An operational framework for sustainability assessment including local to global impacts : focus on waste management systems

Assessing the sustainability of waste management systems (WMSs) is key to reduce the impacts incurred by human activities. The article presents the development of an operational sustainability framework for the assessment of WMSs involving stakeholders and experts from different fields. The operational framework presented achieves comprehensiveness by including multidisciplinary impacts (environmental, social, and economic impacts), accounting for spatial differentiation regarding the occurrence and magnitude of the impacts (local to global) and complementing well-established methods in life cycle assessment (LCA) with local impact assessment methods. In this respect, the assessment of social local impacts (e.g., Odour, Landscape Disamenities), which has so far received little attention in the literature, has been included. The procedure for the definition of the operational framework is described in detail, including the selection of the impact categories and associated indicators. Finally, an aggregation method was defined considering the perception of stakeholders, allowing for aggregating the impact in five areas of protection (Prosperity, Human Well-Being, Human Health, Ecosystem Health and Natural Resources)

Evaluating the sustainability of soil improvement techniques in foundation substructures

[EN] The soil is not always suitable or competent to support a direct shallow foundation in construction. In many cases, to avoid costly deep foundations, it is indicated to replace, improve, or reinforce such soil. This paper focuses on evaluating the contribution to sustainability between different soil improvement techniques and the outcome of their application to the foundation of a single-family house as an alternative to the one built. The life-cycle performance in sustainability is compared between the baseline design (without intervention), backfilling and soil compaction, soil-cement columns, rigid inclusion of micropiles, and nailing of precast joists. To characterize sustainability, a set of 37 indicators is proposed that integrate the economic or environmental aspects of each design alternative and its social impacts. A sustainability ranking is obtained for the different alternatives based on the ELECTRE IS method for multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM). The sensitivity of the obtained results is evaluated against different MCDM methods (TOPSIS, COPRAS) and different criteria weights. The evaluation provides a cross-cutting view, comparing the ability and reliability of each technique to prioritize the ground consolidation solution that best contributes to the sustainability in the design of a building's substructure.Grant PID2020-117056RB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by "ERDF A way of making Europe". The authors would also like to thank Jose Fernando Moreno Serrano (co-director of the company "Alto Almanzora Geological Consulting") for providing some of the data and geotechnical information needed for this study.Sánchez-Garrido, AJ.; Navarro, IJ.; Yepes, V. (2022). Evaluating the sustainability of soil improvement techniques in foundation substructures. Journal of Cleaner Production. 351:1-20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.13146312035

Preliminary study of key performance indicators for sustainability in health care industry in Malaysia

According to the Malaysia Ministry of Health, the health care industry was the fastest-growth industry between 2000 and 2009. This industry is a key driver for the country’s economic growth and has contributed more than RM 1 billion to the national GDP in 2016. In today’s competitive business environment, companies are concerned about improving sustainability within the organization’s infrastructure and performance. Sustainability initiatives are beneficial as they provide an opportunity to a company, not only to reduce cost but also to contribute to the wellbeing of the environment and society. However, there are limited published studies on the evaluation of sustainability performance for the healthcare sector. The aim of this study is to develop a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) and sustainability performance index that can be used to evaluate sustainability performance for the health care industry in Malaysia. This is achieved by 3 objectives: (1) identify key performance indicators for evaluating sustainability performance for primary, secondary, and tertiary industry, (2) propose key performance indicators for evaluating sustainability performance in health care industry, and (3) develop a sustainability performance index for health care industry. First, a literature study of KPIs from various industry namely primary, secondary, and tertiary industries was carried out. Then, a list of KPIs that can be incorporated into health care industry was presented to industrial and academic experts. Next, questionnaires with 70 identified KPIs were distributed to 24 respondents in a private hospital located at Melaka. The results were collected and analyzed using statistic and analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Finally, a sustainability performance index was developed as the evaluation tool for the health care industry. The results were presented to the case company for verification purpose. The outcomes of the study show that the major concern of the private hospital is on the social factor followed by the economic factor and environment factor. The result is not surprising because all private hospitals depend on their patients as main stakeholders; they need to ensure patient satisfaction by providing good quality service which will directly impact the company’s economic growth. In addition, private hospitals have to manage clinical waste products effectively according to the rules and regulations of the country to protect the environment. A performance index was developed to monitor the sustainability performance of the health care industry

Safe and sustainable by design chemicals and materials. Framework for the definition of criteria and evaluation procedure for chemicals and materials

The EU CSS action plan foresees the development of a framework to define safe and sustainable by design (SSbD) criteria for chemicals and materials. The SSbD is an approach to support the design, development, production and use of chemicals and materials that focuses on providing a desirable function (or service), while avoiding or minimising harmful impacts to human health and the environment. The SSbD concept integrates aspects for the domain of safety, circularity and functionality of chemicals and materials, with sustainability consideration throughout their lifecycle, minimising their environmental footprint. SSbD aims at facilitating the industrial transition towards a safe, zero pollution, climate-neutral and resource-efficient economy, addressing adverse effects on humans, ecosystems and biodiversity from a lifecycle perspective. To fulfil these ambitions, there is the need to develop a new framework for the definition of safe and sustainable by design criteria for chemicals and materials. To do so, several frameworks were reviewed including initiatives from research, industry, governmental agencies and NGOs. Capitalising on this information, a framework was developed and is presented in this report including a methodology for the definition of possible SSbD criteria and implementation mechanisms

Deterministic and Probabilistic Risk Management Approaches in Construction Projects: A Systematic Literature Review and Comparative Analysis

Risks and uncertainties are inevitable in construction projects and can drastically change the expected outcome, negatively impacting the project’s success. However, risk management (RM) is still conducted in a manual, largely ineffective, and experience-based fashion, hindering automation and knowledge transfer in projects. The construction industry is benefitting from the recent Industry 4.0 revolution and the advancements in data science branches, such as artificial intelligence (AI), for the digitalization and optimization of processes. Data-driven methods, e.g., AI and machine learning algorithms, Bayesian inference, and fuzzy logic, are being widely explored as possible solutions to RM domain shortcomings. These methods use deterministic or probabilistic risk reasoning approaches, the first of which proposes a fixed predicted value, and the latter embraces the notion of uncertainty, causal dependencies, and inferences between variables affecting projects’ risk in the predicted value. This research used a systematic literature review method with the objective of investigating and comparatively analyzing the main deterministic and probabilistic methods applied to construction RM in respect of scope, primary applications, advantages, disadvantages, limitations, and proven accuracy. The findings established recommendations for optimum AI-based frameworks for different management levels—enterprise, project, and operational—for large or small data sets

Combining in Silico Tools with Multicriteria Analysis for Alternatives Assessment of Hazardous Chemicals: A Case Study of Decabromodiphenyl Ether Alternatives

Alternatives assessment is applied for minimizing the risk of unintentionally replacing a hazardous chemical with another hazardous chemical. Central challenges are the diversity of properties to consider and the lack of high-quality experimental data. To address this, a novel alternatives assessment procedure was developed based on in silico data and multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) methods. As a case study, 16 alternatives to the flame retardant decabromodiphenyl ether were considered. The hazard properties included persistence (P), bioaccumulation potential (B), toxicities (T), and mobility in water (M). Databases were consulted and 2866 experimental data points were collected for the target chemicals; however, these were mostly replicate data points for some hazard criteria for a subset of alternatives. Therefore, in silico data and three MCDA strategies were tested including heat mapping, multiattribute utility theory (MAUT), and Elimination Et Choix Traduisant la REalit\ue9 (ELECTRE III). The heat map clearly showed that none of the target chemicals are hazard-free, whereas MAUT and ELECTRE III agreed on ranking the "least worst" choices. This study identified several challenges and the complexity in the alternatives assessment processes motivating more case studies combining in silico and MCDA approaches

Development of a model for the assessment of sustainable high street performance based on stakeholder needs and expectations.

The decline of high streets due to external factors, such as changing consumer trends, the growth of alternative forms of retail, changing economic conditions etc., is a topic that has received a great deal of political and media attention during the last decade. The performance of high streets is influenced by a multitude of complex and conflicting economic, environmental and social factors. However, despite this, existing performance measures continue to place emphasis on the retailing and economic functions of high streets. As consumer needs and expectations shift towards a preference for social and experiential high street features, the need to change the perception of high street success is increasingly important. This study has identified statistically significant differences between importance scores allocated to high street assessment criteria by a range of high street stakeholder groups. These differences reveal the varying priorities of key stakeholders when it comes to high streets, and the subsequent need to account for the varied needs and expectations of stakeholders when it comes to assessing high street performance. This research contributes new and original knowledge through the development and application of a high street sustainability assessment model that incorporates criteria weightings to reflect the needs and expectations of key high street stakeholders. Utilising Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods, the model comprises an all-inclusive set of weighted criteria that reflects a high street's economic, environmental and social functions. The model is applied to a practical example of eight English town centre high streets. The thesis presents the ranking of the high streets in terms of their relative sustainability and provides a step-by-step guide of how key stakeholders can apply the model for their own high street decision making needs. The model can inform national and local high street policy, strategies and decision making, and provides benefits to a range of stakeholders, including national and local government, town centre managers, local businesses and local communities. The model output can inform recommendations and indicate areas of improvement that would be most beneficial to improved high street sustainability

Advancing sustainable nanotechnology with multiple criteria decision aiding

Nanotechnology is currently emerging as the next industrial revolution. It enables the production of goods (i.e. nanoproducts, NPs) with enhanced functionalities, which have nonetheless caused mounting concerns about the potential implications they can have on the environment, economy and society. This thesis employs Multiple Criteria Decision Aiding (MCDA), one form of decision support, to aid the sustainable development of nanotechnology. The first original contribution of this doctoral research is the development of a framework of sustainability assessment criteria for NPs, through a three-phase procedure based on the MCDA process, including a literature review, a pilot and a main survey. It lead to a comprehensive framework of 68 criteria, ranked according to their relative importance, allocated to six main domain areas: (i) economic performance; (ii) environmental impacts; (iii) environmental risk assessment; (iv) human health risk assessment; (v) social implications; and (vi) technical performance. All the criteria are reliable and can be used in real case studies to increase the knowledge about the sustainability of NPs. The second original contribution presented in this thesis is a robust model (DRSA-based model) based on green chemistry principles implementation for the classification of synthesis processes of nanomaterials in preference-ordered classes. This tool was developed through knowledge elicitation techniques based on coconstructive MCDA with the collaboration of two experts (the decision makers) in synthesis of nanomaterials. The robustness of the ensuing model was assessed (and confirmed) by means of another model developed ad hoc (ELECTRE-based model), structured on an MCDA method implementing a stochastic multiple criteria classification strategy. The results confirm that MCDA is an effective decision support approach to foster sustainable development of nanotechnology, providing that the analysts who apply it take these considerations into account. They must ensure that (1) multidisciplinary teams are created to perform comprehensive and credible sustainability evaluations; (2) problem structuring and model construction are as important as (if not more important) than the results (i.e. decision recommendations) themselves; (3) identification of the appropriate MCDA method depends on the problem at hand and not vice-versa; and (4) the credibility of the decision recommendations is subject to the preferences of the decision-makers. If these considerations are accounted for, the possibility of advancing nanotechnology on a sustainable path is very concrete and realistic