Environmental and Energy Efficiency Evaluation Based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)

Efficiency and productivity assessment are essential to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of countries, services and processes. In the last few years, there has been an increasing interest in the environmental effects of economic activities, and the need to assess the environmental and energy efficiency has been internationally recognized. Energy and environmental efficiency assessments of decision-making units (DMUs), such as countries, utilities, processes and services are relevant and have strong implications for companies, regulators, stakeholders, policy makers, and customers. To improve both the decision-making process and the management of DMUs, fundamental and practical knowledge about energy and environmental efficiency and productivity is essentia

Environmental efficiency analysis of listed cement enterprises in China

© 2016 by the authors.China's cement production has been the highest worldwide for decades and contributes significant environmental pollution. Using a non-radical DEA model with slacks-based measure (SBM), this paper analyzes the environmental efficiency of China's listed cement companies. The results suggest that the average mean of the environmental efficiency for the listed cement enterprises shows a decreasing trend in 2012 and 2013. There is a significant imbalance in environmental efficiency in these firms ranging from very low to very high. Further investigation finds that enterprise size and property structure are key factors. Increasing production concentration and decreasing the share of government investment could improve the environmental efficiency. The findings also suggest that effectively monitoring pollution products can improve environmental efficiency quickly, whereas pursuit for excessive profitability without keeping the same pace in energy saving would cause a sharp drop in environmental efficiency. Based on these findings, we proposed that companies in the Chinese cement sector might consider restructuring to improve environmental efficiency. They also need to make a trade-off between profitability and environmental protection. Finally, the Chinese government should reduce ownership control and management interventions in cement companies

Energy Efficiency in Transportation along with the Belt and Road Countries

China’s huge investment in the “belt and road initiative” (BRI) may have helped improve the economic level of participating countries, but it may also be accompanied by a substantial increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The BRI corridors aim to bring regional stability and prosperity. In such efforts, energy efficiency due to increased transport has been overlooked in the recent literature. This paper employed a data envelopment analysis of the slack-based measurement (SBM) for bad output to assess the transport energy efficiency of 19 countries under the BRI economic corridors. By using the most cited transport-related input variables, such as vehicles, labor, motor oil, jet fuel, and natural gas, this study first analyzes the transport energy efficiency by first assuming the output variables individually and then takes two years as a pre- and post-BRI case by considering the aggregated output model. The results show an increase in economic activity but a decline in transport energy efficiency in terms of consumption and emissions

Efficiency assessment of green technology innovation of renewable energy enterprises in China: a dynamic data envelopment analysis considering undesirable output

The rapid development of renewable energy enterprises has produced important benefits for contemporary efforts to address serious environmental pollution and depletion of fossil energy resources. However, the environmental pollution that exists in the production and operation of enterprises has been ignored, and so an objective evaluation of this issue is becoming urgent. This paper established an evaluation index system for green technology innovation efficiency and used dynamic data envelopment analysis (DEA) considering undesirable output to measure the green technology innovation efficiency of renewable energy enterprises, and the improvement potential of ineffective enterprises was put forward. The results show that: (1) the green technology innovation of renewable energy enterprises needs to be greatly improved. The average efficiency score of sample was 0.385 over four years, and only 16 enterprises were found to operate effectively; (2) when effective and inefficient DMUs were compared, the latter were found to have significant output shortfalls, especially in environmental tax, and were found to show an improvement potential of 55.71 percent; (3) the efficiency analysis of different types of renewable energy enterprises found that the green technology innovation efficiency score of nuclear energy enterprises was the highest, and rapidly rose; (4) the green technology innovation efficiency of renewable energy enterprises in the western region greatly exceeded the efficiency of the eastern and central regions. The efficiency evaluation results could not only provide a guidance for central and local governances to optimize the structure of renewable energy sector, but also potentially provide a reference for the operation and management of renewable energy enterprises in China

The effect of urban air pollutants in Germany: eco-efficiency analysis through fractional regression models applied after DEA and SFA efficiency predictions

Cities and living standards contribute intensively to air pollution, an environmental risk factor which causes diseases. Recently, in developed countries, the majority of cities has grown rapidly and has experienced increasing environmental problems. In this article we analyze the effect of urban air pollution considering the available data for the years 2007, 2010 and 2013 in 24 German cities. Proposing a new model, we start the analysis using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) to predict eco-efficiency scores for the 24 German cities. Afterwards, it is applied fractional regression to infer about the influencing factors of the eco-efficiency scores, at the city level. Results suggest a significant impact over eco-efficiency due to the excess of PM10, the average temperature, the average of NO2 concentration and rainfall. The findings in this study hold important implications for policymakers and urban planners in Germany, especially those that coordinate environmental protection and economic development in cities. Therefore, interventions to reduce urban air pollution can be accomplished on different regulatory levels, leading to synergistic effects as the decrease of climate change effects and noise.publishe

Carbon emission abatement quota allocation in Chinese manufacturing industries:An integrated cooperative game data envelopment analysis approach

The Chinese government announced to cut its carbon emissions intensity by 60%–65% from its 2005 level. To realize the national abatement commitment, a rational allocation into its subunits (i.e. industries, provinces) is eagerly needed. Centralized allocation models can maximize the overall interests, but might cause implementation difficulty and fierce resistance from individual subunits. Based on this observation, this article will address the carbon emission abatement quota allocation problem from decentralized perspective, taking the competitive and cooperative relationships simultaneously into account. To this end, this article develops an integrated cooperative game data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach. We first investigate the relative efficiency evaluation by taking flexible carbon emission abatement allocation plans into account, and then define a super-additive characteristic function for developing a cooperative game among units. To calculate the nucleolus-based allocation plan, a practical computation procedure is developed based on the constraint generation mechanism. Further, we present a two-layer way to allocate the CO2 abatement quota into different sub-industries and further different provinces in Chinese manufacturing industries. The empirical results show that five sub-industries (Processing of petroleum, coking and processing of nuclear fuel; Smelting and pressing of ferrous metals; Manufacture of non-metallic mineral products; Manufacture of raw chemical materials and chemical product; Smelting and pressing of non-ferrous metals) and two provinces (Guangdong and Shandong) will be allocated more than 10% of the total national carbon emission abatement quota

Performance assessment of major European ports: an empirical investigation

In the recent literature, the strategic relevance of ports has improved, and this paper provides a comparative analysis of 24 European ports. The port performance has been evaluated considering data envelopment analysis and Shephard’s distance function. This latter approach offers an alternative method to address a significant restraint of the standard Stochastic Frontier when the model needs to consider multiple outputs. From a policy point of view, the conclusion could offer valuable insights to support policy measures targeted to expand port efficiency. The findings obtained from the analysis reveal that several contextual indicators must be included in benchmark analysis

Application of Multicriteria Decision-Making Methods in Railway Engineering: A Case Study of Train Control Information Systems (TCIS)

In order to improve its position in the transport market railway, as a complex system, it has to fulfill a number of objectives such as increased capacity and asset utilization, improved reliability and safety, higher customer service levels, better energy efficiency and fewer emissions, along with increased economic viability and profits. Some of these objectives call for the implementation of maximum values, while some of them require minimum values. Additionally, some can be expressed quantitatively, while some, for example, customer service, can be described qualitatively through a descriptive scale of points. The application of MCDM in railway engineering can play a significant role. Therefore, the major objective of this chapter is the review of the application of MCDM methods in railway engineering. As one of the means in achieving the objectives of railways and above all the utilization of capacity are Train Control Information Systems (TCIS). Based on that, the aim of this chapter is the evaluation of the efficiency of TCIS in the improvement of railway capacity utilization through defined technical-technological indicators. The non-radial Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model for the evaluation of TCIS efficiency in improvement of utilization of railway capacity using the selected indicators is proposed. The proposed non-radial DEA model for TCIS efficiency evaluation in using railway capacity could be applied to an overall network or for separate parts of railway lines

Multiregional sustainability at a sectoral level: Towards more effective environmental regulations

Aquesta tesi està dedicada al desenvolupament d'eines per ajudar als responsables polítics en la creació de normatives eficaces de manera eficient i metòdica. La tesi està organitzada en quatre seccions principals. A la secció 1, presentem la introducció, on establim les bases dels mètodes i dades utilitzades en aquest treball, així com els buits bibliogràfics que cobrim amb els nostres estudis. La secció 2 es basa en el primer treball, on estudiem l'eco-eficiència dels sectors manufacturers de la UE combinant taules MREEIO amb el mètode DEA i seguint aproximacions basades en la producció i el consum. Això permet identificar els sectors que requereixen regulacions en impactes específics. A continuació, a la secció 3, utilitzem DEA per determinar l'eficiència de sostenibilitat dels mixos elèctrics de la UE analitzant els trets socials, econòmics i ambientals de cadascun d’ells. En una segona etapa, utilitzem un model matemàtic a mida anomenat EffMixF per obtenir la nova composició elèctrica per als països que han resultat ineficients en la primera etapa. Aquests nous mixos es poden utilitzar com a full de ruta en l’elaboració de normatives específiques per al sector, indicant quines tecnologies s'han de fomentar, o bé obstaculitzar a cada país ineficient. Finalment, a la secció 4, determinem els factors clau de l'impacte ambiental a escala global. Per aconseguir-ho, primer comparem dues tècniques de descomposició, els mètodes SDA i Shapley-Sun, per tal d’establir les seves similituds i introduir una equació general simplificada que es pot utilitzar en substitució d’ambdós mètodes. Per acabar, apliquem aquests mètodes en un cas d’estudi, on considerem una selecció d’impactes ambientals en un període de 15 anys, per determinar la utilitat dels mètodes de descomposició. Les eines desenvolupades en aquesta tesis proporcionen informació valuosa respecte a les debilitats i oportunitats de millora dels sectors econòmics a nivell macroeconòmic.Esta tesis está dedicada al desarrollo de herramientas para ayudar a los responsables políticos en la creación de regulaciones efectivas de manera eficiente y metódica. La tesis contiene cuatro secciones principales. En la sección 1, presentamos la introducción, donde se establecen los métodos y datos utilizados en esta tesis, así como las lagunas bibliográficas que cubrimos con nuestros estudios. La sección 2 se basa en el primer trabajo, donde estudiamos la ecoeficiencia de los sectores manufactureros de la UE mediante la combinación de las tablas MREEIO con el método DEA y siguiendo enfoques basados en la producción y el consumo. Esto nos permite identificar los sectores que requieren regulaciones en impactos específicos. A continuación, en la sección 3 usamos DEA para determinar la eficiencia de sostenibilidad de los mixes eléctricos de la UE analizando las características sociales, económicas y medioambientales de cada uno de ellos. En una segunda etapa, utilizamos un modelo matemático a medida llamado EffMixF para obtener nuevos mixes eléctricos para los países ineficientes. Estos nuevos mixes pueden ser utilizados como plan estrategico en la elaboración de reglamentos específicos para el sector, indicando qué tecnologías deben ser fomentadas, o bien obstaculizadas, en cada país ineficiente. Finalmente, en la sección 4, determinamos los factores clave del impacto ambiental a escala global. Para conseguirlo, primero comparamos dos técnicas de descomposición, SDA y Shapley-Sun, para establecer sus similitudes e introducir una ecuación general simplificada como sustitución de ambos métodos. Posteriormente, aplicamos estos métodos en un caso de estudio donde consideramos una selección de impactos ambientales en un período de 15 años para determinar la utilidad de los métodos de descomposición. Las herramientas desarrolladas en esta tesis proporcionan información valiosa respecto a las debilidades y oportunidades de los sectores económicos a nivel macroeconómico.This thesis is dedicated to the development of tools to assist policy makers in the creation of effective regulations in an efficient and methodical way. The thesis is organized into four main sections. In section 1, we present the introduction, where we establish the background of the methods and data used in this work, as well as the literature gaps that we cover with our studies. Section 2 is based on the first work, where we study the eco-efficiency of the EU manufacturing sectors by combining MREEIO tables with the DEA method, following the production and consumption-based approaches. This allows us to identify the sectors requiring regulations in specific burdens. Then, in section 3, we use DEA to determine the sustainability efficiency of the EU electricity mixes by analyzing the social, economic and environmental features of each portfolio. In a second stage, we use a tailored mathematical model named EffMixF to obtain new electricity mixes for the countries found inefficient in the previous step. These new mixes can be used as roadmap to devise specific regulations for the sector, indicating which technologies should be boosted and which hindered in each inefficient country. Finally, in section 4, we determine the key driving factors of the environmental impact on a global scale. For this, we first compare two decomposition techniques, the SDA and the Shapley-Sun methods, establishing their similarities and introducing a simplified general equation that can be used in substitution of both methods. Then, we apply these methods in a case study, where we consider a selection of environmental impacts in a 15-year period, to determine the usefulness of the decomposition methods. The tools developed in this thesis provide valuable insight regarding the weaknesses and improvement opportunities of the economic sectors in a macroeconomic scale