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Comparing the future state of natural capital and ecosystem services with quantitative scenarios is essential in the decision-making process for a sustainable management of forest landscapes. In Sweden, an intensified forest management will likely be necessary to meet future demands of woody biomass as a source of bioenergy and building materials. At the same time an intensified forest harvest can cause conflicts with goals for biodiversity conservation and reduce the amount of carbon being stored the forest. This study conducted a scenario analysis to evaluate how different types of forest management would affect changes in carbon stock between the above ground biomass in a Swedish forest and the biomass harvested from the forest. Potential conflicts between the harvesting scenarios and the in Sweden critically endangered White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos) was also evaluated. The White-backed Woodpecker can be seen as an umbrella species, which means that there are about 200 other endangered plant and animal species that depend on the same kind of forest environments and could therefore be a measure of the state of the forest biodiversity in Sweden. The forest landscape model LANDIS-II was used to simulate vegetation dynamics in species composition, age structure and biomass while considering disturbances only from harvesting. The simulation had a 100-year timeframe and used initial conditions gathered from a previous case study done in Sweden. The IPCC’s representative concentration pathway 4.5 was used to simulate impact from climate change. A business as usual scenario was simulated along with an intensified harvesting scenario and a conservation scenario to evaluate the impact on carbon sequestration in the aboveground biomass and the impact on the White-backed Woodpecker habitat between different forest management scenarios. The change in the stored and harvested carbon was calculated using the Carbon Stock Change Method and by comparing the initial biomass values with the values from the last ten years of the simulation. A habitat suitability score was made with respect to two key habitat requirements for the White-backed Woodpecker (1) the fraction of deciduous trees in the forest; and (2) the age structure of the forest. From the result it was found that the carbon stock change in the forest was relatively stable for all the simulated scenarios during the 100-year period. The forest carbon stock for the intensified harvesting scenario was 1.04 of the initial carbon stock of the simulation while business as usual was 1.08 and the conservation scenario 1.10. A conservation scenario would therefore be preferable if the forest landscape is to be used mainly as a carbon sink. If biomass extraction is to be increased to meet future demands for bioenergy and woody products, it should be noted that the intensified harvesting led to a 23.6 increase of the initial biomass harvest values while business as usual had a 4.2 increase and the conservation scenario a 3.1 increase. The result also suggests that increasing the proportions of deciduous and old forest to recreate the White-backed Woodpecker’s preferred habitat require considerable time and effort and cannot likely be achieved with the current business as usual scenario nor with the intensified harvesting or conservation scenarios simulated in this study. Thus, a more ambitious and targeted restoration effort is needed if the species is to be preserved. How the forest should be sustainably managed in the future depends on which interests takes priority in decision-making. However, a forest landscape model can provide valuable information throughout the management process so that more informed decisions can be made while also saving time, money and resources better used elsewhere. Att jämföra det framtida tillståndet för naturkapital och ekosystemtjänster med kvantitativa scenarier är väsentligt i beslutsprocessen för en hållbar förvaltning av skogslandskap. I Sverige kommer sannolikt ett intensifierat skogsbruk att bli nödvändigt för att möta framtida krav på biomassa till bioenergi och byggmaterial. Samtidigt kan en intensifierad skogsavverkning orsaka konflikter med målet att bevara biologisk mångfald och öka mängden kol lagrad i skogen. Denna studie genomförde en scenarioanalys för att utvärdera hur olika typer av skogsskötsel påverkar i kolbalansen i en svensk skog och mängden biomassa som avverkas från skogen. Potentiella konflikter mellan skogsskötsel och den i Sverige kritiskt hotade vitryggiga hackspetten (Dendrocopos leucotos) utvärderades också. Den vitryggiga hackspetten kan ses som en paraplyart, vilket innebär att det finns cirka 200 andra hotade växt- och djurarter som är beroende av samma sorts skogsmiljöer, och den kan därför vara ett mått på tillståndet för den skogsknutna biologiska mångfalden i Sverige. Skogslandskapsmodellen LANDIS-II användes för att simulera vegetationsdynamik för artsammansättning, åldersstruktur och biomassa samtidigt som man beaktade störningar endast från avverkning. Simuleringen gjorde för en 100-årsperiod och använde initiala förutsättningar från en tidigare fallstudie gjord i Sverige. IPCC:s representativa koncentrationsväg 4.5 användes för att simulera påverkan från klimatförändringar. Ett "business as usual"-scenario simulerades tillsammans med ett intensifierat avverkningsscenario och ett bevarandescenario för att utvärdera påverkan på kolbindning i den stående biomassan och påverkan på habitat för vitryggig hackspett mellan olika skogsskötselscenarier. Förändringen i det lagrade kolet beräknades med hjälp av ”Carbon Stock Change”-metoden och genom att jämföra de initiala biomassavärdena med värdena från de senaste tio åren av simuleringen. Ett habitatlämplighetspoäng gjordes med avseende på två viktiga habitatkrav för vitryggig hackspett (1) andelen lövträd i skogen; och (2) skogens åldersstruktur. Av resultatet visade det sig att kolförrådets förändring i skogen var relativt stabil för alla de simulerade scenarierna under 100-årsperioden. Skogens kollager för det intensifierade avverkningsscenariot var 1,04 av simuleringens initiala värden medan ”business as usual” var 1,08 och bevarandescenariot 1,10. Ett bevarandescenario vore därför att föredra om skogslandskapet främst ska användas som kolsänka. Om biomassautvinningen ska ökas för att möta framtida krav på bioenergi och träprodukter bör det noteras att den intensifierade avverkningen ledde till en ökning med 23,6 av de initiala skördevärdena för biomassa medan ”business as usual” hade en ökning med 4,2 och bevarandescenariot med 3,1. Resultatet tyder också på att en ökning av andelen lövskog och gammal skog för att återskapa vitryggig hackspetts föredragna habitat kräver avsevärd tid och ansträngning och sannolikt inte kan uppnås med det nuvarande scenariot med ”business as usual” eller med de intensifierade avverknings- eller bevarandescenarierna som simuleras i detta studie. Det behövs alltså en mer ambitiös och målinriktad restaureringsinsats om arten ska bevaras. Hur skogen ska skötas hållbart i framtiden beror på vilka intressen som prioriteras i beslutsfattandet. En skogslandskapsmodell kan dock ge värdefull information under hela skötselprocessen så att mer informerade beslut kan fattas samtidigt som det sparar tid, pengar och resurser som kan användas bättre på annat håll.

Stump harvesting is predicted to increase with future increasing demands for renewable energy. This may affect deadwood affiliate biodiversity negatively, given that stumps constitute a large proportion of the coarse deadwood in young managed forests. Spatial decision support for evaluating the integrated effects on biodiversity and production of stump harvesting is needed. We developed a spatially explicit decision support system (called MapStump-DSS), for assessment of tree stump harvesting using biodiversity and economic criteria together with different scenarios for biodiversity conservation and bioenergy market prices. Two novel key aspects of the MAPStump-DSS is that it (1) merges and utilizes georeferenced stump-level data (e.g., tree species and diameter) directly from the harvester with stand data that are increasingly available to forest managers and (2) is flexible toward incorporating both quantitative and qualitative criteria based on emerging knowledge (here biodiversity criteria) or underlying societal drivers and end-user preferences. We tested the MAPStump-DSS on a 45 ha study forest, utilizing harvester data on characteristics and geographical positions for &gt, 26,000 stumps. The MAPStump-DSS produced relevant spatially explicit information on the biodiversity and economic values of individual stumps, where amounts of &ldquo, conflict stumps&rdquo, (with both high biodiversity and economical value) increased with bioenergy price levels and strengthened biodiversity conservation measures. The MAPStump-DSS can be applied in practice for any forest site, allowing the user to examine the spatial distribution of stumps and to obtain summaries for whole forest stands. Information depicted by the MAPStump-DSS includes amounts, characteristics, biodiversity values and costs of stumps in relation to different scenarios, which also allow the user to explore and optimize biodiversity and economy trade-offs prior to stump harvest.

Through-life Engineering Services (TES) is comprised of develop, prepare, utilize and retire phases for complex engineering assets with a focus on maximizing their availability, predictability and reliability at the lowest possible life-cycle cost. TES employs a set of technologies and solutions to improve asset performance efficiently. On the other hand, optimal solutions for minimizing waste in terms of service time and resources is crucial for designing the right service at the right time. Thereby, specifying the possible TES opportunities within the economic, social and environmental sustainability dimensions can be an added value across different manufacturing sectors when deploying TES. However, due to the complexities and immensity of TES approaches, it is challenging to perceive such opportunities. To this end, the existing literature is limited to the effect of TES on economic sustainability and mostly focuses on investigating how TES has modified the service design to improve productivity and profitability. However, a comprehensive study on integrated sustainability has not been yet conducted. This paper presents a holistic view of the potential TES opportunities associated with the sustainability triple bottom line following a systematic review of empirical and theoretical advancements and methodological approaches in the literature. The outcome from this research raises the awareness of TES contribution in the design of sustainable service solutions and technologies, and offers a benchmark and reference point for future research in the field. Finally, this paper provides a set of recommendations that call for the further development of an integrated sustainability assessment framework for TES. Cranfield University

A variety of indicator-based methods have been developed for the sustainability assessment of farming systems (FSs). However, many of them lack holisticity, focus on a specific agricultural sector/product, and do not provide aggregated results to better support decision-making process. The goal of this study was, for the first time, to assess, in a holistic manner, the sustainability performance of different FSs in southeastern Cyprus. The methodological framework involved three major steps. First, the sustainability context was set, and a list of 41 environmental, social, and economic indicators was created. The indicators were then calculated using data from 324 farms. Second, six FSs were identified using multivariate analysis. Finally, the sustainability of FSs was assessed by combining numerical (construction of four composite sustainability indices) and visual (presentation of indicator scores and values with graphs and tables) integration approaches. While the indices provided the &ldquo, big picture&rdquo, visual integration revealed the areas where policy interventions are needed. The analysis showed that sustainable agricultural practices are already used by some farmers in the area. The results could be used for benchmarking purposes and to aid decision-making process in Cyprus but might also be useful for other Mediterranean regions with similar agro-ecological conditions.

The aim of this paper is to propose a multi-attribute hierarchical evaluation model for the evaluation of the aggregate sustainability of livestock farms integrating the economic, environmental, and social aspects. This approach uses an aggregation criterion based on the geometric mean to assess a farm’s current level of sustainability. Sustainability was measured through the use of indicators including carbon footprint, farm income, and animal welfare. Secondly, based on the relationships between the sustainability aspects, the effects of improvement measures on all the indicators were estimated. This paper presents eight livestock case studies from Italy, analyzed in 2014. The results show intermediate values for the aggregate index of sustainability for most of the farms. The index mainly depends on the estimated values of the sustainability indicators related to the economic and environmental aspects. Lower values of animal welfare sustainability are quantified. The introduction of improvement measures in relation to the preparation of the soil had positive effects, both in terms of emissions and animal welfare. The increase of available space per Livestock Unit (LU) resulted in the greatest positive effect on animal welfare, among all the other actions analyzed.

Forest is a resource that is increasingly utilized for multiple purposes. The balance between energy demands and the long-term capacity of ecosystems to support biodiversity and other ecosystem services is crucial. The aim of this project was to increase the knowledge on and to develop methods and tools for trade-offs and synergies analysis among forest ecosystem services based on different forest management policies. Paper I provides an overview of existing models for integrated energy-environment assessment. A literature review was conducted on assessment models and their ability to integrate energy with environmental aspects. Missing environmental aspects concern land use, landscapes and biodiversity. In Paper II a modelling framework was set up to link a landscape simulator with a habitat network model for integrated assessment of bioenergy feedstock and biodiversity related impacts in Kronoberg County. In Paper III we continued with the same management scenarios, while the analysis was expanded to five ecosystem services by developing the Landscape simulation and Ecological Assessment (LEcA) tool: industrial wood, bioenergy, forest carbon stock, recreation areas and habitat networks. In Paper IV we present two heuristic methods for spatial optimization – simulated annealing (SA) and genetic algorithm (GA) – to find optimal solutions for allocating harvest activities, in order to minimize the impacts on habitat networks. In Paper V, as response to the findings in Paper I, we linked the energy model MESSAGE with our LEcA tool for forest bioenergy demand assessment while applying environmental and transport restrictions, in a study of Lithuania. We found trade-offs between industrial wood production and bioenergy on one side, and recreation values, biodiversity, and to some extent carbon storage on the other side. The LEcA tool integrated forest simulation and management with assessment of ecosystem services, which is promising for integrated sustainability assessment of forest management policies. QC 20171023

The need for integrated methodological framework for sustainability assessment has been widely discussed and is urgent due to increasingly complex environmental system problems. These problems have impacts on ecosystems and human well-being which represent a threat to economic performance of countries and corporations. Integrated assessment crosses issues; spans spatial and temporal scales; looks forward and backward; and incorporates multi-stakeholder inputs. This study aims to develop an integrated methodology by capitalizing the complementary strengths of different methods used by industrial ecologists and biophysical economists. The computational methodology proposed here is systems perspective, integrative, and holistic approach for sustainability assessment which attempts to link basic science and technology to policy formulation. The framework adopts life cycle thinking methods—LCA, LCC, and SLCA; stakeholders analysis supported by multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA); and dynamic system modelling. Following Pareto principle, the critical sustainability criteria, indicators and metrics ( i.e. , hotspots) can be identified and further modelled using system dynamics or agent based modelling and improved by data envelopment analysis (DEA) and sustainability network theory (SNT). The framework is being applied to development of biofuel supply chain networks. The framework can provide new ways of integrating knowledge across the divides between social and natural sciences as well as between critical and problem-solving research.

The paper clarifies the social and value dimensions for integrated sustainability assessments of lignocellulosic biofuels. We develop a responsible innovation approach, looking at technology impacts and implementation challenges, assumptions and value conflicts influencing how impacts are identified and assessed, and different visions for future development. We identify three distinct value-based visions. From a techno-economic perspective, lignocellulosic biofuels can contribute to energy security with improved GHG implications and fewer sustainability problems than fossil fuels and first-generation biofuels, especially when biomass is domestically sourced. From socio-economic and cultural-economic perspectives, there are concerns about the capacity to support UK-sourced feedstocks in a global agri-economy, difficulties monitoring large-scale supply chains and their potential for distributing impacts unfairly, and tensions between domestic sourcing and established legacies of farming. To respond to these concerns, we identify the potential for moving away from a one-size-fits-all biofuel/biorefinery model to regionally-tailored bioenergy configurations that might lower large-scale uses of land for meat, reduce monocultures and fossil-energy needs of farming and diversify business models. These configurations could explore ways of reconciling some conflicts between food, fuel and feed (by mixing feed crops with lignocellulosic material for fuel, combining livestock grazing with energy crops, or using crops such as miscanthus to manage land that is no longer arable); different bioenergy applications (with on-farm use of feedstocks for heat and power and for commercial biofuel production); and climate change objectives and pressures on farming. Findings are based on stakeholder interviews, literature synthesis and discussions with an expert advisory group., Highlights • We develop a responsible innovation approach to assessing lignocellulosic biofuel systems. • We clarify social and value dimensions required for integrated sustainability assessment. • Insights on farming and agricultural system perspectives are important for sustainability assessment. • We identify techno-economic, socio-economic and cultural-economic perspectives on lignocellulosic biofuel development. • Regionally-tailored bioenergy configurations may provide alternatives to large-scale biorefinery models.

This paper presents a new decision-support methodology and software tool for sustainable management of urban pollution. A number of different methods and tools are integrated within the same platform, including GIS, LCA, fate and transport modelling, health impact assessment and multi-criteria decision analysis. The application of the framework is illustrated on a case study which investigates the environmental and health impacts of pollution arising from different industrial, domestic and transport sources in a city. The example city chosen for the study is Sheffield, UK, and the main pollutants considered are NOx, SO2 and PM10. The results suggest that the absence of the current large industrial sources in the city would lead to a 90% reduction of the SO2 and 70% of the NO2 ground concentrations, consequently preventing 27 deaths and 18 respiratory hospital admissions per annum for a population of 500,000. Based on the total annual mortality and hospital admissions in Sheffield for the year of the assessment, this means that 0.53% of premature deaths and 0.49% of respiratory hospital admissions would be prevented by the estimated reduction in air pollution. © 2012 The Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

This paper describes the participatory process of developing and implementing a prototype model aimed at supporting the Integrated Sustainability Assessment of water resources and policy options at different scales. The model - called the World Cellular Model (WCM) focuses on the representation of agents’ behaviours and their systemic relationships with their environment. This is achieved by examining the interests, motives, cultural beliefs and structural resources that drive agents’ actions with regard to the use of stocks and flows of water, by looking at the impact of such water behaviours on the environment and on the natural ecosystems at different scales, and by examining in a coevolutionary way the impact of such environmental changes on the behaviours of agents. The WC model takes a ‘total system’, multi-scale, agent perspective. That is, agents operate in a single interrelated system in which each individual or collective agent responds to the availability and use of a set of stocks and flows of rules and/or institutions (S), energy and resources (E), information and knowledge (I) that in turn provokes environmental change (C) or impact on the social ecological system. . This model is being developed together with the use of participatory Integrated Assessment focus groups (IA-fgs) with real stakeholders to get insights about agents’ behaviours and the possible architecture of the model so as to increase its socio-ecological robustness and policy relevance. Our research is part of the EU funded project Matisse (Methods and Tools for Integrated Sustainability Assessment).

El presente trabajo describe el proceso participativo vinculado al desarrollo y la implementación del prototipo de un modelo que tiene como principal objetivo servir de soporte durante el procesos de Evaluación Integrada de la Sostenibilidad (EIS) de diferentes opciones políticas de gestión de los recursos hídricos a diferentes niveles de acción. El modelo – llamado el Modelo del Mundo Celular (MMC) – se centra en la representación del comportamiento de los agentes respecto a sus relaciones sistemáticas con el medio ambiente. Esto se consigue principalmente mediante el análisis tres aspectos. En primer lugar, se analizan los intereses, motivaciones, creencias culturales y otras condiciones estructurales que condicionan la conducta de los agentes en el usos de las reservas y flujos de agua. Segundo, mediante el estudio a diferentes escalas del impacto sobre los ecosistemas naturales y el medio ambiente en general del comportamiento de los usuarios. Por último, se realiza de forma co-evolutiva el análisis del impacto de esos cambios ambientales en el comportamiento de los agentes. El MCM utiliza una perspectiva integrada, multi-escalar y basada en agentes. Los agentes operan en un único sistema interrelacionado en el cual cada individuo o agente colectivo responde a su disponibilidad y uso de un conjunto de reservas y flujos de reglas sociales e instituciones (S), energía y recursos (E) información y conocimiento (I), que a su vez provocan impactos y cambios (C) en el sistema socio-ecológico. Este modelo se está desarrollando conjuntamente con Grupos de Discusión como parte de un proceso de Evaluación Integrada participativa. En el proceso de participación intervienen actores reales involucrados en la gestión del agua que aportan su conocimiento sobre el comportamiento de los agentes y la posible arquitectura del modelo para incrementar su robustez social y su relevancia política. Nuestra investigación forma parte del proyecto MATISSE (Methods and Tools for Integrated Sustainability Assessment)financiado por la Unión Europea., This paper describes the participatory process of developing and implementing a prototype model. This model is aimed at supporting integrated sustainability assessment (ISA) of policy options for managing water resources at different levels of action. The model is called the World Cellular Model (WCM). It represents agents’ behaviour in terms of their systemic relationships with the environment. This is achieved by examining three aspects. Firstly, we analyse the interests, motives, cultural beliefs and other structural conditions that drive agents’ actions with regard to their use of reserves and flows of water. Secondly, we examine different levels of the impact of agents’ behaviour on the environment and on natural ecosystems. Thirdly, we analyse in a coevolutionary way the impact of such environmental changes on the behaviour of agents. The WCM uses an integrated, multi-scale, agent-based perspective. Agents operate in a single interrelated system in which each individual or collective agent responds to the availability and use of a set of reserves and flows of social rules and/or institutions (S), energy and resources (E), information and knowledge (I) that in turn provokes environmental change (C) or impact on the social ecological system. This model is being developed with the collaboration of discussion groups, as part of a participatory integrated assessment process. Groups include people who are involved in water management. These group members have insight into agents’ behaviour and the possible architecture of the model. Their contributions can help to increase the model’s socio-ecological robustness and policy relevance. Our research is part of the EU-funded project MATISSE (Methods and Tools for Integrated Sustainability Assessment).

There is an urgent need to improve our capacity to assess the sustainability of systems relevant to development processes and the sustainability impact of policies and other drivers of change on these. Crucially, there is a clear demand from policy makers for improved sustainability assessments of policies in order to assure good governance. Although sustainability assessment of policies is practised already through a regime of integrated assessment that incorporates some sustainability impacts, assessmenttoday is partial. The scope of today's assessment tools is too limited to capture all relevant impacts and the quality of assessments is limited by gaps and weaknesses in available tools and methods. Assessment is not practised comprehensively across all relevant levels and domains of policy making and is mostly restricted to sectoral level (rather than more strategic, cross-sectoral) policy assessments. Even in this limited implementation sphere, assessment is methodologically inconsistent across applications.This paper reflects on the challenges of improving the processes and tools of sustainability assessmentand on how these challenges might be met through anew assessment paradigm of Integrated Sustainability Assessment.

The present paper proposes a multicriteria approach able to support decision makers in the choice of the best location for a new waste incinerator plant that has to be constructed in the Province of Torino (Italy). Three alternative sites have been compared based on different indicators that have been aggregated using the Choquet integral in order to obtain the global performance of each solution and to better highlight the tradeoffs between the aspects involved. The aim of the analysis is to study the contribution that the Choquet integral offers in sustainability assessment of undesirable facilities location problems, taking into consideration the existence of interactions among the criteria and paying particular attention to the use of quantitative indicators in the evaluation process. Mention should be made to the fact that the analysis takes into account the opinion of several experts in determining the importance of the different elements of the model.