SciTech News Volume 71, No. 2 (2017)

Columns and Reports From the Editor 3 Division News Science-Technology Division 5 Chemistry Division 8 Engineering Division 9 Aerospace Section of the Engineering Division 12 Architecture, Building Engineering, Construction and Design Section of the Engineering Division 14 Reviews Sci-Tech Book News Reviews 16 Advertisements IEEE

Multi-criteria decision methods for CSR management – literature review

Business today faces a managerial transition to adapt a new decision-making criterion and a course of action; namely, “corporate sustainability.” Corporate social responsibility can be embedded in (or fostered by) value-based management. In any case, adopting CSR as a part of a firm’s strategy and operations requires changed standards for decision-making. Decision-makers face the challenge of following tangible and intangible goals of multiple stakeholders. This study provides insights into how multi criteria decision tools can be harnessed to operationalize CSR. The method applied in the article is a systematic international literature review. The findings suggest that papers aimed at using MCDM to enhance CSR management are mostly newer publications. Three important research avenues have emerged. In the first avenue, MCDMs are seen and used to enhance managerial decisions where a number of heterogenic goals must be achieved. The second avenue is where MCDMs are seen and used to evaluate a firm’s quantitative and qualitative outcomes in terms of values created for multiple stakeholders. The third trend is connected with sustainable supply-chain management

Développement de l'approche conséquentielle pour l'analyse de la durabilité du cycle de vie: cas d’un bâtiment hybride multiétages

Il est indéniable que l'industrie du bâtiment doit évoluer vers des bâtiments plus durables à l'avenir. Les décideurs dans le secteur du bâtiment doivent prendre en compte les aspects sociaux et économiques dans leur prise de décision, en plus de l'aspect environnemental. Ces évaluations doivent également inclure la perspective du cycle de vie. L’approche conséquentielle est nécessaire pour évaluer les conséquences à long terme par rapport à l’approche attributionnelle qui se concentre sur l’évaluation d’un profil donné. Ce projet de recherche montre comment l'approche conséquentielle est intégrée dans l'analyse du cycle de vie (ACV), l’analyse du coût du cycle de vie (ACCV) et l'analyse sociale du cycle de vie (AsCV) dans le cadre de l'analyse de la durabilité du cycle de vie (ADCV). Ce mémoire de thèse contient huit chapitres pour atteindre les objectifs de recherche susmentionnés. Le chapitre 1 décrit le contexte de l'étude et l'organisation de la thèse. Le chapitre 2 présente les défis et les opportunités actuels de l'évaluation de la durabilité du cycle de vie qui a été publié et auquel il est fait référence comme premier article de cette thèse. Le premier article présentait les lacunes identifiées dans l'harmonisation des trois méthodes discutées (ACV, ACCV et AsCV). Dans l'intégration de l'ACV et du ACCV, la question de la temporalité est toujours absente dans l'ACV, en plus de la perspective conséquentielle dans l'ACV et l’ACCV. Dans l'intégration de ACCV et AsCV, deux lacunes de recherche sont également trouvées : la différence de perspective lors de l'utilisation à la fois de la méthode, en plus du manque de la perspective conséquentielle. Dans l'intégration de l’AsCV et de l'ACV, les problèmes qui se posent sont : la présence d'impact négatif et positif dans l’ AsCV, par rapport à l'ACV (dont les impacts sont presque toujours négatifs), sans oublier l'absence de l’approche conséquentielle dans l’AsCV. Lors de l'application de l’ADCV dans un contexte politique, nous avons suggéré que le cadre a besoin d'une perspective conséquentielle pour faciliter la capture non seulement des impacts directs, mais aussi des conséquences indirectes. Le chapitre 4 présente l'énoncé du problème et les questions de recherche, le but et les objectifs de la recherche, ainsi que la définition du projet. Le chapitre 5 décrit l'ACV et le CCV d'un bâtiment hybride à plusieurs étages avec une étude de cas au Québec, Canada. Il a également été publié et fait référence au deuxième article de cette thèse. Le deuxième article a démontré la pertinence de l'utilisation complémentaire d'approches attributionnelle et conséquentielle avec l'étude de cas d'un bâtiment hybride à plusieurs étages, et ce du point de vue environnemental et économique. Les résultats de l'ensemble du cycle de vie indiquent des différences potentielles entre les deux approches de modélisation sous-jacentes. Par exemple, la production de matériaux est l'étape la plus impactante sur le plan environnemental (avec une contribution de 86 à 98 %) et économique (72 %) dans l'approche attributionnelle. Cependant, dans l'approche conséquentielle, la production de matériaux est moins responsable sur le plan environnemental (46 à 94 %) et pourtant plus responsable sur le plan économique (59 %). Cela démontre que l'ACV et l’ACCV conséquentielle peuvent révéler des informations complémentaires (non disponible d’un point de vue attributionnelle). Même si l'étude est soumise à des limitations et des incertitudes notables, telle que la disponibilité et la qualité des données, la réalisation d'une ACV-ACCV attributionnelle et conséquentielle d'un produit pourrait donner plus d’informations pertinentes pour une prise de décision plus robuste. Le chapitre 6 présente l'ACVS du même bâtiment en utilisant l'analyse multiniveau et constitue le troisième article publié dans cette thèse. Dans le troisième article, l'analyse sociale du cycle de vie (ASCV) a été réalisée en évaluant l'impact social potentiel et les bénéfices du cycle de vie du bâtiment. L'utilisation d'une analyse à plusieurs niveaux (résolutions), qui est appliquée à l'ACV sociale conséquentielle et attributionnelle, pourrait aider à combler les lacunes dans les données. Bien que davantage de données ne soient pas toujours meilleures, cela peut aider à comprendre les points chauds possibles de l'impact/bénéfice social et le champ d'influence de l'impact/bénéfice social pour les parties prenantes. Combler les lacunes dans les données est important de deux manières : 1) combler les lacunes des données sur les indicateurs et 2) combler les lacunes des données sur le cycle de vie du système de produits (du berceau à la tombe). En utilisant une analyse à plusieurs niveaux dans une ACV sociale conséquentielle, il a été observé que l'importation d'acier et/ou d'aluminium de Chine est potentiellement associée à certains impacts sociaux négatifs (restrictions à l'association des travailleurs, risque pour la santé et la sécurité et travail des enfants), mais aussi des contributions bénéfiques (emploi). En fin de compte, révéler ces types d'indicateurs peut aider les décideurs politiques à prévoir et à planifier les conséquences négatives avant qu'elles ne surviennent, et vice versa à promouvoir des avantages positifs. Plus important encore, comme pour l'ACV, la nécessité d'inclure une perspective du cycle de vie complet existe, car l'impact tout au long de la phase du cycle de vie du produit est souvent négligé en raison de données manquantes. Enfin, le chapitre 7 présente la discussion de la recherche tandis que le chapitre 8 montre les conclusions, les contributions, les limites et fournit des recommandations pour les recherches futures. En conclusion, l'utilisation de trois outils ADCV (ACV, CCV et AsCV) dans l'approche conséquente signifie que le LCSA conséquent a également été réalisé. L'optique prospective de l'approche conséquentielle permet d'améliorer les performances de durabilité de manière causale. Les impacts du processus, de l'activité ou de la technologie évalués sont ceux du processus, de l'activité ou de la technologie qui vont répondre à la demande accrue. Ainsi, l'évaluation a pour logique de répondre aux conséquences futures. Cela inclut éventuellement l'implication des fournisseurs de matériaux mondiaux de l'étranger, comme observé dans cette étude, où les conséquences sociales peuvent avoir différents résultats possibles. La situation sociale et les conditions de travail dans d'autres pays (en particulier dans les pays en développement) peuvent présenter de mauvaises pratiques. L'approche conséquentielle aide les décideurs politiques à anticiper l'impact des différents résultats possibles et à identifier les faiblesses. Par exemple, les décideurs peuvent découvrir qu'il faut réduire l'acier et les importations de l'étranger et se concentrer davantage sur l'utilisation de produits locaux. Un plan de transformation peut être élaboré à l'avance pour faire face à d'éventuels problèmes techniques et opérationnels liés au passage de l'étranger au local et offrir une valeur future plus mesurable.Abstract: It is undeniable that building industry needs to move to more sustainable buildings in the future. Building policy-makers need to include social and economic aspect into consideration, beside environmental one. These assessments also need to include a life cycle perspective. Consequential life cycle approach is suitable for assessing long-term consequences ,as compared to attributional approach that only focus on the impact accounting itself. This research project aims to demonstrate how the consequential approach when applied to life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle costing (LCC) and social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) (under the life cycle sustainability assessment umbrella) can shed light on important insights that can’t be identified when using the attributional one. This thesis dissertation contains eight chapters to achieve the aforementioned research objectives. Chapter 1 describes the context of the study and dissertation organization. Chapter 2 presents the current challenges and opportunities of life cycle sustainability assessment that has been published and referred as first paper in this thesis. The first paper presented the identified gaps shown in the harmonization of the three presented methods (LCA, LCC, and SLCA). In the integration of LCA and LCC, temporality issue is still missing in LCA (issue, here it is called research gap [RG 1]), in addition to the missing consequential perspective in LCA and LCC (RG 2). In the integration of LCC and S-LCA, two research gaps are also found: the difference in stakeholder perspective when using both method (RG 3), in addition to the missing consequential perspective (RG 4). In the integration of S-LCA and LCA, the identified issues are (not extensive list): the presence of negative and positive impact in S-LCA, as compared to LCA (RG 5), the scales of assessment applied in each method differs (RG 6), in addition to the absence of a consequential approach in S-LCA. When applying LCSA in a policy context, it is suggested that the framework needs a consequential perspective to facilitate capturing not only direct impacts but also indirect consequences. Chapter 3 presents the updated and recent literature review with the same topic as in Chapter 2. Chapter 4 shows the problem statement and research questions, research goal and objectives, and project definition. Chapter 5 describes the LCA and LCC of hybrid multistory building with case study in Quebec, Canada. It is also has been published and referred as second paper in this thesis. The second paper showed the added value of using attributional and consequential approaches with the case study of hybrid multistory building, from environmental and economic perspectives. For example, material production is the most impactful stage environmentally (with 86–98% contribution) and economically (72%) in the attributional approach. However, in the consequential approach, material production is less environmentally responsible (46–94%), while from an economic perspective the contribution reached 59%. By implementing consequential LCA-LCC, additional insights are gained from the consequential impacts of constructing hybrid wood multistory buildings. Even though the study is a subject to notable limitations and uncertainties, such as data availability and quality, conducting attributional and consequential LCA-LCC of a building can give a broader/more comprehensive spectrum of possible results for a robust decision-making. Chapter 6 provides S-LCA of the same building using multilevel analysis and referred as third published paper in this thesis. In the third paper, the social life cycle assessment was carried out by evaluating the potential social impact and benefit from the product's life cycle. Using a multilevel analysis, applied to consequential and attributional social LCA, helped in filling data gaps, particularly for the consequential perspective. While more data is not always better, it can help to understand the possible hotspots of social impact/benefit. Filling data gaps is important in two ways: 1) filling data gaps on indicators and 2) filling data gaps on the product system's life cycle (cradle to grave). As a matter of fact, when using multilevel analysis in consequential social LCA, it was noticed that importing steel and/or aluminum from China is potentially associated with negative social impacts (restrictions on worker association, risk on health and safety, and child labor) but also some beneficial contributions (employment). Ultimately, revealing these types of trade-offs may help policymakers predict and plan for negative consequences before they occur, and vice versa promote positive benefit. More importantly, as with LCA, the need to include a full life cycle perspective exists because the impact throughout the product's life cycle phase is frequently overlooked due to missing data. Finally, Chapter 7 presents the research discussion while Chapter 8 shows conclusions, contributions, limitations, and provides recommendations for future research. In conclusion, having three tools of LCSA (LCA, LCC and S-LCA) performed in consequential approach mean that consequential LCSA also have been carried out. The forward-looking lens of consequential approach helps to improve sustainability performance in causal-effect manner. The impacts of the process or activity or technology assessed are the ones from process or activity or technology that are going to supply the increased demand. Thus, the assessment has logic on answering the future consequences. This possibly includes the involvement of global material suppliers from abroad such observed in this study where the social consequences can have different possible outcomes. The social working situation and labor condition in other countries (especially in developing countries) may have poor practices. Having consequential approach helps the policy makers anticipate the impact of different possible outcomes and identify weaknesses. For example, policy makers may discover that it needs to reduce the steel and import from abroad and more focus on using local products. A transformation plan can be made in advance to cope with possible technical and operational problems from shifting from abroad to local and deliver more measurable future value

Industry/University Collaboration at the University of Michigan-Dearborn: A Focus on Relevant Technology

https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154105/1/kampfner1997.pd

Management, Technology and Learning for Individuals, Organisations and Society in Turbulent Environments

This book presents the collection of fifty papers which were presented in the Second International Conference on BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY 2011 - Management, Technology and Learning for Individuals, Organisations and Society in Turbulent Environments , held in Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal, from 22ndto 24thof June, 2011.The main motive of the meeting was growing awareness of the importance of the sustainability issue. This importance had emerged from the growing uncertainty of the market behaviour that leads to the characterization of the market, i.e. environment, as turbulent. Actually, the characterization of the environment as uncertain and turbulent reflects the fact that the traditional technocratic and/or socio-technical approaches cannot effectively and efficiently lead with the present situation. In other words, the rise of the sustainability issue means the quest for new instruments to deal with uncertainty and/or turbulence. The sustainability issue has a complex nature and solutions are sought in a wide range of domains and instruments to achieve and manage it. The domains range from environmental sustainability (referring to natural environment) through organisational and business sustainability towards social sustainability. Concerning the instruments for sustainability, they range from traditional engineering and management methodologies towards “soft” instruments such as knowledge, learning, and creativity. The papers in this book address virtually whole sustainability problems space in a greater or lesser extent. However, although the uncertainty and/or turbulence, or in other words the dynamic properties, come from coupling of management, technology, learning, individuals, organisations and society, meaning that everything is at the same time effect and cause, we wanted to put the emphasis on business with the intention to address primarily companies and their businesses. Due to this reason, the main title of the book is “Business Sustainability 2.0” but with the approach of coupling Management, Technology and Learning for individuals, organisations and society in Turbulent Environments. Also, the notation“2.0” is to promote the publication as a step further from our previous publication – “Business Sustainability I” – as would be for a new version of software. Concerning the Second International Conference on BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY, its particularity was that it had served primarily as a learning environment in which the papers published in this book were the ground for further individual and collective growth in understanding and perception of sustainability and capacity for building new instruments for business sustainability. In that respect, the methodology of the conference work was basically dialogical, meaning promoting dialog on the papers, but also including formal paper presentations. In this way, the conference presented a rich space for satisfying different authors’ and participants’ needs. Additionally, promoting the widest and global learning environment and participation, in accordance with the Conference's assumed mission to promote Proactive Generative Collaborative Learning, the Conference Organisation shares/puts open to the community the papers presented in this book, as well as the papers presented on the previous Conference(s). These papers can be accessed from the conference webpage (http://labve.dps.uminho.pt/bs11). In these terms, this book could also be understood as a complementary instrument to the Conference authors’ and participants’, but also to the wider readerships’ interested in the sustainability issues. The book brought together 107 authors from 11 countries, namely from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Serbia, Switzerland, and United States of America. The authors “ranged” from senior and renowned scientists to young researchers providing a rich and learning environment. At the end, the editors hope, and would like, that this book to be useful, meeting the expectation of the authors and wider readership and serving for enhancing the individual and collective learning, and to incentive further scientific development and creation of new papers. Also, the editors would use this opportunity to announce the intention to continue with new editions of the conference and subsequent editions of accompanying books on the subject of BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY, the third of which is planned for year 2013.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

SciTech News Volume 71, No. 3 (2017)

Columns and Reports From the Editor.........................3 Division News Science-Technology Division....5 Chemistry Division....................8 Conference Report, Marion E, Sparks Professional Development Award Recipient..9 Engineering Division................10 Engineering Division Award, Winners Reflect on their Conference Experience..15 Aerospace Section of the Engineering Division .....18 Architecture, Building Engineering, Construction, and Design Section of the Engineering Division................20 Reviews Sci-Tech Book News Reviews...22 Advertisements IEEE..........................................

Multicriteria Decision Making in Sustainable Tourism and Low-Carbon Tourism Research: A Systematic Literature Review

Multicriteria Decision Making (MCDM) is increasingly being utilized as an analytical research tool for sectors that require decision-making with specific objectives and constraints, such as the tourism industry. Sustainable tourism, which examines the balance of numerous aspects, including stakeholders’ interests, is the critical feature propelling the increased usage of MCDM. This paper explores the use of Multicriteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods applied in studies of sustainable tourism and its derivative term, low-carbon tourism, using a systematic literature review (SLR) search from the Scopus database. The analysis has identified 189 relevant studies published between 1987 to April 2022. After selection, screening, and synthesizing processes, we selected 135 pertinent studies, which were analysed in general descriptive data, citation impacts, geographical categorization, categorization of the methodologies’ objectives, and possible trajectories of similar research in the future. We find that highly cited authors and articles are related to sustainable tourism indicators\u27 development and case studies. Furthermore, most relevant studies are concentrated in Asia and Europe rather than other regions. We also categorize the reviewed studies into six classifications depending on each method\u27s intended usage and further suggest four contexts for the studies’ future trajectory

Supply Chain

Traditionally supply chain management has meant factories, assembly lines, warehouses, transportation vehicles, and time sheets. Modern supply chain management is a highly complex, multidimensional problem set with virtually endless number of variables for optimization. An Internet enabled supply chain may have just-in-time delivery, precise inventory visibility, and up-to-the-minute distribution-tracking capabilities. Technology advances have enabled supply chains to become strategic weapons that can help avoid disasters, lower costs, and make money. From internal enterprise processes to external business transactions with suppliers, transporters, channels and end-users marks the wide range of challenges researchers have to handle. The aim of this book is at revealing and illustrating this diversity in terms of scientific and theoretical fundamentals, prevailing concepts as well as current practical applications