Composite Sustainability Indices Research Articles

A Pareto front-based approach for constructing composite index of sustainability without weights: A comparative study of implementations

A composite index based on selected indicators is a widely used tool for guiding, monitoring, and evaluating a society’s level of sustainability. However, determining the weight of each indicator is typically a methodologically problematic and highly controversial process. This paper proposes a weightless strategy for constructing composite sustainability indices based on the mathematical optimization concept of Pareto fronts. The core idea is to model each indicator as an individual objective and explore Pareto fronts within the resulting multi-objective solution space. In practice, a total of 24 typical implementations of the strategy were realized to represent four categories with varying parameter settings, i.e., straightforward/hierarchical implementations with/without avoiding basic indicator accuracy issues. Comparative experiments demonstrated that a hierarchical approach utilizing the goodness of variance fit-based (GVF = 0.80) natural breaks to nullify accuracy problems is the most effective implementation. To demonstrate its usefulness, the strategy implemented using this approach was applied to analyze the world’s sustainability by revising the well-known sustainable society index. This study provides a novel paradigm of composite sustainability indices and represents the first assessment of world sustainability using multiple criteria (indicators) without weights.

Combining sustainable livelihood and farm sustainability approaches to identify relevant intensification options: Implications for households with crop-based and gathering-based livelihoods in Tanzania

In low-income countries, the livelihoods of smallholders are affected to different extent by multiple issues, such as food insecurity or low soil fertility, depending on their multiple assets and farming characteristics. In this study, we aim at assessing the current sustainability of households in Tanzania to suggest potential changes in farming system to increase the household́ sustainability. Household survey data from 891 households in two regions of Tanzania (dry Dodoma and humid Morogoro) were used to build composite sustainability indices representing the three pillars of sustainability (economic, environmental and social), based on 46 basic indicators. Then, a household typology was developed through principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering analysis of descriptive variables, and regression analysis linked the sustainability of farms with household characteristics. The analysis revealed significant differences in household types that relied on different livelihood strategies including particularly a “Gathering-based” type in Dodoma and two “Crop-based” types in both regions. These livelihoods significantly influenced the level of farming system sustainability. Particularly, the households in the “Gathering-based” type performed worst on all three pillars of sustainability. By examining the level of capitals from the different household types, we identified that the “Gathering-based” type and “Crop-based” types could improve their livelihood and be better off if they adopt various upgrading solutions. Such solutions include intercropping and optimised weeding to increase productivity and resource-use efficiency, for which these households have sufficient labour resources. Additionally, livestock rearing and use of fertilisers coupled with rainwater harvesting can increase soil fertility and water use efficiency, and hence food security, without compromising the environmental component of sustainability. To facilitate the adoption of these sustainable intensification options, agricultural policies and appropriate training need to be implemented to fit the local context and diversity of household types.

Integrated Sustainability Assessment of Divergent Mediterranean Farming Systems: Cyprus as a Case Study

A variety of indicator-based methods have been developed for the sustainability assessment of farming systems (FSs). However, many of them lack holisticity, focus on a specific agricultural sector/product, and do not provide aggregated results to better support decision-making process. The goal of this study was, for the first time, to assess, in a holistic manner, the sustainability performance of different FSs in southeastern Cyprus. The methodological framework involved three major steps. First, the sustainability context was set, and a list of 41 environmental, social, and economic indicators was created. The indicators were then calculated using data from 324 farms. Second, six FSs were identified using multivariate analysis. Finally, the sustainability of FSs was assessed by combining numerical (construction of four composite sustainability indices) and visual (presentation of indicator scores and values with graphs and tables) integration approaches. While the indices provided the “big picture”, visual integration revealed the areas where policy interventions are needed. The analysis showed that sustainable agricultural practices are already used by some farmers in the area. The results could be used for benchmarking purposes and to aid decision-making process in Cyprus but might also be useful for other Mediterranean regions with similar agro-ecological conditions.

Relations between Agri-Environmental, Economic and Social Dimensions of Farms’ Sustainability

Attempts to measure sustainability of farms are usually based on indicators of a set of sustainability dimensions. According to the literature, analyses should (but quite often do not) cover not only the level, but also the relations between the sustainability dimensions, because we could expect complementarity, synergies or competition between the sustainability goals. The aim of this paper was to measure and assess the interdependencies between dimensions of farms’ sustainability. The research was carried out on 601 farms that participate in the Polish Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN), with the use of standard FADN data supported by additional information from interviews. Based on many variables, economic, environmental, social, and composite sustainability indices were collected. From the correlation and correspondence analyses it was concluded that the farms reached the balance of all three dimensions simultaneously when the level of sustainability indices was medium, while a high level of sustainability in one dimension made it very difficult to reach a high level in the others. It was also emphasized that assessing farms’ sustainability with the use of a simple aggregation of variables may be not correct since sustainability goals may compete with each other.

New composite sustainability indices for Cradle-to-Cradle process design: Case study on thinner recovery from waste paint in auto industries

In a conventional chemical process design, the main focus is on the process economy resulting in the generation of huge amounts of waste materials within the process. Such design approach demands end-of-pipe treatment, which is neither profitable due to the hefty costs of the installation and operation of large scale waste treatment facilities, nor environmentally conscious due to the potential impacts of the generated wastes within the process on the environment. The recent approach to sustainable process design has surmounted this challenge. This paper presents a new application of an already introduced composite sustainability index (CSI) that requires minimum amount of data to monitor the sustainability performance of a chemical process and troubleshoot, if necessary. Then, the CSI is applied to an existing process for the purpose of Cradle-to-Cradle design by significant reduction of the environmental impacts of the process, and the escalation of the plant profitability due to sustainable retrofitting of the plant. The CSI methodology can be applied to chemical, refinery, petrochemical, oil & energy, fuel and biofuel processes. The three main advocates have been considered in the CSI, which are the impacts of “energy” and “material” on the environment as well as “risk assessment”. The CSI is technically imperative at all engineering stages of above process plants with the aim of source reduction and environmental protection. The CSI gives process and safety engineers a competitive edge, making their designed process stand out amongst other design array. The current study proves that the CSI methodology is a powerful tool for process and safety designers, and that the process sustainability and profitability are strongly linked. So, it is specifically decisive at managerial level pursuant to strategic planning towards company's sustainability.

Managing Uncertainty in the Application of Composite Sustainability Indicators to Transit Analysis

Abstract Composite Sustainability Indices (CSI) present an opportunity to understand the holistic sustainability performance of a transit system through rigorous analysis. Each CSI is based on processing data through a set of indicators, normalizing the indicators, and applying weightings to create a weighted sum index. While CSIs are useful for understanding system performance, indicators may be unreliable due to the types of uncertainty included in their development. This paper proposes that there are four key types of uncertainty embedded in CI development – indicator, weighting, normalization, and data uncertainty – and presents techniques to mitigate and manage them. First, a critical literature review of CSI and indicator development is presented. Second, a new framework for managing CSI uncertainty based on these four types is proposed. Third, a case study analysis demonstrating the use of this framework, including Monte Carlo simulation and multiple normalization techniques, is presented. Next, key conclusions from the case study are shared. Finally, the paper recommends future directions for the application of the framework and continued development of CSI techniques.

Sustainability as the quantitative norm for water desalination impacts

Water desalination continues to evolve exponentially in magnitude and importance to a currently mature stage that, like all large human endeavors, must be planned, designed and operated according to the quantitative holistic sustainability paradigm and criteria that are defined by the interrelated aspects of the environmental, economic and social pillars of the endeavor. This integrates but also transcends the currently separately employed and analyzed methods such as Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), and Best Available Technology (BAT), for selection, design, economic analysis, social impact analysis, and regulation planning. This paper quantitatively introduces the sustainability paradigm and its application to water desalination. It includes a critical review of the state of sustainability analysis as related to desalination, and proposes a methodology for such evaluation that results in calculation of composite sustainability indices, which is much better as a quantitative measure for the evaluation of desalination processes than the current practice of addressing the economic, environmental, and sometimes social aspects separately without their coherent integration. A method and equations for formulating a composite sustainability index as a function of relevant parameters, which thus allows mathematical analysis in general and sensitivity analysis and optimization in particular, are described.

New composite sustainability indices for the assessment of a chemical process in the conceptual design stage: case study on hydrogenation plant

Sustainability indices are increasingly recognized as a powerful tool for assessing the performance of chemical process designs considering energy, environment, safety and technological improvement aspects and above all, economy. Sustainability indicators enable decision makers to simplify, quantify and analyze complex information. Generally, it is challenging to evaluate the performance of process designs on the basis of a large number of indicators. The integration of a set of key sustainability indicators in the form of a composite index is essential for simplifying the evaluation of sustainability performance. Currently available methodologies for sustainability assessment of process designs require detailed process data, which are typically unavailable at the conceptual design phase. This paper introduces a new composite sustainability index (CSI) that addresses the sustainability performance of chemical processes and which can be applied for early design phases where minimum amount of data are available. The three pillars of sustainability are considered in the development of the new composite index, which are energy, environmental and safety aspects. A conceptual decision model based on the analytical hierarchy process can be employed to compare and determine weights for the different sustainability indicators, which are then aggregated to obtain the CSI, when the indicators conflict. The capability of the proposed model is investigated by applying it to a hydrogenation case study to choose the more sustainable design among different alternatives.

度量可持续性与生活质量的挑战 ——以一个加拿大小城市为案例的研究

Many set of indicators are currently available to measure sustainability and the quality of life or well-being of the people. However, choice of the set of indicators can widely affect the ranking of a place in terms of the quality of life of the people. For example, Costa Rica ranks 1st in terms of the 2012 Happy Planet Index, but it ranks 69th in terms of the Human Development Index. The goal of this paper is to design a robust mechanism by combining several methodologies to assess the quality of life in a place. We used a small Canadian city, Kamloops, for our case study. This 311 square km city in Interior British Columbia has a population of about 87,000. MoneySense ranked it 44th and 64th best places to live in Canada in 2012 and 2013 respectively. The index that is too sensitive to annual fluctuations of a few indicators could be good for understanding short-run quality of life changes, but might not necessarily reflect the level of well-being and its sustainability in a place. In this paper, we have defined a methodology to select an appropriate set of indicators for Kamloops that would measure the average quality of life and its sustainability. With hundreds of global and regional quality of life and sustainability indicator initiatives, and many available methodologies, it is important for any city to choose the appropriate indicators and evaluation methods. Economists often use estimated monetary values of desired indicators to compute Genuine Progress Indicator, or such other quality of life or composite sustainability indices. Natural scientists, on the other hand, use only a few physical indicators for environmental sustainability assessment. We believe that both monetary and physical indicators are important components of any quality of life index, and therefore, have to be part of a comprehensive sustainability plan. A data aggregation method has been suggested in this paper for computing relatively more composite indices from the large number of quality of life and sustainability indicators. The absence of reliable and adequate data is a serious challenge in measuring the desired indicators. Due to data constraints, a complete assessment of the average quality of life and its sustainability in Kamloops is not possible at this time using our suggested methodology. However, the proposed methodology and the data compiled for this study are steps forward to a complete and systematic accounting of well-being, happiness, income, wealth, and sustainability indices for Kamloops. We have assessed the current Kamloops Sustainability Plan based on our proposed criteria. It is expected that this study will make different stakeholders in the City of Kamloops re-think about their sustainability plans, and will help contribute to make Kamloops a better place to live. The methodology recommended in this paper is general enough to be used for quality of life and sustainability assessment in any place.

Empirical evaluation of sustainability of divergent farms in the dryland farming systems of India

The present study argues that there are heterogeneous farm systems within the drylands and each farm system is unique in terms of its livelihood asset and agricultural practice, and therefore in sustainability. Our method is based on household survey data collected from 500 farmers in Anantapur and Kurnool Districts, in Andhra Pradesh State of India, in 2013. We carried out principal component analysis (PCA) with subsequent hierarchical clustering methods to build farm typologies. To evaluate sustainability across these farm typologies, we adopted a framework consisting of economic, social and environmental sustainability pillars and associated indicators. We normalized values of target indicators and employed normative approach to assign different weights to these indicators. Composite sustainability indices (CSI) were then estimated by means of weighted sum of indicators, aggregated and integrated into farm typologies. The results suggested that there were five distinct farm typologies representing farming systems in the study area. The majority of farms (>70%) in the study area are small and extensive (typology 1); marginal and off farm based (typology 2). About 20% of the farms are irrigation based and intensive (typology 3); small and medium and off farm based (typology 4) and irrigation based semi-intensive (typology 5). There was apparent variability among farm typologies in terms of farm structure and functions and composite sustainability indices. Farm typologies 3 and 5 showed significantly higher performances for the social and economic indices, while typologies 2 and 4 had relatively stronger values for environment. These discrepancies support the relevance of integrated farm typology- and CSI approaches in assessing system sustainability and targeting technologies. Universally, for all farm typologies, composite sustainability indices for economic pillar was significantly lower than the social and environment pillars. More than 90% of farmers were in economically less-sustainable class. The correlations between sustainability indices for economic and environment were typology specific. It was strong and positive when aggregated for the whole study systems [all samples (r=0.183; P<0.001)] and for agriculture dependent farm typologies (e.g. typologies 1 and 3). This suggests the need to elevate farms economic performance and capacitate them to invest in the environment. These results provide information for policy makers to plan farm typology–context technological interventions and also create baseline information to evaluate sustainability performance in terms of progress made over time.

A Comparison of Macro‐Level Sustainability Indices for OECD Countries: Conceptual and Measurement Issues

The paper contributes to the debate about how to empirically assess sustainability using the capital approach to development. It focuses on OECD countries for which intangible capital makes up a very large proportion of total wealth. After discussing growth rates of GDP per capita, total wealth per capita and its main subcategories over the 1995–2005 period, correlations between different monetary sustainability indices associated with the capital approach are explored. The conceptually preferred index “change in total wealth per capita” that includes intangible capital is only weakly correlated with the other indices. The analysis is extended to also include some prominent non‐monetary composite sustainability indices. This strengthens the earlier findings. The main message of the paper is that if we accept change in total wealth per capita as the preferred measure, commonly used adjusted net savings‐based indices might be quite misleading, at least for OECD countries.

The argument against a reductionist approach for measuring sustainable development performance and the need for methodological pluralism

Both sustainability and sustainable development continue to remain elusive concepts even now, 20 years after the Brundtland Commission report that brought them into prominence. This situation most likely stems from the fact that sustainability science encompasses the need to address a wide set of issues over different time and spatial scales and thus inevitably accommodates opinions from diverse branches of knowledge and expertise. However, despite this multitude of perspectives, progress towards sustainability is usually assessed through the development and utilisation of single sustainability metrics such as monetary tools, composite sustainability indices and biophysical metrics including emergy, exergy and the ecological footprint. But is it really justifiable to assess the progress towards sustainability by using single metrics? This paper argues that such a choice seems increasingly unjustifiable not least due to these metrics’ methodological imperfections and limits. Additionally, our recent awareness of economies, societies and ecosystems as complex adaptive systems that cannot be fully captured through a single perspective further adds to the argument. Failure to describe these systems in a holistic manner through the synthesis of their different non-reducible and perfectly legitimate perspectives amounts to reductionism. An implication of the above is the fact that not a single sustainability metric at the moment can claim to comprehensively assess sustainability. In the light of these findings this paper proposes that the further elaboration and refinement of current metrics is unlikely to produce a framework for assessing the progress towards sustainability with a single metric. Adoption of a diverse set of metrics seems more likely to be the key for more robust sustainability assessments. This methodological pluralism coupled with stakeholder involvement seems to offer a better chance of improving the outcome of the decision making process.

Keeping things simple: why the Human Development Index should not diverge from its equal weights assumption

Using a range of statistical criteria rooted in Information Theory we show that there is little justification for relaxing the equal weights assumption underlying the United Nation’s Human Development Index (HDI) even if the true HDI diverges significantly from this assumption. Put differently, the additional model complexity that unequal weights add to the HDI more than counteracts the improvement in goodness-of-fit. This suggests that, in some cases, there may be limited validity in increasing the complexity of a range of other composite sustainability indices.