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In practice, without clear evidence of the positive impacts of maintenance on sustainability, organisations/ companies are not encouraged to look at (or invest in) maintenance as an effective tool to enhance sustainability. Therefore, it is essential to show them that such evidence exists, which is the aim of this paper. The paper reviews and analyses evidence from the literature about maintenance's social, environmental, and economic impacts. It identifies the required sustainability-related indicators associated with these impacts and provides aggregate quantified percentages for them (positively or negatively), as shown in the reviewed papers. An evidence-based research is conducted in this paper to achieve this purpose. The search process results in a research sample of 58 publications that have been surveyed and analysed. Based on the conducted analysis, the results show that maintenance positively impacts economic, environmental, and social sustainability. Many reviewed cases appear in manufacturing and buildings (both residential and commercial) and primarily consider environmental and economic sustainability indicators. The cases with social sustainability indicators are limited. Regardless, these results bring adequate evidence to encourage researchers and practitioners to view maintenance as a practical approach to improve sustainability and to investigate more in this domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of sustainable development, urban transformation should encourage the use of life cycle thinking tools for infrastructure development. By adopting sustainable economic, social, and environmental criteria, this study presents a review of sustainability assessment tools to build a framework for urban infrastructure. It incorporates a variety of methods that economists and industrial ecologists use for evaluating their projects, in addition to the LCT approach. To recognize the strategic sustainability indicators and criteria, the framework uses LCC, LCA, and SLCA in conjunction with stakeholder evaluation and multi-criteria decision analysis, which recognizes the foremost three pillars of sustainability, i.e., economy, environment, and society. Additionally, system dynamics and agent-based modelling are used to optimise the framework. The prominence of the framework is to understand the route an urban infrastructure development should follow to achieve key sustainability interests involving the interconnected environmental and socio-economic aspects. This sustainability assessment framework can be utilised by consultants or supporting agencies to help organisations carry out and monitor such projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food security has been an essential priority for decades due to its direct impact on human development. Despite significant advances in meeting basic food needs, food security remains a global challenge. In Mexico, the sustainable traditional polyculture system known as milpa allows synergy among three or more food sources, increasing the economic income for peasants. We integrated the controlled production of huitlacoche (Ustilago maydis + Zea mays) galls, traditional food consumed since pre-Hispanic times, in a milpa from Las Ánimas community, Tecoanapa Municipality, Guerrero, Mexico, in order to improve food diversity, productivity, income, and food security. Two contiguous plots were evaluated: the traditional milpa system (TMS) and the milpa integrating controlled production of huitlacoche galls (TMS + Huitlacoche). Different variables were assessed including weight and size of maize ears and huitlacoche galls; degree of huitlacoche infection; production and income of maize (Zea mays), beans (Phaseolus spp.), squash (Cucurbita spp.), and huitlacoche; and sustainability indicators, maize grain sales, type of maize seed, huitlacoche sales, beans sales, and squash sales during the dry season. The integration of the controlled production of huitlacoche improved productivity and net incomes from the traditional milpa. The traditional milpa system (TMS) had an income of USD $111.00 from maize grains, while the milpa integrating controlled production of huitlacoche galls (TMS + Huitlacoche) had an income of USD $409.00 from galls. This is reflected in the cost/benefit ratio, in which milpa integrating controlled production of huitlacoche galls (TMS + Huitlacoche) was 1.48, while the traditional milpa system (TMS) was not profitable (0.91). Sustainability indicators show that the controlled production of huitlacoche galls contribute to food diversity, productivity, and income in the traditional milpa system, based on the association of maize, beans, squash, and huitlacoche, showing potential for improving food security in rural communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the relationship between urban fabrics and sustainability is essential for addressing contemporary urban challenges, as urban fabrics provide critical morphological and socio-economic data that enhance our understanding of the performance and spatial variability of urban systems. This study focuses on Cuenca, spatially divided into a 150 m radius hexagonal grid with 30 sustainability indicators and 18 urban fabric typologies. Using spatial, statistical, and visual analysis, relationships and patterns between sustainability indicators and urban fabric types are explored. The results reveal significant variation in sustainability across different fabric types, with built environment indicators playing a central role. There is marked spatial heterogeneity: inner-core areas exhibit higher sustainability, fringe areas lag behind, and transitional zones are also identified. Spatial clustering reveals that fabric types are homogeneous in terms of sustainability at both the high and low extremes but heterogeneous in mid-range sustainability areas. This quantitative analysis of Cuenca's urban fabric typologies highlights substantial differences in sustainability and distinct spatial patterns, offering valuable insights for evidence-based urban planning. The open-source data and tools provided facilitate customisation and replication in other urban contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the increasing use of electricity and the current environmental challenges, ensuring efficiency and sustainability in power generation must be a major concern for society. In this context, energy and exergy analysis are useful to assess the efficiency and sustainability of different economic sectors. Hence, an exergy-based sustainability analysis of the Brazilian power generation sector was performed based on operational data from 2000 to 2020. The overall exergy efficiency of this sector varied from 63.3% to 75.0%. Thermal power generation was identified with the largest improvement potential. Several sustainability indicators were used to address the sector's sustainability. It was found that the depletion number varied between 0.25 and 0.37, while the sustainability index ranged from 2.73 to 4.00. The behavior of the indicators, such as relative irreversibility, lack of productivity, waste exergy ratio, and environmental effect factor, revealed that the exergetic cost of natural gas generation is already equivalent to that of hydropower generation, while electricity generated from natural gas represents only about 14% of the hydropower generation in the country. Over the evaluated period, cumulative exergy loss increased to more than twice the exergy provided by the system. In addition, a hypothetical scenario with no natural gas power generation was evaluated and compared; results showed a huge potential for exergy savings. This study is expected to contribute to enhancing energy policy formulation for sustainable development in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of GeSec: Revista de Gestao e Secretariado is the property of Sindicato das Secretarias e Secretarios do Estado de Sao Paulo (SINSESP) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Based on data available between 2016 and 2021 from the Portuguese FADN, fifteen sustainable indicators were measured, and a compromise programming model was designed to balance environmental and economic objectives, that reveal a conflict between them. The findings identified solutions dominated by dried fruits, olive trees, sheep and goats, extensive horticulture, and beef cattle for sustainable farming planning at the national level. We conclude that the complementary between these two approaches constitute an important instrument for supporting decision-making and developing public policies focused on current sustainability paradigms.

Assessing the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on transportation sustainability is important for companies’ internal and external benchmarking and improving technology and sustainability policies. This article focuses on developing and using the Transportation Technology Sustainability Index (TTSI) to assess the impact of AI on transportation sustainability. The authors did literature research to formulate dimensions and define sustainability indicators (SIs) and conducted interviews with experts from Dutch road freight transportation companies to validate the dimensions and SIs that can be used for calculating TTSI. The same TTSI-based assessment with some necessary adjustments can be applied to other modern technologies and transportation modes such as air, rail, sea, and multi-modal. Literature and qualitative research confirmed that AI applications foster sustainable performance, so more emphasis should be placed on increasing the use of AI in transportation. The TTSI-based assessment developed by the authors would allow transportation companies to measure the impact of AI or other advanced technologies on sustainability.

Abstract Rapid urbanization and inadequate environmental planning have significantly increased pressure on ecosystems, leading to unsustainable urban growth. Understanding the environmental impact of urbanization is crucial for sustainable development, especially in rapidly growing cities like Mashhad, Iran. Emergy Analysis, a method that quantifies the total energy used to support an ecosystem, was applied in this study to assess Mashhad’s environmental sustainability using emergy-based indicators. Key sustainability indicators, such as the Emergy Sustainability Index, Environmental Load Ratio, and Emergy Self-Support Ratio, were analyzed using data from 2011, 2016, and 2021. The results reveal that Mashhad's development is currently unsustainable, with heavy dependence on non-renewable resources and increasing environmental pressure. While the Emergy Sustainability Index showed modest improvement, key indicators like the Emergy Yield Ratio and Emergy Density declined, indicating reduced resource efficiency. Additionally, the Environmental Load Ratio increased, reflecting higher environmental stress. Without significant interventions, Mashhad’s current development trajectory will remain unsustainable. The study offers practical recommendations, such as reducing urban sprawl, promoting green spaces, and transitioning to renewable energy sources. Educating residents about resource efficiency and sustainable urban planning is critical. These findings provide actionable insights for other developing cities facing similar environmental challenges and serve as a blueprint for sustainable urban development in resource-constrained settings.

Las transformaciones en las ciudades producidas desde el inicio de la revolución industrial son una de las principales amenazas para la salvaguarda del patrimonio urbano. Estas circunstancias han demandado la elaboración de estrategias y nuevos enfoques orientados a lograr un desarrollo sustentable del patrimonio cultural. Al respecto, en las últimas décadas el vínculo entre el patrimonio cultural y las diferentes dimensiones de la sustentabilidad ocupa uno de los puntos centrales de la agenda patrimonial de organizaciones nacionales e internacionales, así como de investigadores de todo el mundo. De las diferentes dimensiones de la sustentabilidad identificadas, es la sociocultural la que mayor incidencia tiene en la salvaguardia del patrimonio cultural. En el abordaje del patrimonio cultural desde la perspectiva de la sustentabilidad los procesos de evaluación mediante el uso de indicadores presentan amplias ventajas para la formulación, análisis y seguimiento de las políticas culturales y los procesos de toma de decisiones en la gestión. En este contexto, existe un amplio espectro de propuestas de indicadores de sustentabilidad que son aplicados, desde diferentes enfoques, a una diversidad de objetos y de contextos. No obstante, en general se observa que, en la mayoría de las propuestas, se formulan indicadores cuantitativos con una fuerte incidencia de las dimensiones económica y ambiental, presentando limitaciones para abordar aspectos más sensibles del patrimonio cultural, como las valoraciones y percepciones, que por tener un carácter subjetivo no son fácilmente cuantificables. Por ello, en el presente trabajo se presenta una propuesta metodológica para la evaluación de la sustentabilidad sociocultural del patrimonio urbano en ciudades medias mediante un conjunto de indicadores formulados desde un enfoque cualitativo, diseñada y testeada en una ciudad intermedia de Argentina (Olavarría). La metodología propuesta permite medir los avances y retrocesos del patrimonio en pos de su sustentabilidad en el mediano plazo. Además, facilita la integración de evaluaciones de distintas disciplinas e incorpora la mirada de los principales actores de la patrimonialización y la gestión del patrimonio, así como posibilita la realización de un diagnóstico de la situación del patrimonio urbano en las áreas de estudio. The transformations in cities since the beginning of the industrial revolution are one of the main threats to safeguarding urban heritage. These circumstances have demanded the elaboration of strategies and new approaches to achieve the sustainable development of cultural heritage. In this respect, in recent decades, the link between cultural heritage and the different dimensions of sustainability has been at the centre of the heritage agenda of national and international organisations and researchers from all over the world. Of the various dimensions of sustainability identified, the sociocultural dimension has the most significant impact on safeguarding cultural heritage. In the approach to cultural heritage from the perspective of sustainability, evaluation processes through the use of indicators have broad advantages for formulating, analysing and monitoring cultural policies and management decision-making processes. In this context, a broad spectrum of proposals for sustainability indicators is applied from different approaches to various objects and contexts. However, in general, it is observed that most of the proposals formulate quantitative indicators with a substantial incidence of the economic and environmental dimensions, presenting limitations to address more sensitive aspects of cultural heritage, such as valuations and perceptions, which are not easily quantifiable due to their subjective nature. Therefore, this paper presents a methodological proposal for evaluating the sociocultural sustainability of urban heritage in medium-sized cities through a set of indicators formulated from a qualitative approach designed and tested in a medium-sized city in Argentina (Olavarría). The proposed methodology makes it possible to measure the progress and setbacks of heritage in pursuit of sustainability in the medium term. In addition, it facilitates the integration of evaluations from different disciplines. It incorporates the viewpoint of the main actors in heritage and heritage management, as well as making it possible to diagnose the situation of urban heritage in the areas of study.

Rapid urbanization and inadequate environmental planning have significantly increased pressure on ecosystems, leading to unsustainable urban growth. Understanding the environmental impact of urbanization is crucial for sustainable development, especially in rapidly growing cities like Mashhad, Iran. Emergy Analysis, a method that quantifies the total energy used to support an ecosystem, was applied in this study to assess Mashhad's environmental sustainability using emergy-based indicators. Key sustainability indicators, such as the Emergy Sustainability Index, Environmental Load Ratio, and Emergy Self-Support Ratio, were analyzed using data from 2011, 2016, and 2021. The results reveal that Mashhad's development is currently unsustainable, with heavy dependence on non-renewable resources and increasing environmental pressure. While the Emergy Sustainability Index showed modest improvement, key indicators like the Emergy Yield Ratio and Emergy Density declined, indicating reduced resource efficiency. Additionally, the Environmental Load Ratio increased, reflecting higher environmental stress. Without significant interventions, Mashhad's current development trajectory will remain unsustainable. The study offers practical recommendations, such as reducing urban sprawl, promoting green spaces, and transitioning to renewable energy sources. Educating residents about resource efficiency and sustainable urban planning is critical. These findings provide actionable insights for other developing cities facing similar environmental challenges and serve as a blueprint for sustainable urban development in resource-constrained settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As sustainability rises in significance in the construction industry, there is a need to adopt new project management techniques to help achieve increases in sustainability objectives. There have been several research works that have investigated the integration of sustainability in construction. However, there is a gap in addressing performance measurement and evaluation during the construction phase. Traditional project performance evaluation methods use the Earned Value Management (EVM) technique to assess time, cost, and scope performance. However, EVM does not address the performance of sustainability goals. The main objective of this paper is to develop a new project controls method for sustainable construction projects. Sustainability performance indicators can play an essential role in advancing the practice of sustainable construction. Accordingly, a Sustainable Earned Value Management (SEVM) model incorporating sustainability indicators was developed to monitor the attainment of sustainability objectives in construction projects in addition to the traditional objectives. The proposed SEVM model uses the construction planning optimization model to prepare the baseline plan to monitor the project's time, cost, and sustainability performance. The proposed model enhances the monitoring and control of sustainable construction projects in terms of time, cost, and sustainability using sustainability indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of GeSec: Revista de Gestao e Secretariado is the property of Sindicato das Secretarias e Secretarios do Estado de Sao Paulo (SINSESP) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Neighbourhood Sustainability Assessment (NSA) is vital in navigating the complex dynamics of social, environmental, and economic factors in localised settings, especially amidst the challenges of urbanisation, resource scarcity, and climate change. NSA tools have emerged as pivotal instruments in integrating sustainability into urban development, recognising neighbourhood as fundamental units for systemic sustainability approaches. However, existing NSA methodologies tend to favour environmental aspects, prompting a call for more balanced approaches encompassing social and economic dimensions. The study underscores the need for NSA tools to evolve towards context-sensitive methodologies for broader applicability across diverse urban landscapes. Through a literature review, the study highlights the importance of integrating community perspectives, sustainability indicators, and context-specific approaches in NSA, advocating for holistic strategies to drive sustainable urban development agendas. This study presents a methodological framework for selecting neighbourhood sustainability indicators in Aizawl, the capital city of Mizoram which is located in N-E India, by incorporating community perspectives and expert judgments. The methodology involves several steps: review of existing NSA frameworks to select comprehensive indicators, perception and public participation surveys to identify local indicators, engagement of experts through the Fuzzy-Delphi Method, and application of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) for indicator prioritisation. Through these steps, 47 essential indicators were selected, covering social, economic, environmental and governance aspects. The study emphasises the importance of combining bottom-up community input with top-down-expert knowledge for comprehensive and reliable sustainability assessments. Challenges such as energy and water resource deficiencies are highlighted, underscoring the need for balanced approaches to neighbourhood sustainability planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Densification has become a dominant strategy for sustainable urban development in recent decades, viewed as a main antidote to urban sprawl and essential for achieving a range of urban qualities from economic to ecological. Despite its prominence as an indicator and driver of sustainable development, measuring density in a meaningful way poses significant challenges. Arbitrary metrics often overlook the complexity of density and its associations, leading to potential unintended outcomes in density-driven planning. Using the Helsinki region as a case study, this article demonstrates the sensitivity of density measurements to minor changes in reference areas and calculation units, highlighting how different types of density can loosely relate to each other. Our findings underscore the importance of precise methodological choices in avoiding misguided planning decisions and policy advice that could compromise sustainability goals, revealing the complex dynamics of infill and edge growth often obscured in regional density measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change, drought, floods, and other natural disasters are frequently encountered problems for cities in the 21st century. Today, urban sustainability is an essential resource for achieving sustainable development goals. In this context, many countries worldwide have started taking measures through of urban sustainability indicators to withstand environmental disasters and hazards. From a broad perspective, the vulnerability of cities to disasters has been identified in social, environmental, and economic dimensions, and solutions have been aimed at addressing these issues. In this context, within the scope of the study, urban renewal projects implemented in the Alipaşa-Lalebey Neighborhood, located in the historic Walled City of Diyarbakır, were compared with the old city fabric and evaluated by means of environmental, economic, and social sustainability indicators. Literature review, GIS (Geographic Information System), field study, and indepth interviews were used as methods in the study. The Conservation Development Plan and Urban Renewal Projects of the old-new settlement pattern were mapped using the ArcMap program and then evaluated within the framework of social, environmental, and economic sustainability indicators. As a result of the study, it was concluded that the new housing texture in the urban renewal project implemented in the Alipaşa-Lalebey Neighborhood does not make comprehensive reference to the traditional texture. Changing the street texture, spatial changes in building blocks, parcel-building typologies, and non-use of traditional construction techniques and materials are environmental and social consequences that prevent the preservation of cultural heritage and social memory. The ineffective use of local resources and the decreased need for traditional professions have led to the failure to implement economic sustainability indicators. The absence of resources in the literature that discuss urban renewal project applications in a traditional historical context in the context of social, economic, and environmental sustainability indicators reveals the unique value of the study. This research aims to guide future urban renewal projects in historical contexts in hot-arid climate regions by comprehensively considering social, environmental, and economic urban sustainability principles to contribute to the creation of more effective and sustainable cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite being an industry at the forefront of adopting sustainable practices, there has been a continued paucity of hospitality research focusing on the extent of adoption of sustainability practices and their contribution towards achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) from developing countries' viewpoints. Hence, this research explores the current context of sustainability practice adoption, its implications and its alignment with SDGs through a case study research based in Kandy, Sri Lanka. This research builds on the work of Mihalič and colleagues' hotel sustainability business model to thematically explore the current context of sustainability practice adoption. This study employs a qualitative research method, combining semi-structured interviews and participant observations from 11 chain hotels selected through a purposive sampling approach. The research findings suggest that local hotels have already adopted various sustainability practices across all triple bottom-line considerations. However, most hoteliers did not understand how economic progression relates to their sustainability commitments. Moreover, several hoteliers interpreted sustainability efforts purely with pro-environmental efforts. The study further indicates that larger chain hotels tend to implement sustainable practices and align their operations with SDGs, whereas smaller chain hotels face significant challenges in adopting sustainability practices and SDG alignment due to a lack of resources and knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on transportation sustainability is important for companies' internal and external benchmarking and improving technology and sustainability policies. This article focuses on developing and using the Transportation Technology Sustainability Index (TTSI) to assess the impact of AI on transportation sustainability. The authors did literature research to formulate dimensions and define sustainability indicators (SIs) and conducted interviews with experts from Dutch road freight transportation companies to validate the dimensions and SIs that can be used for calculating TTSI. The same TTSI-based assessment with some necessary adjustments can be applied to other modern technologies and transportation modes such as air, rail, sea, and multi-modal. Literature and qualitative research confirmed that AI applications foster sustainable performance, so more emphasis should be placed on increasing the use of AI in transportation. The TTSI-based assessment developed by the authors would allow transportation companies to measure the impact of AI or other advanced technologies on sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The decentralization of production processes organized in global supply chains has made it possible to connect the different levels through industrial digitalization, an evolution derived from the Fourth Industrial Revolution which incorporates enabling technologies. This context raises the need to analyze sectors that, due to the complexity of their projects, require more efficient supply chain management. Two clear examples of these sectors are aerospace and shipbuilding, which demand greater efficiency and sustainability in their operations. The main objective of this study is to compare these two sectors to evaluate the degree of sustainability of their supply chains and how Industry 4.0 technologies have contributed to achieving these goals. To perform this, the Delphi method will be used, a tool that collects information through expert opinions, which will provide key indicators for the comparison. The use of this method will facilitate the identification of convergences and divergences in the management of sustainability in both sectors. Through this analysis, the expected results will reflect the specific needs of each industry in terms of productivity and sustainability. Thus, the study will offer a comprehensive view of how the aerospace and shipbuilding sectors can move toward more sustainable and efficient production models, integrating Industry 4.0 concepts and improving the management of their global supply chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization is defining global change, and megacities are fast becoming a hallmark of the Anthropocene. Humanity's pursuit toward sustainability is reliant on the successful management of these massive urban centers and their progression into sustainable and resilient settlements. Indicators and indices are applied assessment and surveillance tools used to measure, monitor, and gauge the sustainable development and urban resilience of megacities. Unknown is how indicator-based evaluations of sustainable development and urban resilience of the world's largest 43 cities compare. In response, this review paper used the PRISMA reporting protocol, governed by 33 established and 10 emerging megacities, to compare and contrast evaluations of sustainable development and urban resilience. Results reveal that applied assessments of sustainable development of megacities appeared earlier in time and were more abundant than those of urban resilience. Geographically, China dominated other nations in affiliations to scientific research for both sustainable development and urban resilience of megacities. Among the 100 most recurrent terms, three distinct key term clusters formed for sustainable development; seven budding key term clusters formed for urban resilience suggesting breadth in contrast to sustainable development depth. The most cited assessments of sustainable development emphasize topics of energy, methodological approaches, and statistical modeling. The most cited assessments of urban resilience emphasize topics of flooding, transit networks, and disaster risk resilience. Megacities research is dominated by few countries, suggesting a need for inclusion and international partnerships. Lastly, as the world's people become increasingly urbanized, sustainable development and urban resilience of megacities will serve as a key barometer for humanity's progress toward sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many existing economic indicators focus on economic growth and overlook environmental and social impacts. This article presents the Sustainable Economy Index, an index created to assess the sustainability of economic systems by considering economic, environmental, and social aspects. The SEI incorporates indicators that highlight how these three pillars of sustainability interact to address this problem. By linking theory with application, the SEI aims to help plan and promote specific actions for sustainability at different levels. The process consists of five stages, starting with interviews to identify indicators, followed by data collection, standardization, and the development of a composite index. This index is then used to assess Qatar's progress towards a Sustainable Economy and compare it with a set of comparator countries. Using Qatar as a benchmark, this research uses the Sustainable Economy Index to assess and contrast its sustainability performance with a set of comparative countries. The findings highlight Qatar's strengths and weaknesses. The application of the Sustainable Economy Index underlines its ability to effectively inform, and guide formulated sustainable development strategies. The results emphasize the need for persistent improvement of environmental and mental sustainability indicators to encompass evolving international circumstances and facilitate policy modifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to present a decision support system (DSS) to capture the complexity of the transition of a national energy system to net zero in the context of multiple sustainability themes. The paper proposes an integrated assessment framework that combines dynamic systems modeling, sustainability indicators, and multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) with direct stakeholder involvement. To illustrate the use of the DSS, the paper compares bundles of climate change policies that aim to decarbonize the road transport sector in Iceland. Eighteen scenarios and alternative development trajectories are defined for the Icelandic energy system based on a combination of three main driving forces. These are, firstly, economic development (three cases); secondly, changes in energy efficiency (two cases); and finally, three climate policy bundles aimed at increasing the share of electric vehicles. Based on the results from the integrated assessment framework, the performance scores of the climate policy bundles are compared across the following five sustainability themes: social impact; economic development; environmental impact; energy security; and technical aspects. The findings confirm that a different conclusion may be reached when multiple sustainability themes are applied in the selection of preferred policy bundles as compared to conventional techno-economic criteria. Banning the registration of fossil-fueled vehicles, combined with economic instruments, offers the best decarbonizing strategy to reach climate and energy policy goals simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United Kingdom (UK) shipping industry is facing calls to set out more robust decarbonisation plans. In light of the economic challenges facing the country, including the cost-of-living crisis and energy security considerations, the UK government has outlined plans to spearhead several 'green' developments. It is of paramount importance to understand how best to integrate the domestic maritime sector into this process by promoting the adoption of low-carbon marine fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia. However, there is a limited understanding of what are the most suitable locations for the early adoption of such fuels in the UK. The sustainability transitions literature offers interesting insights into how marine fuel transitions can unfold, by combining the study of market factors with various non-market socio-technical forces. Previous academic work has shown the importance of location and proximity in facilitating alternative marine fuel transitions. This paper builds onto that work by applying a socio-technical transitions framework to develop a set of indicators to ascertain the suitability of potential locations for the early adoption of hydrogen and ammonia as marine fuels in the UK. This paper explores these dynamics by combining evidence from documentary sources, a UK ship voyages database, and interviews with key stakeholders. Furthermore, three specific case studies are analysed in detail to outline key drivers for the adoption of hydrogen and ammonia. The findings show that there is a significant difference across the UK in regional viability for the early adoption of hydrogen and ammonia, with some of the best suited sites being in the north of Scotland (Orkney), south of England (the Solent-Isle of Wight), and east of England (Felixstowe-Harwich). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is a global challenge today that has been highly considered due to the wide impacts on different sectors of a society. That is why the use of renewable energy for countries and communities should be considered. In addition, the limitation of fossil fuels and the problems incurred by greenhouse gas emissions have made it increasingly important to make renewable energy more attractive. Sustainable energy means continuous supply of energy for today's needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Sustainable energy technologies include renewable energy sources such as hydroelectric power, solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, synthetic photo center and wave energy, as well as technologies designed to improve energy efficiency. Thus, this article discusses the development and performance of renewable supply chain energy in Iran. A strategic model is proposed and investigated to cover various aspects of sustainable renewable energy within a supply chain configuration integrated with machine learning method for quantification purpose. The novelty is on integrating machine learning and strategic plan to handle sustainability indicators within a renewable energy supply chain. The study also provides managerial insights to governments, researchers and stakeholders for the initiation of renewable energy use and suggestions for overcoming the barriers to its developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of EMPIRIA: Revista de Metodología de Ciencias Sociales is the property of Editorial UNED and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Based on the three dimensions model of sustainability, different studies that address the integration of the culture and sustainability concepts from a theoretical field propose that culture should be included as another sustainability dimension to a greater degree. This approach has not been put into practice to date. In fact, when sustainability application is examined in cultural activities such as museums and exhibitions, in most cases it is associated with only one dimension and evaluation methodologies based on a holistic approach; the Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) is used in very few cases. In this work, a methodological framework is proposed to add the cultural dimension to the study of the environmental, economic, and social dimensions of sustainability. A sequence of phases in line with the LCSA methodology is used to achieve the simultaneous evaluation of impacts associated with a sustainability approach based on four dimensions. A thorough literature review revealed cultural indicators, which were classified and organized in order to facilitate the cultural impact assessment and complement the indicators already used to evaluate other dimensions. Additionally, the approaches and methods proposed are put into practice in a case study, which consists of an experimental exhibition room. The different phases of the methodology have been successively developed, and indicators for all sustainability dimensions have been obtained. Thus, the theoretical contribution of this work is embellished with the development of a practical case, which demonstrate that cultural dimensions can be evaluated together with the rest of the dimensions in order to obtain a multidimensional assessment of sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geotechnical engineering, being preliminary in any construction project, is of paramount importance for achieving sustainability. One of the important domains of sustainable development in geotechnics is sustainability assessments as it is essential to determine the impact of engineering activities on built environment. An indicator-based sustainability assessment tool called Geotechnical Sustainability Assessment Tool (Geo-SAT) was developed in this regard. The indicators used in Geo-SAT are generic in nature and judged on equal weightages, hence create skewness. Furthermore, the essentiality of these indicators varies across different projects and their life cycle stages. So, the tool requires scale normalization to remove this exaggeration of results. In current research 32 technical indicators are sampled out of 171 indicators of Geo-SAT using Delphi technique. The weightages of these indicators have been then normalized using Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA). Multiple Attribute Value Theory (MAVT), a sub-technique under MCDA, is used for analysis as it compares between different criteria (i.e., project life cycle stages, indicators, and expert's opinion) and computes the weighted averages. For this purpose, a questionnaire has been developed and distributed among 52 relevant field experts having a predefined experience criteria set by authors, to record their opinion regarding the importance of indicators across project life cycle stages. 50 responses were accepted based on their reliability and completeness. As a result, the sustainability indices for all indicators are then calculated using MAVT based on weights of importance and relative weights attained from the questionnaires. Furthermore, it is established that the most critical indicators for the dam's sustainability assessment are "quality control during construction", "construction material wastage" and "feasibility reports", with highest weightages of 4.8%, 4.3%, and 4.2%, respectively. It is concluded that inculcating these computed weightages to Geo-SAT will increase the reliability and reduce the skewness in the sustainability assessment of dam projects. The current research is an effort to develop a sustainability assessment tool for dams (as no such assessment tool exists for dams exclusively) by improving Geo-SAT in terms of scale normalization. The normalized version of Geo-SAT, which is based on weighted averages of indicators, is a way forward for future development of certification system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food security depends on the implementation of sustainable development in agri‐food. It is essential to determine the sustainability of the main production systems in order to establish specific measures for each territory, by virtue of correcting their negative externalities and improving the commitment of stakeholders. Therefore, this article assessed the economic, social, environmental and global sustainability of the Spanish primary sector based on a synthetic indicator proposed in previous research. The results suggest the existence of a moderate degree of sustainability of the food production system in Spain (0.5019), with the regions of Aragón (0.5482), Castile and Leon (0.5473), Extremadura (0.5438) and Andalucía (0.5399) standing out. An inverse relationship between the economic and the environmental subcomponents of sustainability was obtained. The cluster analysis revealed the need to apply a customized territorial policy in order to meet sustainability goals due to the diversity of agricultural subsectors identified in them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With steady population growth and formidable development issues, understanding Africa is crucial for reaching global sustainability. Through policy support, societies have embraced indicators and their composite indices as tools to create benchmark initiatives, assess current conditions, and help set future development targets. Responding, a paralyzing amount of these metrics are now available for decision-makers, practitioners, and researchers to choose from causing difficulties during their applied use. Further, the number of underlying development dimensions essential for capturing all aspects of sustainability remains undetermined. Building upon other continental studies, this research first condensed and described a set of 44 multi-metric sustainability indices across 52 African nations. A factor analysis uncovered 11 significant sustainable development dimensions (factors) that conveyed over 79% of the total variation of the original 44 indices. Next, the 11 latent dimensions were combined (aggregated) into a mega-index of sustainable development (MISD). Lastly, Ward's cluster analysis was used to create country-bundles of similarity from the 11 factors. The four strongest hidden dimensions expressed: (F1) human well-being synergies; (F2) governance and liberty; (F3) economic stability; (F4) happiness and innovation. The human well-being synergies dimension (F1) explained over one-third of the total variance, and had greatest improved conditions in countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. MISD ranked Namibia best, then Ghana, Gabon, Kenya, and Zambia; Seychelles ranked worst, then Eritrea, Burundi, Comoros, and Mauritania. Cluster analysis revealed a six-bundle solution. This cross-country analysis spotlights the underrepresentation of planetary boundaries within existing development indices. Lastly, favorable development dimensions were rarely found spatially concordant.

Modular construction is an emerging technique being adopted with varying levels of modularization. Assessing its sustainability performance during the planning phase is essential for deciding between precast elements and traditional cast-in-situ methods. To address this, this study developed a comprehensive sustainability assessment framework that integrates economic, environmental, and social indicators. A total of 26 indicators were extracted from the literature and prioritized by 55 experts. Thus, ten indicators were designated critical and quantified for the case of a three-story building using three slab alternatives: cast-in-situ (CIS), I-girder (PIS), and hollow core (PHS). BIM analyses and qualitative data for the ten sustainability criteria were configured into a decision matrix through a multicriteria decision-making approach, i.e., TOPSIS. Simulations were conducted on the matrix by varying the weights of sustainability domains (0.33 – 0.80) to prioritize the best alternative. The BIM analyses revealed significant advantages of PIS, including a 33% and 31% reduction in material and labor costs, respectively, compared to the CIS. Furthermore, precast elements show a 60% reduction in carbon emissions, a 95% decrease in wastage, and an additional benefit of 90% less air pollution. The TOPSIS simulations concluded the PIS system as the most sustainable alternative with the highest relative closeness coefficients (RCC) in all domains and weight cases. The PIS performed best in the environmental with RCCs of 0.83 – 0.97, then in the economic with 0.83 – 0.86, and with 0.69 – 0.83 in the social domain.

Abstract This article addresses the potential of family farming to reach the Sustainable Development Goals. Based on data from the Agricultural Census for the municipality of Mariana, in the Iron Quadrangle (Quadrilátero Ferrífero) region of Minas Gerais, an analytical and evaluation model for the fulfillment of sustainability goals was created using indicators referring to the characteristics of production and family farmers. Our study is based on the conception of donut economy and sustainability, aiming to contribute to the debate on the need to overcome the extractive and predatory development model represented by mining. The results indicate the potential of agroecologically-based family farming for the fulfillment of sustainability goals, as well as pointing out challenges to be overcome, through public policies and social organization to promote a new development model in mining regions.

Goal: This study presents a four-steps methodology for the definition of the weights of sustainable indicators in the Swine Supply Chain (SSC) considering the Triple Bottom-Line (TBL) perspective. Design/Methodology/Approach: The methodology proposed was based on the Bellagio principles that guide the definition of importance levels for TBL criteria. It was applied to the swine supply chain using Saaty’s scale and information obtained from managers of two agribusiness companies, adjusted by the AHP method. Results: The results showed the relevance of an appropriate definition of the preferences of decision-makers to decide on the best actions towards environmental, economic, and social sustainability. Limitations: The limitations of the proposed model are mainly its subjective nature. Despite being necessary in multi-criteria methods, it could be a limitation if more quantitative indicators are relevant or demanded. Nevertheless, the proposed methodology also provides a quantitative perspective, as a result of using the Saaty scale. Practical implications: The definition and application of importance levels within a TBL-based model can help managers to prioritize environmental, social, and/or economic dimensions under a large diversity of alternatives toward more sustainable scenarios. The AHP method used in this work is a hierarchy method, particularly appropriate for defining weights that are essentially compensatory by nature. Originality/value: The correct definition and weight of the different dimensions, sub-dimensions, and respective indicators is currently one relevant gap in the literature, limiting the design and prioritization of corrective actions in each stage of the SSC and in the different dimensions of the TBL.

Despite being an industry at the forefront of adopting sustainable practices, there has been a continued paucity of hospitality research focusing on the extent of adoption of sustainability practices and their contribution towards achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) from developing countries’ viewpoints. Hence, this research explores the current context of sustainability practice adoption, its implications and its alignment with SDGs through a case study research based in Kandy, Sri Lanka. This research builds on the work of Mihalič and colleagues’ hotel sustainability business model to thematically explore the current context of sustainability practice adoption. This study employs a qualitative research method, combining semi-structured interviews and participant observations from 11 chain hotels selected through a purposive sampling approach. The research findings suggest that local hotels have already adopted various sustainability practices across all triple bottom-line considerations. However, most hoteliers did not understand how economic progression relates to their sustainability commitments. Moreover, several hoteliers interpreted sustainability efforts purely with pro-environmental efforts. The study further indicates that larger chain hotels tend to implement sustainable practices and align their operations with SDGs, whereas smaller chain hotels face significant challenges in adopting sustainability practices and SDG alignment due to a lack of resources and knowledge.

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