cost-effectiveness and health loss. Cost-effectiveness, severity and health-loss measures were judged relevant to policymaking, but cost-effectiveness and health loss were considered less influential to clinical decision-making. Public engagement was seen as essential yet complicated by media and stakeholder pressures. This study highlights how views on the relevance and implementation of criteria can vary significantly according to the health system level being evaluated. Further, the findings suggest that giving priority to socioeconomically disadvantaged groups and reducing inequalities in health may be relevant preferences not captured in recent policy proposals. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Radical Sustainable Innovation of office buildings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Koch, Christian; Berker, Thomas; Koch-Ørvad, Nina

2017-01-01

by high degrees of newness in the entire life cycle. RSI should offer significant enhancements of known benefits, entirely new benefits, or substantial cost reductions, leading to the transformation of existing markets, the creation of sustainable growth, and global sustainability. Thus, if buildings were....../could be radically new. How to evaluate radicality is a major challenge. It is tentatively proposed, to use standards for sustainable office buildings. Standards are developed to accelerate the sustainable development but has to some extent come to constrain possibilities of radical innovation. As the criteria...... of newness is incorporated in standards, going beyond them, could be viewed as radical. Empirically a selection of international cases of office buildings with very high scores of BREEAM, LEED and DGNB are examined. Six selected cases were analysed more in detail, one of them, Geelens...

Public spaces and urban sustainability in the tropical built environment

Science.gov (United States)

Yusof, Y. M.; Kozlowski, M.

2018-01-01

Sustainability is an overarching sense of responsibility towards the future. On a city-wide level, urban sustainability incorporates a wide body of changes especially as they relate to the built environment, all of which intended at creating a livable place. This paper discusses existing public spaces in view of their achievement against a set of criteria for the built environment. The paper introduces performance design criteria for the tropical built environment. The key findings indicate that long-term strategies, guidance and directions for the city and region can achieve development which corresponds to local climate, synergies and provide a higher proportion of public spaces that offer something for everyone.

A Weighted Goal Programming model for planning sustainable development applied to Gulf Cooperation Council Countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jayaraman, Raja; Colapinto, Cinzia; La Torre, Davide; Malik, Tufail

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Application of multi-criteria optimization model for sustainable development. • GHG emissions targets cannot be attainable due to reliance on hydrocarbon sources. • Provides quantitative evidence for future investments in green energy. • Application to Gulf Cooperation Countries. - Abstract: The United Nations agenda for sustainable development by the year 2030 proposes 17 sustainable development goals which include access to affordable, reliable and clean energy, sustained economic growth with full productive employment and, urgent action to mitigate environmental degradation. Planning for sustainable development requires integrating conflicting criteria on economy, energy, environment and social aspects. In this paper, we introduce a Weighted Goal Programming model involving criteria on the economic development (GDP), the electricity consumption, the greenhouse gas emissions, and the total number of employees to determine optimal labor allocation across various economic sectors. The proposed model is validated with data from the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates). The results of the model aim to provide empirical evidence and insights to decision makers and policy analysts in developing optimal strategies able to simultaneously satisfy energy demand, economic growth, labor development and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to achieve sustainability targets by the year 2030.

Selecting a Sustainable Disinfection Technique for Wastewater Reuse Projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorge Curiel-Esparza

2014-09-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an application of the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP by integrating a Delphi process for selecting the best sustainable disinfection technique for wastewater reuse projects. The proposed methodology provides project managers a tool to evaluate problems with multiple criteria and multiple alternatives which involve non-commeasurable decision criteria, with expert opinions playing a major role in the selection of these treatment technologies. Five disinfection techniques for wastewater reuse have been evaluated for each of the nine criteria weighted according to the opinions of consulted experts. Finally, the VIKOR method has been applied to determine a compromise solution, and to establish the stability of the results. Therefore, the expert system proposed to select the optimal disinfection alternative is a hybrid method combining the AHP with the Delphi method and the VIKOR technique, which is shown to be appropriate in realistic scenarios where multiple stakeholders are involved in the selection of a sustainable disinfection technique for wastewater reuse projects.

The Sustainability of Community-Based Adaptation Projects in the Blue Nile Highlands of Ethiopia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Belay Simane

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Climate resilience in subsistence agricultural communities depends strongly on the robustness and effective management of the agricultural natural resource base. For this reason, adaptation planning efforts frequently focus on natural resource conservation as the primary motivation for and primary outcome of adaptation activities. Here, we present an analysis of the sustainability of community based adaptation (CBA activities in 20 community based organizations (CBO that were established in the Blue Nile Highlands of Ethiopia in order to promote resilience to climate change. CBA sustainability was assessed through multi-criteria analysis using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP. Sustainability was considered for social, institutional, technical, financial, and environmental dimensions, with second-order indicators or factors defined for each dimension. According to this analysis, CBA efforts of two thirds of the COBs studied were found to be unsustainable in all dimensions and CBA efforts of the remaining CBOs were found to be at risk of unsustainability. A number of barriers to CBA sustainability were identified, including inadequacies in community participation, training of local community members, local government commitment, farmer capacity, and bureaucratic efficiency. Participatory evaluation of CBA, however, revealed that many of these barriers can be attributed to the decision to use conservation of natural resources as the primary framework for CBA activities. Based on this evaluation, new efforts have been developed that use markets as the entry and exit points for sustainability activities. Lessons learned in this project are relevant for CBA efforts in other agricultural regions of the developing world.

Indicators for environmental sustainability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dong, Yan; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

2017-01-01

. In this study, we reviewed indicators applied in life cycle assessment (LCA), planetary boundary framework (PB), and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) developed under United Nation. The aim is to 1) identify their applications and relevant decision context; 2) Review their indicators and categorize them...

Pluralism in Search of Sustainability: Ethics, Knowledge and Methdology in Sustainability Science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ellinor Isgren

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Sustainability Science is an emerging, transdisciplinary academic field that aims to help build a sustainable global society by drawing on and integrating research from the humanities and the social, natural, medical and engineering sciences. Academic knowledge is combined with that from relevant actors from outside academia, such as policy-makers, businesses, social organizations and citizens. The field is focused on examining the interactions between human, environmental, and engineered systems to understand and contribute to solutions for complex challenges that threaten the future of humanity and the integrity of the life support systems of the planet, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, and land and water degradation. Since its inception in around the year 2000, and as expressed by a range of proponents in the field, sustainability science has become an established international platform for interdisciplinary research on complex social problems [1]. This has been done by exploring ways to promote ‘greater integration and cooperation in fulfilling the sustainability science mandate’ [2]. Sustainability science has thereby become an extremely diverse academic field, yet one with an explicit normative mission. After nearly two decades of sustainability research, it is important to reflect on a major question: what critical knowledge can we gain from sustainability science research on persistent socio-ecological problems and new sustainability challenges?

Waste management in a sustainable society

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ascari, Sergio; Milan, Univ. ''Bocconi''

1997-01-01

This paper summarises the environmental economics debate about sustainable management of solid wastes. Sustainable levels of solid waste generation, recycling and disposal cannot be set by general criteria, but priorities are better defined locally. Preferable solutions are mostly determined by market forces once economic instruments are introduced in order to compel agents to incorporate environmental costs and benefits into their decisions. Greater care should be devoted to dangerous wastes, where schemes may be devised to subsidize not only recovery and recycling but environmentally safe disposal as well; these may be financed by raw materials levies

A Sustainability Assessment Methodology for Prioritizing the Technologies of Groundwater Contamination Remediation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

An, Da; Xi, Beidou; Wang, Yue

2016-01-01

More and more groundwater has 23 been polluted recently, and technologies for groundwater contamination remediation are of vital importance; however, it is usually difficult for the users to select the most suitable technology among multiple alternatives. In order to address this, this study aims...... at developing a sustainability assessment framework for prioritizing the technologies for groundwater contamination remediation by combining the concept of sustainability and multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) method. A criterion system which consists of six criteria in three aspects has been proposed...... for sustainability assessment of technologies for groundwater contamination remediation, and a novel MCDM method by combining the logarithmic fuzzy preference programming based fuzzy analytic hierarchy process and the improved ELECTRE method has been developed for prioritizing the alternatives. In order...

Methodology for Selecting Best Management Practices Integrating Multiple Stakeholders and Criteria. Part 1: Methodology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mauricio Carvallo Aceves

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The implementation of stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs could help re-establish the natural hydrological cycle of watersheds after urbanization, with each BMP presenting a different performance across a range of criteria (flood prevention, pollutant removal, etc.. Additionally, conflicting views from the relevant stakeholders may arise, resulting in a complex selection process. This paper proposes a methodology for BMP selection based on the application of multi-criteria decision aid (MCDA methods, integrating multiple stakeholder priorities and BMP combinations. First, in the problem definition, the MCDA methods, relevant criteria and design guidelines are selected. Next, information from the preliminary analysis of the watershed is used to obtain a list of relevant BMPs. The third step comprises the watershed modeling and analysis of the BMP alternatives to obtain performance values across purely objective criteria. Afterwards, a stakeholder analysis based on survey applications is carried out to obtain social performance values and criteria priorities. Then, the MCDA methods are applied to obtain the final BMP rankings. The last step considers the sensitivity analysis and rank comparisons in order to draw the final conclusions and recommendations. Future improvements to the methodology could explore inclusion of multiple objective analysis, and alternative means for obtaining social performance values.

Relevance of nanotechnology to Africa: synthesis, applications and safety

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Musee, N

2012-07-01

Full Text Available In this chapter, two nanotechnology-based applications relevant to Africa in promoting sustainability and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are presented. The applications comprise the provision of therapeutic treatment...

Sustainability evaluation of decentralized electricity generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karger, Cornelia R.; Hennings, Wilfried

2009-01-01

Decentralized power generation is gaining significance in liberalized electricity markets. An increasing decentralization of power supply is expected to make a particular contribution to climate protection. This article investigates the advantages and disadvantages of decentralized electricity generation according to the overall concept of sustainable development. On the basis of a hierarchically structured set of sustainability criteria, four future scenarios for Germany are assessed, all of which describe different concepts of electricity supply in the context of the corresponding social and economic developments. The scenarios are developed in an explorative way according to the scenario method and the sustainability criteria are established by a discursive method with societal actors. The evaluation is carried out by scientific experts. By applying an expanded analytic hierarchy process (AHP), a multicriteria evaluation is conducted that identifies dissent among the experts. The results demonstrate that decentralized electricity generation can contribute to climate protection. The extent to which it simultaneously guarantees security of supply is still a matter of controversy. However, experts agree that technical and economic boundary conditions are of major importance in this field. In the final section, the article discusses the method employed here as well as implications for future decentralized energy supply. (author)

Evaluation Framework for Alternative Fuel Vehicles: Sustainable Development Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dong-Shang Chang

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Road transport accounts for 72.06% of total transport CO2, which is considered a cause of climate change. At present, the use of alternative fuels has become a pressing issue and a significant number of automakers and scholars have devoted themselves to the study and subsequent development of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs. The evaluation of AFVs should consider not only air pollution reduction and fuel efficiency but also AFV sustainability. In general, the field of sustainable development is subdivided into three areas: economic, environmental, and social. On the basis of the sustainable development perspective, this study presents an evaluation framework for AFVs by using the DEMATEL-based analytical network process. The results reveal that the five most important criteria are price, added value, user acceptance, reduction of hazardous substances, and dematerialization. Price is the most important criterion because it can improve the popularity of AFVs and affect other criteria, including user acceptance. Additional, the energy usage criterion is expected to significantly affect the sustainable development of AFVs. These results should be seriously considered by automakers and governments in developing AFVs.

Traditional formwork system sustainability performance: experts’ opinion

Science.gov (United States)

Taher Al-ashwal, Mohammed; Abdullah, Redzuan; Zakaria, Rozana

2017-11-01

The traditional formwork system is one of the commonly used systems in concrete construction. It is considered as one of the least observed activities in term of sustainability performance. In this paper, the sustainability performance of the traditional formwork has been assessed by using a multi-criteria assessment tool to facilitate the decision on the sustainability performance measurement. A quantitative five Likert scale survey study using judgemental sampling is employed in this study. A sample of 93 of engineering construction experts, with different fields including contractors, developers, and consultants in the Malaysian context has made the body of the collected primary data. The results show variety in the distribution of the respondents’ working experience. The sustainability performance is considered moderately sustainable by the experts with only given 40.24 % of the overall total score for the three sustainable categories namely environmental, social and economic. Despite the finding that shows that the economic pillar was rated as the most sustainable aspect in comparison to the environmental and social pillars the traditional formwork system sustainability still needs enhancement. Further incorporation of the social and environmental pillars into the concrete construction the sustainability performance of traditional formwork system could be improved.

Sustainable water for rural security - A transdisciplinary approach [Presentation

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Maherry, A

2012-05-01

Full Text Available -research through effective transfer of knowledge and technologies; and to identify the critical design criteria that ensure sustainability of rural water supply systems in South Africa....

A compilation of life cycle studies for six household detergent product categories in Europe: the basis for product-specific A.I.S.E. Charter Advanced Sustainability Profiles.

Science.gov (United States)

Golsteijn, Laura; Menkveld, Rimousky; King, Henry; Schneider, Christine; Schowanek, Diederik; Nissen, Sascha

2015-01-01

A.I.S.E., the International Association for Soaps, Detergents and Maintenance Products, launched the 'A.I.S.E. Charter for Sustainable Cleaning' in Europe in 2005 to promote sustainability in the cleaning and maintenance products industry. This Charter is a proactive programme for translating the concept of sustainable innovation into reality and actions. Per product category, life cycle assessments (LCA) are used to set sustainability criteria that are ambitious, but also achievable by all market players. This paper presents and discusses LCAs of six household detergent product categories conducted for the Charter, i.e.: manual dishwashing detergents, powder and tablet laundry detergents, window glass trigger spray cleaners, bathroom trigger spray cleaners, acid toilet cleaners, and bleach toilet cleaners. Relevant impact categories are identified, as well as the life cycle stages with the largest contribution to the environmental impact. It was concluded that the variables that mainly drive the results (i.e. the environmental hotspots) for manual dishwashing detergents and laundry detergents were the water temperature, water consumption (for manual dishwashing detergents), product dosage (for laundry detergents), and the choice and amount of surfactant. By contrast, for bathroom trigger sprays, acid and bleach toilet cleaners, the driving factors were plastic packaging, transportation to retailer, and specific ingredients. Additionally, the type of surfactant was important for bleach toilet cleaners. For window glass trigger sprays, the driving factors were the plastic packaging and the type of surfactant, and the other ingredients were of less importance. A.I.S.E. used the results of the studies to establish sustainability criteria, the so-called 'Charter Advanced Sustainability Profiles', which led to improvements in the marketplace.

A Sustainability Assessment Framework For Waterfront Communities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sally Said Eldeeb

2015-08-01

Full Text Available It is predicted that the global phenomena of Climate change will have far reaching effects and implications on different local urban systems. For incidence, global average sea levels are expected to rise between 7 and 36 cm by the 2050s, and between 9 and 69 cm by the 2080s. Waterfront communities are the first to be affected by such impacts putting them at high risk. Planning tools are needed to assist these communities and increase their adaptive and learning capacities in the face of diverse challenges to their urban sub-systems.  The research investigates a number of sustainability frameworks and assessment rating systems for neighbourhoods and communities. It investigates the sustainable evaluation criteria carried out by three assessment rating systems. First is the LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, USA, the second is BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method, UK, and the third is the Estidama PEARL rating system (UAE.Examples of waterfront communities which applied the previous rating systemsare analyzed in order to determine the applicability and relevance of these systems to waterfront communities in particular.  The research concludes with a proposed framework of indicators for waterfront communities. The similarities and differences between the different rating systems and featured indicators specific to waterfront planning applied in the analyzed examples, yet absent in the three rating systems, have informed the selection of indicators in the proposed assessment framework. The proposed framework could be an effective tool for the planning and development of a waterfront community in the MENA region. In order to validate the framework, theset of environmental and physical indicators were applied on the case study of Abu Qir waterfront, Alexandria, Egypt. Conclusions and recommendations  are made that would enhance the resilience of this waterfront community and provide a comprehensive

Sustainable forest management in Serbia: State and potentials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Medarević Milan

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Starting from the internationally adopted definition of sustainable forest management, this paper points to the demands of sustainable forest management that can be satisfied by meeting the definite assumptions. The first part presents the objectives of forest and woodland management planning and utilisation, hunting management, and protection of protected areas, as well as the all-inclusive compatible goals of forest policy in Serbia. The second part presents the analysis of the present state of forests in Serbia, in relation to the Pan-European criteria for the assessment of sustainability, and the potentials of our forests to meet all the demands.

Large scale international bioenergy trading. How bioenergy trading can be reliazed under safe and sustainable frame conditions?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holm-Nielsen, Jens Bo; Kirchovas, Simas

2011-01-01

Biomass sources as Woodchips – Wood pellets, Straw – Bio pellets, animal manure, farm-by products and new cropping systems are integrated in our society’s needs. The mindset for shifting from fossil fuels based economies into sustainable energy economies already exist. Bioenergy utilization systems...... sustainability criteria. The sustainability criteria agreed internationally could be realized as a tool to secure the positive impacts of bioenergy and to foster the international trade. This study investigates the developments by national and international bodies of biomass standardization and certification...

What's the point? The contribution of a sustainability view in contaminated site remediation.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Robert; Norrman, Jenny; Back, Pär-Erik; Söderqvist, Tore; Rosén, Lars

2018-07-15

Decision support tools (DST) are often used in remediation projects to aid in the complex decision on how best to remediate a contaminated site. In recent years, the sustainable remediation concept has brought increased attention to the often-overlooked contradictory effects of site remediation, with a number of sustainability assessment tools now available. The aim of the present study is twofold: (1) to demonstrate how and when different assessment views affect the decision support outcome on remediation alternatives in a DST, and (2) to demonstrate the contribution of a full sustainability assessment. The SCORE tool was used in the analysis; it is based on a holistic multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) approach, assessing sustainability in three dimensions: environmental, social, and economic. Four assessment scenarios, compared to a full sustainability assessment, were considered to reflect different possible assessment views; considering public and private problem owner perspectives, as well as green and traditional assessment scopes. Four real case study sites in Sweden were analyzed. The results show that the decision support outcome from a full sustainability assessment most often differs to that of other assessment views, and results in remediation alternatives which balance trade-offs in most of the scenarios. In relation to the public perspective and traditional scope, which is seen to lead to the most extensive and expensive remediation alternatives, the trade-off is related to less contaminant removal in favour of reduced negative secondary effects such as emissions and waste disposal. Compared to the private perspective, associated with the lowest cost alternatives, the trade-off is higher costs, but more positive environmental and social effects. Generally, both the green and traditional assessment scopes miss out on relevant social and local environmental secondary effects which may ultimately be very important for the actual decision in a

Sustainability Cards: Design for Longevity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hasling, Karen Marie; Ræbild, Ulla

2017-01-01

Product longevity is considered widely as a relevant strategic approach, amongst many, within the field of sustainability. Yet, how to design for increased product lifetime may not be so obvious for practitioners. The complexity of the surrounding issues can constitute a barrier for designers...... for designers and other stakeholders in the design process. The paper is based on a developmental project carried out in the Autumn 2017, within a larger research and collaboration project between raw fur manufacturer Kopenhagen Fur and Design School Kolding investigating sustainability perspectives. The paper...... describes the development of a deck of sustainability cards aiming for product longevity and presents the final deck. Furthermore, the paper contributes with insights on how designers may apply design cards in the design process and how this practice can further sustainable considerations and strategies...

Institutionalizing Strong Sustainability: A Rawlsian Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Konrad Ott

2014-02-01

Full Text Available The article aims to provide some ethical orientation on how sustainability might be actualized by institutions. Since institutionalization is about rules and organization, it presupposes ideas and concepts by which institutions can be substantiated. After outlining terminology, the article deals with underlying ethical and conceptual problems which are highly relevant for any suggestions concerning institutionalization. These problems are: (a the ethical scope of the sustainability perspective (natural capital, poverty, sentient animals, (b the theory of justice on which ideas about sustainability are built (capability approach, Rawlsianism, and (c the favored concept of sustainability (weak, intermediate, and strong sustainability. These problems are analyzed in turn. As a result, a Rawlsian concept of rule-based strong sustainability is proposed. The specific problems of institutionalization are addressed by applying Rawls’s concept of branches. The article concludes with arguments in favor of three transnational duties which hold for states that have adopted Rawlsian strong sustainability.

Vacation homes, spatial planning and sustainability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xue, Jin

2014-01-01

patterns of vacation homes are highly relevant to environmental sustainability. Unlike the spatial planning for urban areas where the urban environmental problamatique has been highly recognized and theories of sustainable urban development and planning relatively fully developed, vacation home has been...... a missing component in sustainable spatial development and planning both in theories and practice. Moreover, spatial planning for urban areas and vacation homes cannot be separated as they mutually influence each other. Against this background, the paper is concerned with how and to what extent concerns...... on sustainability of vacation homes is integrated into the spatial planning in the Danish context. The lack of ontological and theoretical debates on the environmental sustainability of vacation homes will be reflected upon before investigating the Danish case. A deep realist approach is adopted to explore...

Building a Metaframework for Sustainable Transport Indicators

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cornet, Yannick; Gudmundsson, Henrik

2015-01-01

Several recent papers presented at TRB and elsewhere seek to make sustainability manageable by suggesting indicators and performance measures as key tools to help conceptualize and operationalize sustainability for various levels of transportation-related planning and decision-making. These studies...... often prescribe frameworks that will allow sustainability indicators and measures to be selected and included in, for example, agency strategies and practices. Moreover, some suggest criteria for selection of individual indicators and performance measures. The studies do however not always agree on what...... of the paper is first to provide a theoretical elaboration of the underlying notion of ‘frameworks’, and then to conduct a review of the selected recent key scientific studies on sustainable transportation indicator frameworks in terms of what they propose for building the meta-framework and for identifying...

Potentially inappropriate prescribing in institutionalised older patients in Spain: the STOPP-START criteria compared with the Beers criteria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bonet M

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Objective: The aims of this study were to identify potentially inappropriate prescribing using the Beers and STOPP criteria. The START criteria were applied to detect prescription omission in the geriatric population. We compared the utility of these criteria in institutionalised older people.Methods: Descriptive study reviewing the medication and clinical records of 81 residents (aged 65 years and more by pharmacists in a nursing home in the Lleida region (Spain.Results: The mean patients’ age was 84 (SD=8 years, with an average of 5 drugs per resident (total prescriptions: 416 medicines. The Beers criteria identified potentially inappropriate medication use in 25% of patients and 48% of patients used at least 1 inappropriate medication according to STOPP criteria. The most frequent potentially inappropriate medications for both criteria were long-acting benzodiazepines and NSAIDs. START detected 58 potential prescribing omissions in 44% of patients. Calcium-vitamin D supplementation in osteoporosis was the most frequent rule (15%, but omissions corresponding to the cardiovascular system implied 23% of patients.Conclusion: The STOPP-START criteria reveal that potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP is a highly prevalent problem among Spanish nursing home residents, and a statistically significant positive correlation was found between the number of medicines prescribed and the number of PIP detected in this study. The STOPP criteria detect a larger number of PI medications in this geriatric population than the Beers criteria. The prescribing omissions detected by the START criteria are relevant and require intervention. Pharmacists’ review of medications may help identify potentially inappropriate prescribing and, through an interdisciplinary approach, working with physicians may improve prescribing practices among geriatric residents of nursing homes.

THE CRITERIA, INDEXES AND LEVELS OF TEACHER'S OF NATURAL AND MATHEMATICS SUBJECTS INFORMATION COMPETENCE DEVELOPMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petro Grabovskiy

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Submitted research depends on an actual problem – how is necessary to identify means of teacher's of general education information competence evaluation. In particular, there developed on an evaluation criteria of teacher's of Natural and Mathematics subjects information competence – motivational, cognitive-operating, reflexive; and decomposition to appropriated performance criterion made in this research too. With the help of empirical research methods, in particular the method of expert evaluations, using methods of relative frequency selection, determing by an expert's performance and relevant criteria, proved significance when evaluation of teacher's of Natural and Mathematics subjects information competence development is appropriated. Based on the grounded and developed criteria and relevant indicators where four levels of studing teacher's information competence development were describing – low, middle, sufficient and high levels. According to an author opinion, the further research may be concern with the help of mathematical tools development to determine the level of teacher's of Natural and Mathematics subjects information competence development based on the selected criteria and relevant indicators

Catalysis for biorefineries-performance criteria for industrial operation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lange, Jean Paul

2016-01-01

Past analyses of industrial processes for fuel and chemical manufacturing led to a few performance criteria that are critical for viable industrial operation. The present paper reviews these factors and provides a target window for each of them. It then illustrates their relevance for biorefineries

Development of sustainability indicator scoring (SIS) for the food supply chain

OpenAIRE

Manning, Louise; Soon, Jan Mei

2016-01-01

Purpose\\ud The purpose of this paper is to identify mechanisms for using a quantitative benchmarking approach to drive sustainability improvements in the food supply chain.\\ud \\ud Design/methodology/approach\\ud A literature review was undertaken and then a strategic and operational framework developed for improving food supply chain sustainability in terms of triple bottom line criteria.\\ud \\ud Findings\\ud Using a sustainability indicator scoring approach, the paper considers the architecture...

Criteria for evaluation and guidelines for land use planning in terms of sustainable urban development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irena Ostojić

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Sustainable spatial development is a generally accepted objective and principle in spatial planning. It is implemented mainly by regulations in the sectors for management of natural resources, but not comprehensively in implementing regulations for urban space management. One of the most important instruments of spatial planning at local level is land use, for which there is no comprehensive framework of implementing measures for achieving sustainable spatial objectives in urban areas. In accordance with the review and critical analysis of literature, there are four measures presented in the paper: protection of natural resources and reduction of environmental-climate risks, compact urban structure, mixed-use and accessibility of urban functions. The review and analysis have shown that the listed measures enable sustainable development of urban areas, but only if they are planned and implemented in accordance with supporting physical, social and economic elements of urban space. In the conclusion, indicators which can assess the level of sustainability in land use design are presented and guidelines for restructuring land use in existing settlement areas are described.

Application of a sustainability index for integrated urban water ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

guide appropriate action and policy-making towards better service delivery and improved resource management. ... surface water, groundwater and rainwater, as well as methods of ... systems in order to define how the objective of sustainability can ..... the relevant decision-makers towards more sustainable prac- tices.

Identification of criteria and subcriteria for assessment of land suitability for irrigation

OpenAIRE

Blagojević, Boško; Srđević, Zorica; Srđević, Bojan

2014-01-01

Serbia is a country with a predominantly agriculture-based economy; however, out of the total area only 3% is irrigated. One of the strategic national development goals is to increase irrigated land especially in lowlands and alluviums of major rivers in the country. There are many criteria and subcriteria which are important for a decision on where to build new, sustainable irrigation systems. After the literature review regarding this topic, we propose a set of criteria and subcriteria for ...

Revision of Sustainable Criteria of Concrete Walls for Earthquake-Resistant Housing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alcocer S.M.

2012-10-01

Full Text Available The seismic performance of low-rise housing has been noticeably inadequate during the most recent earthquakes occurred in Latin American countries. Moreover, the literature review revealed that some traditional techniques do not contribute to building sustainable housing. In the last decade, construction of concrete walls housing has become a preferred choice because of the speed of construction and availability of materials in most of these countries. Aimed at improving seismic design methods for this type of construction, an extensive analytical and experimental program was carried out. The experimental program included quasi-static and shaking-table tests of 47 walls with different height-to-length ratios and walls with openings. Variables studied were type of concrete, web steel ratio and type of web reinforcement. The paper presents and discusses the main results of the research program and evaluates the technical and environmental feasibility for using concrete walls for sustainable and earthquake-resistant housing. Performance of concrete walls housing is assessed in terms of key environmental and earthquake-resistant requirements. It was found that concrete wall housing is not only safe under earthquakes and easily adaptable to climate, but also it stimulates environmental conservation and promotes reducing the costs of construction, operation and maintenance.

Multi-criteria group decision making for evaluating the performance of e-waste recycling programs under uncertainty.

Science.gov (United States)

Wibowo, Santoso; Deng, Hepu

2015-06-01

This paper presents a multi-criteria group decision making approach for effectively evaluating the performance of e-waste recycling programs under uncertainty in an organization. Intuitionistic fuzzy numbers are used for adequately representing the subjective and imprecise assessments of the decision makers in evaluating the relative importance of evaluation criteria and the performance of individual e-waste recycling programs with respect to individual criteria in a given situation. An interactive fuzzy multi-criteria decision making algorithm is developed for facilitating consensus building in a group decision making environment to ensure that all the interest of individual decision makers have been appropriately considered in evaluating alternative e-waste recycling programs with respect to their corporate sustainability performance. The developed algorithm is then incorporated into a multi-criteria decision support system for making the overall performance evaluation process effectively and simple to use. Such a multi-criteria decision making system adequately provides organizations with a proactive mechanism for incorporating the concept of corporate sustainability into their regular planning decisions and business practices. An example is presented for demonstrating the applicability of the proposed approach in evaluating the performance of e-waste recycling programs in organizations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Addressing the Sustainability of Groundwater Extraction in California Using Hydrochronology

Science.gov (United States)

Moran, J. E.; Visser, A.; Singleton, M. J.; Esser, B. K.

2017-12-01

In urban and agricultural settings in California, intense pressure on water supplies has led to extensive managed aquifer recharge and extensive overdraft in these areas, respectively. The California Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) includes criteria for pumping that maintains groundwater levels and basin storage, and avoids stream depletion and degradation of water quality. Most sustainability plans will likely use water level monitoring and water budget balancing based on integrated flow models as evidence of compliance. However, hydrochronology data are applicable to several of the criteria, and provide an independent method of addressing questions related to basin turnover time, recharge rate, surface water-groundwater interaction, and the age distribution at pumping wells. We have applied hydrochronology (mainly tritium-helium groundwater age dating and extrinsic tracers) in urban areas to delineate flowpaths of artificially recharged water, to identify stagnant zones bypassed by the engineered flow system, and to predict vulnerability of drinking water sources to contamination. In agricultural areas, we have applied multi-tracer hydrochronology to delineate groundwater stratigraphy, to identify paleowater, and to project future nitrate concentrations in long-screened wells. This presentation will describe examples in which groundwater dating and other tracer methods can be applied to directly address the SGMA criteria for sustainable groundwater pumping.

Social sustainability of cod and haddock fisheries in the northeast Atlantic: what issues are important?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Veldhuizen, L.J.L.; Berentsen, P.; Bokkers, E.A.M.; Boer, de I.J.M.

2015-01-01

Research on the sustainability of capture fisheries has focused more on environmental and economic sustainability than on social sustainability. To assess social sustainability, first relevant and important social sustainability issues need to be identified. The objective of this study was to

Towards quality criteria for regional public health reporting: concept mapping with Dutch experts.

Science.gov (United States)

van Bon-Martens, Marja J H; Achterberg, Peter W; van de Goor, Ien A M; van Oers, Hans A M

2012-06-01

In the Netherlands, municipal health assessments are carried out by 28 Regional Health Services, serving 418 municipalities. In the absence of guidelines, regional public health reports were developed in two pilot regions on the basis of the model and experience of national health reporting. Though they were well received and positively evaluated, it was not clear which specific characteristics determined 'good public health reporting'. Therefore, this study was set up to develop a theoretical framework for the quality of regional public health reporting in The Netherlands. Using concept mapping as a standardized tool for conceptualization, 35 relevant reporting experts formulated short statements in two different brainstorming sessions, describing specific quality criteria of regional public health reports. After the removal of duplicates, the list was supplemented with international criteria, and the statements were sent to each participant for rating and sorting. The results were processed statistically and represented graphically. The output was discussed and interpreted, leading to the final concept map. The final concept map consisted of 97 criteria, grouped into 13 clusters, and plotted in two dimensions: a 'product' dimension, ranging from 'production' to 'content', and a 'context' dimension, ranging from 'science' to 'policy'. The three most important clusters were: (i) 'solution orientation', (ii) 'policy relevance' and (iii) 'policy impact'. This study provided a theoretical framework for the quality of regional public health reporting, indicating relevant domains and criteria. Further work should translate domains and criteria into operational indicators for evaluating regional public health reports.

Sustainable production: transporting animals or meat?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Baltussen, W.H.M.; Spoolder, H.A.M.; Lambooij, E.; Backus, G.B.C.

2009-01-01

For the EU the impact of a ban on international transport of pigs and horses is assessed, based on three sustainability criteria. The paper concludes that the risks of welfare problems will be reduced, the CO2 emission and transport costs will be lowered but that there will be substantial shifts in

Measurement of sustainability index among paper manufacturing plants

Science.gov (United States)

Sharathkumar Reddy, V.; Jayakrishna, K.; Lal, Babu

2017-11-01

The paper manufacturing companies are facing challenges to implement sustainable manufacturing into their products and processes. Paper manufacturing has remarked as an intensive consumer of natural raw materials, energy and a major source of multiple pollutants. Thus, evaluating the sustainable manufacturing in these companies has become a necessity. This paper proposes a set of Performance Indicators (PIs) for evaluating the sustainable manufacturing appropriate to the paper manufacturing companies based on the triple bottom line of sustainability. The Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), a multi-criteria decision analysis method is applied to prioritize the performance indicators by summarizing the opinions of stakeholders. It is hoped that the proposed PIs enables and assists the paper manufacturing companies to achieve the higher performance in sustainable manufacturing and so as to increase their competitiveness.

Teaching Sustainability from a Scientific Standpoint at the Introductory Level

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell-Stone, E.; Myers, J. D.

2008-12-01

In recent decades, humankind has recognized that current levels of resource utilization are seriously impacting our planet's life support systems and threatening the ability of future generations to provide for themselves. The concept of sustainability has been promoted by a variety of national and international organizations as a method to devise ways to adjust humanity's habits and consumption to levels that can be maintained over the long term, i.e. sustained. Courses on sustainability are being offered at many universities and colleges, but most are taught outside of science departments; they are often designed around policy concerns or focus primarily on environmental impacts while neglecting the science of sustainability. Because the three foundations necessary to implement sustainability are sustainability governance, sustainability accounting, and sustainability science, it is imperative that science departments play an active role in preparing citizens and professionals for dealing with sustainability issues. The geosciences are one of the scientific disciplines that offer a logical foundation from which to teach sustainability science. Geoscientists can also offer a unique and relevant geologic perspective on sustainability issues. The authors have developed an introductory, interdisciplinary course entitled 'Global Sustainability: Managing Earth's Resources' that integrates scientific disciplines in the examination of real world sustainability issues. In-depth understanding of physical, Earth and biological science principles are necessary for students to identify the limits and constraints imposed on important issues facing modern society, e.g. water, energy, population growth, etc. This course exposes students to all the scientific principles that apply directly to sustainability. The subject allows the instructors to present open-ended, multifaceted and complex problems relevant to today's industrialized and globalized world, and it encourages

Energy and sustainable development in Finland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-01-01

The U.N. World Summit on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992 was the origin of the international framework for sustainable development. As a basis for joint, sustainable action by governments, organizations, industries, and the public, the participating countries signed the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, and drafted the associated action program, Agenda 21. Sustainable development comprises these three determinant factors: - Economy. - Ecology. - Social aspects. This is where entrepreneurial responsibility for society comes in. If industries want to generate overall positive effects, they must be efficient, competitive, and profitable on a long-term basis. Power supply systems meeting the criteria of sustainable development must be reliable, economically viable, socially acceptable, and environmentally compatible. The power supply in Finland is meeting these sustainability requirements in many ways. Finland's electricity supply is decentralized, using a variety of energy sources. Electricity can be generated and made available at low cost. The Finnish power industry is an important employer and a major factor in the economy. Moreover, electricity is generated in advanced types of power plants. In this way, the structure of the Finnish power supply system incorporates important factors of sustainable development. (orig.)

Business travel and sustainability. Part III. In: Handbook of Sustainable Travel: People, Society, and Transportation Systems

OpenAIRE

AGUILERA, Anne

2013-01-01

Business travel has been relatively neglected in strategies to promote sustainable travel. A two-stage approach is taken beginning by showing how sustainability of business travel is relevant not only environmentally, but also from an economic and social perspective. On the one hand, this form of travel helps to generate jobs in numerous business sectors, not only in transportation. On the other hand, the social dimension cannot be ignored either, since business travel is often a source of fa...

The new United Nations approach to sustainable development post-2015: Findings from four overviews of systematic reviews on interventions for sustainable development and health.

Science.gov (United States)

Galvão, Luiz A C; Haby, Michelle M; Chapman, Evelina; Clark, Rachel; Câmara, Volney Magalhães; Luiz, Ronir Raggio; Becerra-Posada, Francisco

2016-03-01

Objective To identify reported interventions that facilitate sustainable development and have had a positive impact on health in four areas: sustainable food production; sustainable energy use; sustainable jobs ("decent work"); and prevention of toxic exposure to chemicals. Methods Systematic review methods were used to synthesize evidence from multiple systematic reviews and economic evaluations. A comprehensive search was conducted of at least 14 databases and 8 websites for each of the four overviews, using pre-defined protocols, including clear inclusion criteria. To qualify as "sustainable," interventions needed to aim (explicitly or implicitly) to positively impact at least two dimensions of the integrated framework for sustainable development and had to include measures of health impact. Results In total, 47 systematic reviews and 10 economic evaluations met the inclusion criteria. The most promising interventions, such as agricultural policies, were identified for each of the four topics. While the evidence for the interventions is not strong because of the limited number of studies, there is no evidence of a definite negative impact on health. The only possible exception is that of taxes and subsidies-though this intervention also has the potential to be pro-equity with higher relative impacts for lower income groups. Conclusions The evidence found for effective interventions is useful for guiding countries toward the best options for non-health sector interventions that can positively impact health. This overviews shows that intersectoral work benefits every sector involved.

An integrated life cycle sustainability assessment of electricity generation in Turkey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atilgan, Burcin; Azapagic, Adisa

2016-01-01

This paper presents for the first time an integrated life cycle sustainability assessment of the electricity sector in Turkey, considering environmental, economic and social aspects. Twenty life cycle sustainability indicators (11 environmental, three economic and six social) are used to evaluate the current electricity options. Geothermal power is the best option for six environmental impacts but it has the highest capital costs. Small reservoir and run-of-river power has the lowest global warming potential while large reservoir is best for the depletion of elements and fossil resources, and acidification. It also has the lowest levelised costs, worker injuries and fatalities but provides the lowest life cycle employment opportunities. Gas power has the lowest capital costs but it provides the lowest direct employment and has the highest levelised costs and ozone layer depletion. Given these trade-offs, a multi-criteria decision analysis has been carried out to identify the most sustainable options assuming different stakeholder preferences. For all the preferences considered, hydropower is the most sustainable option for Turkey, followed by geothermal and wind electricity. This work demonstrates the importance for energy policy of an integrated life cycle sustainability assessment and how tensions between different aspects can be reconciled to identify win-win solutions. - Highlights: •First integrated life cycle sustainability assessment of the electricity sector in Turkey. •11 environmental, three economic and six social sustainability indicators estimated. •Multi-criteria decision analysis carried out to identify most sustainable options. •Hydro is the most sustainable option for Turkey, followed by geothermal and wind. •This work demonstrates how tensions among sustainability aspects can be reconciled.

Sustainable Resilient, Robust & Resplendent Enterprises

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Edgeman, Rick

to their impact. Resplendent enterprises are introduced with resplendence referring not to some sort of public or private façade, but instead refers to organizations marked by dual brilliance and nobility of strategy, governance and comportment that yields superior and sustainable triple bottom line performance....... Herein resilience, robustness, and resplendence (R3) are integrated with sustainable enterprise excellence (Edgeman and Eskildsen, 2013) or SEE and social-ecological innovation (Eskildsen and Edgeman, 2012) to aid progress of a firm toward producing continuously relevant performance that proceed from...

Life cycle sustainability assessment of chemical processes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xu, Di; Lv, Liping; Ren, Jingzheng

2017-01-01

In this study, an integrated vector-based three-dimensional (3D) methodology for the life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) of chemical process alternatives is proposed. In the methodology, a 3D criteria assessment system is first established by using the life cycle assessment, the life cycl...

Environmental sustainability in European public healthcare.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiarini, Andrea; Vagnoni, Emidia

2016-01-01

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to enlarge the debate concerning the influence of leadership on environmental sustainability implementation in European public healthcare organisations. Design/methodology/approach - This paper is a viewpoint. It is based on preliminary analysis of European standards dedicated to environmental sustainability and their spread across Europe in public healthcare organisations. Viewpoints concerning leadership are then discussed and asserted. Findings - This paper found a limited implementation of standards such as Green Public Procurement criteria, Eco-Management and Audit Scheme and ISO 14001 in public healthcare. Some clues indicate that the lack of implementation is related to leadership and management commitment. Originality/value - For the first time, this paper investigates relationships between leadership and environmental sustainability in European public healthcare opening further avenues of research on the subject.

Sampling criteria in multicollection searching.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilio, A.; Scozzafava, R.; Marchetti, P. G.

In the first stage of the document retrieval process, no information concerning relevance of a particular document is available. On the other hand, computer implementation requires that the analysis be made only for a sample of retrieved documents. This paper addresses the significance and suitability of two different sampling criteria for a multicollection online search facility. The inevitability of resorting to a logarithmic criterion in order to achieve a "spread of representativeness" from the multicollection is demonstrated.

A systematic review on the influence of pre-existing disability on sustaining injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Yung, A; Haagsma, J A; Polinder, S

2014-01-01

To systematically review studies measuring the influence of pre-existing disability on the risk of sustaining an injury. Systematic review. Electronic databases searched included Medline (Pubmed), ProQuest, Ovid and EMBASE. Studies (1990-2010) in international peer-reviewed journals were identified with main inclusion criteria being that the study assessed involvement of injury sustained by persons with and without pre-existing disability. Studies were collated by design and methods, and evaluation of results. Twenty-two studies met the inclusion criteria of our review. All studies found that persons with disabilities were at a significantly higher risk of sustaining injuries than those without. Persons with disability had a 30-450% increased odds (odds ratio 1.3-5.5) of sustaining injury compared to persons without disability. Among persons with pre-existing disability, the high risk groups of sustaining an injury are children and elderly. People with disabilities experience a higher risk to sustain an injury in comparison to the healthy population. There is a high need for large epidemiological studies of injury among persons with disability, to better address these unique risk profiles in order to prevent additional disability or secondary conditions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Environmental risk assessment of biocidal products: identification of relevant components and reliability of a component-based mixture assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Coors, Anja; Vollmar, Pia; Heim, Jennifer; Sacher, Frank; Kehrer, Anja

2018-01-01

Biocidal products are mixtures of one or more active substances (a.s.) and a broad range of formulation additives. There is regulatory guidance currently under development that will specify how the combined effects of the a.s. and any relevant formulation additives shall be considered in the environmental risk assessment of biocidal products. The default option is a component-based approach (CBA) by which the toxicity of the product is predicted from the toxicity of 'relevant' components using concentration addition. Hence, unequivocal and practicable criteria are required for identifying the 'relevant' components to ensure protectiveness of the CBA, while avoiding unnecessary workload resulting from including by default components that do not significantly contribute to the product toxicity. The present study evaluated a set of different criteria for identifying 'relevant' components using confidential information on the composition of 21 wood preservative products. Theoretical approaches were complemented by experimentally testing the aquatic toxicity of seven selected products. For three of the seven tested products, the toxicity was underestimated for the most sensitive endpoint (green algae) by more than factor 2 if only the a.s. were considered in the CBA. This illustrated the necessity of including at least some additives along with the a.s. Considering additives that were deemed 'relevant' by the tentatively established criteria reduced the underestimation of toxicity for two of the three products. A lack of data for one specific additive was identified as the most likely reason for the remaining toxicity underestimation of the third product. In three other products, toxicity was overestimated by more than factor 2, while prediction and observation fitted well for the seventh product. Considering all additives in the prediction increased only the degree of overestimation. Supported by theoretical calculations and experimental verifications, the present

When Should We Care About Sustainability? Applying Human Security as the Decisive Criterion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander K. Lautensach

2012-05-01

Full Text Available It seems intuitively clear that not all human endeavours warrant equal concern over the extent of their sustainability. This raises the question about what criteria might best serve for their prioritisation. We refute, on empirical and theoretical grounds, the counterclaim that sustainability should be of no concern regardless of the circumstances. Human security can serve as a source of criteria that are both widely shared and can be assessed in a reasonably objective manner. Using established classifications, we explore how four forms of sustainability (environmental, economic, social, and cultural relate to the four pillars of human security (environmental, economic, sociopolitical, and health-related. Our findings, based on probable correlations, suggest that the criteria of human security allow for a reliable discrimination between relatively trivial incidences of unsustainable behavior and those that warrant widely shared serious concern. They also confirm that certain sources of human insecurity, such as poverty or violent conflict, tend to perpetuate unsustainable behavior, a useful consideration for the design of development initiatives. Considering that human security enjoys wide and increasing political support among the international community, it is to be hoped that by publicizing the close correlation between human security and sustainability greater attention will be paid to the latter and to its careful definition.

RESEARCH ALGORITHM FOR BUSINESS ENTERPRISE ORGANIZATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY INDICES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. V. Kouznetsov

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract. It is recommended that organizational sustainability of a business enterprise be assessed on the basis of a system of indices brought down in the article to characterize to what extent an option of the company organizational structure contributes to gaining higher final activity results. The indices may be used as efficiency criteria for options of the company organizational structure and management system. It is reasonable to assess each index from the viewpoint of its impact on the business company organizational and economic sustainability and to try either to eliminate the negative impact or to strengthen the positive role with respect of this sustainability.

Critical review of decision support tools for sustainability assessment of site remediation options.

Science.gov (United States)

Huysegoms, Lies; Cappuyns, Valérie

2017-07-01

In Europe alone, there are more than 2,5 million potentially contaminated sites of which 14% are expected to require remediation. Contaminated soil and groundwater can cause damage to human health as well as to valuable ecosystems. Globally more attention has been paid to this problem of soil contamination in the past decades. For example, more than 58 000 sites have been remediated in Europe between 2006 and 2011. Together with this increase in remediation projects there has been a surge in the development of new remediation technologies and decision support tools to be able to match every site and its specific characteristics to the best possible remediation alternative. In the past years the development of decision support tools (DST) has evolved in a more sustainable direction. Several DSTs added the claim not only to denote effective or technologically and economically feasible remediation alternatives but also to point out the more or most sustainable remediation alternatives. These trends in the evaluation of site remediation options left users with a confusing clew of possibly applicable tools to assist them in decision making for contaminated site remediation. This review provides a structured overview on the extent decision support tools for contaminated site remediation, that claim to assist in choosing the most sustainable remediation alternative, actually include the different elements of sustainability proposed in our assessment framework. The review contains an in-depth analysis of thirteen tools specifically developed to assess the sustainability of site remediation alternatives. This analysis is based on six criteria derived from the definition of sustainable development of the Brundtland report. The six criteria were concretized by using the three pillars of sustainability, applied to site remediation according to the SuRF-UK framework, two criteria derived from Life Cycle Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis, and an 'User friendly' criterion

Alternative microbial methods: An overview and selection criteria.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jasson, V.; Jacxsens, L.; Luning, P.A.; Rajkovic, A.; Uyttendaele, M.

2010-01-01

This study provides an overview and criteria for the selection of a method, other than the reference method, for microbial analysis of foods. In a first part an overview of the general characteristics of rapid methods available, both for enumeration and detection, is given with reference to relevant

Environmentally sustainable transport in Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verron, H.; Friedrich, A.

2004-01-01

The study reported in this paper is part of an OECD project with several case studies in different countries. The purpose of the project was to look for possible ways to reduce the environmental impact of transport to a level which is compatible with sustainability. The participants in the case studies agreed upon quantifying criteria for carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds, which should describe environmentally sustainable transport (EST), and each case study constructed a business-as-usual scenario and three EST scenarios, considering the period from 1990 to 2030. Each EST scenario should meet the criteria in a backcasting effort, EST1 looking for solely technical solutions, EST2 restricting and shifting transport volumes while ignoring technological progress, and EST3 combining components of both strategies. In the German case study criteria were additionally quantified for particulate matter, noise and land-take for transport purposes. The German EST1 scenario is based on hybrid electric hypercars, hydrogen for public transport, freight and aviation, and electricity from renewable sources. In the EST2 scenario total transport activity for passenger and freight transport had to be reduced by 40% and 25% respectively, compared to 1990 in order to meet the criteria. In the EST3 scenario, while highly energy efficient conventional propulsion systems and engines were used, total passenger transport decreased only slightly and freight transport even increased. Implementation measures were then defined on the basis of the EST3 scenario. Emission regulation, fuel tax, and road pricing for heavy duty vehicles were the key features in order to achieve EST in this case study. They were complemented by additional sets of measures, designed to prevent urban sprawl, diminish freight traffic growth, increase liveability of towns, improve the infrastructure and service conditions of alternative modes as well as provide energy supply by regenerative

Infusing Sustainability Across Disciplines to Build Student Engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Bruckner, M. Z.; O'Connell, K.; McDaris, J. R.; Kirk, K. B.; Larsen, K.; Kent, M.; Manduca, C. A.; Egger, A. E.; Blockstein, D.; Mogk, D. W.; Taber, J.

2014-12-01

Establishing relevance and effective communication are key mechanisms for building student and community engagement in a topic and can be used to promote the importance of working across disciplines to solve problems. Sustainability, including the impacts of and responses to climate change, is an inherently interdisciplinary issue and can be infused across courses and curricula in a variety of ways. Key topics such as climate change, hazards, and food, water, and energy production and sustainability are relevant to a wide audience and can be used to build student engagement. Using real-world examples, service learning, and focusing on the local environment may further boost engagement by establishing relevance between sustainability issues and students' lives. Communication plays a key role in the exchange of information across disciplines and allows for a more holistic approach to tackling the complex climate and sustainability issues our society faces. It has the power to bridge gaps, break down disciplinary silos, and build connections among diverse audiences with a wide range of expertise, including scientists, policy-makers, stakeholders, and the general public. It also aids in planning and preparation for, response to, and mitigation of issues related to sustainability, including the impacts of climate change, to lessen the detrimental effects of unavoidable events such as sea level rise and extreme weather events. Several workshops from the InTeGrate and On the Cutting Edge projects brought together educators and practitioners from a range of disciplines including geoscience, engineering, social science, and more to encourage communication and collaboration across disciplines. They supported networking, community-building, and sharing of best practices for preparing our students for a sustainable future, both in and out of the workplace, and across disciplines. Interdisciplinary teams are also working together to author curricular materials that highlight

Sustainability in the Qatar national dietary guidelines, among the first to incorporate sustainability principles.

Science.gov (United States)

Seed, Barbara

2015-09-01

To present one of the first national dietary guidelines that incorporates food sustainability principles into its public health recommendations. The paper outlines recommendations and utilizes an ecological framework of policy analysis to examine context, drivers, consequences and future suggestions in establishing and maintaining sustainability principles within the Qatar Dietary Guidelines. Qatar. Population of Qatar. Qatar has produced one of the first national dietary guidelines to integrate principles of food sustainability. National interest in environmental sustainability and food security, population concern over food waste (reinforced by Islamic religious law), strong authority of the Supreme Council of Health (supported by an Emirate government), a small domestic food industry and a lack of food industry influence on the guidelines have contributed to the inclusion of sustainability principles within the document. Whether these principles will be embraced or rejected by the population in the long term will likely be determined by the Dietary Guidelines Task Force and the Supreme Council of Health's commitment to educating the population about the relevance and importance of these principles and establishing champions to advocate for them.

The use of traditional ecological knowledge in sustainable use and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

management of plant resource through a community-based and participatory ... traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and scientific knowledge, with the aim of defining criteria for sustainable ...... resources. World Bank Technical Paper.

Beyond sustainability criteria and principles in palm oil production: addressing consumer concerns through insetting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Faisal M. Mohd Noor

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Palm oil is one of the most controversial agricultural commodities of our time. To its supporters, it is the golden crop that catalyzes smallholders out of poverty and brings salvation to the global food and energy crisis. For its critics, it is the single biggest threat driving the wholesale destruction of peatlands and rainforests as well as adding to greenhouse gas emissions. Hailed as a turning point in 2004, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO has been widely criticized as being unable to change the industry fast enough. We argue that certification, although certainly important, will not be able to deliver expected environmental and social benefits because of (1 an uneven distribution of incentives along the value chain, (2 traceability issues, (3 difficulties associated with an expanding market, and (4 alternative low standard markets to the standard large Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD markets. We argue that the sustainability debate has actually failed to address the fact that oil palm landscape as a whole would be more sustainable if smallholders for whom palm oil is not an economic viable avenue would engage in other forms of land use. An important starting point for change is to move beyond narrow business interests of satisfying customers and shareholders interests only and tackle the implicit contract between palm oil marketers and importers and the smallholder agricultural communities in palm oil producing areas. We introduce the concept of livelihood "insetting" that goes beyond the pure sustainability aspect by also addressing the issue of mutuality along the global value chain.

Sustainable Site Selection for Offshore Wind Farms in the South Aegean—Greece

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dimitra G. Vagiona

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The present research study develops and implements an integrated methodology for the evaluation and prioritization of appropriate sites for sustainable offshore wind-farm development at a regional level. The methodological framework includes the application of several siting criteria (technical, spatial, economic, social and environmental proposed either by the national legislative framework (Specific Plan for Spatial Planning and Sustainable Development for Renewable Energy or the international literature with the combined use of geographic information systems (GIS and multi-criteria decision methods, namely the analytical hierarchy process (AHP and technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS. The whole methodology provides a decision-making process for offshore wind-farm planning at regional level. The proposed methodology and the outputs of this work can be used to ensure the sustainable spatial development and policy of renewable energy resources.

The Three Gorges Project: How sustainable?

Science.gov (United States)

Kepa Brian Morgan, Te Kipa; Sardelic, Daniel N.; Waretini, Amaria F.

2012-08-01

SummaryIn 1984 the Government of China approved the decision to construct the Three Gorges Dam Project, the largest project since the Great Wall. The project had many barriers to overcome, and the decision was made at a time when sustainability was a relatively unknown concept. The decision to construct the Three Gorges Project remains contentious today, especially since Deputy Director of the Three Gorges Project Construction Committee, Wang Xiaofeng, stated that "We absolutely cannot relax our guard against ecological and environmental security problems sparked by the Three Gorges Project" (Bristow, 2007; McCabe, 2007). The question therefore was posed: how sustainable is the Three Gorges Project? Conventional approaches to sustainability assessment tend to use monetary based assessment aligned to triple bottom line thinking. That is, projects are evaluated as trade-offs between economic, environmental and social costs and benefits. The question of sustainability is considered using such a traditional Cost-Benefit Analysis approach, as undertaken in 1988 by a CIPM-Yangtze Joint Venture, and the Mauri Model Decision Making Framework (MMDMF). The Mauri Model differs from other approaches in that sustainability performance indicators are considered independently from any particular stakeholder bias. Bias is then introduced subsequently as a sensitivity analysis on the raw results obtained. The MMDMF is unique in that it is based on the Māori concept of Mauri, the binding force between the physical and the spiritual attributes of something, or the capacity to support life in the air, soil, and water. This concept of Mauri is analogous to the Chinese concept of Qi, and there are many analogous concepts in other cultures. It is the universal relevance of Mauri that allows its use to assess sustainability. This research identified that the MMDMF was a strong complement to Cost-Benefit Analysis, which is not designed as a sustainability assessment tool in itself. The

A review of social sustainability considerations among EU-approved voluntary schemes for biofuels, with implications for rural livelihoods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

German, Laura; Schoneveld, George

2012-01-01

The rapid expansion of biofuel production and consumption has raised concerns over the social and environmental sustainability of biofuel feedstock production, processing and trade. The European Union (EU) has thus balanced its commitment to biofuels as one option for meeting its renewable energy targets with sustainability criteria for economic operators supplying biofuels to member states. Seven voluntary “EU sustainability schemes” were approved in July, 2011 as a means to verify compliance. While mandated sustainability criteria have a strong environmental focus, a number of these voluntary schemes have social sustainability as a significant component of the requirements put forward for achieving certification. As several of these voluntary schemes are incipient, thereby limiting evidence on their effectiveness in practice, this analysis is based on a comparative analysis of the substantive content or ‘scope’ of these schemes and the likely procedural effectiveness of the same. Findings show that while some schemes have considerable coverage of social sustainability concerns, poor coverage of some critical issues, the presence of schemes lacking any social sustainability requirements, and gaps in procedural rules are likely to undermine the likelihood that social sustainability is achieved through these schemes or the EU sustainability policies lending credibility to them. - Highlights: ► Among 7 voluntary schemes approved by EC-RED for biofuel, social sustainability is sorely lacking. ► 2 Schemes lacking any social sustainability criteria collectively cover all feedstock/regions. ► The strong climate metric effectively sidelines development aspirations of southern producers. ► Only one of 7 standards will leverage the industry's potential as a stimulus to rural development. ► Policies in consumer markets are critical to give teeth to industry-led sustainability schemes.

Evaluation Criteria and Indicators of Quality for Internet Resources.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilkinson, Gene L.; And Others

1997-01-01

Most Web site rating systems overemphasize technological "bells and whistles." The University of Georgia's information quality criteria address site access and usability; resource identification and documentation; author identification; authority of author; information structure and design; relevance and scope, validity, and accuracy and…

Determining the embeddedness of sustainability claims in strategising: A comparative study of the ALSI 40 companies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Pretorius

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose: To determine the level of sustainability embeddedness in strategising by investigating the public and external communication of companies. Problem investigated: The extent to which sustainability is embedded in the elements of strategy formulation and implementation (and not merely surface-level statements and claims Design: The researchers designed a measurement tool and scale, the Strategising for Sustainability Index (SSI, based on researched elements of strategising and recent literature on the topic of sustainability and strategy integration. Merit for strategising for sustainability was given to a company on the basis of its fulfilling the relevant criteria. The JSE Top 40 listed companies on the All Share Index as of March 2011 were selected as a purposive sample. Each company's data and each element of the scorecard were judged on a Likert-type five-point scale, with higher scores indicating higher levels of embeddedness in the strategy. A comprehensive evaluation sheet was used to judge the presented data individually and independently for each element of the scorecard instrument. Findings: Ten elements were found relevant and represented: compliance (2 elements; strategy formulation (4 elements; and strategy implementation (4 elements. The findings show wide variation in overall scores. Almost all companies satisfied the compliance requirements but variations were observed in both formulation and implementation embeddedness. The SSI tool has discrimination value despite a relatively complex judging process. The proposed SSI measurement challenges other determinants of sustainability performance, as it incorporates embeddedness of sustainability in strategising. Knowing the level of this could guide management towards directing resources away from 'over-invested' strengths related to sustainability. Considering the scores for the different elements of the instrument would help to prioritise the 'sustainability spend

Contents of Education for Sustainable Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D S Ermakov

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The essence of education for sustainable development (ESD has been disclosed in this article. The definition of ESD has been formulated. The key approaches to the formation of the ESD curriculum have been designated. The criteria for selecting the content of ESD have been proposed. The feasibility of applying the competency based approach has been shown.

The Resilience of a Sustainability Entrepreneur in the Swedish Food System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Markus Larsson

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Organizational resilience emphasizes the adaptive capacity for renewal after crisis. This paper explores the sustainability and resilience of a not-for-profit firm that claims to contribute to sustainable development of the food system. We used semi-structured interviews and Holling’s adaptive cycle as a heuristic device to assess what constitutes social and sustainable entrepreneurship in this case, and we discuss the determinants of organizational resilience. The business, Biodynamiska Produkter (BP, has experienced periods of growth, conservation and rapid decline in demand, followed by periods of re-organization. Our results suggest that BP, with its social mission and focus on organic food, meets the criteria of both a social and sustainability entrepreneurial organization. BP also exhibits criteria for organizational resilience: two major crises in the 1970s and late 1990s were met by re-organization (transformation and novel market innovations (adaptations. BP has promoted the organic food sector in Sweden, but not profited from this. In this case study, resilience has enhanced sustainability in general, but trade-offs were also identified. The emphasis on trust, local identity, social objectives and slow decisions may have impeded both economic performance and new adaptations. Since the successful innovation Ekolådan in 2003, crises have been met by consolidation rather than new innovations.

Assessment of Farming Systems for Sustainability of Farming Activities in the Mazandaran Province

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Moumenihelali

2016-03-01

criteria were identified as sustainability criteria for agricultural activities in the province along with Cooperative, Commercial and Peasant alternatives as the dominant farming system in the present study. Consequently, the identification of the most suitable farming system for sustainable agricultural activities in the province serves as the main objective of this research. Materials and Methods: The study adopted an applied survey approach to conduct the study in 2014 in Mazandaran. The statistical population comprised of all professionals and experts working in the field of sustainability aspects and farming systems with a deep understanding and sufficient information on the issue being selected through purposive and snowball sampling summing up to 15 subjects. A questionnaire was used to collect data. In order to determine the face and content validities, the professors’ and specialists’ comments were taken into account and to estimate the reliability, the inconsistency rate was used. To achieve the main objective, the analytic hierarchy process technique by considering 5 criteria and 33 sub-criteria on three farming types (cooperative, commercial and peasant were used. The Expert Choice software 2000 was applied for data analysis. It should be noted that the analytic hierarchy process is a multi-criteria decision-making approach being based on paired comparison which enables managers and policymakers to review various scenarios. Likewise, it is sought to consider the experts’ opinions from the most central units involved instead of focusing on the number of decision-makers. Results and Discussion: Based on the results and considering criteria prioritization reveal the fact that the ecological,policy, social dimensions compared with the economic and technical criteria remain more imperative. Therefore, the ecological, political and social dimensions are the most important aspects of agricultural activities sustainability in the province. Hence, it can be

‘Universally applicable criteria for doing figurational process sociology: Seven balances, one triad’.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wouters, Cas

2014-01-01

Until recently, discussion of the criteria relevant to studying civilising processes focused mainly on the balance of controls (that is, between Fremdzwänge and Selbstzwänge). This paper starts by focusing on the ‘triad of controls’, a concept that Elias presents as one of the ‘criteria of social

Criteria for onset of firestorms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carrier, G.F.; Fendell, F.E.; Feldman, P.S.

1983-01-01

Quantitative criteria are evolved for onset of firestorms, severe stationary (nonpropagating) holocausts arising via merger of fires from multiple simultaneous ignitions in a heavily fuel-laden urban environment. Within an hour, surface-level radial inflow from all directions sustains a large-diameter convective column that eventually reaches altitude of about 10 km (e.g., Hamburg, Dresden, Hiroshima). As the firestorm achieves peak intensity (2 to 3 hours after the ignitions), inflow speeds are inferred to attain 25 to 50 m/s; typically 12 km 2 are reduced to ashes, before winds relax to ambient levels in six-to-nine hours. Here the firestorm is interpreted to be a mesocyclone (rotating severe local storm). Even with exceedingly large heat release sustained over a concentrated area, in the presence of a very nearly autoconvectively unstable atmospheric stratification, onset of vigorous swirling on the scale of two hours requires more than concentration of circulation associated with the rotation of the earth; rather, a preexisting, if weak, circulation appears necessary for firestorm cyclogenesis

Sustainability evaluation of nanotechnology processing and production

OpenAIRE

Teresa M. Mata; Nídia de Sá Caetano; António A. Martins

2015-01-01

This article discusses the current situation and challenges posed by nanotechnology from a sustainability point of view. It presents an objective methodology to evaluate the sustainability of nanotechnology products, based on a life cycle thinking approach, a framework particularly suited to assess all current and future relevant economic, societal and environmental impacts products and processes. It is grounded on a hierarchical definition of indicators, starting from 3D indicators that take...

Criteria for the selection of ERP software

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The implementation of an ERP software package is an important investment for an organization, which is characterized also by a high degree of risk. Selecting the most appropriate software is a necessary condition for a successful implementation. This paper is describing the major aspects of software selection in general and the relevant criteria in the case of ERP software.

If Development, Then Sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bóna Péter

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is to explore how the effects of components belonging to the concept of strategic management system influence outstanding achievement and success in the processing industry in Hungary as well as the sustainability success component within that. In order to do that, the study defines the factors having an influence. Thereafter, it explains the successful operation of companies with the help of factors emerging via path analysis using regression models. It uses the balanced scorecard as a tool for success criteria describing success. This is a non-market aspect that has an impact on the whole system, making it of crucial importance. Via the exploration of effects, it can be shown the deliberate use of those factors that generate outstanding results and success from the point of view of sustainability, and thus internal development, customer appreciation, and financial success. By taking the results of the research into consideration, it will also be revealed that success factors in the processing industry in Hungary have the most direct and the largest impact on outstanding sustainability performance.

Discussions about safety criteria and guidelines for radioactive waste management.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamamoto, Masafumi

2011-07-01

In Japan, the clearance levels for uranium-bearing waste have been established by the Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC). The criteria for uranium-bearing waste disposal are also necessary; however, the NSC has not concluded the discussion on this subject. Meanwhile, the General Administrative Group of the Radiation Council has concluded the revision of its former recommendation 'Regulatory exemption dose for radioactive solid waste disposal', the dose criteria after the institutional control period for a repository. The Standardization Committee on Radiation Protection in the Japan Health Physics Society (The Committee) also has developed the relevant safety criteria and guidelines for existing exposure situations, which are potentially applicable to uranium-bearing waste disposal. A new working group established by The Committee was initially aimed at developing criteria and guidelines specifically for uranium-bearing waste disposal; however, the aim has been shifted to broader criteria applicable to any radioactive wastes.

Building Innovation and Sustainability in Programs of Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Villarruel, Antonia M

2018-01-01

Innovation and sustainability are two important concepts of impactful programs of research. While at first glance these concepts and approaches may seem at odds, they are synergistic. We examine the social, political, and policy context as it relates to innovation and sustainability. We present an exemplar of a program of research and discuss factors to consider in developing innovative and sustainable programs of research. Innovation is an important component of sustainable programs of research. Understanding the social and political context and addressing relevant policy issues are factors to be considered in both innovation and sustainability. Innovation and sustainability, important components of research, are also central to clinical practice. Open communication between researchers and clinicians can support the acceleration of innovations and the integration of evidence-based findings in practice. © 2017 Sigma Theta Tau International.

Comparative assessment of supervision and decision-making procedures regarding sustainable development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carlevaro, F.; Garbely, M.; Genoud, S.

2002-01-01

This final report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) presents the results of a study made on the possibilities of establishing a system of indicators that allows the monitoring of sustainable development and its effects, as stipulated in the Agenda 21. The report presents the findings of the study on criteria and indicators for sustainability in the energy area. The challenge posed by the synthesis of information from a system of indicators is discussed and four general approaches are proposed, compared and tested for the monitoring of sustainability in the energy area. These include the calculation of a composite index from several indicators, a similar process that uses statistical methods of dimensional reduction, methods for the measurement of productivity loaned from economics and a method for decision-making using multiple criteria. Examples for the four approaches are given and experience gained in their use - partly in other countries and in United Nations agencies - is discussed

Priority setting of health interventions: the need for multi-criteria decision analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Baltussen Rob

2006-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Priority setting of health interventions is often ad-hoc and resources are not used to an optimal extent. Underlying problem is that multiple criteria play a role and decisions are complex. Interventions may be chosen to maximize general population health, to reduce health inequalities of disadvantaged or vulnerable groups, ad/or to respond to life-threatening situations, all with respect to practical and budgetary constraints. This is the type of problem that policy makers are typically bad at solving rationally, unaided. They tend to use heuristic or intuitive approaches to simplify complexity, and in the process, important information is ignored. Next, policy makers may select interventions for only political motives. This indicates the need for rational and transparent approaches to priority setting. Over the past decades, a number of approaches have been developed, including evidence-based medicine, burden of disease analyses, cost-effectiveness analyses, and equity analyses. However, these approaches concentrate on single criteria only, whereas in reality, policy makers need to make choices taking into account multiple criteria simultaneously. Moreover, they do not cover all criteria that are relevant to policy makers. Therefore, the development of a multi-criteria approach to priority setting is necessary, and this has indeed recently been identified as one of the most important issues in health system research. In other scientific disciplines, multi-criteria decision analysis is well developed, has gained widespread acceptance and is routinely used. This paper presents the main principles of multi-criteria decision analysis. There are only a very few applications to guide resource allocation decisions in health. We call for a shift away from present priority setting tools in health – that tend to focus on single criteria – towards transparent and systematic approaches that take into account all relevant criteria

Sustainability of biomass for cofiring

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2014-02-01

There are many items to include when considering the sustainability of biomass for cofiring, and some of them are hard to quantify. The focus of this report is on the greenhouse gas emission aspects of sustainability. The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions achieved by substituting biomass for coal depends on a number of factors such as the nature of the fossil fuel reference system, the source of the biomass, and how it is produced. Relevant issues in biomass production include the energy balance, the greenhouse gas balance, land use change, non-CO2 greenhouse gas emission from soils, changes to soil organic carbon, and the timing of emissions and removal of CO2 which relates to the scale of biomass production. Certification of sustainable biomass is slow to emerge at the national and international level, so various organisations are developing and using their own standards for sustainable production. The EU does not yet have sustainability standards for solid biomass, but the UK and Belgium have developed their own.

Comparison of Country Risk, Sustainability and Economic Safety Indices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jelena Stankeviciene

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Country risk, sustainability an economic safety are becoming more important in the contemporary economic world. The aim of this paper is to present the importance of comparison formalisation of country risk, sustainability, and economic safety indices for strategic alignment. The work provides an analysis on the relationship between country risk, sustainability an economic safety in EU countries, based on statistical data. Investigations and calculations of rankings provided by Euromoney Country Risk Index, European Economic Sustainability Index as well as for Economic Security Index were made and the results of EU country ranking based on three criteria were provided. Furthermore, the data for the Baltic States was summarised and the corresponding index of consistency for random judgments was evaluated.

Some criteria for landscape quality implemented on a goat farm in the Netherlands.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hendriks, K.; Stobbelaar, D.J.; Mansvelt, van J.D.

1995-01-01

Report of a visit to an organic goat farm to test the usefulness of the criteria which proceeded from the first meeting of the concerted action "The landscape and nature production capacity of organic/sustainable types of agriculture in the EC"

Social Advertising Quality: Assessment Criteria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. B. Kalmykov

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose: the The purpose of the publication is development of existing criterial assessment in social advertising sphere. The next objectives are provided for its achievement: to establish research methodology, to develop the author’s version of necessary notional apparatus and conceptual generalization, to determine the elements of social advertising quality, to establish the factors of its quality, to conduct the systematization of existing criteria and measuring instruments of quality assessment, to form new criteria of social advertising quality, to apply received results for development of criterial assessment to determine the further research perspectives. Methods: the methodology of research of management of social advertising interaction with target audience, which has dynamic procedural character with use of sociological knowledge multivariate paradigmatic status, has been proposed. Results: the primary received results: the multivariate paradigmatic research basis with use of works of famous domestic and foreign scientists in sociology, qualimetry and management spheres; the definitions of social advertising, its quality, sociological quality provision system, target audience behavior model during social advertising interaction are offered; the quality factors with three groups by level of effect on consumer are established; the systematization of existing quality and its measure instruments assessment criteria by detected social advertising quality elements are conducted; the two new criteria and its management quality assessment measuring instruments in social advertising sphere are developed; the one of the common groups of production quality criteria – adaptability with considering of new management quality criteria and conducted systematization of existing social advertising creative quality assessment criteria development; the perspective of further perfection of quality criterial assessment based on social advertising

Participatory approach used to develop a sustainability assessment tool for wood-based bioenergy industry in upper Michigan, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Vaidya, Ashma; Mayer, Audrey

2015-04-01

opportunities, but the forests have recovered to volumes prior to the logging boom. Interest in a wood-based bioenergy production industry is growing, yet whether this industry can be developed sustainably is a concern. The main goal of our research is to incorporate stakeholders' concerns and knowledge into an expert-assisted sustainability assessment tool for a regional wood-based biofuel industry. Key stakeholders involved in the research include landowners, farmers, land management companies, bioenergy users, venture capitalists, interest groups, government organizations and NGOs. We used interviews, focus group meetings and a workshop to collect information from these stakeholders, which were then translated into social sustainability criteria. Multiple criteria analysis methods, Bayesian Belief Network and information collected from other studies were used to develop a final set of sustainability criteria and indicators. Our results provide a platform for experts and stakeholders to understand the local context relevant to sustainability, the state of the science, and will bridge the gap between scientific and non-scientific knowledge in the region. This sustainability assessment tool is intended to facilitate inclusive and sustainability-oriented decision-making for a wood-based bioenergy industry.