An integrated Multi-Criteria Decision Making Model for Sustainability Performance Assessment for Insurance Companies

To stay competitive in a business environment, continuous performance evaluation based on the triple bottom line standard of sustainability is necessary. There is a gap in addressing the computational expense caused by increased decision units due to increasing the performance evaluation indices to more accuracy in the evaluation. We successfully addressed these two gaps through (1) using principal component analysis (PCA) to cut the number of evaluation indices, and (2) since PCA itself has the problem of merely using the data distribution without considering the domain-related knowledge, we utilized Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to rank the indices through the expert’s domain-related knowledge. We propose an integrated approach for sustainability performance assessment in qualitative and quantitative perspectives. Fourteen insurance companies were evaluated using eight economic, three environmental, and four social indices. The indices were ranked by expert judgment though an analytical hierarchy process as subjective weighting, and then principal component analysis as objective weighting was used to reduce the number of indices. The obtained principal components were then used as variables in the data envelopment analysis model. So, subjective and objective evaluations were integrated. Finally, for validating the results, Spearman and Kendall’s Tau correlation tests were used. The results show that Dana, Razi, and Dey had the best sustainability performance.This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability Assessmen

Solar-driven high temperature hydrogen production via integrated spectrally split concentrated photovoltaics (SSCPV) and solar power tower

International audienc

Clean development mechanism in Iran: does it need a revival?

This paper aimed to study clean development mechanism (CDM) projects in Iran. Greenhouse gas mitigation strategies are generally considered costly with world leaders often engaging in debate concerning the costs of mitigation and the distribution of these costs between different countries. CDM projects are useful tools to reduce these costs. Kyoto Protocol includes three mechanisms, namely: emission trading, joint implementation and CDM. CDM is the only mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in which developing countries can participate. Comprehensive interviews with experts from Iranian oil and energy ministries and Department of Environment (DOE) resulted in detecting the missed opportunities for CDM in Iran. Lack of long term planning for the Kyoto Protocol, limitation of technology and finance, lack of regulation and functionality of a financial system and international sanctions are the most significant obstacles for implementation of CDM projects in Iran. At the end, a comprehensive analysis for utilising CDM to greenhouse gas reduction and climate change mitigation is presented