Quantitative method to assess the number of jobs created by production systems: Application to multi-criteria decision analysis for sustainable biomass supply chain

Abstract

Currently, the implementation of a new production system needs to satisfy three dimensions of sustainability, i.e., it must be economically viable, socially beneficial and have a low environmental impact. Unfortunately, for the social aspect, there is a lack of theoretical underpinnings, in contrast to the environmental dimension, for which the theoretical underpinnings were studied twenty years ago. Indeed, there is not a clear common frame for the social dimension, probably due to the complexity and diversity of social issues. Furthermore, some indicators are difficult to assess because of their qualitative and subjective nature. The availability of input data to evaluate social indicators is often another major bottleneck. However, when considering a new industrial activity, perhaps the most important key indicator in the social assessment is the accrued employment generated. Indeed, the implementation of new industrial activity has the potential to promote the local economy and regional development, especially in rural areas. For authorities and the public, accrued employment is pivotal to facilitate acceptability and to ensure regional sustainability.In this article, the authors propose a method to estimate the total number of jobs created by the development of a new activity. The classic classification of direct, indirect and induced jobs is used. The new methods are based on economic data and, more precisely, on the added value and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization to create a correlation to estimate manpower. Different mathematical methods are used to determine the values of the correlation parameters. After comparing the different approaches, this article presents the capabilities of this evaluation and its interest for multi-criteria analysis based on a case study of the optimal design of a bioethanol supply chain in France.