Environmental Sustainability Criteria Research Articles

Changes in skin research funding: the emergence of environmental sustainability criteria in the research competition assessment process.

Changes in skin research funding: the emergence of environmental sustainability criteria in the research competition assessment process.

O IMPACTO DA SUSTENTABILIDADE NOS PROCEDIMENTOS LICITATÓRIOS NA BUSCA DO DESENVOLVIMENTO NACIONAL SUSTENTÁVEL

Law No. 14,133/2021 brings significant innovations, including the incorporation of sustainability with a focus on the environmental aspect in public contracts. Although the old Law No. 8,666/93 already provided, in its article 3, for the promotion of sustainable national development, the new legislation intensifies this approach by integrating more robust environmental sustainability criteria in public tenders and purchases. However, the effective adoption of these principles represents a new challenge for public managers and suppliers, requiring adaptations and the creation of new practices to ensure their application.

Pathways towards sustainability: A capacity needs assessment for the implementation of the Colombian Policy for Sustainable Cattle 2022–2050

Cattle farming is one of the main agricultural activities in Colombia, but its mainly extensive nature generates significant social and environmental impacts, such as land grabbing, agricultural frontier expansion, increased greenhouse gas emissions, and deforestation. To transform cattle systems towards sustainability, the Policy Guidelines for Sustainable Cattle 2022–2050 (LPGBS) were launched in 2022, resulting from conversations between sector institutions and the national government. Although the LPGBS are proposed as the roadmap for cattle farming in the coming decades, their implementation has faced delays and raised doubts among the involved institutions. This research analyzes the current state of the LPGBS to identify difficulties and determine strategies that promote sustainability in cattle systems by building capacities. The research is based on a mixed-methods approach and contains a literature review on the evaluation of public policies in the cattle sector, complemented by 26 key-informant interviews with experts from public and private institutions involved in developing the LPGBS. These interviews provided key perspectives and practical experiences to understand current difficulties in the implementation of the LPGBS and identify the capacities needed to achieve the planned transition to sustainable cattle farming. Results reveal several difficulties in the LPGBS design stage, including institutional weakness, low governmental participation, and lack of trust among stakeholders. However, important progress was made, such as the construction of social, environmental, and productive sustainability criteria, the consolidation of the sustainability approach at the cattle landscape level, and regional participation. The capacities necessary to drive the implementation of the LPGBS include strengthening rural extension programs, access to financing, and the implementation of a traceability system for monitoring and evaluation. These findings highlight the importance of evaluating policies at early stages to provide crucial information for decision-makers and public policy formulators to correct and improve implementation processes.

Greening the procurement: a SMART evaluation of environmental sustainability in Australian government purchasing policies

PurposeThis study evaluates how well Victorian local councils’ procurement policies align with the sustainable and circular economy (CE) approach that prioritises sustainable and regenerative practices. It proposes a set of criteria designed to effectively integrate environmental sustainability issues into purchasing policies.Design/methodology/approachEmploying the Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic and Time-bound (SMART) framework, a multi-dimensional content analysis guided by the goal-setting theory was applied to evaluate all 79 Victorian local councils’ procurement policies. This approach provided an assessment of policy specificity, measurability, assignability, realism and time sensitivity in promoting environmental sustainability through purchasing policies.FindingsThe findings underscored a significant deficiency in policy adherence to all SMART criteria concerning environmental sustainability, hindering the effective green purchasing decisions within government entities. This lack of integration of greening in purchasing policy poses challenges for manufacturers of waste-derived goods, obscuring the procurement objectives of these critical public sector customers.Practical implicationsThe paper contributes to the sustainable procurement (SP) discourse by proposing guidelines aimed at improving the efficacy of governmental purchasing of sustainable products. These guidelines address the broader imperative to mitigate the environmental impacts of governmental spending on less sustainable goods, thereby fostering ecological sustainability and promoting responsible consumption.Originality/valueWhile past studies have often relied on subjective content analysis methods, the SMART assessment used to develop the environmental sustainability criteria for purchasing policies, which distinguishes this study from previous governmental policy evaluation studies. This approach marks a departure from traditional governmental policy evaluation studies, offering a more structured analysis of policy effectiveness in promoting SP practices.

A Group Intuitionistic Fuzzy Exponential TODIM Method Considering Attribute Interactions Applied to Green Building Material Supplier Selection

Green building, driven by the goal of sustainable development, has prompted extensive attention to be paid to the environmental impact of its materials. However, some of the traditional methods of evaluating building material suppliers and attribute systems are not able to adapt to the new issues arising from the green context. This paper aims to provide a new solution for selecting green building material suppliers to enhance the green efficiency of buildings. Specifically, this paper presents a framework for evaluating and selecting suppliers of green building materials that meet the criteria of environmental friendliness and sustainability. A comprehensive evaluation attribute system is established, encompassing cost, quality, service level, delivery capability, and green and sustainable ability. Additionally, a group decision-making method based on the exponential TODIM (an acronym in Portuguese for Interactive and Multi-attribute Decision Making) and intuitionistic fuzzy numbers is developed to integrate expert opinions from diverse domains. Intuitionistic fuzzy numbers represent an extension of traditional fuzzy sets, offering a means of more fully and accurately responding to the inherent vagueness and hesitancy of human thinking. They can often prove invaluable when faced with problems containing uncertainty. Moreover, to obtain more precise attribute weights, the λ-fuzzy measure, Choquet integral, and Shapley value are employed to consider attribute interactions. Subsequently, a selection case involving six timber suppliers was proposed. Subsystem analysis was employed to ascertain the relative strengths and weaknesses of the various suppliers, with a view to facilitating future improvements. The findings indicated that green and sustainability capability attributes exert a considerable influence on the selection of green building material suppliers. Consequently, suppliers distinguished under this standard may encounter challenges in attaining exemplary rankings. Comparative analysis and robustness analysis have demonstrated the efficacy, superiority, and stability of the proposed framework. The findings of this paper can provide a reference for companies engaged in or planning to develop green buildings and help them choose green building material suppliers, which can help them achieve the expected green building efficiency and promote the sustainable development of the industry.

Environmental Sustainability in Public Procurement Processes: A Study Guided by The Paradigms of The New Law on Tenders and Contracts

Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate the incorporation of environmental sustainability criteria in public procurement processes, aiming to assess the impact of these criteria on the effectiveness of procurements under the New Public Procurement and Contracting Law. Theoretical Framework: The research is based on concepts of environmental sustainability and sustainable public procurement. Theories of sustainable development and principles of sustainability in public administration are highlighted, providing a solid foundation for the analysis. Method: The methodology adopted for this research includes a qualitative approach, using the deductive method. Data collection was conducted through a critical analysis of bibliographic materials indexed on platforms evaluated by Capes, as well as legislative documents and relevant doctrines on the subject. Results and Discussion: The results indicate that the New Public Procurement and Contracting Law presents significant advances in integrating sustainability into public procurement processes through the explicit inclusion of environmental sustainability criteria. However, the effective implementation of these criteria faces important challenges, mainly related to the training of public agents and the adaptation of existing structures to new demands. The discussion contextualizes these results in light of the theoretical framework, highlighting the identified implications and relationships. Research Implications: The practical and theoretical implications of this research are discussed, providing insights into how the results can be applied or influence practices in the field of public procurement. These implications encompass areas such as public policies, professional training, and sustainable development. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the literature by highlighting the relevance of the New Public Procurement and Contracting Law in promoting sustainable practices in public procurement. The originality of the research lies in the critical analysis of the challenges and advances provided by the new legislation, highlighting its potential impact on sustainable development.

Investigating the techno-economic and environmental feasibility of biogas-based power generation potential using food waste in Bangladesh

This study investigates the environmental, economic, and technological viability of sustainable energy production from food waste in Bangladesh through anaerobic digestion (AD) technology along with the challenges in developing such biogas plants. The tri-fold criteria of technical feasibility, economic viability, and environmental sustainability—all of which were examined in this research work. Results indicate that the amount of food waste is 40.86 million tons in 2021 and is projected as 62.82 million tons in the year 2043 in Bangladesh. The power generation potential from the food waste is estimated at 2667.40 MW and 4466.24 MW for the same period. The net present value of the project in Bangladesh is 55,234.93 million dollars. The investment payback period and internal rate of return are 6.73 yr And 11 %, respectively. Techno-economic and environmental feasibility is also calculated for the eight major cities in Bangladesh for the year 2021. The biogas-based power plant substantially reduces CO2 emissions as compared to coal-based and a diesel-based power plant. Additionally, 4.93 million tons of bio-fertilizer, could be produced from food waste. This study will offer scientific guidance for the investment in biogas-based electricity-generating projects in Bangladesh.

Exploring equality and sustainability trade-offs of energy transition outcomes in the United States in 2050

With increasing focus on equitable and just energy transition, it is critical to understand the trade-offs of different decarbonization outcomes across economic, environmental, and social sustainability criteria. In this analysis, we use a multi-criteria decision analysis to quantify sustainability outcomes across 32 decarbonization outcomes in 2050 in the U.S. The economic sustainability criteria we use are system cost, national average retail rate, and electricity system employment. The environmental sustainability criteria we use are life cycle greenhouse gas emissions, life cycle water depletion, life cycle land transformation, and air pollution fatalities. The social sustainability (distributional impacts) criteria we use are retail rate equality across states, electricity employment equality across low-income households, and air pollution disparities across census tracts. We evaluate performance across these criteria under eleven different stakeholder preference scenarios. We find that decarbonization policies with indefinitely extended tax credits have the highest sustainability score under equal criteria weighting, with greater investments in renewable energy technologies, and result in better environmental, system cost, job, and air pollution disparities compared to mid-case scenarios, that only include current policies and CO2 reduction targets. We also see that our multi-criteria decision analysis identifies decarbonization outcomes that would not have been identified as optimal under a single objective, which highlights the importance of trade-off analyses to understand decarbonization outcomes more holistically.

Bibliometric Analysis of Key Issues and Objectives in Environmental, Economic, and Social Sustainable Project Management

The environmental, economic, and social sustainability of construction project management was researched through a literature review in this study. This paper aimed to analyze the trends in studies about issues in sustainable project management and to research the importance and components of environmental, economic, and social sustainability and their interrelationships. In the scope of the bibliometric analysis, the articles were analyzed by their publication years, authors, authors' countries, authors' organizations, and keyword occurrences. Then, the problems in ensuring the sustainability of construction project management and suggestions for overcoming these problems were reviewed. In previous studies, high energy and raw material consumption and waste became the main factors that prevented environmental sustainability. A strong relationship was found between economic sustainability and life cycle cost assessment, and effective stakeholder engagement is considered the major contributor to the social sustainability of construction management. Sustainability regulations and policies, managerial capabilities, and organizational learning also have critical significance for achieving sustainable construction. The dimensions of sustainability in construction management are closely related to one another, and each one is crucial to achieving the other aspects of sustainability in construction projects. Therefore, a comprehensive strategy that takes into account social, economic, and environmental sustainability criteria should be adopted in construction project management.

Selection of waste receiving companies for sustainable industrial symbiosis network: an application a case in Ankara for foundry industry waste

In the past twenty years, besides the technological and innovative efforts for production processes, there have been activities for the recovery and quality improvement of waste based on the development of sustainable solutions. These activities bring us closer to zero waste by protecting natural resources and reducing the environmental impact of production facilities. One of the essential approaches in this process is the industrial symbiosis (IS) approach. Efforts to implement the industrial symbiosis approach in an industrial park constitute the motivation of the study. The study aims to identify alternative enterprises that can evaluate the wastes generated in the main production process of the foundry industry with industrial symbiosis and rank them to establish a symbiotic relationship. First, the Pythagorean Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (PF-AHP) model has been developed to evaluate organizational factors, waste-specific factors, and economic and environmental sustainability criteria for establishing an IS network among alternative businesses. Then, alternative businesses were ranked to establish a symbiosis network with the PF-TOPSIS method. The proposed method contributes to the solution of a real-life problem that may arise when there are multiple alternatives to cooperate in the field of industrial symbiosis. By contributing this framework to the literature, the robustness of the results has been demonstrated through sensitivity analysis and comparative analysis. According to the results obtained, it was seen that the importance levels of economic factors came to the fore. Furthermore, among the alternatives, enterprises with high waste exchange potential, such as cement, took first place in the ranking.

Evaluating Cleaning Services in Civil Environments: Microbiological and Life Cycle Analysis Comparing Conventional and Sustainable Methods

In response to the growing global concern for environmental sustainability, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study was conducted to evaluate the environmental benefits of the “Formula Servizi” GREEN protocol compared to a conventional cleaning protocol, as mandated by the updated Criteria for Environmental Sustainability (CAM—Criteri Ambientali Minimi) for cleaning services. The CAM, effective on 19 June 2021, requires companies to demonstrate the environmental advantages of their cleaning protocols over traditional methods. This study aligns with the new CAM guidelines and employs UNI EN ISO 14040–14044 technical standards for a comprehensive comparative analysis. The study highlights the significance of maintaining hygiene to ensure safety in various contexts, emphasizing the importance of environmental sampling and monitoring to prevent contamination and infection transmission. Despite the complexity and expenses associated with microbiological monitoring, this research affirms its crucial role in validating cleaning procedures, particularly in healthcare facilities, food service areas, and industrial settings. The findings reveal that both the “Traditional” and “GREEN” cleaning protocols demonstrate satisfactory effectiveness in controlling microbiological contamination according to established guidelines. Moreover, the LCA results indicate that the “GREEN” protocol, while exhibiting higher water consumption and wastewater treatment, showcases a strategic use of more sustainable cleaning and laundry detergents. Despite the increased water usage in certain phases, the significantly lower environmental impact per unit of weight demonstrates the potential for optimizing both environmental sustainability and operational efficiency in future Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) endeavors. The comparative LCA further reveals that the “GREEN” protocol enables an annual avoidance of 260 g of CO2-e emissions per square meter of cleaned surface. The most significant reduction in absolute terms is associated with the use of eco-labeled detergents in the laundry system, resulting in the avoidance of 654.1 kg of CO2-e per year of service (−77% compared to traditional laundry detergents).

Analysis of Sectoral Environmental Product Declarations as a Data Source for Life Cycle Assessment

The life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology is becoming increasingly prevalent in the quantification of the environmental status in the building sector following new legislative frameworks. Countries need to quantify and assess their environmental impacts as a previous step to regulation and decision-making. In this context, based on a consensus with manufacturers, standardized national data sets are being developed, referred to as sectoral environmental product declarations (EPDs). This study assesses these EPDs with the aim of providing relevant information for global decision-making, focusing on their consistency and shortcomings. An assessment was carried out at both the national level, considering all sectoral EPDs and declared products, and at the international level, with three common building materials (brick, steel, and concrete). The results highlight the lack of traceability in the development and assessment of uncertainty, resulting in substantial discrepancies in reported impacts, especially in the later stages of the life cycle (up to 90% difference). Meanwhile, impacts such as global warming potential or total renewable and non-renewable primary energy use show homogeneous values in the cradle-to-gate stages, with differences generally being under 10%. The analysis of sectoral EPDs should act as a guideline for designing buildings with environmental sustainability criteria, as the last section of this study attempts to highlight.

Environmental sustainability criteria in the multi-oriented shipbuilding industry in Indonesia

ABSTRACT Preliminary studies have highlighted the potential of Indonesia's geographical, suprastructural, and infrastructural conditions to develop a strong shipbuilding industry, which is crucial for the success of the world maritime axis program and sea toll. However, despite high expectations, the industry faces challenges that threaten business sustainability, leading to bankruptcies. To assess business sustainability, it is essential to establish criteria and sub-criteria, which previous studies have overlooked, focusing only on technical and economic factors. Therefore, this research generally aims to develop and analyze environmentally friendly sustainable criteria in the multi-oriented shipyard industry so that it develops in accordance with the vision, mission, goals and strategies. The criteria development process involves identifying and reviewing relevant articles, classifying and refining the criteria, conducting expert validity testing, Pearson Product Moment validity testing, and reliability testing using the Alpha (Cronbach) method. The expert validity testing indicates that ‘people' received the highest average score of 4.67 among the criteria, and ‘infrastructure' scored the highest in the sub-criteria, with a score of 4.75. The validity testing with the Pearson Product Moment method demonstrates that the criteria and sub-criteria are valid and the reliability of 32 sub-criteria indicating their influence on promoting multi-oriented and environmentally sustainable shipbuilding industries.

The effectiveness of post-mining land rehabilitation policy in realizing environmental sustainability: Lessons from Sukageuri View, Kuningan, West Java

The effective management of natural resources is critical in achieving environmental sustainability, and it requires a careful balance of ecological and economic interests. Therefore, this study analyzed the effectiveness of village government policy in managing post-mining land for environmental sustainability using a non-doctrinal legal approach. Primary data were collected through interviews and observations, while secondary data came from regulations, scientific journals, and papers related to post-mining land rehabilitation governance. The study was conducted in Sukageuri View, Kuningan Regency. The study found that the policy implemented by the Cisantana Village Government in managing post-mining land through the establishment of the Village-Owned Enterprise (VOE) in 2016 has been effective. The area, formerly known as Sukageuri View, is home to various flora and fauna species, with several businesses operating and over 114,000 visitors engaging in social activities in 2022. Additionally, the site has contributed to the village's original income and supported the work program of the Cisantana Village Government. In conclusion, the policy implemented by the Cisantana Village Government effectively balances ecological, social, and economic factors, meeting the criteria for environmental sustainability.

Black Phosphorus as Promoter for Noble Metal‐Free Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production

AbstractPhotocatalysts which are stable to photocorrosion and noble metal‐free, are highly desirable to achieve a light‐driven hydrogen production which satisfies the criteria of low production cost and environmental sustainability. Herein, a new heterostructure TiO2/BP/CoP has been developed, in which the BP nanosheets interact strongly with TiO2 and CoP, speeding up the transfer of photogenerated electrons and thus increasing H2 production. Once BP is added to TiO2 (P25) as only 1 % wt., the H2 evolution rate increases up to 4 times reaching a value of 830 μmol/g ⋅ h under UV‐Vis light irradiation. By integrating CoP nanoparticles as a cocatalyst up to 2 % wt., H2 production is further promoted to 7400 μmol/g ⋅ h, 37 times higher than pristine TiO2. Photoluminescence and electrochemical impedance measurements show that this heterostructure achieves a much more efficient charge separation and reduction of the internal resistance in comparison to pristine TiO2. Combining these data with UV‐Vis diffuse reflectance and Mott‐Schottky, a plausible mechanism was proposed.

Assessing Sustainability Priorities of U.S. Food Hub Managers: Results from a National Survey

Food hubs have emerged as innovative alternatives to the conventional United States food system. As aggregators of small local farms, food hubs hold the potential to transform food production, distribution, and consumption, while fostering environmental sustainability and social equity. However, assessing their contributions to environmental sustainability and social equity is challenging due to the diverse structures and practices of U.S. food hubs. This study presents the findings of a national survey of food hub managers conducted in 2022 to assess the sustainability objectives and practices of food hubs across the United States. Our survey questions were designed based on a comprehensive framework of social and environmental sustainability criteria. Our results reveal that food hubs make valuable contributions in supporting small producers and providing healthy local food options. However, there is room for improvement in their environmental sustainability practices, as they only meet 47% of the defined environmental sustainability goals. Addressing food insecurity is a high priority for food hubs, although not their top priority, and many offer fresh food access to low-income households. Food hubs also contribute to environmental sustainability by reducing food transportation, promoting healthy food production methods, and minimizing waste. While food hubs meet 67% of the defined social sustainability goals, there are opportunities for improvement in reaching important institutional stakeholders and enhancing consumer education on healthy nutrition and lifestyles. Expanding technical assistance for farmers is also critical. By addressing these opportunities for improvement, food hubs can drive progress towards a more resilient and equitable food system in the United States.

Sustainable Marine Tourism of Eco Resort Criteria South Waigeo Raja Ampat Islands

Raja Ampat is one of the regions in Indonesia that implements the concept of sustainable marine tourism. The concept of sustainability for eco-resorts is adapted from the criteria of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism (GSTC). The aim of this study is to find accurate data related to whether 8 resorts in South Waigeo have met the criteria for sustainable accommodation. Research is carried out with the collection of data quantitatively and qualitatively with descriptive analysis. The scores obtained are then processed on a likert scale with P=(F/Nx100%). The total sample was 96 people with a random sampling technique. The results showed GSTC criteria in 8 resorts obtained with a variable percentage. The lowest percentage is in the environmental sustainability criteria of 20-50% including indicators of nature conservation, natural resource management, waste and emission management, criteria for socio-economic improvement of local communities and criteria on the protection of cultural heritage indicate percentages below 55%, while organizational management criteria that include organizational structure, stakeholder engagement, obtain a percentagen of 49-63%. This percentage indicates that eight resorts do not meet the implementation of the criteria of sustainable water tourism, need seriousness together with all stakeholders in encouraging the tourism business to carry out the practice of Sustainable Tourism.

Impact of Waste as a Substrate on Biomass Formation, and Optimization of Spent Microbial Biomass Re-Use by Sustainable Metabolic Engineering

Biomass residue and waste stream bioconversion is a key pillar for successful transition toward sustainable bioeconomy. Spent microbial biomass (SMB) is a unique type of nutrient-rich residue generated from fermentation. This study addresses the waste–SMB–substrate cycle in fermentation. Data from a range of published fermentation processes using waste and non-waste substrates are analyzed for a variety of fermentation products including alcohols and biofuels, amino acids, polymers (PHA), and organic acids. On average, fermentation of waste substrates produces similar, or up to two–three times higher, amounts of SMB compared to purified substrates. SMB production from waste substrates is further illustrated with data from PHA production. The amino acid composition of SMB from 6 industrially relevant microorganisms is compared and shows relatively low variety (2–8%). The return of SMB as a (co-)substrate in fermentation is then considered by building upon the novel concept of sustainable metabolic engineering (SME). SME incorporates economic, environmental, and social sustainability criteria in its optimization algorithm to select microbial strain designs resulting in the most sustainable products. An example of SME application for SMB amino acid re-use by engineered Escherichia coli is demonstrated and discussed. A design with dual production of succinate and ethanol was found to be the most sustainable.

A polycentric network strategy for regional diversification of agriculture: theory and implementation

Widespread and substantial diversification of current agroecosystems appears fundamental to meeting many grand challenges in agriculture. Despite urgent calls for diversification on regional scales, particularly in regions dominated by industrialized, low-diversity agriculture, strategies for diversification on such scales are in early stages of development, conceptually and practically. We outline such a strategy, and its implementation by the Forever Green Partnership, a public-private-NGO coalition in support of agricultural diversification in the U.S. Midwest region. Our strategy supports introduction and scaling of multiple novel crops in a region, which requires development of many interdependent supporting elements, including supportive markets, infrastructure, policy, finance, and R&D. The core of our strategy is development of sustainable supply chains (SSCs) for a set of novel crops. We define SSCs as rudimentary systems of these supporting elements for novel crops, linking on-farm crop production to end-use markets while advancing economic, environmental, and social sustainability criteria that are demanded by stakeholders. SSCs provide a scaffold upon which fully-developed support systems for multiple novel crops can be constructed, thus driving regional diversification. SSCs cannot be “built in a day”; rather they must evolve as production of novel crops expands over time and space, and as new challenges and opportunities emerge. Therefore, regional diversification requires a system to sustain this evolutionary process across time and multiple novel crops. We posit that an effective system can be built from two crucial elements: a process of conscious and concerted cultural evolution, and a polycentric network that organizes and supports that process. We outline this system and its conceptual basis, and its implementation by the Forever Green Partnership, and associated challenges and accomplishments. Three years after its inception, the Partnership has attracted substantial resources, developed a polycentric network, and some elements of the cultural-evolution process are in place. However, node development is uneven across the network, hindering its operation. In addition to advancing strategies for regional-scale diversification, the Partnership is seeking to advance conceptual and practical understanding of sustainability transitions in agriculture, and to explore the potential value of conscious cultural evolution in such transitions.

Operational excellence framework for sustainability in the organisation: a design science approach

Sustainable operational excellence (OPEX) initiatives result in a competitive advantage by optimising the use of resources, contributing to profitability, and leading to expanded growth of organisations. OPEX being a practice-led initiative has no standard framework leading to sustainable OPEX efforts in organisations. In this study, we employ the Design Science Research (DSR) approach to develop a framework to assess the sustainability of OPEX initiatives in an organisation. The proposed framework evaluates OPEX initiatives based on operational, economic, environmental, and social sustainability criteria. Besides, the enablers for the sustainability of OPEX initiatives are identified. The enablers, as well as multidimensional assessment criteria of OPEX initiatives, help the organisation develop a methodological approach for implementing sustainable OPEX solutions. The current success rate for OPEX initiatives in organisations has been dismally poor, and the proposed framework will help improve the success of OPEX efforts. Practitioners can use the proposed framework first to assess their organisational readiness in terms of enablers before implementing OPEX initiatives and evaluate qualitatively and quantitatively to obtain a multidimensional perspective for sustainable solutions. The frameworks proposed in prior studies are predominantly conceptual. This study used the DSR methodology to demonstrate the validity of the proposed framework.