Sustainability Assessment of Public Transport, Part II—Applying a Multi-Criteria Assessment Method to Compare Different Bus Technologies

Many Swedish regional transport authorities want bus fleets driven on renewable fuels. However, it may be difficult to know what technology, or combination of technologies, to choose. There is a need for improved knowledge and supportive methods for sustainability assessments that can support public procurement processes. In the companion article (Part I), a multi-criteria assessment (MCA) method for assessments of public bus technologies’ sustainability was established, consisting of four key areas and 12 indicators. In this article, the purpose is to apply the method established in part I on different bus technologies by looking at a general Swedish case and assessing buses driven on diesel, Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME), ethanol, natural gas, biomethane and electricity. Each technology is assessed on a scale from Very Poor to Very Good according to the indicators: technical maturity, daily operational availability, total cost of ownership, need for investments in infrastructure, cost stability, non-renewable primary energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emission savings, air pollution, noise, local/regional impact on land and aquatic environments, energy security and sociotechnical systems services. The results show the strengths and weaknesses of each technology, which are later discussed. We also critically reflect upon the usefulness and accuracy of the MCA method.

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Sustainability Assessment of Public Transport, Part I—A Multi-Criteria Assessment Method to Compare Different Bus Technologies

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13020825 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 825

Author(s):

Jonas Ammenberg ◽

Sofia Dahlgren

Keyword(s):

Fossil Fuels ◽

Sustainability Assessment ◽

Public Procurement ◽

Assessment Method ◽

County Level ◽

Participatory Process ◽

Problem Context ◽

The Public ◽

Sustainability Performance ◽

Sustainability Assessments

This article departs from the perspective of Swedish regional transport authorities and focuses on the public procurement of bus transports. Many of these public organizations on the county level have the ambition to contribute to a transition involving the continued marginalization of fossil fuels and improved sustainability performance. However, there are several renewable bus technologies to choose between and it can be difficult to know what alternative (or combination) is preferable. Prior research and the authors’ experiences indicate a need for improved knowledge and supportive methods on how sustainability assessments can support public procurement processes. The purpose of this article is to develop a multi-criteria assessment (MCA) method to support assessments of public bus technologies’ sustainability. The method, which was established in an iterative and participatory process, consists of four key areas and 12 indicators. The article introduces the problem context and reviews selected prior research of relevance dealing with green or sustainable public procurement and sustainability assessments. Further on, the process and MCA method are presented and discussed based on advice for effective and efficient sustainability assessments. In the companion article (Part II), the MCA method is applied to assess several bus technologies involving biodiesel, biomethane, diesel, electricity, ethanol and natural gas.

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Life Cycle Assessment of Commercial Delivery Trucks: Diesel, Plug-In Electric, and Battery-Swap Electric

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su10124547 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (12) ◽

pp. 4547 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Lei Yang ◽

Caixia Hao ◽

Yina Chai

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Assessment Method ◽

Ghg Emission ◽

Total Cost Of Ownership ◽

Cost Of Ownership ◽

Light Duty ◽

Frequency Of Use ◽

Diesel Trucks

The development of electric delivery trucks has attracted much attention in recent years. The purpose of this study is to assess the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the total cost of ownership (TCO) of light-duty and medium-duty diesel trucks (DTs), plug-in electric trucks (ETs), and battery-swap ETs. A simplified life cycle assessment (LCA) method and a TCO assessment method are used. Numerical results show that the average GHG emission of light-duty ETs is 69% lower than that of light-duty DTs, while that of medium-duty ETs is 9.8% higher than that of medium-duty DTs. As regards TCO, those of plug-in ETs and battery-swap ETs are 37.8% lower and 21% higher than that of light-duty DTs, while for medium-duty trucks, the TCO of plug-in and battery-swap ETs are 6.7% lower and 18.9% higher than that of medium-duty DTs. The main conclusion of this paper is that light-duty plug-in ETs exhibit the best performance in terms of cost saving and GHG emission reduction. Moreover, ETs show more advantages than DTs when the frequency of use is higher or when the driving environment is more congested.

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Fuel Cell Drive for Urban Freight Transport in Comparison to Diesel and Battery Electric Drives – a Case Study of the Food Retailing Industry in Berlin

10.20944/preprints202105.0170.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

John Kenneth Winkler ◽

Alexander Grahle ◽

Anne Magdalene Syré ◽

Kai Martins-Turner ◽

Dietmar Göhlich

Keyword(s):

Energy Demand ◽

Primary Energy ◽

Freight Transport ◽

Base Case ◽

Food Retailing ◽

Total Cost Of Ownership ◽

Urban Freight ◽

Primary Energy Demand ◽

Cost Of Ownership ◽

Urban Freight Transport

The option of decarbonizing urban freight transport using Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) seems promising.However, there is currently a strong debate whether Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) might be the bettersolution. The question arises as to how a fleet of FCEV influences the operating cost, the Greenhouse Gas(GHG) emissions and primary energy demand in comparison to BEVs and to Internal Combustion EngineVehicle (ICEV). To investigate this, we simulate the urban food retailing as a representative share of urbanfreight transport using a multi-agent transport simulation software. Synthetic routes as well as fleet size andcomposition are determined by solving a Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP). We compute the operating costsusing a total cost of ownership (Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)) analysis and the use phase emissions as wellas primary energy demand using the Well To Wheel (WTW) approach. While a change to BEV results in 17 -23% higher costs compared to ICEV, using FCEVs leads to 22 - 57% higher costs. Assuming today’s electricitymix, we show a GHG emission reduction of 25% compared to the ICEV base case when using BEV. Currenthydrogen production leads to a GHG reduction of 33% when using FCEV which however cannot be scaled tolarger fleets. Using current electricity in electrolysis will increase GHG emission by 60% compared to the basecase. Assuming 100% renewable electricity for charging and hydrogen production, the reduction from FCEVsrises to 73% and from BEV to 92%. The primary energy requirement for BEV is in all cases lower and forhigher compared to the base case. We conclude that while FCEV have a slightly higher GHG savings potentialwith current hydrogen, BEV are the favored technology for urban freight transport from an economic andecological point of view, considering the increasing shares of renewable energies in the grid mix.

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Application of Lifecycle Measures for an Integrated Method of Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Radio Frequency Identification and Wireless Sensor Networks

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14102794 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (10) ◽

pp. 2794

Author(s):

Aldona Kluczek ◽

Bartlomiej Gladysz ◽

Krzysztof Ejsmont

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Radio Frequency ◽

Radio Frequency Identification ◽

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Sustainability Assessment ◽

Assessment Method ◽

Integrated Method ◽

Frequency Identification ◽

Low Degrees ◽

Sustainability Assessments

Internet of Things (IoT) technology has advanced in recent years, leading to improvements of manufacturing processes. As a result of such improvements, environmental sustainability assessments for technologies have been requested by international control agencies. Although various assessment approaches are widely applied, IoT technology requires effective assessment methods to support the decision-making process and that incorporate qualitative measures to create quantifiable values. In this paper, a new environmental sustainability assessment method is developed to assess radio frequency identification (RFID) and wireless sensors networks (WSN). This integrated assessment method incorporates a modified and redesigned conceptual methodology based on technical project evaluation (IMATOV) and an extension of conventional lifecycle measures. The results shows the most and least important metrics. The most important metrics are the categories “electronic devices disposed of completely” and “decrease in stocks”, with the greatest GWFs (20% and 19%, respectively) and IAVs (127% and 117%, respectively) and moderate consolidated degrees of fulfillment. Relatively low degrees of fulfillment are achieved by categories such as “decrease in numbers of assets”, “supply chain echelons benefiting RFID”, and “tag lifecycle duration”, with IAVs below 10%. This study promotes an integrated method to support decision-making processes in the context of environmental sustainability assessments based on lifecycle measures.

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An indicator-based sustainability assessment method for indigenous communities: a case study from Mexico

Environment Development and Sustainability ◽

10.1007/s10668-021-01567-x ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jessica Molina Maturano ◽

Luz A. García Serrano ◽

Juan A. Carmona García ◽

Mayela A. García de Alva Magos ◽

Anna M. Hersperger

Keyword(s):

Sustainability Assessment ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Indigenous Communities ◽

Assessment Method ◽

Access To Health Services ◽

Complementary Approach ◽

Assessment Approach ◽

Development Plans ◽

Regional Projects ◽

Sustainability Assessments

AbstractIndigenous and Western communities are faced with increasing issues of sustainability compromising their natural resources and cultural heritage, for example, a cross-pollination/complementary approach in relation to their current knowledge systems and discourses on sustainability. There is a need for methods that integrate different discourses relating to sustainability to identify the most pressing needs in terms of sustainability. Sustainability assessments are a type of impact assessment that focus on enhanced sustainability both now and in the future; however, the literature on indigenous sustainability assessment methods, is scarce. To address this gap, we have developed a novel Sustainability Assessment method for Indigenous Communities (SAIC). The SAIC method combines Western and indigenous sustainability objectives and principles, in order to extend the range of options for action to address sustainability. The SAIC method consists of two sections (i) values and considerations and (ii) procedure. The “values and considerations” section establishes the fundamental participatory and ethical considerations for conducting sustainability assessments in indigenous communities, and the “procedure” section establishes a set of 55 indicators in eight categories. The method was tested in a Zapotec, indigenous community in México. Results show that this community was rated highly in all eight categories. However, indicators for family planning and access to health services were rated poorly. The identified issues can be used as guidelines for decision making in future regional projects and development plans. The results reveal further areas for improvement, such as strengthening the links to national or international networks and increasing the use of renewable energies. The method presented in this paper provides an assessment approach based on Western and indigenous sustainability discourses, which is suitable for assessing indigenous communities.

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