Since about 2015 the social, environmental and economic risks and chances of the bioeconomy and economy in general are becoming increasingly the subject of applied sustainability assessments. Under a bioeconomy, a variety of industrial metabolisms, strategies and visions on substituting fossil resources by renewables and hereto associated societal transformations is formulated, characterized as regional bioeconomy if most foreground activities take place in a specific region. Based on the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, further social and economic LCA approaches were developed in previous research whereby life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) aims to combine or integrate the evaluation of social, environmental and economic effects. In this early stage of rudimentary and combinatory LCSA development, the research questions of this work are to develop a transdisciplinary framework for integrated LCSA for regional stakeholders to assess ecological, economic and social sustainability in one harmonized method, as well as to implement, apply and validate it by two regional case studies. Therefore, i) the understandings of sustainability and approaches of sustainability assessment in LCA are transdisciplinary reflected and developed, ii) a systemic framework of the important aspects of such assessments is structured by a series of stakeholder workshops, iii) the methods and indicators from existing LCA approaches as well as from bioeconomy monitoring systems are selected, identified and allocated to a sustainability concept of holistic and integrated LCSA (HILCSA), iv) databases for the life cycle inventory and methods for life cycle impact assessment are implemented in a software, as well as v) the model and method is applied and validated in two case studies on laminated veneer lumber production and production of biofuels in central Germany. Based on previous research, the dissertation provides a theoretically well based and practically applicable framework for integrated life cycle sustainability assessment, an applicable indicator set for regional (product & territorial) bioeconomy assessment, an integration of life cycle impact assessment methods as well as their comprehensive interpretation. Thereby, LCSA is able to identify the contribution of regional bioeconomy product systems to 14 out of 17 Sustainable Development Goals in terms of planetary boundaries, a sustainable economy and societal needs. The presented results on material and energetic use cases of biomass show that integrated assessments are able to deliver a broad and comprehensive analysis of impacts to identify synergies, trade-offs and hot spots of regional bioeconomy. Compared to existing LCA and LCSA methodologies, the added value of the HILCSA methodology is its integrated and holistic character, which [1] allows consistent and comparable data on social, ecological, and economic indicators, [2] identifies synergies and trade-offs between different aspects and SDGs, [3] traces down impacts to regions in the fore-and background systems, [4] as well as allocates and aggregates them to the SDGs to make complexity communicable. Additionally, HILCSA takes social sciences and political economy into account from beginning to interpretation and discussion of results, relating to social, environmental, and economic impacts not only to technologies but also to societal, economic, and political questions.:Part I Overarching Introduction 1 1. Introduction 2 2. State of the Art 3 2.1 Sustainability Concepts and Frameworks in the Context of BE and the Role of Stakeholder Participation 3 2.2 LCA and LCSA Approaches for BE Regions 5 2.3 Inter-, Transdisciplinarity and Political Economy for Holistic Sustainability Assessment 7 2.4 Research Gaps to be addressed 8 3. Research Objectives 9 4. Methods 10 4.1 Stakeholder Expectations of the BE in Germany and Relevance of SDGs for Sustainability Assessments 10 4.2 Theoretical and Conceptual Considerations on BE, Sustainability and its Assessment for a Holistic and Integrated Framework for LCSA (HILCSA) 11 4.3 Criteria and Aspects for Implementation and Operationalization of HILCSA for BE Regions 11 4.4 Lessons Learned from Application and Validation of HILCSA in Case Studies and Results on Risks and Chances of a BE Transformation 13 5. Results 14 5.1 Stakeholder Participation in BE Monitoring and Assessment 14 5.1.1 Relevances, Interests and Perceptions 14 5.1.2 Narratives and Visions 17 5.2 Theoretical and Conceptual Implications from a Transdisciplinary Perspective on Sustainability Frameworks and Assessments 19 5.2.1 The Three Pillar Approach and additive LCSA 19 5.2.2 Introduction of Societal Relations to Nature in Sustainability Assessment and LCA 21 5.2.3 Societal-Ecological Transformation and the role of LCSA 21 5.3 Operationalization and Implementation of Holistic and Integrated LCSA (HILCSA) for BE Regions 23 5.3.1 Sustainability Concept and LCA Framework for HILCSA 23 5.3.2 Initial LCI and LCIA for HILCSA 25 5.4 Application and Validation of HILCSA in Case Studies and Results on Risks and Chances of a BE Transformation 31 5.4.1 Application of Holistic and Integrated LCSA: First Case Study on LVL Production in Central Germany 31 5.4.1.1 Goal and Scope 31 5.4.1.2 Life Cycle Inventory 33 5.4.1.3 Life Cycle Impact Assessment 34 5.4.1.4 Interpretation 35 5.4.2 Application of Holistic and Integrated LCSA: Second Case Study on prospective biomass to liquid production in Germany 36 5.4.2.1 Goal and Scope 36 5.4.2.2 Life Cycle Inventory 38 5.4.2.3 Life Cycle Impact Assessment 39 5.4.2.4 Interpretation 41 6. Conclusion and Outlook 43 6.1 Stakeholder Expectations and Participation 43 6.2 Theoretical Concepts for Sustainability and Methodological Frameworks 44 6.3 Operationalization and implementation of Holistic and Integrated LCSA 45 6.4 Lessons Learned from Case Studies: Identifying Risks and Chances of Regional BE by Applying & Validating HILCSA 47 6.4.1 Risks and Chances of Regional BE in Case of LVL and BtL and Validation of HILCSA 47 6.4.2 Lessons Learned and Future HILCSA Methodology Development 48 6.5 Concluding Remarks on Political (Bio-)Economy and Transformation 52 References 54 List of Acronyms 66 List of Tables 66 List of Figures 66 Part II Publications 68

Although there are many studies focusing on the environmental impacts of alternative vehicle options, social and economic dimensions and trade-off relationships among all of these impacts were not investigated sufficiently. Moreover, most economic analyses are limited to life cycle cost analyses and do not consider macro-level economic impacts. Therefore, this thesis aims to advance the Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment literature and electric vehicle sustainability research by presenting a novel combined application of Multi Criteria Decision Making techniques with Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment for decision analysis. With this motivation in mind, this research will construct a compromise-programming model (multi-objective optimization method) in order to calculate the optimum vehicle distribution in the U.S. passenger car fleet while considering the trade-offs between environmental, economic, and social dimensions of the sustainability. The findings of this research provide important insights for policy makers when developing strategies to estimate optimum vehicle distribution strategies based on various environmental and socio-economic priorities. For instance, compromise programming results can present practical policy conclusions for different states which might have different priorities for environmental impact mitigation and socio-economic development. Therefore, the conceptual framework presented in this work can be applicable for different regions in U.S. and decision makers can generate balanced policy conclusions and recommendations based on their environmental, economic and social constraints. The compromise programming results provide vital guidance for policy makers when optimizing the use of alternative vehicle technologies based on different environmental and socio-economic priorities. This research also effort aims to increase awareness of the inherent benefits of Input-Output based a Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment and multi-criteria optimization.

Yes / There is general agreement on the importance of green roofs as ways of reducing GHG emissions, reducing overall costs and improving sustainability in urban areas. This systematic literature review highlights life cycle sustainability assessment as an essential criterion to evaluate green roofs. A bibliometric analysis was used to quantitatively review relevant literature. The Scopus database was chosen as a bibliographic database of academic publications. Thes period of search started from 2003 and final search was conducted on February 15, 2023. Based on further in-depth reading, 88 publication records which met the selection criteria, including 74 papers and 14 conference papers. Researchers from the United States contributed almost 31 % of the documents. We evaluated leading studies in this field and discussed assessment method, system boundaries and research gaps through a critical literature review and a systematic search review. Finally, we propose a framework and identify a gap and future research. The environmental aspect of green roofs have received more attention than economic issues. We found that most economic evaluations of green roofs are limited to their construction stage. As yet there is no comprehensive social study on green roofs. We considered a unified study of the economic, environmental impact and social evaluation of green roofs to be warranted. Additionally, various measurement methods should be used to assess the economic profitability of green roofs over the long term. In summary, this study provides a deeper understanding of the environmental, social, and economic performance of green roofs and identifies research gaps as well as future research directions. / The full-text of this article will be released for public view at the end of the publisher embargo on 21 Nov 2024.

Yes / There is general agreement on the importance of green roofs as ways of reducing GHG emissions, reducing overall costs and improving sustainability in urban areas. This systematic literature review highlights life cycle sustainability assessment as an essential criterion to evaluate green roofs. A bibliometric analysis was used to quantitatively review relevant literature. The Scopus database was chosen as a bibliographic database of academic publications. Thes period of search started from 2003 and final search was conducted on February 15, 2023. Based on further in-depth reading, 88 publication records which met the selection criteria, including 74 papers and 14 conference papers. Researchers from the United States contributed almost 31 % of the documents. We evaluated leading studies in this field and discussed assessment method, system boundaries and research gaps through a critical literature review and a systematic search review. Finally, we propose a framework and identify a gap and future research. The environmental aspect of green roofs have received more attention than economic issues. We found that most economic evaluations of green roofs are limited to their construction stage. As yet there is no comprehensive social study on green roofs. We considered a unified study of the economic, environmental impact and social evaluation of green roofs to be warranted. Additionally, various measurement methods should be used to assess the economic profitability of green roofs over the long term. In summary, this study provides a deeper understanding of the environmental, social, and economic performance of green roofs and identifies research gaps as well as future research directions. / The full-text of this article will be released for public view at the end of the publisher embargo on 25 Nov 2024.

abstract: One of the key infrastructures of any community or facility is the energy system which consists of utility power plants, distributed generation technologies, and building heating and cooling systems. In general, there are two dimensions to “sustainability” as it applies to an engineered system. It needs to be designed, operated, and managed such that its environmental impacts and costs are minimal (energy efficient design and operation), and also be designed and configured in a way that it is resilient in confronting disruptions posed by natural, manmade, or random events. In this regard, development of quantitative sustainability metrics in support of decision-making relevant to design, future growth planning, and day-to-day operation of such systems would be of great value. In this study, a pragmatic performance-based sustainability assessment framework and quantitative indices are developed towards this end whereby sustainability goals and concepts can be translated and integrated into engineering practices. New quantitative sustainability indices are proposed to capture the energy system environmental impacts, economic performance, and resilience attributes, characterized by normalized environmental/health externalities, energy costs, and penalty costs respectively. A comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment is proposed which includes externalities due to emissions from different supply and demand-side energy systems specific to the regional power generation energy portfolio mix. An approach based on external costs, i.e. the monetized health and environmental impacts, was used to quantify adverse consequences associated with different energy system components. Further, this thesis also proposes a new performance-based method for characterizing and assessing resilience of multi-functional demand-side engineered systems. Through modeling of system response to potential internal and external failures during different operational temporal periods reflective of diurnal variation in loads and services, the proposed methodology quantifies resilience of the system based on imposed penalty costs to the system stakeholders due to undelivered or interrupted services and/or non-optimal system performance. A conceptual diagram called “Sustainability Compass” is also proposed which facilitates communicating the assessment results and allow better decision-analysis through illustration of different system attributes and trade-offs between different alternatives. The proposed methodologies have been illustrated using end-use monitored data for whole year operation of a university campus energy system. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering 2018

This research assesses the impacts of developing shale gas in the UK, with the focus of determining whether or not it is possible to develop it sustainably and how it could affect the electricity and gas mix. There is much uncertainty on the impacts of developing shale gas in the UK, as the country is currently in the early stages of exploration drilling and the majority of studies which have been carried out to analyse the effects of shale gas development have been US specific. To address these questions, the environmental, economic and social sustainability have been assessed and the results integrated to evaluate the overall sustainability. The impacts of shale gas electricity have been assessed so that it can be compared with other electricity generation technologies (coal, nuclear, renewables etc.), to ascertain its impacts on the UK electricity mix. Life cycle assessment is used to evaluate the environmental sustainability of shale gas electricity (and other options), while life cycle costing and social sustainability assessment have been used to evaluate the economic and social sustainability. Multi-criteria decision analysis has been used to combine the results of three to evaluate the overall sustainability. The incorporation of shale gas into the UK electricity mix is modelled in two future scenarios for the year 2030. The scenarios compare different levels of shale gas penetration: low and high. The results show that shale gas will have little effect on improving the environmental sustainability and energy security of the UK’s electricity mix, but could help ease energy prices. In comparison with other options, shale gas is not a sustainable option, as it has higher environmental impacts than the non-fossil fuels and conventional gas and liquefied natural gas: 460 g CO2-Eq. is emitted from the shale gas electricity life cycle, while conventional gas emits 420 g CO2-Eq. and wind 12 g CO2-Eq. The power plant and drilling fluid are the main impact hot spots in the life cycle, while hydraulic fracturing contributes a small amount (5%). In addition to this, there are a number of social barriers which need to be addressed, notably: traffic volume and congestion could increase by up to 31%, public support is low and wastewater produced from hydraulic fracturing could put strain on wastewater treatment facilities. However, the results indicate that shale gas is economically viable, as the cost of electricity is cheaper than solar photovoltaic, biomass and hydroelectricity (9.59 p/kWh vs 16.90, 11.90 and 14.40 p/kWh, respectively). The results of this thesis show that there is a trade-off in the impacts, but because of its poor environmental and social ratings shale gas is not the best option for UK electricity. The results also identify areas for improvement which should be targeted, as well as policy recommendations for best practice and regulation if shale gas were to be developed in the UK.

Life cycle costing (LCC) is the state-of-the-art method to economically evaluate long-term projects over their life spans. However, uncertainty in long-range planning raises concerns about LCC results. In Part I of this series, we developed a holistic framework of the different types of uncertainty in infrastructure LCCs. We also collected methods to address these uncertainties. The aim of Part II is to evaluate the suitability of methods to cope with uncertainty in LCC. Part I addressed two research gaps. It presented a systematic collection of uncertainties and methods in LCC and, furthermore, provided a holistic categorization of both. However, Part I also raised new issues. First, a combined analysis of sources and methods is still outstanding. Such an investigation would reveal the suitability of different methods to address a certain type of uncertainty. Second, what has not been assessed so far is what types of uncertainty are insufficiently addressed in LCC. This would be a feature to improve accuracy of LCC results within LCC, by suggesting options to better cope with uncertainty. To address these research gaps, we conducted a systematic literature review. Part II analyzed the suitability of methods to address uncertainties. The suitability depends on data availability, type of data (tangible, intangible, random, non-random), screened hotspots, and tested modeling specifications. We identified types of uncertainties and methods that have been insufficiently addressed. The methods include probabilistic modeling such as design of experiment or subset simulation and evolutionary algorithm and Bayesian modeling such as the Bayesian latent Markov decision process. Subsequently, we evaluated learning potential from other life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA). This analysis revealed 28 possible applications that have not yet been used in LCC. Lastly, we developed best practices for LCC practitioners. This systematic review complements prior research on uncertainty in LCC for infrastructure, as laid out in Part I. Part II concludes that all relevant methods to address uncertainty are currently applied in LCC. Yet, the level of application is different. Moreover, not all methods are equally suited to address different categories of uncertainty. This review offers guidance on what to do for each source and type of uncertainty. It illustrates how methods can address both based on current practice in LCC, LCA, and LCSA. The findings of Part II encourage a dialog between practitioners of LCC, LCA, and LCSA to advance research and practice in uncertainty analysis.

This dissertation aims to investigate the sustainability impacts of alternative vehicle technologies and develop comprehensive sustainability assessment frameworks to analyze potential impacts of these vehicles in the U.S. In order to assess sustainability impact of vehicle alternatives, life-cycle based models has been extensively used in the literature. Although life cycle-based models are often used for environmental impacts of alternative vehicles, analysis of social and economic impacts of these vehicles has gained a tremendous interest. In this regard, there is a growing interest among the international platform and academia to use the Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment framework to have more informed sustainable products, material and technology choices by considering the environmental, as well as social and economic impacts. The Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment framework is still under development and there is an ongoing research to advance it for future applications. In this dissertation, current and future needs of sustainability assessment frameworks and the U.S. transportation are identified and addressed. The major research gaps are identified as follows: (1) there has been small emphasis on effects of spatial and temporal variations on the sustainability impacts of alternative vehicle technologies, (2) no national research efforts as of now have been directed specifically toward understanding the fundamental relationship between the adoption of electric vehicles and water demand, (3) there has been a lack of understanding the dynamic complexity of transportation sustainability, encompassing feedback mechanisms, and interdependencies, for the environmental, social, and economic impacts of alternative vehicles, and (4) there is no emphasis on addressing uncertainties inherent to the U.S. transportation and its complex relationships with the environment, society, and economy. The environmental, economic, and social impacts of alternative vehicles are highly critical for truly assessing and understanding the long-term sustainability of vehicles and propose economically viable, socially acceptable, and environmentally-friendly transportation solutions for U.S. passenger transportation. This dissertation provides a more comprehensive sustainability assessment framework by realizing following objectives: (1) inclusion of spatial and temporal variations when quantifying carbon, energy, and water footprints of alternative vehicle technologies, (2) quantifying environmental, social, and economic impacts of alternative vehicle technologies, (3) capturing the dynamic relations among the parameters of U.S. transportation system, environment, society, and the economy, (4) dealing with uncertainties inherent to the U.S. transportation sector considering the complexity of the system and dynamic relationships. The results of this dissertation reveal that the results with consideration of uncertainties, temporal and spatial variations, and dynamic complex relationships among the system variables can be significantly different than those of without consideration of those. Therefore, when developing policies the robustness of proposed scenarios should be valuated with consideration of uncertainties, temporal and spatial variations as well as the dynamic feedback mechanisms. The outcomes of this study can pave the way for advancement in the state-of-the-art and state-of-the-practice in the sustainability research by presenting novel approaches to deal with uncertainties and complex systems.

Författarna har haft ett samarbete med Panduro Hobby i samband med deras årliga miljökampanj. Syftet med examensarbetet har varit att med hjälp av befintliga produktutvecklingsprocesser och livscykelanalyser (LCA) ta fram en hållbar textil produkt med växtfärgning. Tanken var att konsumenter sedan själva skall kunna ta fram och växtfärga denna hållbara textilprodukt. Miljömedvetenhet och hållbarhet inom textilindustrin är ett aktuellt ämne. Trots det saknar dagens konsumenter förståelse för textilindustrins påverkan på miljön och har bristande kunskap om textila material för att kunna göra miljövänliga val ute i handeln. Både konsumenter och företag uttrycker att de gärna vill bidra till en mer miljövänlig textilindustri men att de saknar kännedom, resurser och verktyg för att göra det. Därför valde författarna av examensarbetet att undersöka hur en hållbar textil produkt kan tas fram med hjälp av livscykelanalyser, produktutvecklingsmetoden Product Ideas Tree (PIT) samt växtfärgning. Alla steg under produktutvecklingsprocessen valdes ur miljöhänsyn och efter de förutsättningar som krävs för att göra en så miljövänlig textil produkt som möjligt. Resultatet av undersökningen blev en växtfärgad tygkasse i 100 % lin. Efter framtagningen av produkten gjordes en livscykelanalys benämnd MET-matris för att analysera produktens miljöpåfrestning. Matrisen konstaterade att produkten inte har avsevärda miljöbrister. Med examensarbetet och den framtagna produkten vill författarna uppmuntra konsumenter och företag till att fortsätta visa engagemang och intresse för förändringar som gynnar miljön med förhoppningen om att få fler att agera mer hållbart. / The authors have had a collaboration with Panduro Hobby in addition to their annual environmental sustainability campaign. The aim of the thesis has been to develop a sustainable textile product with natural dye using existing product development processes and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The idea was that consumers later on would be able to produce this sustainable textile product and dye it themselves. Environmental awareness and sustainability in the textile industry is a topical subject. Nevertheless many consumers lack sufficient knowledge of textile materials to make environmentally friendly choices in the commerce. Both consumers and businesses express that they would like to contribute to a more environmentally friendly textile industry, but that they lack the knowledge, resources and tools to do it. Therefore, the authors of the thesis chose to explore how a sustainable textile product may be produced with the help of Life Cycle Assessment and the product development method Product Ideas Tree (PIT). All steps in the product development process were carefully chosen with consideration to the environment and the circumstances required to make the textile product as sustainable as possible. The study resulted in the development of a canvas bag made out of 100% linen dyed it with natural dye. After the product development a Life Cycle Analysis, referred to as MET Matrix, was done to analyse the product's environmental strain. The matrix noted that the product does not have significant environmental burdens. With the thesis and the produced product the authors would like to encourage consumers and businesses to continue to show commitment and interest in changes that benefit the environment, with the hope of getting more people to act more sustainably.

Die Arbeit richtet sich an Personen der vorwettbewerblichen werkstofftechnischen Forschung und Entwicklung bzw. Personen, die mit einer Produktvorentwicklung betraut sind. Die Arbeit erhebt den Anspruch, für diese Phase eine Vorgehensweise aufzuzeigen, die durch die Nutzung einfach zugänglicher Kenngrößen verschiedenster werkstoff-, produktions- und produkttechnischer Kriterien eine umfassende Nachhaltigkeitsbewertung ermöglicht. In der Arbeit werden anhand identifizierter Strategien werkstofftechnische Maßnahmen zur Steigerung der Nachhaltigkeit in der Produktion aufgegriffen und diskutiert. Es werden Betrachtungsraumgrenzen im Werkstofflebenszyklus erörtert, sowie das Wirken werkstofftechnischer Maßnahmen im Kontext einer nachhaltigen, ressourceneffizienten Produktion diskutiert. Anhand der erarbeiteten Grundlagen werden Kriterien festgelegt, welche die Wirkung werkstofftechnischer Maßnahmen auf die Nachhaltigkeit eines Produkts oder Prozesses sichtbar machen. Im Anschluss wird ein formalisiertes Vorgehen vorgestellt, mit dem konkrete Maßnahmen innerhalb verschiedener Betrachtungsraumgrenzen bewertet und verglichen werden können. Schließlich erfolgt unter Anwendung dieses Vorgehens die Bewertung verschiedener Beispiele werkstofftechnischer Maßnahmen, die nachhaltige Produkte bzw. Produktionsweisen zum Ziel haben. Die Ergebnisse der Bewertungen bilden dabei zum einen Ausgangspunkte für die Anpassung und Weiterentwicklung der betrachteten Maßnahme. Zum anderen dienen sie als Basis für detailliertere Bewertungen unter Nutzung zusätzlicher ökologischer, ökonomischer und sozialer Nachhaltigkeitskriterien. Die bereitgestellte Vorgehensweise sowie die hinzugezogenen Bewertungskriterien orientieren sich vorrangig an den Aufgaben und Problemstellungen der metallverarbeitenden produzierenden Industrie. / The work is addressed to people involved in pre-competitive materials engineering, research and development, or to people entrusted with preliminary product development. It claims to demonstrate a procedure for this phase of production that enables a comprehensive sustainability assessment by using easily accessible parameters of various criteria from material, production and the product itself. The work uses identified strategies to address and discuss measures from material engineering that aim for an increased sustainability in production. The boundaries of the material life cycle are discussed, as well as the effects of material-related measures in the context of a sustainable, resource-efficient production. Basing on the developed principles, criteria are defined which make the effect of material engineering on the sustainability of a products or processes visible. Subsequently, a formalized procedure is presented with which concrete measures can be evaluated and compared with respect to different boundaries set to the product or material life cycle. Finally, this procedure is used to evaluate different examples of material-related measures. The results of the assessments form both, a starting point for the adaptation and further development of the measure under consideration, and a basis for more detailed evaluations using additional ecological, economic and social sustainability criteria. The introduced approach and evaluation criteria are thereby primarily oriented towards the tasks and problems of metalworking manufacturing industries.