scholarly journals Sustainability improvement in complex systems composed of products and services

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Biedermann ◽  
Natalia Muñoz López ◽  
José Luis Santolaya Sáenz ◽  
José Ignacio Valero Martín
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Complex Systems ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Sustainable Design ◽  
Product Systems ◽  
Sustainability Strategies ◽  
Alternative Systems ◽  
Life Cycle Perspective ◽  
Space Layout ◽  
System Sustainability

Abstract Purpose A wide number of research efforts have been carried out over the last decades to assess and improve system sustainability. Different methods and tools are increasingly implemented in product systems; nevertheless its application to services and other systems, in which products and services are combined, is rather limited. In this work, an approach to improve the sustainability of systems composed of products and services (P + S systems) is proposed and implemented in two case studies. Methods The sustainability improvement of P + S systems is addressed integrating different methods and approaches. The flows between system approach is used to identify links between all systems involved. The life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) method is applied to simultaneously evaluate environmental, economic and social aspects of sustainability with a life cycle perspective. In addition, sustainable design principles are taken into account to propose effective improvement strategies. The systematic development of four phases is required to carry out the integration of these approaches: (i) identification of links between involved systems; (ii) sustainability assessment of the P + S system; (iii) application of sustainability strategies; and (iv) sustainability results comparison. Results and discussion Two different P + S systems are analysed. First, sustainability improvements in the service provided by a clothing boutique are proposed, taking into account that the store where the service is developed and the clothes acquired by the service provider are product systems involved in the service operation. Next, the sustainability of an itinerary exhibition is investigated. Products required for the exhibition space layout as well as the service used to transport all materials between different locations are taken into account. In each case, sustainability indicators obtained in both initial and alternative systems are compared, and variations detected due to strategies applied are analysed. Conclusions Sustainability of P + S systems is evaluated using a set of quantitative indicators, the relative incidence of each system is determined and more sustainable alternatives are projected. Thus, this research supposes an advance towards the sustainable design of complex systems composed of products and services, since effects due to the interconnection between systems are studied and criteria to carry out sustainability-oriented decision making are provided.

scholarly journals Assessment of sustainability of different renewable energy systems based on life cycle exergy analysis

Tehnika ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 76 (5) ◽  
pp. 595-602
Author(s):  
Branislav Petrović ◽  
Milan Gojak
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Exergy Analysis ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Energy Systems ◽  
Electrical Energy ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Renewable Energy Resources ◽  
System Sustainability

The sustainable development of energy systems does not only involve the use of renewable energy resources but the increase in their efficiency as well, enabling society to maximise the benefits of their consumption. The production of electrical energy from clean and renewable sources contributes to lowered fossil fuel exploitation and the reduction of its damaging effect on the environment. This is a way to reach the global target of sustainable development - striking a balance between resource consumption and the achievable natural cycle regeneration. Environmental protection is in the focus of attention. Namely, when energy system sustainability is assessed, in addition to the ecological sustainability assessment (based on life cycle analysis - LCA), attention should be paid to the decrease in energy quality in energy processes (exergy loss). This paper presents the thermodynamic approach to energy system sustainability assessment by applying life cycle exergy analysis (LCEA). The key issue is the assessment of systems which use sustainable energy sources: the wind turbine and the stand-alone photovoltaic solar system.

scholarly journals Ranking product systems based on uncertain life cycle sustainability assessment: a stochastic multiple criteria decision analysis approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 850-874
Author(s):  
Breno Barros Telles do Carmo ◽  
Manuele Margni ◽  
Pierre Baptiste
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Decision Analysis ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Multiple Criteria ◽  
Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis ◽  
Illustrative Case ◽  
Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Product Systems ◽  
Conflicting Objectives

Purpose – Life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) provides useful and comprehensive information on product system performance. However, it poses several challenges for decision-making process due to (i) multidimensional indicators, (ii) conflicting objectives and (iii) uncertainty associated with the performance assessment. This research proposes an approach able to account uncertain life cycle sustainability performances through multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA) process to support decision-making.Design/methodology/approach – Our method is structured in three phases: i) assessing the uncertainty of LCSA performances, ii) propagating LCSA uncertainty into MCDA methods and iii) interpreting the stochastic results. The approach is applied on an illustrative case study, ranking four alternatives to biodiesel supply.Findings –The recommendation generated by this approach provides an information about the confidence the decision maker can have in a given result (ranking of solutions) under the form of a probability, providing a better knowledge of the risk (in this case due to the uncertainty of the preferred solution). As such, stochastic results, if appropriately interpreted, provide a measure of the robustness of the rankings generated by MCDA methods, overcoming the limitation of the overconfidence of deterministic rankings.Originality/value – The fundamental contributions of this paper are to (i) integrate LCSA uncertainty into decision-making processes through MCDA approach; (ii) provide a sensitivity analysis about the MCDA method choice, (iii) support decision-makers’ preference choices through a transparent elicitation process and (iv) provide a practical decision-making platform that accounts simultaneously uncertain LCSA performances with stakeholders’ value judgments.

scholarly journals A Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment-Based Decision-Analysis Framework

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 3863 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marwa Hannouf ◽  
Getachew Assefa
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Decision Analysis ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Analysis Framework ◽  
Product Systems ◽  
Trade Offs

One of the main challenges in using life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) is the difficulty of integrating the interrelationships between the three dimensions (environmental, economic and social dimensions) of LCSA results in decision-making toward proposing sustainability improvements for existing product systems. This paper is addressing this challenge by presenting an LCSA-based decision-analysis framework, which is a systematic and structured framework that appraises the pool of potential actions determined based on LCSA results and evaluates their trade-offs to propose potential sustainability solutions. The framework is composed of two parts: (a) LCSA application; (b) decision-analysis approach. The decision analysis part of the framework is built based on some features from previous decision-making approaches and considering the characteristics of LCSA results. The decision-analysis part of the framework, which is the main focus of this study, is divided into five phases to propose and select some recommendations to improve the sustainability performance of product systems. The framework developed is illustrated using results from a previous LCSA case study. The framework can handle the complexity in understanding the interrelationships between the three dimensions of LCSA results, through a structured way of dividing the process into manageable steps. Further work is still needed to apply this framework to a real case study.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Thinking for Sustainable Consumption and Production towards a Circular Economy

2020 ◽  
Vol 202 ◽  
pp. 01003
Author(s):  
Shabbir H. Gheewala
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Current Model ◽  
Sustainable Consumption ◽  
Optimal Solution ◽  
Life Cycle Thinking ◽  
Product Systems ◽  
Life Cycle Perspective ◽  
Responsible Consumption

The current model of a linear economy with end-of-pipe waste treatment is not sustainable. Cleaner production helps reduce resource use and emissions, but is still not an optimal solution without considering a life cycle perspective. Life cycle-based tools such as life cycle assessment and life cycle costing are useful for identifying optimal environmental and economic options for product systems. SDG 12 dealing with responsible consumption and production is key for sustainability. Developing of a circular economy requires life cycle thinking and life cycle-based tools for assessment. All these issues are discussed along with illustrative examples.

Multi-Perspective Eco-Efficiency Assessment to Foster Sustainability in Plastic Parts Production

2019 ◽  
pp. 212-249
Author(s):  
Emanuel João Lourenço ◽  
Nuno Moita ◽  
Sílvia Esteves ◽  
Paulo Peças ◽  
Inês Inês Ribeiro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Easy Task ◽  
Normative Documents ◽  
Industrial Companies ◽  
Efficiency Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle Perspective ◽  
Efficiency Performance ◽  
Plastic Parts ◽  
Plastic Injection

The eco-efficiency assessment is a powerful metric to introduce two components of sustainability assessment in the industrial companies' decisions making: the concurrent consideration of economic and environmental performance. The application of the eco-efficiency concept and of the normative documents is not an easy task, mainly because there are myriad environmental related indicator to consider and acquire. This barrier is higher in the realm of plastic injection molding, where each mold is unique, requiring a recurrent effort of data retrieving for such one-of-a-kind molds. To overcome this barrier, an integrated framework to support the eco-efficiency calculation on a life cycle perspective for a specific type of products, injection molds, is proposed in this chapter. It retrieves a small but representative selected set of eco-efficiency performance indicators. A tool was developed to apply the proposed framework and the results of its application to four real industrial case studies is discussed.

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