Sustainability Assessment System Research Articles

Construction of a sustainable design competency assessment system for fashion designers in China

Construction of a sustainable design competency assessment system for fashion designers in China

Always with the Best Intentions? Interrogating the Use of Sustainable Building Assessment Systems in Developing Countries: Kenya

Assessment methodologies such as BREEAM and LEED allocate points based on prescribed interventions that promote design features or strategies considered to be more sustainable than others. A focus on accumulating numerical scores, however, often fails to address pertinent contextual issues, particularly within developing countries. This paper examines the use of four assessment systems in Kenya—two international systems, LEED-US and Green Star SA-Kenya; and two locally developed systems, Green Mark Kenya and the Safari Green Building Index. The paper compares the relative weighting of different categories under each system, and assesses their appropriateness to a Kenyan context, with reference to the suitability of active technology versus passive design approaches. The paper examines selected examples of ‘green’ buildings in Nairobi, reflecting on the influence of different methods of assessment on the adopted design approaches. The paper argues that international rating systems, such as LEED, often focus on a Western construct of sustainability featuring a systematic bias towards global rather than local perspectives, with an emphasis on physical environmental factors. In pursuit of objectivity, the measurement of non-contextual parameters untailored to local circumstances (e.g., energy performance) is prioritised at the expense of those contingent on local conditions or climate.

Has the poverty alleviation resettlement projects achieved just transition in Nujiang Prefecture of Southwest China?: A way to achieve SDGs

From 2016 to 2020, China successfully assisted 9.6 million people below poverty line, making a making a substantial contribution to both the UN-defined Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the global effort to reduce poverty. The literature reveals a focus on resettlement justice concerning livelihood transformation, re-siting, and public participation. However, a dearth of scholarly perspectives exists regarding migrants' comprehensive satisfaction indicators of just transition, particularly on sustainable assessment. Therefore, the study regards migrants as “customers” of PAR projects and assesses the degree of realization of a just transition of resettlement through their satisfaction. A multilayered comprehensive evaluation model is being formulated using the survey data of 515 migrants residing in three county-level cities in Nujiang Prefecture of southwest China. The results show that there is an increase in satisfaction with the impact of PAR on the migrant households' income, material assets, housing conditions, infrastructure, natural environment, children's educational level and ethnic cultures. Moreover, satisfaction with migrants' employment stability, social networking level, and the succession of local customs decreased. The results help to show that the PAR project does affect various aspects of migrants' lives, as well as contributing to the SDGs of social, economic, and environmentally sustainable development. The construction of a sustainable assessment system oriented to the combination of different dimensions of migrants' satisfaction and importance can help reduce the inequalities that may arise from the project. Boosting migrants' overall satisfaction is the most significant factor to consider when developing robust policies to increase poverty alleviation achievements and promote sustainable livelihood development.

Construction and evolutionary pattern of the coupling relationship network of regional sustainable development in China

Climate change poses a serious threat to the survival and development of humankind. Accordingly, sustainable socioeconomic transformation has become a major global concern. This study quantitatively assesses the process and speed of regional-level sustainable development in China, as well as the degree of coupling and the degree of coupling coordination among Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To this end, based on regional development and data monitoring in China, we construct a regional sustainable development assessment system containing 111 indicators, which combines existing sustainable development assessment indicators with the indicators of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. On that basis, using network topology construction and modal transformation, we propose a framework for analyzing the coupling relationships and evolutionary patterns of regional sustainable development. The study found that the score for SDGs at the national level increased from 50.80 in 2010 to 60.86 in 2020, showing a good development trend and the differences between provinces and regions was gradually reduced. The development speed of regional sustainable transformation shows a change from decreasing to increasing. In recent years, there is a significant change in the acceleration of regional sustainable development in China, with the vast majority of provinces having positive acceleration and only three provinces having negative acceleration. China's regional sustainable development shows that mutual coordination and promotion among provinces was higher in the eastern area than in the central region, which was higher than in the western area. The sustainable processes of each region and the coordination of sustainable development steadily increased toward a high level of coupling, all achieving coordinated development. The degree of coupling coordination and the SDG scores in each region were positively correlated with economic development, reflecting the role of economic development in the promotion of sustainability. However, this positive correlation showed a tendency of strengthening and then weakening. The correlation of the evolution patterns in the eastern–central, eastern–western, and central–western regions over time presented a trend of first weakening, then strengthening, and then weakening. Although the process of promoting sustainable development in western and central regions over time is weak synergistic consistency with that in eastern regions, overall, China's regional sustainable development presents a development model of multi-province linkage and multi-goal coordination.

Campus sustainability, organizational learning and sustainability reporting: an empirical analysis

Purpose Studies have shown that higher education institutions (HEIs) need to achieve deep organizational learning to develop and implement long-term strategies for responding to the climate crisis. This study aims to analyze the sustainability efforts of HEIs, in particular those who use the sustainability tracking, assessment and rating system (STARS), to ascertain what type of organizational learning is being achieved. Design/methodology/approach This paper does this by analyzing perceptions of learning amongst this group of HEIs. More specifically, it analyzes survey data regarding perceptions of types and system levels of organizational learning achieved by 116 HEIs in the USA that currently use or have used STARS in the past. The approach also aims to develop a macro view of the relationships between practicing campus sustainability, using sustainability reporting tools and learning as an organization. Findings An examination of the practice of campus sustainability and its relationship to organizational learning reveals that the use of sustainability reporting promotes broad learning, but deep learning at the level of the organization is seldom achieved. Practical implications Given the success of using sustainability reporting tools to diffuse knowledge and foster broad learning, this paper argues that such tools should incorporate more metrics relative to soft organizational characteristics of HEIs to shift organizational cultures and foster deeper organizational learning. Originality/value This work constitutes one of the few studies analyzing empirical data on campus sustainability, sustainability reporting and organizational learning for a large number of HEIs.

Assessment of system sustainability: a critical review of the combined application of system dynamics and life cycle assessment

Assessment of system sustainability: a critical review of the combined application of system dynamics and life cycle assessment

Modeling the Environmental Impact of Passenger Cars Driven on Hilly Roads in Austria: A More Accurate Valuation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Further Environmental Indicators for Integral Life Cycle Assessments of Road Infrastructures

Previous studies of road or railway infrastructures have shown that traffic emissions outweigh the environmental impacts of the product stage and construction stage over the entire life cycle. Traffic usage is therefore the main emitter over the life cycle (A1–C4). Due to the small number of sustainability assessment systems, the question of how to consider traffic emissions in detail in an integral life cycle assessment has arisen. This study examines Austrian car traffic and investigates environmental impacts beyond the scope of carbon dioxide and particulate matter. The results were determined for a selection of common impact indicators. In addition to driving in flat terrain, an approach is presented that enables the evaluation of emissions due uphill and downhill driving. Thus, route options and route closures/detours due to maintenance work can be evaluated in a simple way. During the analyses, a traffic calculator was developed, which can currently assess different cars depending on the route specifics (flat/hill). The tool can be expanded to include other road vehicles (buses, trucks, motorcycles) and trains as well. This will simplify evaluations and decision-making processes and provide optimal support for a future-proof sustainable built environment.

The suitability of the MOSTADAM system with the global systems of sustainability in the desert city, Case study ( North Narjes project in KSA)

Sustainable building practices are becoming increasingly important today, especially in desert areas with more severe environmental challenges. Numerous sustainable building assessment systems are available globally and locally, but their effectiveness and applicability in desert areas are poorly understood[1]. The world’s desert regions are facing unique environmental challenges, and sustainable building practices are becoming more important than ever. By comparing various assessment systems, we hope to identify the most effective and applicable methods for sustainable building in these areas. This research aims to compare global and local sustainable building assessment systems in desert areas to identify the most effective and suitable systems.Applying this to a sustainable program, which is one of the programs offered by the Ministry of Municipal, Rural Affairs and Housing (MOMRAH) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)[1], where the research will mean studying its suitability within desert Areas.

Sustainability assessment of small hydropower from an ESG perspective: A case study of the Qin-Ba Mountains, China

Small hydropower (SHP) has made significant contributions to economic and social development in rural and remote mountainous regions. However, the adverse ecological-environmental impacts resulting from the SHP sector and challenges in hydropower management have become major areas of concern. From an Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) perspective and using three SHP stations (GXD, WZL, and SJB) in the Qin-Ba Mountains as case studies, we constructed a sustainability assessment system comprising 18 indicators across three dimensions. The hesitant fuzzy linguistic term sets (HFLTSs) and cloud models were employed to determine the sustainability level of SHP by characterizing the hesitancy of the evaluator and the uncertainty of the evaluated data. (1) The ecological-environmental protection (E) dimension was assigned the greatest weight, followed by the dimensions of social responsibility contribution (S) and corporate governance management (G). The weights of certain indicators, including the water qualification rate, river morphology maintenance, guaranteed rate of instream flow, comprehensive utilization, and production safety standardization grade were relatively high, conforming to the current context of green development prioritization in which ecological-environmental protection is of the utmost importance. (2) The overall sustainability levels of all three SHP stations were “good”, with the E-dimension contributing the most and the G-dimension contributing the least to the sustainability goal. (3) The GXD, WZL, and SJB stations were ranked first, second, and third, respectively, in terms of their sustainability scores. This study provides an innovative perspective for the sustainability assessment of SHP. The evaluation method can be generalized to encompass multi-attribute decision-making problems. The findings of this study can aid in addressing the shortcomings associated with SHP development and promote sustainability within the SHP industry.

A four-level hierarchical framework for reviewing infrastructure sustainability assessment systems

Infrastructure sustainability assessment (ISA) has become increasingly important for achieving sustainable development goals. ISA systems are widely adopted by different stakeholders such as governments, architects, engineers, and academics to assess the manner in which sustainability is incorporated in infrastructure projects. However, a systematic understanding of ISA systems is lacking, and the multifaceted and complicated features of such systems were overlooked in the literature. Thus, this study aims to develop a four-level hierarchical framework (covering the levels of contexts, methods, measures, and results) based on the dialectical system theory, and to use this framework for a comprehensive review of international ISA systems. Fourteen existing ISA systems were reviewed, and six were carefully selected and examined in detail. An enhanced five-pillar concept (i.e. technology, economy, environment, society, and institution) of infrastructure sustainability is proposed to evaluate the measures included in the ISA systems. The results show that dialectics exist within, and encounter challenges at, all four levels of the systems. This study suggests four recommendations to improve the ISA systems: enhancing the balanced concept of sustainability, advancing the promotion of ISA systems, pursuing user-friendliness, and considering the synergies between the assessment components of ISA systems. The developed framework with its dialectical considerations provides a new approach to understanding the complexity and dynamics of ISA and will help raise practitioners' awareness of the dialectical connections in ISA systems and support practitioners’ management practices. In addition, the five-pillar concept of sustainability is beneficial for stakeholders in appraising infrastructure more comprehensively.

Sustainability assessment of bridge structures in the operation phase based on a digital twin

AbstractThere are about 65,000 bridge structures in the infrastructure network of the Federal Republic of Germany. Due to the long operating phase of bridges, they have an influence on sustainability. To evaluate the sustainability of bridges in the operational phase, digital building models can serve as a consistent and structured database to increase the efficiency and transparency.In this article, an innovative evaluation system for measuring and assessing the sustainability of a bridge structure in the operational phase based on a digital bridge twin is developed. First, the workflow is presented in a process model and the necessary requirements for the digital twin of the bridge structure are defined. In addition, the semi‐automatic sustainability assessment system is described and the linkage via an interoperable interface to the digital twin is designed. The approach is tested and validated using a real demonstrator. The result of the paper shows an approach to use digital twins for a novel and semi‐automatic sustainability assessment in the operation of bridge structures.

A Comprehensive Dataset for Bibliometric Analysis of Sustainable Entrepreneurship with Augmented Bibliometric Approach

Objective: The issue of Sustainable Entrepreneurship (SE) has attracted significant attention in recent years, aligning with the concerted global efforts to carry out the SDGs for 2030. Hence, this study aimed to analyze state of the art in SE research to navigate the result of international publication trends regarding SE for 20 years. Design/Methods/Approach: This study uses bibliometric analysis to explore the evolution of streams of 338 papers from the Scopus database spanning from 2003 to 2022, including identifying the evolution of publications, contributions of authors, countries, and core journals to a field. In addition, we use the Augmented Bibliometric Approach by mapping and visualizing trend analysis of bibliographic coupling, co-citation, and co-author relationships of datasets, using VOSviewer 1.6.19. Findings: The result showed a consistent upward trajectory in publications from 2015 onwards. Furthermore, our study showed influential authors, papers, countries, and journals within this domain. Originality/Value: This study contributes to elucidating the evolution of SE, serving as a valuable resource for future studies, aiding in the formulation of theoretical frameworks, and facilitating advancements in this area. Practical/Policy implication: Given the results, managers should apply various techniques to minimize the negative impact of their business continuity, a strategic approach towards the triple bottom line. Practitioners and policymakers should be able to interpret innovations in sustainability assessment systems further to enable them to formulate policies, strategies, and guidelines to promote the sustainable development agenda (SDGs).

Sustainable Performance Assessment towards Sustainable Consumption and Production: Evidence from the Indian Dairy Industry

The current global economic status quo is widely seen as unsustainable in the food sector. The field of sustainability science is still rather fragmented, covering a wide range of techniques and issues, despite the large number of publications in this area. Due to population growth, the food supply chain (FSC) and farmers have to produce more food. The UN estimates that one-third of edible food is wasted, producing greenhouse gases. A balance must be struck between company operations and social, environmental, and economic activities for sustainable development of the FSC. To assist FSC organizations in managing sustainable advancement, this study created a methodology for the assessment of sustainable performance. We provide a sustainable assessment system using a fuzzy analytic hierarchy process, fuzzy VIKOR, and fuzzy TOPSIS. Our research framework evaluated the sustainability of three cooperative-society-run Indian dairy firms. Our study gives environmental criteria the highest weight (0.33) and social criteria the lowest (0.16), with economic reasons (0.306) and business operations (0.204) falling in the middle. Supply chain costs, on average, are given the highest weight, and capacity utilization, the lowest weight. Three dairy industries are ranked (DPI3, DPI1, and DPI2) based on sustainable performance. By modifying the maximum set utility value and validating VIKOR results with TOPSIS, we have checked the robustness of this performance assessment tool. This research aids dairy businesses in achieving several Sustainable Development Goals, including sustainable production and consumption, through the regular assessment of their sustainable performance.

A Sustainable Performance Assessment System for Road Freight Transport Based on Artificial Neural Networks

A Sustainable Performance Assessment System for Road Freight Transport Based on Artificial Neural Networks

Comparative Analysis of Neighborhood Sustainability Assessment Systems from the USA (LEED–ND), Germany (DGNB–UD), and India (GRIHA–LD)

Neighborhood sustainability assessment systems support the planning of sustainable and resilient cities. This research analyses, compares, and evaluates three neighborhood sustainability assessment systems (NSA) of (i) the German Sustainable Building Council for Urban Districts (DGNB–UD), (ii) the USA Leadership in energy and environmental design for Neighborhood Development (LEED–ND), and (iii) the Indian Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment for Large Developments (GRIHA–LD). The theoretical background, certification types, process, and evaluation methods of the three NSAs are discussed. The qualitative and quantitative comparative analysis and evaluation methods of the NSAs included identifying and assessing ten weighted essential urban sustainability themes. Indicators under each theme were identified and compared in the NSAs. The comparison showed the importance of particular themes based on assigned weights. LEED–ND focuses on “transportation” and “site planning”, while DGNB–UD addresses all dimensions of sustainability in a balanced manner. GRIHA–LD has limitations concerning social, economic, and governance concerns. The research results define differences and similarities in international neighborhood sustainability assessment and illustrate the quality and quantity differences of sustainability and resilience aspects addressed by the three existing NSA systems as a starting basis for the future improvement of existing and development of new land sustainability and resilience assessment systems.

Sustainability Assessment of Buildings Indicators

The building sector is responsible for a high environmental impact, namely during construction, maintenance, demolition, and lifetime. It is then urgent to develop tools for guiding all stockholders to make buildings more sustainable. In order to make the sustainability assessment of a building, it is necessary to make a survey of the most appropriate parameters for this analysis and organize them hierarchically. The first sustainability certification rating tools were developed in the 90′s of the last century, namely Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM), which allow for the quantitative sustainability assessment of different types of buildings. After the first developments, many authors joined in the endeavor of producing easier-to-use and more accurate sustainability assessment systems using sustainability indicators and their respective weights. This work provides a rational pathway throughout the relevant literature on sustainability indicators, comparing indicators proposed by different authors and different sustainability certification systems.

An illustration of a sustainable agricultural land suitability assessment system with a land degradation sensitivity

An illustration of a sustainable agricultural land suitability assessment system with a land degradation sensitivity

Measuring the sustainability of neighborhoods: A systematic literature review

Neighborhoods have received worldwide interest in sustainability assessment due to their suitable scale for representing the relationship between the individual and the city. Consequently, this has led to a focus on developing neighborhood sustainability assessment (NSA) systems and, thereby, studying the prominent NSA tools. Alternatively, this study aims to uncover formative concepts shaping the assessment of sustainable neighborhoods based on a systematic review of the empirical work by researchers. The study included a Scopus database search for papers measuring neighborhood sustainability and a literature review of 64 journal articles published between 2019 and 2021. Our results suggest thatcriteria related to sustainable form and morphology are the most widely measured criteria in the reviewed papers, interconnected with multiple aspects of neighborhood sustainability. The paper contributes to expanding the existing knowledge on neighborhood sustainability evaluation, further adding to the literature on designing sustainable cities and communities and achieving Sustainable Development Goal 11.

Indoor Environmental Quality Assessment Model (IEQ) for Houses

Housing and its indoor environment influence its inhabitants’ comfort, productivity, and health. For this reason, it is becoming increasingly important to investigate the factors that affect indoor environmental quality. Thus, numerous sustainability assessment systems have been developed to evaluate building performance. This paper presents a model for evaluating the indoor environment of housing located in the Biobio region of Chile, integrating aspects that influence its overall quality. The research methodology proposes a strategy to identify appropriate evaluation criteria and contextualized standards. The application of the model made it possible to identify the level of performance of studio dwellings for each category, namely air quality, thermal comfort, acoustics, and lighting, as well as the overall evaluation of the IEQ. The results reflect that the lowest levels of performance in the three houses were with respect to the acoustic evaluation criteria, while the highest levels of performance were for the air quality evaluation criteria.

Research on the Application of Sustainable Development Assessment System for Fishing Communities in Korea

Research on the Application of Sustainable Development Assessment System for Fishing Communities in Korea