Generating Meaningful and Easy-To-Interpret Sustainability Data to Support Decision Making: A Method and A Case Study

Matt Vanderkooy, Gary Wealthall, Michaye McMaster, John Vidumsky

In the proceedings of: GeoMontréal 2013: 66th Canadian Geotechnical Conference; 11th joint with IAH-CNC

Session: Geoenvironmental Sustainability

ABSTRACT: Recently many corporations, organizations, and governmental agencies are putting a greater emphasis on evaluating the sustainability of projects and products to help guide implementation and production. This paper and presentation presents a method to generate and present sustainability data from Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) that are meaningful, easy-to-interpret and simplify decision making. Key deliverables of the method include (1) An overall sustainability ranking of alternatives evaluated that can easily be incorporated into decision making frameworks, (2) Robust uncertainty analysis of rankings using probability distributions of LCA results, (3) Analyzing and optimizing processes or product design to improve sustainability. This paper and presentation showcases the method by applying it to evaluate the sustainability of remedial options for a coal tar contaminated site.

RÉSUMÉ: Récemment, de nombreuses entreprises, organisations et agences gouvernementales mettent davantage l'accent sur l'évaluation de la durabilité des projets et des produits aider à orienter la production et lémentation. Cette etude présente une méthode pour générer et présenter les données du cycle de vie (ACV) de facon claire, facile à interpréter et permettant de faciliter la prise de décision. Les éléments clés de cette méthode incluent (1) Un classement général des ACVs évalués qui peut facilement être intégré dans le cadre du processus décisionnel, (2) Une analyse robuste d'incertitudes des classements à l'aide de distributions de probabilité des résultats des ACVs, (3) Une analyse et une optimisation du processus de conception afin de diminuer les impacts environnementaux. Cet article illustre cette méthode en l'appliquant à évaluation des impacts environnementaux des options de dépollution d'un site pollué par du goudron de houille.

Access this article:
Canadian Geotechnical Society members can access to this article, along with all other Canadian Geotechnical Conference proceedings, in the Member Area. Conference proceedings are also available in many libraries.

Cite this article:
Matt Vanderkooy; Gary Wealthall; Michaye McMaster; John Vidumsky (2013) Generating Meaningful and Easy-To-Interpret Sustainability Data to Support Decision Making: A Method and A Case Study in GEO2013. Ottawa, Ontario: Canadian Geotechnical Society.

@article{GeoMon2013Paper200,author = Matt Vanderkooy; Gary Wealthall; Michaye McMaster; John Vidumsky,title = Generating Meaningful and Easy-To-Interpret Sustainability Data to Support Decision Making: A Method and A Case Study,year = 2013}