Page 212 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

210 10. Advancing life cycle sustainability assessment using multiple criteria decision making

analysis is recommended to assess the effect of weights, attributes, and MADM methods.
Some of the most commonly used MADM methodologies used in decision making have been
briefly described in the following section.

10.4 Application of MADM in LCSA

LCSA attempts simultaneous use of different approaches (LCA, LCC, and SLCA) over
an alternative and presents results of analysis in an integrated manner (Ness et al., 2007).
Coupling of MADM with LCSA makes it possible to unite the results of the assessments
obtained using different methods. Additionally, a majority of research on LCSA is focused
on one of the three pillars (dimensions) of sustainability (environment, economic, and social)
or, in some cases, covering two dimensions. The dimensions can consist of multiple indicators
and decision making in LCSA requires judgment considering multiindicator trade-offs
(Tarne et al., 2019). The following subsections discuss applications of MADM-based
LCSA in various sectors, viz., construction, transport, water, energy, and production and
consumption.

10.4.1 Construction

Integration of MADM methods with LCSA has seen a significant number of applications
in the field of infrastructure construction. For example, Akhtar et al. (2015) attempt to develop
an asset management plan by comparing four types of sewer systems, which are made
up of (a) polyvinyl chloride (PVC), (b) ductile iron, (c) concrete, and (d) vitrified clay. For com-
parison, two LCSA frameworks are developed. The first framework is to integrate LCA and
LCC with energy synthesis. Energy is used to convert integrated values from LCA and LCC
into equivalent solar power. Whereas, the second framework deals with integrating
AHP with LCC. This, therefore, suggests that the study does not consider social aspects
during comparison and results suggest PVC pipe performs the best in both economic and
environmental aspects. In another study by Dong and Ng (2016), an LCSA framework is
developed for a residential housing complex in Hong Kong for an estimation from
cradle to end of the construction process. Experts in the study suggest that integration of
LCC, LCA, and SLCA must be performed using MADM methods. However, the selection
of MADM method and weighting process must be left with stakeholders. Similarly,
two six-story buildings, one made of wood and the other with concrete, from Vancouver
is investigated using an LCSA framework with assessment from cradle to grave. The meth-
odology utilizes AHP to develop a sustainability index from aggregating the impacts
(Hossaini et al., 2015).

10.4.2 Transport

Transport is also a field where integrated MADM and sustainability assessment studies are
present. A study was conducted by Sou et al. (2016) on bottom ash management from Macao
to China and suggested that transportation was the most sensitive component with impacts