Search

It is well established that the existing building environmental assessment methods and sustainability assessment methods are intended to foster detailed design stage while there is a need to support early design stages. This research intends to develop a framework that actively supports design development at the formative design stages. The paper reviews the well-established building environmental assessment methods: CASBEE, LEED, BREEAM and GRIHA, and the existing sustainability assessment methods: iiSBE's Sustainable Building Tool (SB Tool), German Sustainable Building Council's Certificate Program (DGNB), Living Building Challenge (LBC) and ARUP's Sustainable Project Assessment Routine SPeAR®. Further, well-known theories of ecological Sustainability are reviewed. The critical points of convergence and divergence of anthropocentric and biocentric approaches are identified to articulate the parameters of sustainability assessment. Specialists in the sustainable built environment assigned weights for assessment parameters (criteria) by applying the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). Their specialist opinions manifest the particular features of the Indian context. The paper delineates the Biocenosis, a novel framework for sustainability assessment of the built environment rooted in the concept of the synergy of nature with social, economic, environmental and cultural benefits for the context of India. It is intended to aid building professionals in the formative design phases as it enables an integrated and comprehensive assessment of the level to which the requirement of a sustainable built environment is satisfied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Travel demand measures on short-term and long-term basis are very much required for handling the vehicular growth and travel demand. This leads to the idea of developing sustainable societies, where the need of the present generation is met without exploiting the resources of future generations. Sustainability has got worldwide importance in this era. Sustainable cities cannot survive without sustainable mobility. Researchers and policy decision makers, all over the world, are employing policies to promote the use of sustainable modes and to increase the shift towards public transport. The selection and implementation of effective policies are a difficult job. The existing level of sustainability has to be assessed in order to make this task effective. Level of sustainability of a city can be assessed using sustainable indicators. This study analyzed the current transportation scenario of a satellite city, Kazhakuttom, in the State of Kerala in southern India using sustainability indicators identified from the literature. The study contributes to the literature by suggesting a methodology in which areas of intervention were identified by analytical hierarchy process (AHP) based on the users' ranking of indicators. The methodology developed in the study can be applied to other cities, since the results from the study are found to be realistic and close to the existing scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India is a major contributor to the global warming of the world, but there persists a prevalent lack of understanding of carbon trading (carbon credit derivative) as a commodity tradable on the stock exchange. The study brings into light the predominant drivers that can lead to the sustainable enhancement of efficacy and efficiency of carbon credit trading in India. The key drivers responsible for the sustainable implementation of the carbon credit derivative trading in India are identified and critically examined. The Analytic Hierarchy Process and Best–Worst Method have been used to rank the factors and sub-factors based on the priority (or weights) provided by the industry experts. The results indicate that the risk factors in the carbon credit derivative market are extremely crucial for enhancing sustainable trading of carbon credit derivatives closely followed by the reward and opportunity factors. The study is the first study which analyses the factors that can lead to the sustainable implementation of carbon credit trading in India. The study also contributes to the organizational strategy that carbon securitization would contribute significantly towards their financial as well as ecological sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study intends to identify, analyse, and evaluate sustainability assessment (SA) methods, along with the critical factors of sustainable manufacturing (SM) practice. Based on the opinion of experts and a literature review, 10 SA methods and 20 critical factors of SM practice were identified and analysed in relation to their optimal selection in sustainable operations. This research uses a fuzzy MULTIMOORA (Multi-Objective Optimisation on the basis of a Ratio Analysis plus the full multiplicative form) to rank SA methods based on the weights of the critical factors of SM practice obtained using a fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP). A case study of the leather processing industry in India describes the use of the technique in practice. The ranks obtained using the AHP-fuzzy MULTIMOORA is compared with those obtained using the best–worst method (BWM)-fuzzy MULTIMOORA. The results reveal that the Index of Social Progress and the Social Life Cycle Assessment are the top two reliable SA methods based on the identified critical factors of SM practice. Among the critical factors, the 'identification of alternative raw materials', 'methane mitigation', and 'opting for re-utilisation' are identified as the prominent critical factors of SM practices. In addition to the critical factors of SM, this study also evaluates SA methods as they help to monitor industrial progress towards sustainability. These findings provide useful insights to practitioners and can help them select optimal and robust SA methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suitability study for potential landfill sites and Solid Waste Management (SWM) is one of the major challenges for city planners. This study was conducted for the upcoming scientific waste management site of Nashik and Environs, Maharashtra, India. As the state nominated the city for the National Smart Cities Mission, the existing landfill site is on the verge of closure. This study aims to identify spatially suitable potential landfill sites. Study based on remote sensing and geographical information system techniques with multi-criteria decision analysis. It considered environmental, socio-economical, and technical criteria to maintain sustainability and improve the standard of living of people nearby vicinity. Fifteen parameters were considered while selecting a potential landfill site. A constructed analytical hierarchy process (AHP) with a consistency ratio of 0.05557 was used to evaluate the weightage of the nine parameters. Restriction buffer analysis was performed on the four parameters, and restricted zones were omitted. For potential site selection, a threshold limit and selection criteria were used. The study identified several potential landfill sites and their suitability within the wasteland. The required landfill area for the coming years is calculated based on the projected population, and the potential landfill site map shows the effectiveness of the proposed method. This systematic study will assist city planners in identifying potential landfill site suitability for environmental sustainability during the selection process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]