Simple Additive Weighting versus Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution: which method is better suited for assessing the sustainability of a real estate project

Nomeda Dobrovolskienė,Anastasija Pozniak

doi:10.9770/jesi.2021.8.4(10)

Abstract

In the real estate sector, sustainability assessment tools enable the transition to buildings with lower impacts on the environment, the economy and the society. A variety of multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods has been proposed to address this problem. There is, however, no consensus on the method to be used in each assessment case. The paper presents an empirical application and comparison of two different MCDM approaches SAW (Simple Additive Weighting) and TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution) to assessing the sustainability of a real estate project. 18 sustainability criteria weighted by experts formed the basis of sustainability assessment of a real estate project. The results of the study revealed a significant difference between the ranks obtained by SAW and TOPSIS. Moreover, the results of the MCDM sensitivity analysis showed that the TOPSIS method is more sensitive to changes in baseline data than the SAW method.

Highlights

More than 30 years after the 1987 Brundtland Commission report, sustainability and its assessment have gained global recognition
This section gives an overview of multi-criteria decision-making methods, a focus on the two MCDM methods adopted in this study
The results showed that the TOPSIS method is more sensitive compared to the SAW method with regard to changes in initial criteria (Zavadskas et al 2007)

Summary

Introduction

More than 30 years after the 1987 Brundtland Commission report, sustainability and its assessment have gained global recognition. A review of the recent scientific literature shows a growing tendency to extend the concept of sustainability beyond three main dimensions (Vogt and Weber 2019; Purvis et al 2019; Danish and Senjyu 2020; Venturini et al 2020). This is reflected by increasing attention to the technological dimension, which plays an important role in developing new technologies that can minimize the impact on climate change and positively contribute to clean energy generation and consumption (Nowotny et al 2018; Bulbul et al 2018). In order to assess the sustainability of a real estate project, the authors expand the concept of sustainability with the technological aspect

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Conclusion