A multi-criteria sustainability assessment approach for energy systems using sustainability triple bottom line attributes and linguistic preferences

The primary goal of this paper is to examine the role that sustainability assessment and reporting plays in creating a sustainable campus for academic excellence. A prototype sustainability assessment and reporting system is developed for triple bottom line impact analysis of the built environment of the newly expanded and renovated Gatton College of Business and Economics at the University of Kentucky. The prototype system utilizes a toolkit to collect environmental, social, and economic data of the building's built environment for sustainable design performance analyses. The system also employs a comprehensive set of sustainability metrics to measure and report the building's triple bottom line impacts on academic success. In sum, our study succeeds in (1) expanding the definition and evaluation of campus buildings' sustainability to include environmental, social, and economic factors, (2) providing campus stakeholders with a toolkit for assessing the sustainability of campus buildings, and (3) creating a comprehensive sustainability metric for benchmarking and tracking campus buildings' triple bottom line impacts on academic success.

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Development of triple bottom line indicators for life cycle sustainability assessment of residential bulidings

Journal of Environmental Management ◽

10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110476 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 264 ◽

pp. 110476 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Shahana Y. Janjua ◽

Prabir K. Sarker ◽

Wahidul K. Biswas

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Sustainability Assessment ◽

Triple Bottom Line ◽

Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment ◽

Bottom Line

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Sustainability assessment of tertiary wastewater treatment technologies: a multi-criteria analysis

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2015.630 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 73 (7) ◽

pp. 1532-1540 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

K. V. Plakas ◽

A. A. Georgiadis ◽

A. J. Karabelas

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Sustainability Assessment ◽

Membrane Separation ◽

Composite Index ◽

Appropriate Technology ◽

Activated Carbon Adsorption ◽

Bottom Line ◽

Sustainability Performance ◽

Assessment Approach ◽

Multi Criteria Analysis

The multi-criteria analysis gives the opportunity to researchers, designers and decision-makers to examine decision options in a multi-dimensional fashion. On this basis, four tertiary wastewater treatment (WWT) technologies were assessed regarding their sustainability performance in producing recycled wastewater, considering a ‘triple bottom line’ approach (i.e. economic, environmental, and social). These are powdered activated carbon adsorption coupled with ultrafiltration membrane separation (PAC-UF), reverse osmosis, ozone/ultraviolet-light oxidation and heterogeneous photo-catalysis coupled with low-pressure membrane separation (photocatalytic membrane reactor, PMR). The participatory method called simple multi-attribute rating technique exploiting ranks was employed for assigning weights to selected sustainability indicators. This sustainability assessment approach resulted in the development of a composite index as a final metric, for each WWT technology evaluated. The PAC-UF technology appears to be the most appropriate technology, attaining the highest composite value regarding the sustainability performance. A scenario analysis confirmed the results of the original scenario in five out of seven cases. In parallel, the PMR was highlighted as the technology with the least variability in its performance. Nevertheless, additional actions and approaches are proposed to strengthen the objectivity of the final results.

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