Iacovidou, E orcid.org/0000-0001-6841-0995, Busch, J orcid.org/0000-0002-7036-8260, Hahladakis, JN et al. (3 more authors) (2017) A Parameter Selection Framework for Sustainability Assessment. Sustainability, 9 (9). 1497. ISSN 2071-1050
Abstract
Sustainability assessment of resource recovery from waste is an important prerequisite for informed and sound decision-making. Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) has been developed to support this process, yet its use is still constrained by the difficulty of identifying the most relevant impact parameters. This paper, seeks to inform LCSA for resource recovery from waste based on a parameter identification approach that uses the political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal (PESTEL) analysis. The novelty of this approach lies in the structured conceptualisation of the resource recovery system and the context within which decisions are made. The anaerobic digestion of source-separated food waste in the UK is used as a case study to trial and demonstrate the approach. Findings suggest that a conceptual, qualitative analysis, although limited in its scope due to the lack of quantitative components, is suitable in integrating different parameters, allowing for a holistic conceptualisation of the system and capturing important issues that could be easily overlooked. This type of analysis can summarise the key interdependencies, contrast the trade-offs and provide a wider understanding of the political and legal context within which the system operates, all important in extending the implementation of LCSA towards the right direction.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2017 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
Keywords: | sustainability assessment; anaerobic digestion; PESTEL; resource recovery; food waste; LCSA |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Civil Engineering (Leeds) > Institute for Resilient Infrastructure (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Sustainability Research Institute (SRI) (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number NERC NE/L014149/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 30 Aug 2017 15:34 |
Last Modified: | 30 Aug 2017 15:34 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | MDPI AG |
Identification Number: | 10.3390/su9091497 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:120641 |