Future challenges to asset investment in the UK water industry: the wastewater asset investment risk mitigation offered by minimising principal operating cost risks

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. J. Palmer
Keyword(s):  
Best Practice ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Operating Cost ◽  
Price Volatility ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Water Industry ◽  
Capital Costs ◽  
Practice Approach ◽  
The Uk

This paper defines challenges currently facing the water industry globally that will affect water industry asset investment and development now and in the near future. Those challenges include energy price volatility, climate change regulation, asset capital costs and strategic resource considerations. This paper presents potential answers to these challenges in the context of the UK water industry and described a methodology developed to assess them and provide accurate cost-benefit analysis. A best practice approach which allows sustainable investment to offer water utilities operational efficiency benefits, including cost benefits, is described and the critical elements of the best practice developed by the author identified.

scholarly journals PHYTO-THREATS: Addressing Threats to UK Forests and Woodlands from Phytophthora; Identifying Risks of Spread in Trade and Methods for Mitigation

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1617
Author(s):  
Sarah Green ◽  
David E. L. Cooke ◽  
Mike Dunn ◽  
Louise Barwell ◽  
Bethan Purse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Best Practice ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Phytophthora Species ◽  
Biological Traits ◽  
Net Benefit ◽  
Pests And Diseases ◽  
Horizon Scanning ◽  
The Uk

The multidisciplinary ‘Phyto-threats’ project was initiated in 2016 to address the increasing risks to UK forest and woodland ecosystems from trade-disseminated Phytophthora. A major component of this project was to examine the risk of Phytophthora spread through nursery and trade practices. Close to 4000 water and root samples were collected from plant nurseries located across the UK over a three-year period. Approximately half of the samples tested positive for Phytophthora DNA using a metabarcoding approach with 63 Phytophthora species identified across nurseries, including quarantine-regulated pathogens and species not previously reported in the UK. Phytophthora diversity within nurseries was linked to high-risk management practices such as use of open rather than closed water sources. Analyses of global Phytophthora risks identified biological traits and trade pathways that explained global spread and host range, and which may be of value for horizon-scanning. Phytophthoras having a higher oospore wall index and faster growth rates had wider host ranges, whereas cold-tolerant species had broader geographic and latitudinal ranges. Annual workshops revealed how stakeholder and sector ‘appetite’ for nursery accreditation increased over three years, although an exploratory cost-benefit analysis indicated that the predicted benefits of introducing best practice expected by nurseries outweigh their costs only when a wider range of pests and diseases (for example, Xylella) is considered. However, scenario analyses demonstrated the significant potential carbon costs to society from the introduction and spread of a new tree-infecting Phytophthora: Thus, the overall net benefit to society from nurseries adopting best practice could be substantial.

scholarly journals A cost-benefit analysis model for the retrofit of sustainable urban drainage systems towards improved flood risk mitigation

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 423-439
Author(s):  
Oluwayemi A. Oladunjoye ◽  
David G. Proverbs ◽  
Beck Collins ◽  
Hong Xiao
Keyword(s):  
Flood Risk ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Flood Risk Management ◽  
Urban Drainage ◽  
Benefit Analysis ◽  
Analysis Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Uk

Purpose The Environment Agency estimates that one in six homes in England (approximately 5.2m properties) are at risk from flooding and 185,000 commercial properties are located in flood-prone areas. Further, an estimate of 10,000 new homes are built on flood plains yearly. The UK has witnessed a significant increase in flood events over the past 10 years. During this period, there has been growing research attention into measures to mitigate the effects of flooding, including the benefits of deploying sustainable urban drainage systems (SuDs) in new developments or as a retrofit. The purpose of this paper is to present the development of a cost-benefit analysis model for the retrofit of SuDs focusing on the potential for improved flood risk mitigation in the context of commercial properties. Design/methodology/approach A synthesis of flood risk management and SuDs literature is used to inform the development of a conceptual cost-benefit analysis model for the retrofit of SuDs and focusing on the potential for improved flood risk mitigation in the context of commercial properties. Findings SuDs have been applied successfully in different parts of the world; however, the uptake of SuDs, in particular, the retrofit of SuDs, has been restricted by a number of issues including a lack of experience and trust in their performance and a lack of understanding in their true benefits. In particular, there is the limited experience of retrofitting SuDs and there are no well-established procedures for evaluating the feasibility, value or cost effectiveness of doing this. Social implications This offers the potential to support the UK government’s flood risk management policy by helping to increase the resilience of properties, whilst offering other benefits to communities such as improvements in air quality and biodiversity and also presenting a clearer understanding of the monetary and non-monetary implication to owners of commercial properties for a more informed and acceptable uptake of SuDs retrofit. Originality/value The proposed model will allow a more comprehensive understanding of the costs and associated benefits associated with SuDs retrofit, highlighting the flood risk mitigation benefits that might accrue over a period of time for commercial property.

scholarly journals A Framework for Risk-Based Cost–Benefit Analysis for Decision Support on Hydrogeological Risks in Underground Construction

Geosciences ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 82
Author(s):  
Johanna Merisalu ◽  
Jonas Sundell ◽  
Lars Rosén
Keyword(s):  
Decision Support ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Ground Surface ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Expert Elicitation ◽  
Benefit Analysis ◽  
Underground Construction ◽  
Groundwater Leakage ◽  
Risk Reducing

Construction below the ground surface and underneath the groundwater table is often associated with groundwater leakage and drawdowns in the surroundings which subsequently can result in a wide variety of risks. To avoid groundwater drawdown-associated damages, risk-reducing measures must often be implemented. Due to the hydrogeological system’s inherent variability and our incomplete knowledge of its conditions, the effects of risk-reducing measures cannot be fully known in advance and decisions must inevitably be made under uncertainty. When implementing risk-reducing measures there is always a trade-off between the measures’ benefits (reduced risk) and investment costs which needs to be balanced. In this paper, we present a framework for decision support on measures to mitigate hydrogeological risks in underground construction. The framework is developed in accordance with the guidelines from the International Standardization Organization (ISO) and comprises a full risk-management framework with focus on risk analysis and risk evaluation. Cost–benefit analysis (CBA) facilitates monetization of consequences and economic evaluation of risk mitigation. The framework includes probabilistic risk estimation of the entire cause–effect chain from groundwater leakage to the consequences of damage where expert elicitation is combined with data-driven and process-based methods, allowing for continuous updating when new knowledge is obtained.

scholarly journals The ALARP Principle in the Cost-Benefit Analysis for the Acceptability of Investment Risk

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4668 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Nesticò ◽  
Shuquan He ◽  
Gianluigi De Mare ◽  
Renato Benintendi ◽  
Gabriella Maselli
Keyword(s):  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Economic Evaluations ◽  
Investment Risk ◽  
Benefit Analysis ◽  
Mitigation Design ◽  
The Cost

The process of allocating financial resources is extremely complex—both because the selection of investments depends on multiple, and interrelated, variables, and constraints that limit the eligibility domain of the solutions, and because the feasibility of projects is influenced by risk factors. In this sense, it is essential to develop economic evaluations on a probabilistic basis. Nevertheless, for the civil engineering sector, the literature emphasizes the centrality of risk management, in order to establish interventions for risk mitigation. On the other hand, few methodologies are available to systematically compare ante and post mitigation design risk, along with the verification of the economic convenience of these actions. The aim of the paper is to demonstrate how these limits can be at least partially overcome by integrating, in the traditional Cost-Benefit Analysis schemes, the As Low as Reasonably Practicable (ALARP) logic. According to it, the risk is tolerable only if it is impossible to reduce it further or if the costs to mitigate it are disproportionate to the benefits obtainable. The research outlines the phases of an innovative protocol for managing investment risks. On the basis of a case study dealing with a project for the recovery and transformation of an ancient medieval village into a widespread-hotel, the novelty of the model consists of the characterization of acceptability and tolerability thresholds of the investment risk, as well as its ability to guarantee the triangular balance between risks, costs and benefits deriving from mitigation options.

Public policy issues: Earthquake prediction

1979 ◽  
Vol 69 (5) ◽  
pp. 1533-1547
Author(s):  
Marie-Elisabeth Paté ◽  
Haresh C. Shah
Keyword(s):  
San Francisco ◽  
Earthquake Prediction ◽  
Earthquake Engineering ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Economic Life ◽  
Prediction Program ◽  
Prediction Techniques

abstract The object of this paper is to provide a method of cost-benefit analysis of earthquake prediction as a means of mitigation of earthquake effects. The research in earthquake prediction may or may not be successful and involves an initial cost. Earthquake prediction, if achieved, on the one hand provides society with information which allows it to take protective measures. On the other hand, each prediction involves the costs of those measures and the consequent disruption of economic life. The question is to assess the value of such information in a given state of the prediction technology. The evaluation of a fault-monitoring program and its consequences for the public at the time of predictions is performed over a 50-year period. A rate of growth, a social rate of discount, and a rate of improvement over time of earthquake prediction techniques are assumed. A model “TREE” is developed; it allows computation, for each year, of the expected value of the earthquake prediction information—expected costs minus expected benefits. The life component and the dollar component of the net result are kept separate throughout the evaluation. The final result is an expected cost per life saved through the earthquake prediction program over a 50-year time period. This allows comparison with the results of earthquake engineering and building codes (see Paté, 1978). It also allows comparison with the results obtained in other public sectors involving risk mitigation—health and transportation, for example. A numerical example has been worked out for the case of the San Francisco Bay Area; it gives a first approach to the results that can be expected from a prediction system with different assumptions on the success of research in that field. This paper is based on the doctoral thesis at Stanford University of M-E. Paté, under the supervision of Professor H. C. Shah.

Costing for ALARP

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sirous F. Yasseri ◽  
Peter Menhennett
Keyword(s):  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Benefit Analysis ◽  
Safety Level ◽  
Risk Reduction Measure ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Design Options ◽  
The Cost

A key principle for achieving Tolerable Risk under the UK Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) approach is the reduction of risks to “As Low As Reasonably Practicable” or ALARP. This principle is founded on the ideal of reducing risks to a point of diminishing returns where additional risk reduction would cost “disproportionally” more than the risk reduction benefit achieved. The HSE approach of estimating the degree of disproportionality between the cost and benefits associated with a potential risk reduction measure is a variation of the Cost Effectiveness approach to ALARP Evaluation. A probabilistic cost-benefit analysis method is outlined for evaluating design options and establishing whether the conditions of ALARP are met. This paper demonstrates the value of probabilistic cost-benefit analysis for the selection of a target safety level and also presents an example of its practical application by way of a case history.

scholarly journals What Is the Best Practice Method for Quantifying the Health and Economic Benefits of Active Transport?

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (17) ◽  
pp. 6186
Author(s):  
Holger Möller ◽  
Fiona Haigh ◽  
Rema Hayek ◽  
Lennert Veerman
Keyword(s):  
Active Transport ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Evaluation Method ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Health Benefits ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Road Transport ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Practice Method

The aim of this study was to identify a best practice method to cost the health benefits of active transport for use in infrastructure planning in New South Wales, Australia. We systematically reviewed the international literature covering the concept areas of active transport and cost and health benefits. Original publications describing a method to cost the health benefits of active transport, published in 2000–2019 were included. Studies meeting the inclusion criteria were assessed against criteria identified in interviews with key government stakeholders. A total of 2993 studies were identified, 53 were assessed for eligibility, and 19 were included in the review. The most commonly studied active transport modes were cycling (n = 8) and walking and cycling (n = 6). Exposures considered were physical activity, road transport related injuries and air pollution. The most often applied economic evaluation method was cost benefit analysis (n = 8), and costs were commonly calculated by monetising health outcomes. Based on evaluation of models against the criteria, a Multistate Life Table model was recommended as the best method currently available. There is strong and increasing interest in quantifying and costing the health benefits of active transport internationally. Incorporating health-related economic benefits into existing regulatory processes such as cost benefit analyses could provide an effective way to encourage the non-health sector to include health impacts in infrastructure measures.

Cost benefit analysis of bovine mastitis in the UK

1992 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 449-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harvey S. Beck ◽  
William S. Wise ◽  
Frank H. Dodd
Keyword(s):  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Bovine Mastitis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Clinical Mastitis ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Annual Number ◽  
Financial Benefit ◽  
Precise Knowledge ◽  
Control Procedures ◽  
The Uk

SummaryBovine mastitis reduces the yield and quality of milk and increases the rate of culling and veterinary costs. This reduces the profitability of farm milk production but the calculation of the extent of this economic loss is complex because of the many factors involved and deficiencies in the evidence on the relationship between the disease and various production factors. This paper examines the available evidence for the UK and provides a consistent analytical framework within which the benefits arising from reduced mastitis in dairy herds constrained by quota can be considered. It is estimated that since 1970 the farms that have followed the recommended control procedures have reduced the average annual number of cases of clinical mastitis from 135 to 40 cases/100 cows each year, while the quarters remaining uninfected for a whole year has increased from 65 to 80% of the total quarters. The costs of the main control procedures (e.g. £8–60/cow for dry-cow therapy and teat dipping or spraying) are broadly covered by the reduction in clinical mastitis, leaving the benefits of reduced subclinical infection (e.g. £3810 for a 100 cow herd unconstrained by quota and achieving the average reduction in infection) as a substantial bonus. The imposition of quotas reduces the financial benefit of mastitis control but it still remains a worthwhile investment. The results of this analysis can be used to suggest maximum costs of additional new control measures produced by research. It also indicates that there is considerable value in production research which gives more precise knowledge of production Systems, thus allowing producers to respond optimally to quota cuts.

scholarly journals Techno-Economic Assessment of Polysaccharide Extraction from Baobab: A Scale Up Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 9915
Author(s):  
Maria Dimopoulou ◽  
Vivian Offiah ◽  
Kolawole Falade ◽  
Alan M. Smith ◽  
Vassilis Kontogiorgos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Operating Cost ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Economic Assessment ◽  
Extraction Process ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Selling Price ◽  
Capital Costs ◽  
Technoeconomic Analysis ◽  
A Value ◽  
The Uk

This research studied the commercial exploitation of an indigenous African crop in order to formulate high value products, with a potential significant impact on the local economy. More specifically, the present work investigated the extraction of polysaccharides from baobab in a bench-scale unit, focusing on the overall yield and the techno-economic assessment of the extraction process. Preliminary technoeconomic analysis for two scenarios (with and without ethanol recycling) was performed to determine the economic viability of the process and the development of the baobab market both in Nigeria and the UK. A full economic analysis was undertaken for each of the two scenarios, considering all operating and capital costs, and the production cost of baobab polysaccharides was estimated based on a constant return on investment. Combining the operating cost with the average polysaccharide yield, the minimum profitable selling price in the UK was estimated to be between £23 and £35 per 100 g of polysaccharide, which is comparable to the commercial selling price of high purity polysaccharides. An assessment of a scaled-up plant was also performed under Nigerian conditions and the results showed that such an investment is potentially viable and profitable, with a minimum profitable selling price of £27 per 100 g, a value comparable to the UK-based scenarios.

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