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The research works to highlight the importance of sustainability and its role in raising the efficiency of commercial centers and upgrading them to achieve optimal performance in terms of environmental, functional, economic and construction terms to achieve the desired goals and help in attracting the largest number of users and achieving the largest possible percentage of profits, as commercial buildings are an important element of attraction Which, in turn, is reflected in contributing to raising the national economy, by explaining the concepts related to sustainability, starting from identifying sustainable development strategies, leading to sustainability in the commercial environment, to extract the standards that must be met in commercial buildings to achieve sustainability, a case study of the Guangzhou Taiko Building in China and analyzed through sustainability criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper aims to propose a framework by which decision-makers can evaluate and compare alternatives for sustainable island-based tourism development. The uncertainties and risks involved in information and judgment within the evaluation process were taken into account by using a hybrid approach, which combined the Delphi method, fuzzy set theory, and a discrete multi-criteria method based on prospect theory called TODIM (an acronym in Portuguese of interactive and multiple-criteria decision making). The decision making model examined 3 different techniques for aggregating the viewpoints of different decision-makers and explored how the aggregation technique would affect the ranking of the alternatives. To demonstrate the potential application of the proposed approach, it was examined for the development of Hendourabi Island (Iran) for tourism. Results showed that among the 3 alternative development plans, decision-makers preferred the medium-size development alternative, since it offered a balance between benefits of tourism market and costs of project development under an uncertain future. It also allowed for adaptive management. Results also showed that the proposed approach, which reduced loss regret in decision-making under uncertain future, could be used effectively for planning the island development under an uncertain dynamic future considering the risk and uncertainty associated with human judgment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of integrated indicators that take into account economic, environmental and social criteria remains one of the most relevant aspects of evaluating the sustainability of development. Inequality of development leads eventually to lower rates of economic growth and requires a detailed analysis of socio-environmental criteria in their interconnection with economic growth. The coefficient of decoupling is one of the development indicators which reflects economic and environmental aspects of regional development and is widely used today in Russian and foreign practices. The possibility of using this approach is analyzed by the example of one of the most developed regions of Russia – Republic of Tatarstan. The analysis of statistical data on economic development in the number of Middle Volga regions and its influence on the environment allows concluding that the effect of decoupling is typical for all studied regions. At the same time, the differentiation of the coefficient values of decoupling by the administrative districts of Tatarstan has shown the need for further research. The choice of indicators (such as gross regional product, volume of emissions into atmosphere, discharges into water bodies, etc.) for calculating the decoupling coefficient, which reflect the degree of anthropogenic load on natural environment, must be adjusted in accordance to the type of regional nature use. Working out the methodological approaches to solution of this problem will facilitate a more correct evaluation of the decoupling effect, taking into account environmental, economic and social aspects of development to adjust the goals of sustainable development at the regional level.

Highway infrastructure projects always have negative impacts on the sustainable development objectives. However, the construction of these projects will not be stopped due to their importance for the fulfillment of the nations' economic, social and civilization development. Hence, it is necessary to find solutions for improving their performance toward the sustainability approach. One of these solutions is to quantify the highway projects' sustainability before starting in their execution. This will guide the decision-makers to adopt the suitable alternative and policy for the development of sustainable highway infrastructure. Previous studies did not adequately integrate the sustainable development dimensions in the construction of highway infrastructure projects, which represents an obstacle to the effective evaluation of highway projects' sustainability. Addressing this issue, this research proposes an integrated index capable of appraising the sustainability performance of highway projects. The research data were collected from a questionnaire survey conducted with Egyptian experts with lengthy experience in the construction of highway infrastructure projects. Fuzzy set theory and the analytic hierarchy process were utilized to develop the composite highway sustainability index (CHSI). A case study was conducted to elucidate application of CHSI. The study offers the decision-makers an effective methodology to assess the sustainability of their highway infrastructure projects in early planning phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Stakeholder's position of bioenergy sustainability is important for the deployment and contribution of bioenergy to sustainable development. Existing publications are usually limited to specific geographical contexts and focuses. This paper aims more broadly to examine the position and vision of a wider range of stakeholder groups towards bioenergy and its development at a global level. Method: The applied methodology includes six steps: (1) identification of stakeholders as belonging to one of seven groups; (2) describing the role of each group in relation to bioenergy; (3) data collection via an online questionnaire, roundtable dialogues and interviews to examine their stated awareness and opinions of bioenergy development, driver and barriers to such development; (4) data analysis; (5) comparison of interests and influence as a basis for expressing position and vision; and (6) recommendations for gaining support for sustainable bioenergy development. Results: The stakeholders state awareness of bioenergy development and have in general a positive view of the sector. They also inform that the general public is less aware of and not sufficiently involved in bioenergy development. Internet and social media are the most consulted sources of information but least trusted, while scientific information is most trusted but least used. Agricultural residues, energy crops cultivated on marginal or degraded land and forestry residues are widely accepted as feedstocks for bioenergy production, whereas use of agricultural land is viewed critically. The stakeholders generally support bioenergy development when jointly agreed sustainability requirements are met. Conclusions: The stakeholders acknowledge the important role of effectively disseminating scientific information as an influencing factor on the position towards bioenergy. They also find that enhancing support for the bioenergy sector relies on mandatory sustainability requirements covering social, economic and environmental aspects, applied to all types of biomass regardless of end use. Some also emphasise that all relevant sectors should work on market conditions to create a level playing field and that this is crucial to change stakeholders' position to gain more social acceptance of bioenergy. Transparency in demonstrating compliance with sustainability criteria is also an expected pre-condition to enhance support for bioenergy (and ultimately the bioeconomy) in the long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Objective: the present study aims to analyze the application of sustainability criteria in bidding processes for the acquisition of consumables in a federal public university, located in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul state. Methodology/approach: a documentary research was conducted in the biddings carried out over the years of 2016 and 2017 that had as objective the acquisition of consumable materials, using keywords to filter these processes. Thus, it was possible to verify the types of sustainable items that were being acquired and their characteristics. Originality/relevance: the study is relevant considering that it was only in recent years that the Brazilian legislation included sustainability in public contracting, and it is important to analyze which criteria are being effectively used. Main results: the results indicate the predominance of requirements of environmental sustainability criteria, followed by criteria of social sustainability and, finally, criteria of economic sustainability. Items requiring sustainability criteria accounted for just over seven percent of the total items analyzed. Contributions: the work contributed to a better understanding of the sustainability criteria most used by the institution, as well as presented methodological contributions for future studies that use the federal government procurement system as a database. Conclusion: it was concluded that the institution is mainly concerned with complying with specific legislation, with few initiatives regarding the acquisition of sustainable products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Identification of sustainability criteria / indicators for smart cities. • Quantification of sustainability criteria weights from multi expert judgement. • An integrated fuzzy AHP, VIKOR early defuzzification / DEA for ranking of sectoral investments. • Comparison of sectoral investments against criteria using decomposition efficiency. • Judicious decision making for sectoral investment to reach frontier efficiency. Abstract The 2030 agenda for sustainable development calls for a holistic approach. It needs to tackle multidimensional aspects such as poverty, inequality, inclusivity, skill development to name a few. In this paper, a multi expert multi criteria decision making approach is adopted using fuzzy AHP, VIKOR and DEA. The weights of the criteria are determined using fuzzy AHP and it is found that basic amenities is the most important (0.21) followed by environmental concern (0.18). Fuzzy VIKOR early defuzzification is used to rank the various sectors based on the importance of sustainability criteria. Science & technology is ranked first followed by rural development. Considering the investment made in each sector, fuzzy AHP DEA indicates water resources, river development & environment lies in the frontier efficiency region. The DEA analysis reveals that basic amenities, environment concern and governance system need to be focused upon for improving the efficiency score of science & technology from 92.2% to reach the frontier line efficiency. The integrated fuzzy AHP VIKOR presents the ranking considering only the sustainability criteria while fuzzy AHP DEA highlights whether the national investment is in tune with the sustainability criteria for sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biofuels have expanded across the globe, generating a range of concerns in the places of production. One approach to controlling the effects of biofuel production has been sustainability standards. This article takes a 'seeing like' approach to analyse how the EU Sustainability standard contributes to narrowing the vision of what sustainable biofuels are. Six biofuel cases in Africa are examined through the lens of the standard, using remote sensing to investigate the criteria on land use and canopy cover change. The standard view is also compared to on ground views regarding the sustainability of the projects. The effects of seeing like the EU standard are two: 1) diluted seeing, which prioritises global environmental problems over more nuanced social and institutional aspects; and 2) distributed seeing, which transforms standardised sustainable biofuels into multiple, uncertain forms because of hybrid governance. High carbon losses due to biofuel projects were detected, but at the same time, the standard simplifies and skips over wider problems related to unsustainable biofuel projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development has become an universal phrase and the area of many policy initiatives, especially those regarding environmental organizations. The revision of the dimensions of sustainable development gives vital support to develop and implement indicators for them. The dimensions of sustainable development are inseparable and mutually reinforcing. Sustainable development actions depend on complexity and working with different interests of environment and development. It is impossible to predict what needs future generations will have. The obligation of the current generation is both to use and protect the world resources in ways that meet human development opportunities more justifiably today, but which do not exclude choices for such actions tomorrow. The aim of the research is to analyse the dimensions of sustainable development. More deeply, the research tasks are to outline the hierarchical organization of sustainable development criteria and indicators and to create a new paradigm of sustainable development dimensions. The methods of research are monographic, quantitative, deductive, and inductive. The key result: a new paradigm of sustainable development dimensions is created. Sustainable development is a concept, possibly surrounding closely every aspect of human society. The meaning of the dimensions of sustainable development is all the time in progress. There is a new approach to the dimensions given in the research. Sustainability could be understood better in terms of “here and now”, “later” and “elsewhere”. The existence of sustainability criteria guarantees sustainability in the long perspective. It can be suggested that the sustainability criteria analysis and their practical use could be further developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Companies are increasingly encouraged to frame their sustainability activities and communication around ecological limits, as captured by concepts such as planetary boundaries, climate tipping points or regenerative capacity. Ecological limits may serve as scientific basis for defining environmental sustainability targets at the company level and, moreover, inspire companies to align their product portfolios with emerging societal needs related to sustainable transformations. Although corporate environmental reporting is widely researched, little attention has, hitherto, been given to company use of the ecological limits concepts in stakeholder communication. This study presents a comprehensive review of references made to ecological limits in corporate responsibility (CR) reports in 2000–2014. An exhaustive list of terms related to ecological limits was developed and used to search the CorporateRegister database, which contained approximately 40,000 CR reports from this time period. For every identified reference, we analyzed the context in which the ecological limit term was used in the CR report. We found a 10-fold increase in the number of references made to ecological limits in CR reports during the period 2000–2014. The number of CR reports published in this time period has also increased at a similar rate. Hence, the proportion of companies referring to ecological limits in their CR reports has over the years remained stable; roughly 5%. The most commonly invoked ecological limits were related to climate change and references to “2°C” were by far the most frequent. The vast majority of companies referring to ecological limits did so without specific references to ongoing or planned changes in their activities as a consequence of recognizing these limits. Only a small percentage, predominately high-tech companies (31 in total), explicitly used ecological limits to define targets for resource consumption, emissions reductions and/or as a stated reason for adjusting their product portfolio. In defining targets for resource consumption or emissions, only a few CR reports dealt explicitly with the issue of allocating resource and emission rights within ecological limits amongst companies and other actors. A longitudinal study of three companies showed that these did not directly report progress towards planned changes based on ecological limits and offered explanations as to why some companies abandoned planned changes altogether. Our findings provide novel insights into the current use of the ecological limits concept by companies and may be useful for actors trying to motivate companies to align their activities with the finite nature of Earth's natural systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental responsibility in school has led to the emergence of a variety of criteria to administer green schools' contributions to sustainability. Sustainability criteria of administrative green schools need validity, reliability and norms. The aim of the current study was to develop and validate assessment criteria for green schools in Iran based on the role of academia. A national survey was conducted to obtain data on sustainability criteria initiatives for green schools and the Iranian profile was defined. An initial pool of 71 items was generated and after its first edition, 63 items were selected to comprise the sustainability criteria. Engineering-architectural and behavioral aspects of this sustainability criteria were evaluated through a sample of 1218 graduate students with environmental degrees from Iran's universities. Exploratory factor analysis using principal components and promax rotation method showed that these 9 criteria have simple structures and are consistent with the theoretical framework. The reliability coefficients of subscales ranged between 0.62 (participation) and 0.84 (building location and position). The study's survey of correlation coefficients between items and subscales illustrated that those coefficients varied between 0.24 and 0.68. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measuring biofuel sustainability requires dealing with a wide variety of complex and conflicting values at stake. Consequently, the biofuel capacity to contribute to one specific value cannot lead to any absolute conclusion about the overall sustainability of biofuel. The scope of the sustainability concept may vary depending on individuals’ preferences, the time scale and the geographical region. Based on the 5 pillars sustainability concept that includes social, economic, environmental, legal and cultural considerations, the present study proposes to assess several biofuel sustainability options for France by 2030 through a stakeholder-driven approach. Rather than seeking to reach a consensus, our approach allows us to capture the wide diversity of stakeholders’ perspectives and preferences. French stakeholders perceive 22 different sustainability criteria for biofuels with a very low level of agreement between the different segments of professions (feedstock producers, biofuel producers, refining industry, fuel distributors, car manufacturers, end-users, government and NGOs). In order to operationalize the sustainability assessment, a set of indicators has been identified with stakeholders that allows us to measure the capacity of biofuels to fulfill each of their criteria. Seventeen biofuel options were assessed with regards to economic, social, environmental, cultural and legal considerations, allowing the identification of the strengths and weaknesses of each biofuel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Debates regarding sustainable management have become notorious, significant and pertinent to contemporary society. This perspective is justified by the fact that modern management should address concerns of a fully aware audience regarding limits to be imposed on the use of natural/cultural resources and the negative impact of operations on the environment and on society and individuals. Undoubtedly, this assumption is even more important in industries where the power of socioenvironmental, cultural and economic transformation is increasingly latent, such as in the case of hotels. First, this article introduces a bibliometric analysis that exposes sustainable criteria verified in current management models, which allows for an identification among hotel companies for a predisposition for environmental and external social responsibility. Second, a primary contribution lies in structuring more holistic criteria, integrated in the internal/external hotel organizational background, in a manner that will enable organizations to help protect the environment as well as sociocultural, political and economic aspects of society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability criteria used for decision support in the product innovation process and aligned throughout the design process is one key element to efficiently introduce a sustainability perspective early in product development. The aim of this paper is to present an approach for identifying such sustainability criteria and to suggest a process for how these can be developed in any manufacturing company. The sustainability criteria are presented in a set of matrices, separating the criteria into product life-cycle phases and socio-ecological sustainability principles. In addition the paper presents a qualitative measurement scale for the criteria, called a sustainability compliance index that indicates to what degree a product or process concept performs in relation to a sustainable solution. The sustainability criteria were tested in different settings at a case company within the aerospace industry to give a first indication and evaluation of the ability to give guidance and support in bringing in a sustainability perspective when developing, evaluating and selecting different concepts in the early phases of product development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve decision-making, sustainability-based approaches to assessment of options and undertakings demand that we move beyond narrowly defined considerations to address the full suite of requirements for progress towards sustainability. This paper reports on a sustainability assessment exercise that originally focused on burning agricultural residues, primarily peanut shells, for cooking applications in Senegal. The scope of assessment had to be expanded to address the agricultural and energy systems of Senegal, when closer examination revealed a complex set of energy and agricultural system interactions that could undermine the anticipated positive effects of initiatives centred primarily on peanut residue cookstoves. The case highlights the need to be open to expanding the scope of assessment to address underlying and/or unexpected issues that cannot be addressed appropriately at the project scale. In particular, the case illustrates how the assessment of an energy system may serve as an entry point into a deeper exploration of the context in which the energy system is embedded. The analysis also illustrates a situation in which different paths that may be followed, each with its own degree of uncertainty, path dependence, feasibility, fairness, cultural sensitivity, trade-off acceptability and possibilities for public judgement of overall desirability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing building stock has an immense impact on preserving a social, economic and ecologic sustainability – especially in Central Europe with low rates of new construction. This paper focuses on life-cycle based renovation strategies considering not only structural and thermal refurbishment, but also the social aspects of an ageing society needs, as well as a preservation of cultural heritage. For a case study of a specific housing block of the Red Vienna historic period, several refurbishment variants were developed and evaluated in a quantitative as well as qualitative way for the economic (life cycle costs and yields), ecologic (CO 2 emissions) and socio-cultural impacts (monument protection, accessibility, assisted living). According to the research, there are great potentials in structural refurbishment of the building stock for support of assisted living models. These prove to be substantially more cost efficient than the institutional care, providing a better comfort for the inhabitants, as well as the necessary social mix by a trans-generation housing in the social housing facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – From a continuous improvement perspective, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the levels of maturity attained by organisations in reporting their supply chain (as well as non-supply chain) sustainability initiatives. It also investigates the extent to which supply chain sustainability (SCS) disclosure varies between different business sectors, as well as the degree of interconnection between various sustainability criteria. Subsequently, it proposes an improvement framework for reporting and implementing sustainability initiatives across the supply chain. Design/methodology/approach – To carry out this investigation, corporate sustainability reports of selected companies in ten different industries are downloaded and assessed. The paper uses content analysis and principal component analysis to study the disclosure maturity levels of the different industrial sectors. Findings – The paper's results show that the disclosure maturity level is higher in business-to-consumer industries than in business-to-business industries on both the social and environmental dimensions. The paper also shows that the highly polluting energy sector is the least advanced in disclosing SCS initiatives. Generally speaking, there is no clear pattern in the way organisations disclose sustainability information. The conclusion is that sustainability disclosure is not yet homogeneously structured across different business sectors and organisations are yet to attain the "adult" maturity age. Originality/value – Very few researchers can claim to have investigated the maturity levels of SCS disclosure from a continuous improvement perspective. This is probably due to the absence of a universally accepted framework that clearly defines the scope of sustainability. The paper tries to fill this gap by proposing a framework that would not only help researchers to study SCS and stakeholders to read sustainability reports, but would also enable practitioners to improve the quality and reliability of the data disclosed, especially as they apply to the supply chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Commercial interest in land (large-scale land acquisition, LaSLA) in developing countries is a hot topic for debate and its potential consequences are contentious: proponents conceive of it as much needed investment into the formerly neglected agricultural sector while opponents point to severe social and environmental effects. This contribution discusses, if and how sustainability standards and codes of conduct can contribute towards governing LaSLA. Based on the WCED-definition we develop a conception of sustainability that allows framing potential negative effects as issues of intra- and intergenerational justice. In a second step we specify these claims of justice, drawing on a human rights approach as well as three guidelines for sustainable development, namely, efficiency, consistency and resilience, to arrive at six guidelines for social and environmental sustainability criteria of LaSLA. We compare our suggestions with existing proposals for sustainability standards of LaSLA and with the certification schemes for sustainable production of bioenergy. From this we draw lessons for development and implementation of sustainability standards for LaSLA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Product development and manufacturing continues to be a profound contributor to the socio-ecological problems and challenges we are facing in our world today. For products to contribute to sustainability requires not only that socio-ecological lifecycle impacts are considered in the initial stages of the product innovation process, but that they are maintained as integral product requirements. Although research offers a plethora of approaches, methods, and tools for sustainable product development, the implementation in industry remains low. The focus of this research is a less explored area of sustainable product development implementation, the management of needs identification and propagation of design requirements. The purpose is to: i) add to state of knowledge about current practices of sustainability integration into requirements, and ii) the academic discussion on implementation of sustainable design and product development. A self-assessment approach for sustainability integration into requirements is tested. The purpose of the approach is to support improvement of the requirements management process design, including activities and competencies, for engineering design. Four Swedish product development and manufacturing companies tested the approach, from which the results are used to evaluate usefulness, usability, and effect potential. The findings are discussed together with key characteristics for requirements and sustainability criteria, providing insights to ensure that socio-ecological considerations are both influencing the initial requirement specification, and maintained as decision parameters throughout the product development process. • Key areas of management of sustainability integration into product requirements are proposed. • Evaluates a self-assessment approach for sustainability integration into requirements. • Discusses implementation of sustainable product development approaches. • Examples from sustainability integration at four Swedish product development companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 1992 Rio World Summit on Environment and Development/UNCED), water resources are indicated to remain at the core of sustainable development and, thus, they are to be managed and developed on a sustainable basis. Sustainability is a philosophical concept and thus difficult to measure. Yet, we need to describe it on rather precise terms to assess whether our water management practices are sustainable and to ensure sustainability in decision making for management. To this end, a number of sustainability criteria have been defined, based on quantifiable measures, without overlooking immeasurable aspects of sustainable development. This paper considers economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainability as the basic criteria to be pursued in evaluating how effective our water management plans are in achieving sustainability. On the other hand, actual case studies are needed to test the usefulness of selected criteria by using computer-based interactive optimization and simulation models with associated databases embedded into a decision support system (DSS). The study herein intends to present such a case study based on economic, social and environmental criteria to assess sustainability in management of the Gediz River Basin in Turkey. Various management scenarios developed for the basin are evaluated within a DSS while ensuring multi-stakeholder involvement in defining the three sustainability criteria. The case study is a result of the analyses carried out in SMART (Sustainable Management of Scarce Resources in the Coastal Zone) and OPTIMA (Optimization for Sustainable Water Resources Management) projects funded respectively by the 5 and 6 Framework Programmes of the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT In the sustainability discourse we find much disagreement about the idea of sustainability resulting in the unsatisfactory situation that this idea is limited by arbitrariness and therefore looses its action guiding power. Examining various strategies to solve this challenge we argue for a meta-perspective. In the central part of this paper we describe a formal framework for conceptions of sustainability consisting of fundamental and practical modules. Subsequently, we critically compare this framework with alternative meta-approaches, in particular with the 'Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development'. We conclude that the problem of arbitrariness is encountered on three different levels; in the designation of the subject field of the sustainability debate, in the characterisation of sustainability science and indirectly in providing a basis to assess policies. This underlines the framework's usefulness of structuring the discourse on sustainability. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The EUBIONET III project has boosted (i) sustainable, transparent international biomass fuel trade, (ii) investments in best practice technologies and (iii) new services on biomass heat sector. Furthermore, it identified cost-efficient and value-adding use of biomass for energy and industry. The aims of this article are to provide a synthesis of the key results of this project. Estimated annual solid biomass potential in the EU-27 is almost 6600PJ (157Mtoe), of which 48% is currently utilised. The greatest potential for increased use lies in forest residues and herbaceous biomass. Trade barriers have been evaluated and some solutions suggested such as CN codes for wood pellets and price indexes for industrial wood pellets and wood chips. The analysis of wood pellet and wood chip prices revealed large difference amongst EU countries, but also that on the short term prices of woody and fossil fuels are barely correlated. Sustainable production and use of solid biomass are also deemed important by most European stakeholders, and many support the introduction of harmonised sustainability criteria, albeit under a number of preconditions. The study identified also that a number of woody and agro-industrial residue streams remain un- or underutilised. The estimated European total potential of agro-industrial sources is more than 250PJ (7.2Mtoe), the amount of unutilised woody biomass (the annual increment of growing stock) even amounts to 3150PJ (75Mtoe). Finally 35 case studies of biomass heating substituting fossil fuels were carried out, showing that the potential to reduce GHG emissions ranges between 90 and 98%, while costs are very similar to fossil fuel heating systems. Overall, we conclude that solid biomass is growing strongly, and is likely to heavily contribute to the EU renewable energy targets in the coming decade. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The ecosystem services criteria for strategic decision-making combine conceptualisation and concrétisation of ecologically sustainable development. A concrete basis for the mea-surement, valuation, and assessment of ecological sustainability was created through the development of two-level criteria for ecosystem services, which were linked to indicators based on spatial and statistical data from the Monitoring System of Spatial Structure (MSSS) and the CORINE Land Cover database. The criteria were designed for middle-sized urban regions because urban areas face the greatest land changes, threats, and management and co-operation needs related to maintenance of ecosystem services. Two urban regions were piloting the criteria in an iterative process between researchers and project groups of urban planners. Data availability and poor capacity to deliver data for the regions affected the choice of final indicators. This highlights the need for development of planning tools for practical planning and impact assessment for ecological sustainability of all urban regions. INSETS: Box 1. The proportion of land areas suitable for recreation;Box 2: The percentage of inhabitants living no more than …;Box 3: The proportion of forests and mires in the urban region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Emphasizing that sustainable development, health, social security and renewable energy sources implementation are inextricably linked, paper examines the state of the art of building''s health and sustainability relevant technologies. Sustainability definitions, relevant criteria and indicators related to healthy buildings have been searched and studied. Reviewed is the wide range of physically sound interdisciplinary research, results of which are new knowledge and developed synergetic analytical/experimental methods that lead to a sustainable, healthy, comfortable/productive indoor and outdoor environment. Research and knowledge based building intelligence and e-automation are elucidated as crucial technologies and techniques for design, construction and operation of sustainable buildings. Study shows, that qualitative relations and relevant comparative evaluation methods between indoor environmental quality and work performance or health, and further relation of both to the energy and energy efficiency, are not enough neither known nor searched. Initiated research is devoted to the healthy and sustainable buildings relevant performance modeling, evaluation methods and metrics investigation, and determination of all relevant interdependent relations, as well as determination of the relevant synergetic sustainability criteria and indicators. Initial results of related research are presented. Further research needs are outlined, drawing the attention on the role of harmony and interdisciplinarity in synergetic buildings health/sustainability study. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper addresses the future potential of biofuel production in agriculture, with a particular view to its implementation in agriculture in Europe. After a brief account of recent developments, an exploratory meta-analysis is presented in order to assess the effectiveness of biofuel production from the perspective of several relevant policy criteria. Next, various scenarios are outlined and evaluated by means of a multi-criteria analysis, so as to judge the feasibility of various biofuel production options. The paper concludes with some policy lessons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: There are numerous ways to assess and compare biofuels. Gross energy per hectare reflects the quantity of product produced per unit of land. Net energy per hectare reflects the parasitic demand associated with the product per hectare. Gross and net energy per hectare are far superior for grass biomethane than rape seed biodiesel. For a biofuel made from residues the descriptor (MJ of biofuel produced per GJ of fossil fuel displaced) is more instructive; this reflects the relative efficiency of the biofuel. Of issue in the assessment is how to deal with co-products, by-products and residues. The allocation methodology allows for a variety of answers to be generated. UCO biodiesel has a good energy balance for any allocation approach; tallow biodiesel has a poor net energy unless credit is given for the co-production of meat and bone meal as a substitute fuel. To be deemed sustainable by the EU Renewable Energy Directive a value of 60% GHG savings is required for facilities built post 2017. A further crucial consideration is: how much fuel can be produced? This study shows that indigenous biodiesel produced in Ireland and grass biomethane may be deemed sustainable but only grass biomethane may produce a significant quantity, potentially satisfying the 10% renewable energy in transport target for 2020 as opposed to only 1.23% in total from all indigenous biodiesel systems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Sustainability assessments are an increasingly common tool for measuring progress towards sustainable development. Despite their popularity, sustainability assessments and the indicators that compose them are said to have had little impact on the policy arena. In this paper we discuss four attributes that we contend will improve the use of sustainability assessments to guide decision making: non-compartmentalization, site specificity, built-in guidance for target setting, and ability to measure active sustainability. We present a novel assessment tool for wastewater treatment infrastructure that illustrates these attributes. The assessment is composed of two-dimensional indicators we call “burden to capacity” ratios, that reveal and quantify the local value of resources embodied in wastewater and treatment byproducts, and the tradeoffs between designing systems for disposal versus reuse. We apply the sustainability assessment framework to an existing treatment plant in Chengdu, China and discuss the results. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Sustainable property (real estate) funds (S-REFs) have started to enter international finance markets. An investigation in the German-speaking parts of Switzerland examined two key questions: (1) the sustainability criteria that institutional real estate investors and real estate fund (REF) suppliers regard as important for the market success of S-REFs; and (2) how they assess the market acceptance of such funds. Focus groups were conducted to define sustainability components for S-REFs from a market success perspective. A questionnaire study was then undertaken to assess the two key questions. Factor analysis identified four independent sustainability factors: (1) building materials and energy; (2) expenses, return, and flexibility; (3) green space design; and (4) landscape and natural ecology. In the factor analysis, the set of criteria relating to sustainable social infrastructure did not form an independent factor. In total, 76% of the responding institutional investors decided on an S-REF investment, and 38% reported accepting return shortfalls against the REF benchmark. The market acceptance of S-REFs by institutional investors depends on cognitive drivers, institutional context, age, and family status of investors. These results can inform the design of S-REFs, marketing strategies, and sustainability ratings. Des fonds de placement immobilier durable ont commence a penetrer les marches financiers internationaux. Une enquete effectuee dans les regions germanophones de la Suisse a examine deux questions cles: (1) les crite`res de durabilite que les investisseurs immobiliers institutionnels et les fournisseurs de fonds immobiliers conside`rent comme importants pour le succe`s commercial des fonds de placement immobilier durable; et (2) comment ils evaluent l'acceptation de tels fonds par le marche. Des groupes de discussion ont ete menes afin de definir les elements de durabilite de ces fonds de placement immobilier durable du point de vue du succe`s commercial. Une etude par questionnaire a ensuite ete entreprise pour evaluer ces deux questions cles. L'analyse factorielle a identifie quatre facteurs de durabilite independants: (1) les materiaux de construction et l'energie; (2) les frais, le rendement et la flexibilite; (3) la conception des espaces verts; et (4) le paysage et l'ecologie naturelle. Dans l'analyse factorielle, l'ensemble des facteurs lies aux infrastructures sociales durables ne constituait pas un facteur independant. Au total, 76% des investisseurs institutionnels qui ont repondu ont opte pour un investissement dans des fonds de placement immobilier durable, et 38% ont indique qu'ils acceptaient des pertes de rendement par rapport a l'indice de reference des fonds de placement immobilier. L'acceptation des fonds de placement immobilier durable par les investisseurs institutionnels depend des facteurs cognitifs, du contexte institutionnel, de l'age et de la situation de famille des investisseurs. Ces resultats peuvent avoir une influence sur la conception des fonds de placement immobilier durable, les strategies marketing et les notations de durabilite. Mots cles: principales parties prenantes financie`res, acceptation par le marche, investissement immobilier responsable, crite`res de durabilite, fonds de placement immobilier durable [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper assesses the sustainability concerns of bioenergy systems against the prevailing and potential long term conditions in Sub-Saharan Africa with a special attention on agricultural and forestry waste, and cultivated bioenergy sources. Existing knowledge and processes about bioenergy systems are brought into a “sustainability framework” to support debate and decisions about the implementation of bioenergy systems in the region. Bioenergy systems have been recommended based on the potential to (i) meet domestic energy demand and reduce fuel importation (ii) diversify rural economies and create employment (iii) reduce poverty, and (iv) provide net energy gains and positive environmental impacts. However, biofuels will compete with food crops for land, labour, capital and entrepreneurial skills. Moreover the environmental benefits of some feedstocks are questionable. These challenges are, however, surmountable. It is concluded that biomass energy production could be an effective way to achieve sustainable development for bioenergy pathways that (i) are less land intensive, (ii) have positive net energy gains and environmental benefits, and (iii) provide local socio-economic benefits. Feasibility evaluations which put these issues into perspective are vital for sustainable application of agricultural and forest based bioenergy systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. Such evaluations should consider the long run potential of biofuels accounting for demographic, economic and technological changes and the related implications. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Sustainability considerations guide political decisions concerning energy supply options. In this article a start has been made for the development of a sustainability framework for carbon capture and storage (CCS) systems in the Netherlands. Using a participatory approach (which includes an exploratory workshop, two interactive meetings, an international survey and in-depth interviews), nine sustainability criteria for CCS based energy systems were defined and 36 main concerns about the sustainability of carbon, capture and storage systems (by criterion) were identified. Analysis shows that concerns related to the following criteria are most relevant: clean, flexible, just, competitive and publicly acceptable. Furthermore, via stakeholder consultations and through interviews, a list of actions to tackle the concerns was developed. These actions can be clustered into three groups: (i) increasing research and development, (ii) including CCS in a policy portfolio, and (iii) raising public awareness. Finally, actions that should take place in the next 2 years were identified. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Faced with increasing needs and limitations on resources for water-quality monitoring, emerging tools complement the traditional procedure based on sampling and laboratory analysis. Apart from their simple (on-site) use and affordability, they can be considered as sustainable development tools. We propose sustainability criteria for water-quality monitoring and assess some emerging tools for this purpose. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Identified exhaustive list of sustainability criteria for residential buildings. • MCDM method and Pareto rule for establishing the critical sustainability criteria is proposed. • Critical sustainability criteria for residential buildings of tropical climate are established. • Proposed sustainability assessment integrating environmental, social and economic aspects. The efforts made in the building industry in pursuance of sustainable development is widely acknowledged as green building assessment/rating systems. The existing systems primarily concentrated on the environmental dimension, but the economic and social dimensions have earned only limited attention. In this context, both developed and developing countries are acquainted with several studies incorporating the three sustainability dimensions. However, region-specific assessment systems hardly exist, especially in India, a country with diverse climatic conditions. Therefore, the current study aims to establish the critical criteria influencing sustainability by focusing the residential buildings in the tropical climatic zone of India as a precursor to developing a new sustainability assessment system. An extensive review of the published literature and green building rating systems, along with expert interview, was adopted to establish the initial pool of criteria. Further, the perception of building stakeholders on the importance of each criterion towards the sustainability of residential buildings in the tropical climate was recorded through a questionnaire survey. The data gathered was evaluated using Fuzzy TOPSIS and Pareto analysis to arrive at the critical criteria. The findings of the current study will help practitioners, researchers, and academicians accomplish building sustainability in the tropical climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]