Sustainability As A Multi Criteria Concept

Sustainability is a fairly old concept, born in the 18th century in the field of forestry, within a mono-functionality perspective. The concept has considerably evolved in the last few years towards a multi-functionality context, with applications reported in practically all areas of economic interest. On the other hand, modern sustainability is a complex problem, for two reasons: a) The multiplicity of functions of a very different nature involved in the process and b) The manner in which different segments of the society or stakeholders perceive the relative importance of these functions. For the above reasons, a realistic approach for dealing with the sustainability issue requires taking into consideration multiple criteria of different nature (economic, environmental and social), and in many cases within a participatory decision making framework. This book presents a collection of papers, dealing with different theoretical and applied issues of sustainability, with the help of a modern multi-criteria decision-making theory, with a single as well as several stakeholders involved in the decision-making process. Hopefully, this material will encourage academics and practitioners to alter their research in this hot and vital topic. After all, the sustainable management of the environment and its embedded resources is one of the most important, if not the major challenge of the 21st century.

Sustainability is a fairly old concept, born in the 18th century in the field of forestry, within a mono-functionality perspective. The concept has considerably evolved in the last few years towards a multi-functionality context, with applications reported in practically all areas of economic interest. On the other hand, modern sustainability is a complex problem, for two reasons: a) The multiplicity of functions of a very different nature involved in the process and b) The manner in which different segments of the society or stakeholders perceive the relative importance of these functions. For the above reasons, a realistic approach for dealing with the sustainability issue requires taking into consideration multiple criteria of different nature (economic, environmental and social), and in many cases within a participatory decision making framework. This book presents a collection of papers, dealing with different theoretical and applied issues of sustainability, with the help of a modern multi-criteria decision-making theory, with a single as well as several stakeholders involved in the decision-making process. Hopefully, this material will encourage academics and practitioners to alter their research in this hot and vital topic. After all, the sustainable management of the environment and its embedded resources is one of the most important, if not the major challenge of the 21st century.

One of the main novelties of this book is its establishment of a clear relationship between social and public choice on one hand and multiple criteria decision analysis on the other. This relationship leads to the new concept of Social Multi-Criteria Evaluation (SMCE). SMCE is proposed as a policy framework to integrate different scientific languages, for example, when concerns about civil society and future generations have to be considered along with policy imperatives and market conditions.

The success of any activity and process depends fundamentally on the possibility of balancing (symmetry) needs and their satisfaction. That is, the ability to properly define a set of success indicators. The application of the developed new multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods can be eliminated or decreased by decision-makers’ subjectivity, which leads to consistency or symmetry in the weight values of the criteria. In this Special Issue, 40 research papers and one review study co-authored by 137 researchers from 23 different countries explore aspects of multi-criteria modeling and optimization in crisp or uncertain environments. The papers propose new approaches and elaborate case studies in the following areas of application: MCDM optimization in sustainable engineering, environmental sustainability in engineering processes, sustainable multi-criteria production and logistics processes planning, integrated approaches for modeling processes in engineering, new trends in the multi-criteria evaluation of sustainable processes, and multi-criteria decision-making in strategic management based on sustainable criteria.

In two volumes, this new edition presents the state of the art in Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA). Reflecting the explosive growth in the field seen during the last several years, the editors not only present surveys of the foundations of MCDA, but look as well at many new areas and new applications. Individual chapter authors are among the most prestigious names in MCDA research, and combined their chapters bring the field completely up to date. Part I of the book considers the history and current state of MCDA, with surveys that cover the early history of MCDA and an overview that discusses the “pre-theoretical” assumptions of MCDA. Part II then presents the foundations of MCDA, with individual chapters that provide a very exhaustive review of preference modeling, along with a chapter devoted to the axiomatic basis of the different models that multiple criteria preferences. Part III looks at outranking methods, with three chapters that consider the ELECTRE methods, PROMETHEE methods, and a look at the rich literature of other outranking methods. Part IV, on Multiattribute Utility and Value Theories (MAUT), presents chapters on the fundamentals of this approach, the very well known UTA methods, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and its more recent extension, the Analytic Network Process (ANP), as well as a chapter on MACBETH (Measuring Attractiveness by a Categorical Based Evaluation Technique). Part V looks at Non-Classical MCDA Approaches, with chapters on risk and uncertainty in MCDA, the decision rule approach to MCDA, the fuzzy integral approach, the verbal decision methods, and a tentative assessment of the role of fuzzy sets in decision analysis. Part VI, on Multiobjective Optimization, contains chapters on recent developments of vector and set optimization, the state of the art in continuous multiobjective programming, multiobjective combinatorial optimization, fuzzy multicriteria optimization, a review of the field of goal programming, interactive methods for solving multiobjective optimization problems, and relationships between MCDA and evolutionary multiobjective optimization (EMO). Part VII, on Applications, selects some of the most significant areas, including contributions of MCDA in finance, energy planning problems, telecommunication network planning and design, sustainable development, and portfolio analysis. Finally, Part VIII, on MCDM software, presents well known MCDA software packages.

Multi-Actor Multi-Criteria Analysis (MAMCA) developed by Professor Cathy Macharis enables decision-makers within the sectors of transport, mobility and logistics to account for conflicting stakeholder interests. This book draws on 15 years of research and application during which MAMCA has been deployed to support sustainable decisions within the transport and mobility sectors.

Sustainability assessments are important instruments for shaping sustainable development in all domains. However, not every assessment approach is fitting for every assessment situation. The fit between approaches and situations is rarely considered in the current practice of approach selection. In this thesis, a situation-oriented Multi-Criteria Decision-Making framework to support systematic selection decisions is developed and effects of selection on assessment results are investigated.

Abstract : Sustainability science primarily emerged from the severe global events that had and were unfolding approximately a quarter century ago; evidence from the literature review conducted in Chapter 1 exemplifies this point. From this situation surfaced a number of concepts and techniques that have been tested and continue to be assessed. The first step of the methodology is the literature review in which the overall picture of the discipline is established and what direction sustainability related science is headed. The literature review found that the forefront of this research endeavours to adapt quantitative sustainability concepts into a method that can assess and analyse a geographical area. To undertake this challenge, the index of sustainable functionality (ISF) model is used via a quantitative multi-criteria method. This method of sustainability assessment establishes a historical and current state of functionality within a geographical area by producing a trend-like record. In sustainability terms, the ISF model uses an approach that calculates the adaptive quantitative results of a geographical area over a record period of time; the methodology in Chapter 2 describes the model's concept of assessment by way of actions via societal performance and ranking. The structure of the model is based on an engineering viewpoint; its key components umbrella a societal framework that encompasses an intertwined relationship using a triple bottom line (TBL) approach. The formation of this model is founded on a number of aspects, ideas and methodologies based on initial models of sustainability assessment. These initial forms to mention a few include environmental accounting, integrated assessment and ecological footprint have helped to establish the current settings of the discipline of sustainability science and the significance of related research. The methodology is broken down into two main components: (1) structure methodology which is framed around five steps that identify and define variables and (2) mathematical formulation which is used to calculate ISF records. An examination of the formulae used, also shows evidence that the principal ideas can be linked to a redefinition of sustainability; this is not the intention of this study, though in a quantitative sense the use of an action being functional or dysfunctional within society can be interpreted in this way. Actions include perspectives, functions and indicators, and sub-indicator(s); the analysis process is limited to the use of two types of data: datasets based on indicators and sub-indicator(s) used to formulate functions and data from the weightings process, that being, from the expert panel and the community telephone questionnaires. The data from the weightings process utilises the formulated functions and is the basis for the formulation of the system- vi perspective cross-reference matrix. This design is a stepladder process methodology and is the fundamental concept of the ISF's multi-criteria assessment. This report has two applications that examine the Australian regions of South East Queensland (SEQ) and the State of Queensland; the proposed index-based model is tested over a time span of 25 years from 1980 to 2005. The primary focus of the methodology is aimed at the SEQ region, acting as the mode's core focus for its experimentation and development. The SEQ region is broken down into four sub-regions which encompass a total of eighteen councils using the council structure from pre- 15 March 2008. For these regions ISF records are developed and analytically discussed as results in Chapter 3. The results, once merged, form the ISF of SEQ and detail a slow-to-moderate increase in level of functionality. The result in sustainability terms formulate an increase in functional growth rate of 15.38%, equating to an average annual growth rate of 0.62%. For the span of the study this is positive result, showing evidence of a growth in knowledge and awareness of sound TBL measures region-wide. As an extension to the SEQ study, an ISF application of the entire State of Queensland is conducted in Chapter 4. The ISF of the State of Queensland is a case study that uses similar methodology and structure to the SEQ project and demonstrates the applicability and scalability of the model at large. For the State of Queensland, the ISF result closely mirrors its smaller SEQ corner; it is inferred that since SEQ is partially the concluding ISF result of the State application, similar ISF records would be produced. In addition to the main report, there are six annexes that further detail, support and explain subject matter and findings throughout the dissertation (Annex 1 thru 6). Due to the length of the annexes they have been included as supplementary material. As the key contributing factor of this report, the development of an ISF model, using a quantitative multi-criteria method, reveals a transposable approach to assessing other areas within Australia and internationally. It is this transposability via produced traceable records that current and future generations may better utilise decision-making and managerial planning when considering the sustainable development crisis. The intentions of this report is not to produce a solution to this crisis, it is aimed at adding to the knowledge base of the sustainability science and promoting a cleaner, safer society with sustainable higher standards of living that support future generations. From this standpoint, it is hopeful that the methodologies utilised in this report can further the interdisciplinary work and help bring together technical, communicative innovation in a vital field of research.

Given the increasing need to optimize resources sustainably, decision-makers face challenges in analyzing and considering the numerous factors involved. This book makes an effort to present and concentrate on the challenges in decision-making processes for green and sustainable engineering. Through a collection of case studies such as evaluation of waste assessment and drainage system, sustainable building assessment, renewable energy selection, materials and manufacturing process optimization, and crop pattern influence in environmental and economic conditions, readers can learn how to apply cutting-edge Multiple-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods in addressing complexities involved in the decision-making process.