Multi-criteria decision making for the prioritization of energy systems under uncertainties after life cycle sustainability assessment

Purpose – Life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) provides useful and comprehensive information on product system performance. However, it poses several challenges for decision-making process due to (i) multidimensional indicators, (ii) conflicting objectives and (iii) uncertainty associated with the performance assessment. This research proposes an approach able to account uncertain life cycle sustainability performances through multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA) process to support decision-making.Design/methodology/approach – Our method is structured in three phases: i) assessing the uncertainty of LCSA performances, ii) propagating LCSA uncertainty into MCDA methods and iii) interpreting the stochastic results. The approach is applied on an illustrative case study, ranking four alternatives to biodiesel supply.Findings –The recommendation generated by this approach provides an information about the confidence the decision maker can have in a given result (ranking of solutions) under the form of a probability, providing a better knowledge of the risk (in this case due to the uncertainty of the preferred solution). As such, stochastic results, if appropriately interpreted, provide a measure of the robustness of the rankings generated by MCDA methods, overcoming the limitation of the overconfidence of deterministic rankings.Originality/value – The fundamental contributions of this paper are to (i) integrate LCSA uncertainty into decision-making processes through MCDA approach; (ii) provide a sensitivity analysis about the MCDA method choice, (iii) support decision-makers’ preference choices through a transparent elicitation process and (iv) provide a practical decision-making platform that accounts simultaneously uncertain LCSA performances with stakeholders’ value judgments.

Download Full-text

A new quantitative life cycle sustainability assessment framework: Application to integrated energy systems

Applied Energy ◽

10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.01.237 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 239 ◽

pp. 482-493 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Salim Moslehi ◽

T. Agami Reddy

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Sustainability Assessment ◽

Energy Systems ◽

Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment ◽

Assessment Framework ◽

Integrated Energy Systems

Download Full-text

A Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment-Based Decision-Analysis Framework

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su10113863 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 3863 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Marwa Hannouf ◽

Getachew Assefa

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Decision Analysis ◽

Sustainability Assessment ◽

Three Dimensions ◽

Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment ◽

Analysis Framework ◽

Product Systems ◽

Trade Offs

One of the main challenges in using life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) is the difficulty of integrating the interrelationships between the three dimensions (environmental, economic and social dimensions) of LCSA results in decision-making toward proposing sustainability improvements for existing product systems. This paper is addressing this challenge by presenting an LCSA-based decision-analysis framework, which is a systematic and structured framework that appraises the pool of potential actions determined based on LCSA results and evaluates their trade-offs to propose potential sustainability solutions. The framework is composed of two parts: (a) LCSA application; (b) decision-analysis approach. The decision analysis part of the framework is built based on some features from previous decision-making approaches and considering the characteristics of LCSA results. The decision-analysis part of the framework, which is the main focus of this study, is divided into five phases to propose and select some recommendations to improve the sustainability performance of product systems. The framework developed is illustrated using results from a previous LCSA case study. The framework can handle the complexity in understanding the interrelationships between the three dimensions of LCSA results, through a structured way of dividing the process into manageable steps. Further work is still needed to apply this framework to a real case study.

Download Full-text

LIFE CYCLE SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT FOR MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION MAKING IN BRIDGE DESIGN: A REVIEW

Journal of Civil Engineering and Management ◽

10.3846/jcem.2020.13599 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 26 (7) ◽

pp. 690-704

Author(s):

Ignacio Javier Navarro ◽

Vicent Penadés-Plà ◽

David Martínez-Muñoz ◽

Rasmus Rempling ◽

Víctor Yepes

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Sustainability Assessment ◽

Sustainable Design ◽

Life Cycle Stage ◽

Point Of View ◽

Multi Criteria Decision Making ◽

Agenda 2030 ◽

Sustainable Performance ◽

Neutrosophic Logic

Sustainable design of infrastructures has become a major matter of study since the recent establishment of the Agenda 2030. This paper provides a systematic literature review on the use of multi-criteria decision making techniques used so far for the sustainable design of bridges. Special attention is put as well on how the reviewed studies assess the sustainable performance of bridge designs along their life cycle from the economic, the environmental and the social perspective. Although SAW and AHP are recurrently used in the sustainable assessment of bridges, the analysis of the most recent articles show that the application of TOPSIS and PROMETHEE techniques are gaining increasing relevance for such purpose. Most of the studies focus on the research of the construction and the maintenance stage of bridges. However, a need for further analysis is identified when it comes to the assessment of the impacts resulting from the End of Life cycle stage of bridges from a sustainable point of view. The use of intuitionistic and neutrosophic logic have been detected as emerging alternatives to the fuzzy approach of decision making problems.

Download Full-text