Due to the result of the sudden fossil fuels over-night price rises of 1973/1974, coupled with the depletion of the traditional energy resources, many initiatives globally have addressed the efficient use of these resources. Since then, several renewable energy sources have been introduced as alternatives to traditional resources to protect environmental resources and to improve quality of life. Globally, there are more than a quarter of the human population experiencing an energy crisis, particularly those living in the rural areas of developing countries. One typical example of this is Nigeria. This is a country with approximately 80% of her population consistently relying on combustible biomass from wood and its charcoal derivative. Nigeria has an abundant amount of both renewable and fossil fuel resources, but due to the lack of a reasonable energy policy (until recently), it has concentrated on traditional fossil fuels alone. Renewable energy is now Globally considered as a solution for mitigating climate change and environmental pollution. To assess the sustainability of renewable energy systems, the use of sustainability indicators is often necessary. These indicators are not only able to evaluate all the sustainability criteria of the renewable energy sources,1 but also can provide numerical results of sustainability assessment for different objective systems.

No description available.

<p>  </p> <p>Although airports of all sizes have incorporated sustainability practices into planning, there is a gap in literature concerning the impacts of sustainability initiatives on airport operations and stakeholders. This multiple case study sought to explore the impact assessment methods used by six small hub airports (cases) that received the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airport sustainability Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grants to prepare airport sustainability planning documents.</p> <p>The objective of the study was twofold. The first objective was to gain in-depth understanding of sustainability metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and sustainability impact assessment methods and tools used by small hub airports. The second objective was to develop a preliminary framework for assessing the impacts of sustainability initiatives in airports. Three types of data were collected airport sustainability planning documents, archival records, and interviews with 14 airport executives and two airport planning consultants. Sustainability planning processes, sustainability assessment methods and tools, and sustainability metrics and KPIs were identified from data for each case and compared to one of the most comprehensive industry-specific airport sustainability rating systems, the Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) <em>Report 119: Protype Airport Sustainability Rating System: Characteristics, Viability, and Implementation Options</em>. Interview responses from airport executives and consultants were used to corroborate information in the sustainability planning documents.</p> <p>The findings of this study showed more commonalities than differences in the approaches to sustainability impact assessment by the six small hub airports in this study. Commonalities were evident in the criteria for selecting sustainability initiatives, indicating that cost and return on investment were the major factors. In addition, small hub airports in this study reported similar challenges on tracking sustainability metrics and KPIs, indicating that more work is needed in this area. The differences noted were driven by airport operating conditions such as geographical location and local community goals. </p>

This project is a Bachelor’s thesis conducted by two students at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. The report aims to assess the implementation of sustainable agriculture at the farm Rosenhill, in the Stockholm region in Sweden, and provide potential agroecological solutions. The assessment of the farm functioned as a case study to explore possible ways to improve sustainable practices in agriculture. The method used for assessing agricultural practices in this thesis was drawn from the existing methods IDEA and complemented with the intent to find agroecological approaches. The data gathering was conducted through interviews and observations at the farm, as well as receiving complementing documents from the farm. The data from the interviews and observation was then compiled into a document and divided up into categories, corresponding to the indicators chosen for the analysis. Each individual indicator was first examined individually and, on this ground, concluding comments on the overall implementation of sustainable agriculture were drawn. Results show that the farm is implementing sustainable agriculture the ectively, however, areas of improvement were also identied. The following agroecological practices were further discussed as potential solutions to problems identied at the farm: Intercropping and/or Companion Planting, Cover-cropping and Reduced Tillage, and Agroforestry. / De a projekt är en kandidatexamensarbete skriven av två studenter på Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan (KTH). Rapporten har som syfte att bedöma implementeringen av hållbart jorbruk på odlingen Rosenhill, i Stockholmsregionen, och ge potentiella agroekologiska lösningar. Bedömningen av odlingen fungerade som en fallstudie för att utforska möjliga sätt att förbättra hållbara tillämpningar inom jordbruk. Metoden som användes i detta arbete för att bedöma tillämpningen av jordbruk hämtades från de existerande metoderna IDEA och RISE och komplementerad med avsikten a hitta agroekologiska angreppssätt. Insamlingen av data gjordes genom intervjuer och observationer, samt dokument från odlingen. Data från intervjuer och observationer sattes samman i ett dokument och delades in i kategorier, motsvarande indikatorer valda för analys. Varje individuell indikator analyserades enskilt först och baserat på detta drogs det avslutande kommentarer på den övergripande implementeringen av hållbart jordbruk. Resultaten visar att odlingen implementerar hållbart jordbruk väl, dock kunde förbättringsområden identifieras. Följande tillämpningar av agroekologi diskuterades som potentiella lösningar till problem som identifierades på odlingen: Samodling av lämpliga grödor, Täckningsgrödor och reducerad jordbearbetning och Skogsjordbruk.

La tesi si basa sui principi della sostenibilità ambientale applicati al settore della viticultura. I principali obiettivi sono: i) analisi della letteratura riguardante gli indicatori agro-ambientali, ii) sviluppo di una metodologia innovativa per valutare l’impatto ambientale della viticultura e, iii) applicazione della metodologia in casi pratici. La parte introduttiva è dedicata all’analisi degli indicatori agro-ambientali e delle relative politiche europee, alle tematiche inerenti il vino sostenibile e i sistemi di supporto alle decisioni per una viticultura sostenibile. Nella seconda parte è presentata una rigorosa e completa metodologia per valutare il livello di sostenibilità in tutte le fasi della produzione di uva, usando sia indicatori agronomici sia l’approccio della valutazione del ciclo di vita (Life Cycle Assessment). Sono state identificate sei categorie di impatto: salute umana, aria, suolo, biodiversità, consumi energetici e uso dell’acqua. Ogni categoria è composta da sotto-indicatori, per un totale di 21 sotto-indicatori, ognuno dei quali avente un punteggio (da 0 a 5) e un peso relativo nel punteggio complessivo di sostenibilità (da 0 a 5). La terza parte riguarda l’applicazione della metodologia in casi studio all’interno del progetto europeo “InnoVine”. Il lavoro di ricerca è stato realizzato seguendo le linee guida di standard internazionali e documentate fonti di letteratura per la valutazione della prestazione ambientale ed elaborando metodologie originali per la raccolta dei dati, la quantificazione degli impatti e l’interpretazione dei risultati. Infine, i risultati ottenuti confermano: i) la validità della metodologia nel calcolare gli impatti delle differenti pratiche viticole sull’ambiente e, ii) la possibilità di implementare la metodologia in un sistema di supporto alle decisioni per una viticultura sostenibile. / The thesis focuses on environmental sustainability principles applied to the viticultural sector. The main goals are: (i) analysis of the literature background on agri-environmental indicators, (ii) development of an innovative methodology to assess environmental impacts of viticulture, and (iii) testing of the methodology in practical cases. The introduction is dedicated to the analysis of the agri-environmental indicators and the related EU policies, sustainable wine issues, and decision support systems for a sustainable viticulture. In the second part, a rigorous and complete methodology is developed to assess the sustainability level of viticulture in all the phases of the grape growing using both agronomic indicators and the Life Cycle Assessment approach. Six impact categories were identified: human health, air, soil, biodiversity conservation, energetic consumptions, and water use. Each category is composed by sub-indicators, for a total of 21 sub-indicators, each of them having a score (between 0 and 5) and a defined weight on the overall sustainability score (between 0 and 5). In the third part, the methodology was tested in practical cases within the European project “InnoVine”. The study is carried out following the guidelines from international standards and from documented literature sources for the assessment of the environmental performance and elaborating original methodologies for the input data collection, the quantification of the impacts, and the interpretation of the results. Finally, the results obtained confirm: i) the methodology validity in quantifying the impacts of different grape production practices on the environment, and ii) the possibility to implement the methodology in a decision support system for a sustainable viticulture.

The production and consumption of information and communication technology (ICT) products and services continue to grow worldwide. This trend is accompanied by a corresponding increase in electricity use by ICT, as well as direct environmental impacts of the technology. Yet a more complicated picture of ICT’s effects is emerging. Positive indirect effects on environmental sustainability can be seen in substitution and optimization (enabling effects), and negative indirect effects can be seen in additional demand due to efficiency improvements (rebound effects). A variety of methods can be employed to model and assess these direct and indirect effects of ICT on environmental sustainability. This doctoral thesis explores methods of modeling and assessing environmental effects of ICT, including electronic media. In a series of five studies, three methods were at times applied in case studies and at others analyzed theoretically. These methods include life cycle assessment (LCA) and complex systems modeling approaches, including System Dynamics (SD) and agent-based (AB) modeling. The first two studies employ the LCA approach in a case study of an ICT application, namely, the tablet edition of a Swedish design magazine. The use of tablets has skyrocketed in recent years, and this phenomenon has been little studied to date. Potential environmental impacts of the magazine’s tablet edition were assessed and compared with those of the print edition. The tablet edition’s emerging version (which is marked by a low number of readers and low reading time per copy) resulted in higher potential environmental impacts per reader than did the print edition. However, the mature tablet edition (with a higher number of readers and greater reading time per copy) yielded lower impacts per reader in half the ten impact categories assessed. While previous studies of electronic media have reported that the main life-cycle contributor to environmental impacts is the use phase (which includes operational electricity use as well as the manufacture of the electronic device), the present study did not support those findings in all scenarios studied in this thesis. Rather, this study found that the number of readers played an important role in determining which life-cycle phase had the greatest impacts. For the emerging version, with few readers, content production was the leading driver of environmental impacts. For the mature version, with a higher number of readers, electronic storage and distribution were the major contributors to environmental impacts. Only when there were many readers but low overall use of the tablet device was the use phase the main contributor to environmental impacts of the tablet edition of the magazine. The third study goes beyond direct effects at product- and service-level LCAs, revisiting an SD simulation study originally conducted in 2002 to model indirect environmental effects of ICT in 15 European countries for the period 2000-2020. In the current study, three scenarios of the 2002 study were validated in light of new empirical data from the period 2000–2012. A new scenario was developed to revisit the quantitative and qualitative results of the original study. The results showed, inter alia, that ICT has a stimulating influence on total passenger transport, for it makes it more cost- and time-efficient (rebound effects). The modeling mechanism used to represent this rebound effect is further investigated in the fourth study, which discusses the feedback loops used to model two types of rebound effects in passenger transport (direct economic rebound and time rebound). Finally, the role of systems thinking and modeling in conceptualizing and communicating the dynamics of rebound effects is examined. The aim of the fifth study was to explore the power of systems modeling and simulation to represent nonlinearities of the complex and dynamic systems examined elsewhere in this thesis. That study reviews previous studies that have compared the SD and AB approaches and models, summarizing their purpose, methodology, and results, based on certain criteria for choosing between SD and AB approaches. The transformation procedure used to develop an AB model for purposes of comparison with an SD model is also explored. In conclusion, first-order or direct environmental effects of ICT production, use, and disposal can be assessed employing an LCA method. This method can also be used to assess second-order or enabling effects by comparing ICT applications with conventional alternatives. However, the assessment of enabling effects can benefit from systems modeling methods, which are able to formally describe the drivers of change, as well as the dynamics of complex social, technical, and environmental systems associated with ICT applications. Such systems methods can also be used to model third-order or rebound effects of efficiency improvements by ICT. / Den ökande produktionen och konsumtionen av produkter och tjänster inom informations- och kommunikationsteknik (IKT) leder till en ökning av den globala elanvändningen samt direkta miljökonsekvenser kopplade till IKT. Men IKT har även indirekta miljömässiga effekter. Dessa kan vara positiva till exempel genom substitutions- och optimeringseffekter eller negativa genom att till exempel ge upphov till ytterligare efterfrågan på grund av effektivisering (så kallade reboundeffekter). Olika metoder kan användas för att modellera och bedöma både direkta och indirekta effekter av IKT. Syftet med denna avhandling är att undersöka metoder för modellering samt att studera miljöeffekter av IKT och elektronisk media med hjälp av livscykelanalys (LCA) och även modellering av komplexa och dynamiska system, samt simuleringsteknik, så som System Dynamics (SD) och agentbaserad (AB) modellering. Avhandlingen omfattar fem artiklar (artikel I-V). Artikel I &amp; II beskriver resultaten från en fallstudie där miljöeffekter kopplade till en svensk tidskrift studeras med LCA. Tidskriftens version för surfplatta samt motsvarande tryckta version studeras och jämförs. Artikel III går ett steg vidare från produktnivåns LCA. Artikeln återkopplar till en SD simuleringsstudie som ursprungligen genomfördes under 2002. Simuleringsstudien gällde framtida miljöeffekter av IKT i 15 europeiska länder med tidspespektivet 2000-2020. I artikeln valideras tre scenarier från simuleringsstudien med hjälp av nya empiriska data från 2000-2012 och ett nytt scenario modelleras. Kvantitativa och kvalitativa resultat från den ursprungliga studien diskuteras. Till exempel visar artikel III att IKT har en stimulerande effekt på den totala persontrafiken genom att göra den mer kostnads- och tidseffektiv (reboundeffekt). Modelleringsmekanismen som används för att representera denna reboundeffekt diskuteras vidare i artikel IV. Artikeln belyser och diskuterar den återkopplingsslinga (feedback-loop) som används för att modellera två typer av reboundeffekter kopplade till persontrafik (direkt ekonomisk rebound och tidsrelaterad rebound) samt jämför med en tidigare studie. Artikel IV behandlar också den roll systemtänkande och modellering kan spela i konceptualisering och kommunikation av reboundeffekters dynamik. För att ytterligare undersöka systemmodelleringens och simuleringens möjligheter att representera icke-linjära komplexa och dynamiska system (exempel på sådana diskuteras i artikel III och IV), sammanställer artikel V tidigare studier som jämför SD och AB-metoder och -modeller.  Studiernas mål och metod summeras och resultaten med avseende på vilka kriterier som presenteras för att välja mellan SD och AB sammanställs. Även processen för att omvandla en befintlig SD-modell till en AB-modell beskrivs. Avhandlingens slutsats är att LCA och systemmodelleringsmetoder kan vara användbara för att studera IKTs direkta effekter så väl som indirekta effekter på miljön. / <p>QC 20150813</p>

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.

Alors que nous faisons face à une crise biologique majeure, acteurs institutionnel et ONGs exhortent les entreprises à s’engager pour enrayer cette érosion écologique. L’objectif de la thèse est d’analyser, évaluer et faire évoluer la contribution potentielle des entreprises à la conservation de la biodiversité dans le cadre de leur responsabilité sociétale (RSE).Un cadre d’analyse est développé pour évaluer la prise en charge par une entreprise de ses responsabilités écologiques en termes de moyens – les initiatives RSE a priori favorables à la biodiversité mises en œuvre – et de résultats – la compatibilité des activités de l’entreprise avec la conservation de la biodiversité. Après avoir caractérisé les initiatives RSE à partir de l’étude d’engagements d’entreprises endossés comme contributions à la Stratégie nationale pour la biodiversité, une méthode est proposée pour détecter si les activités d’une entreprise sont écologiquement non-durables. Le postulat est que le respect des capacités de charge des écosystèmes est un prérequis à la conservation effective de la biodiversité. Cette méthode, adaptée de l’évaluation environnementale absolue de la durabilité, est appliquée, dans le cadre de deux projets de recherche-intervention, au portfolio alimentaire du Groupe Casino et au cycle de vie de deux installations de stockage de déchets dangereux de SARP Industries. Des orientations stratégiques visant à éviter-réduire-compenser les pressions non durables sont proposées. Soulignant l’importance de renforcer la prise en charge des pressions étendues, cette thèse ouvre plus largement des perspectives pour les secteurs d’activité et les politiques publiques. / As we are experiencing a major biological crisis, institutional actors and NGOs are calling on businesses to engage efforts aiming at halting biodiversity loss. The objective of the thesis is to analyze and evaluate the potential contribution of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to biodiversity conservation.A framework is developed to analyze to which extent a company takes in charge its ecological responsibilities. After characterizing CSR initiatives based on the case study of business commitments to contribute to the French National Biodiversity Strategy, a method is proposed to test whether business activities exert unsustainable pressures on ecosystems. It is assumed that compatibility with ecosystems’ carrying capacities is a prerequisite for effective biodiversity conservation. This method, adapted from the “absolute environmental sustainability assessment” (AESA) approach, is applied in the context of research-intervention projects to the food portfolio of the mass-market retailer Groupe Casino and to the life cycle of two facilities of SARP Industrie specialized in the disposal and storage of hazardous waste. The comparison of the company’s environmental footprints with the ecological constraints is used to draw a comprehensive strategy based on the mitigation hierarchy. As our results highlight the opportunity to strengthen the management of extended pressures through CSR, possible implications for sectors and public policies are discussed.

We have dealt with the problem arising from the incongruity between the evolution of the electricity system for meeting the objectives of economic growth, and the human/societal requirements of inclusive and affordable development, and environmental compliance, within the purview of sustainability. We conceive and define the concept of sustainability in the context of national electricity system and adopt an indicator-based hierarchical framework to assess, measure and track its sustainability. The approach necessitates prioritization, quantification and aggregation of multi-dimensional indicators of sustainability. We evaluate the Indian electricity system using this framework by benchmarking the actual dimensional indicator values against upper and lower threshold levels to compute a national electricity system sustainability index (NESSI) for India. The estimated NESSI value for India in 2013 is a low 0.377 (benchmark value is 1), which suggest that India has a substantial sustainability gap to bridge. The approach and the results imply that India or any other emerging/developing country needs to have a serious relook at (i) the goals and targets set for the electricity system, (ii) the set of prioritized technology and policy interventions, and (iii) the models and approaches adopted for strategic electricity planning. The findings from our research clearly indicate that countries like India need to adopt “minimizing sustainability gap” rather than “increasing GDP growth” as the sole criterion for deciding about the challenges raised above for the electricity system. We strongly believe that this approach will not only meet the economic development objective set for the electricity system but also help achieving the societal aspirations as well as environmental compliance. We establish that Indian electricity system is poised for an imminent transition into a sustainable system. What constitutes the inputs, the processes and the outcomes of this transition are of immense interest and have been widely debated in the literature. We motivate and implement an electricity system generation expansion model with multi-attribute technology characterization to model the sustainability transition of electricity system and understand the feasibility, cost and carbon emission implications of generation augmentation. We build on the state of the art resource and technology characterization. We obtain the expansion planning requirements for Indian electricity system by superimposing the projected incremental increase in demand with the retirement schedule. Further, building on the recent advances in power system modelling, we formulate the electricity system transition problem as a grouped integer generation scheduling and generation expansion planning model. This formulation accounts for plant startups, minimum loads, operating reserves, ramping limits and plant life. We run multiple experiments by varying the system configurations for a planning horizon of 18 years till 2032 and characterize the system on select indicators under three dimensions of sustainability for each year. Within the select scenarios, NESSI value in the terminal year varies from 0.481 to 0.51 relative to the base year value of 0.377.We throw some light on how the important questions concerning technology pathways for electricity system sustainability transition can be queried. The approach adopted for this research is two pronged. First is to formulate and subsequently answer the question: What is and what should be the electricity system of India? The second is to answer: what are the prospects for transition of electricity system into a sustainable state? How do probable technology pathways manifest in terms of national electricity system? Can renewable energy deliver? Our proposition –which we validate through this research – is to formulate and subsequently answer the questions in two phases. The two phases are briefly detailed below: In the first phase, the question we have attempted to first formulate and subsequently answer is: what is and what should be the electricity system for India? We propose to employ an indicator based approach for this part of the research, which attempts to evaluate India’s electricity system using the sustainability framework. The analysis of the indicators belonging to economic, social, environmental and institutional dimensions of sustainability will provide a deeper understanding of the system, identify and quantify the prevailing sustainability gaps and develop specific targets for interventions. We begin with a survey of literature in the domain of sustainability assessment. We identify and briefly discuss the essential concepts, ideas and methods used in sustainability assessment. We observe the emergence of electricity related concerns in the wider sustainability discourse. Next, we survey the literature on electricity systems and discuss the intersection of energy systems with development. Than we define the sustainable national electricity system and bring out the synergies between measurement of sustainable development and assessment of objectives of electricity systems. We observe cross country variations in electricity system planning objectives. While focus for developed nations has historically been economic and has subsequently included environmental concerns of climate change and pollution. In addition to economic and environmental aspects, the low levels of access as well as consumption are a reality for India and other developing nations. This adds another dimension to the status assessment and subsequent planning of national electricity system of India. Synthesis of sustainability assessment and objectives of electricity system planning in this phase culminates with conception and evaluation of National Electricity System Sustainability Index (NESSI) for India. The underlying theme throughout this phase is our attempt to first formulate and subsequently answer: What is and what should be the electricity system for India? In the second phase, a modeling approach has been developed to optimally prioritize the interventions (energy-technology supply chains) in response to the specific targets (from Phase 1) for planning a sustainable electricity system for India. All the possible supply chain interventions tracking the transitions from energy resources to electricity in the bus bar on grid (as modeled by a Reference Energy System) form the inputs for the mathematical model. The output is the optimal set of interventions as trade-off solutions, which meet the targets set by the sustainability goal. The criteria like cost, efficiency of transformation, emission coefficients and energy resource availability form the basis for developing the optimal plan. We begin this phase with survey of literature on power system modelling. Electricity system planning has been undertaken in academic and planning domains for several decades. It is only recent that, driven by the imminent challenges of de-carbonization, affordability, equity and security- which has resulted in coevolution of several possible technological, behavioral and policy intervention proposals-there is demand for coherent assessment of these propositions for electricity system transition. In our work, we have focused on supply side technology interventions. Supply side technology intervention propositions for electricity system transition more often than not involve variable renewable energy, i.e., solar and wind. Variable renewable energy technologies pose significant modelling challenges because of their characteristic intermittency which induces complex dynamics in the complimentary system, i.e., electricity generating technologies other than renewable energy. We identify tremendous activity in the domain of electricity system modelling with focus on model representation of electricity system constituents which has significant implications for the outcomes of the planning exercises undertaken with these models. Literature synthesis in this phase culminates with our attempt at mathematical modelling of generation technology pathways for electricity system in transition. Undertaking this exercise has involved preparation of model feeds: energy resource supply profiles, generation technology specifications and demand projections. We have done a series of numerical experiments to establish validity of the model. Subsequently we have validated various scenarios for Indian electricity system representing different levels of transitions, which provides insights which we expect will be useful for the stakeholders. The underlying theme throughout this phase is our attempt to answer the questions: How does one understand electricity system transition? How do electricity generating technologies interact amongst each other to yield certain set of system outputs? Can renewable energy deliver? In our pursuit of finding answers to several questions raised at various points in this thesis and alluded to above, we have done a systematic systemic diagnosis of Indian electricity system. We have developed a multi-dimensional and multi-hierarchical indicator based framework to measure national electricity system sustainability. We have assessed Indian electricity system with this framework, to understand if Indian electricity system is sustainable and how it can transition towards a more sustainable state. Based on this understanding, we have investigated electricity generation technology pathways for a transitioning electricity system. We have modelled India as a single region with aggregate temporal profiles of resource availability and hourly loads. Building on the recent literature on power system modelling and their application, this thesis is a systematic exposition of how the important questions of supply side technology portfolio concerning electricity system sustainability transition can be queried. The results are based on several instances of data inputs. Main contributions from our work are: 1. Introducing the concept of sustainability of national electricity system and defining it comprehensively for the first time. 2. Conceptualizing, developing and validating a multi-dimensional and multi-hierarchical indicator-based framework for assessing and benchmarking national electricity system sustainability. This framework is generalizable and applicable to the electricity systems of all the countries for assessing the sustainability status. 3. A composite measure of National Electricity System Sustainability Index (NESSI), which can be used to identify and quantify prevailing sustainability gaps in the national electricity system and provide a goal for sustainability transition of the electricity system through higher NESSI target values. The constituents (dimensions, themes and indicators) of NESSI can enable identification of interventions and fixing of targets for such a transition. 4. Conceptualized, developed and validated an integrated mathematical model of generation expansion planning (supply augmentation) and generation scheduling with extensive operational details for electricity system in transition. This included: Enumeration and characterization of reference electricity system (energy resources, electricity generating technologies and demand for electricity). Demand profiling which involved estimating annual peak demand and demand for electricity, consideration of annual retiring capacity and computation of representative demand profiles (load curves) for past and future years using time-series load data. Modelling variable renewable energy (wind, solar and hydro) by developing representative energy resource availability profiles using time-series data. Harmonizing the extracted temporal energy resource availability and load profiles to preserve the chronological correlations. Explicit modelling of capacity utilization by proposing and implementing unit profile inversion. Effectively, it implies that generation from the variable generation capacity, e.g., solar capacity is upper bounded by the representative profile corresponding to that capacity. Optimally selected generation technology interventions for planning sustainable electricity system for India under select scenarios. 5. Juxtaposition of indicator-based macro model of electricity system sustainability assessment with bottom-up mathematical model of generation expansion planning and generation scheduling to evaluate official Indian scenarios of electricity system planning for sustainability transition. In summary, we have developed and demonstrated an empirical instance of an integrated methodology, beginning from a systematic diagnosis of the national electricity system to a meaningful solution. Through this thesis, we have attempted to understand the alternate future electricity supply transitions, their implications for society and environment and how they are influenced by the planning decisions. In conclusion, there is substantial activity in all stakeholder domains: research activity, actions by NGOs and the government but given the long term nature of probable interventions, sustained efforts will be required to reach the desired outcomes. Future of grid is the biggest system level problem, which we believe we have illuminated to some extent and which could benefit from further research. While planning exercises using complex models are useful in their own right given the complexities of real world close monitoring and scrutiny of the evolving electricity system and timely course corrections will be critical

The pursuit of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires a transformative approach to energy systems, focusing on cleaner, reliable, and affordable energy services. This pursuit of achieving the SDG 7 goal of universal access to affordable and clean energy, can have numerous positive and negative implications on all other SDGs and their targets. This thesis project explores and addresses these interlinkages between SDGs and energy projects, highlighting the synergies and trade-offs of energy projects to contribute to achieving the SDGs. In this project, we propose a methodology and framework to facilitate the integration of the SDGs into the energy project planning and implementation phase. This framework is implemented into a tool called SDGs-PROPEL (Sustainable Development Goals - PROject Performance Evaluationand Learnings) that is tailor-made to help energy practitioners identify potential trade-offs and synergies, and develop strategies to maximize positive impacts and minimize negative ones by prioritizing the SDGs that are relevant to their projects. The proposed methodology also takes into consideration the growing importance of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting, ensuring that energy projects align with sustainable practices and societal expectations. Three case studies - one Wind energy projectand two district heating projects, all in France, are utilized to test the SDGs-PROPEL tool. It also incorporates feedback from technology experts working in District Heating and Cooling(DHC) and wind energy in energy companies and academia. The tool was also tested by studentsat the master’s level at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. The proposed methodology in the SDGs-PROPEL tool can be used by any energy practitioner for building a robust testing process for their tools and, in turn, help address some of the challenges of integrating SDGs with energy projects by providing a structured approach to incorporating the SDGs into theplanning and implementation phase of the energy projects. In conclusion, this paper emphasizes the significance of incorporating the SDGs into energy projects as a means to drive sustainable development. By enabling companies to assess the environmental, social, and economic impacts of their energy initiatives, this integration plays a crucial role in addressing critical global issues like climate change, poverty reduction, and energy access. / Strävan efter hållbara utvecklingsmål (SDG) kräver ett transformativt förhållningssätt till energisystem, med fokus på renare, pålitliga och överkomliga energitjänster. Denna strävan efter att uppnå SDG 7-målet om universell tillgång till hållbar energi, kan ha många positiva och negativa konsekvenser för alla andra SDG och deras mål. Detta avhandlingsprojekt utforskar och tar upp dessa kopplingar mellan SDG och energiprojekt, och belyser synergierna och avvägningarna mellan energiprojekt för att bidra till att uppnå SDGs. I det här projektet föreslår vi en metod och ett ramverk för att underlätta integrationen av SDGs i energiprojektets planering och genomförandefas. Detta ramverk är implementerat i ett verktyg som kallas SDGs-PROPEL (Sustainable Development Goals - PROject Performance Evaluation and Learnings) som är skräddarsytt för att hjälpa energiutövare att identifiera potentiella avvägningar och synergier, och utveckla strategier för att maximera positiva effekter och minimera negativa. genom att prioritera de SDG som är relevanta för deras projekt. Den föreslagna metoden tar också hänsyn till den växande betydelsen av miljö-, social- och styrelserapportering (ESG), vilket säkerställer att energiprojekt överensstämmer med hållbar praxis och samhälleliga förväntningar. Tre fallstudier - ett vindenergiprojekt och två fjärrvärmeprojekt, alla i Frankrike, används för att testa SDGs-PROPEL-verktyget. Den innehåller också feedback från teknikexperter som arbetar med DHC och vindenergi i energiföretag och akademi. Verktyget testades även av studenter på masternivå vid Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan. Den föreslagna metoden i SDGs-PROPEL-verktyget kan användas av alla energiutövare för att bygga en robust testprocess för sina verktyg och i sin tur hjälpa till att hantera några av utmaningarna med att integrera SDGs med energiprojekt genom att tillhandahålla ett strukturerat tillvägagångssätt för att införliva SDGs in i planerings- och genomförandefasen av energiprojekten. Sammanfattningsvis betonar detta dokument betydelsen av att införliva SDGs i energiprojekt som ett sätt att driva hållbar utveckling. Genom att göra det möjligt för företag att bedöma de miljömässiga, sociala och ekonomiska effekterna av sina energiinitiativ, spelar denna integration en avgörande roll för att ta itu med kritiska globala frågor som klimatförändringar, fattigdomsminskning och tillgång till energi.