Indicators for assessing socioeconomic sustainability of bioenergy systems: A short list of practical measures

Indicators are needed to assess both socioeconomic and environmental sustainability of bioenergy systems. Effective indicators can help to identify and quantify the sustainability attributes of bioenergy options. We identify 16 socioeconomic indicators that fall into the categories of social well-being, energy security, trade, profitability, resource conservation, and social acceptability. The suite of indicators is predicated on the existence of basic institutional frameworks to provide governance, legal, regulatory and enforcement services. Indicators were selected to be practical, sensitive to stresses, unambiguous, anticipatory, predictive, estimable with known variability, and sufficient when considered collectively. The utility of each indicator, methods for its measurement, and applications appropriate for the context of particular bioenergy systems are described along with future research needs. Together, this suite of indicators is hypothesized to reflect major socioeconomic effects of the full supply chain for bioenergy, including feedstock production and logistics, conversion to biofuels, biofuel logistics and biofuel end uses. Ten indicators are highlighted as a minimum set of practical measures of socioeconomic aspects of bioenergy sustainability. Coupled with locally prioritized environmental indicators, we propose that these socioeconomic indicators can provide a basis to quantify and evaluate sustainability of bioenergy systems across many regions in which they will be deployed.     

Assessing the sustainability of water companies: A synthetic indicator approach

Performance indicators (PIs) are essential in the benchmarking process used to rate and rank water companies. However, a set of individual PIs does not provide a holistic assessment of company performance from multiple perspectives. A multidimensional evaluation of the performance of water companies can be achieved by aggregating the PIs into a synthetic indicator. Although the concept of sustainability involves economic, environmental and social criteria, most of the previous studies have not considered these three dimensions simultaneously. This paper discusses a process of indicator aggregation using two approaches based on multi-criteria decision analysis to evaluate and compare the sustainability of water companies from a holistic perspective. A synthetic indicator embracing economic, environmental and social PIs was computed for a sample of 154 Portuguese water companies. Both methods yielded similar rankings of water company sustainability. The techniques and results presented in this paper may be utilized as a means of improving the benchmarking process in regulated water industries, as well as providing valuable contributions to decision-makers on the most efficient steps for improving the sustainability of urban water services.     

Integrated municipal waste management systems: An indicator to assess their environmental and economic sustainability

Tools based on Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) are routinely used to assess the environmental and economic performance of integrated municipal solid waste (MSW) management systems. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is used to quantify the environmental impacts, whereas Life Cycle Costing (LCC) allows financial and economic assessments. These tools require specific experience and knowledge, and a large amount of data.The aim of this project is the definition of an indicator for the assessment of the environmental and economic sustainability of integrated MSW management systems. The challenge is to define a simple but comprehensive indicator that may be calculated also by local administrators and managers of the waste system and not only by scientists or LCT experts.The proposed indicator is a composite one, constituted by three individual indicators: two of them assess the environmental sustainability of the system by quantifying the achieved material and energy recovery levels, while the third one quantifies the costs. The composite indicator allows to compare different integrated MSW management systems in an objective way, and to monitor the performance of a system over time.The calculation of the three individual indicators has been tested on the integrated MSW management systems of the Lombardia Region (Italy) as well as on four of its provinces (Milano, Bergamo, Pavia, and Mantova).     

Sustainability indicators for municipalities of megacities: Integrating health,safety and environmental performance

The sustainability assessment of public sector organizations including municipalities, with a focus on the integration of health, safety, and environmental (HSE) issues in the context of sustainability performance indicators, has almost remained underexplored. Moreover, since a large number of the activities of megacities’ municipalities have directly to do with HSE issues, there seems to be a substantial gap in the study of megacities and corresponding local public administrations. The present study is aimed at developing a performance evaluation tool, supported by indicators, to monitor the HSE aspects of sustainable development in the municipalities of megacities. To put the proposed tool into practice, a set of performance evaluation indicators is proposed to be adopted in Iranian municipalities, integrated in the megacity of Tehran. The selection process was conducted by employing Delphi technique. In doing so, a 2-round questionnaire was responded by qualified experts to select the most robust indicators of HSE performance and evaluate the priority of each indicator. A total of 80 indicators were generated and grouped into 13 categories, 29 sub-categories, and 7 themes- (Health (H), Safety (S), Environment (E), Health-Safety (HS), Health-Environment (HE), Safety-Environment (SE), and Health, Safety and Environment (HSE)). Findings indicate that amongst the overall average score of the 13 categories, “Fire and emergency response” is the most important category, closely followed by “Waste”, “Transportation”, and “Natural systems” categories. Moreover, among the 7 proposed themes, the integrated “HSE theme”, nearly followed by “safety theme”, plays the most significant role in enhancing the HSE performance of sustainability in Tehran municipalities. It is concluded that in the HSE context of the megacities municipalities under scrutiny, social aspects of sustainability gain more attention in comparison with the environmental ones. Furthermore, in municipalities of megacities, the indicators related to health and safety could be considered as ‘key indicators’ and should be thus classified into independent categories so that their roles can be highlighted in the management and assessment of municipal sustainable development.     

A conceptual framework for selecting environmental indicator sets

In recent years, environmental indicators have become a vital component of environmental impact assessments and “state of the environment” reporting. This has increased the influence of environmental indicators on environmental management and policy making at all scales of decision making. However, the scientific basis of the selection process of the indicators used in environmental reporting can be significantly improved. In many studies no formal selection criteria are mentioned and when selection criteria are used they are typically applied to indicators individually. Often, no formal criteria are applied regarding an indicator's analytical utility within the total constellation of a selected set of indicators. As a result, the indicator selection process is subject to more or less arbitrary decisions, and reports dealing with a similar subject matter or similar geographical entities may use widely different indicators and consequently paint different pictures of the environment. In this paper, a conceptual framework for environmental indicator selection is proposed that puts the indicator set at the heart of the selection process and not the individual indicators. To achieve this objective, the framework applies the concept of the causal network that focuses on the inter-relation of indicators. The concept of causal networks can facilitate the identification of the most relevant indicators for a specific domain, problem and location, leading to an indicator set that is at once transparent, efficient and powerful in its ability to assess the state of the environment.     

A selection of safeguard subjects and state indicators for sustainability assessments

Purpose

The purpose of this work is to identify and select safeguard subjects and state indicators that are suitable for sustainability assessment in product and production development, using an interpretation of the Brundtland definition of sustainable development. The purpose is also to investigate how indicators selected in this way differ from other selections in the literature.

Methods

We use a top-down approach, which starts with reviewing the Brundtland definition of sustainability and identifying the corresponding human basic needs to be satisfied. For each basic need, we identify relevant satisfiers, and for each satisfier, a number of safeguard subjects. The safeguard subjects represent critical resources for making satisfiers available. For each safeguard subject, a number of state indicators (=endpoint category indicators) are selected that are relevant for describing impacts from product life cycles on the safeguard subject.

Results and discussion

Ecosystem services, access to water, and abiotic resources are identified as environmental safeguard subjects. Technology for transports, environment, textiles, housing, food, information, and energy, together with income, are identified as economical safeguard subjects. Human health, land availability, peace, social security, continuity, knowledge, jobs/occupation, and culture are identified as social safeguard subjects. In comparison with the other selections of safeguard subjects in literature, our safeguard subjects are structured differently and delimited in scope, but there are also many similarities. The best agreement is on environmental issues, but we classify human health as a social issue. For social issues, we identify fewer safeguard subjects and state indicators than recommendations from UNEP/SETAC. For economic issues, we diverse from current LCC and approach UNECE measures of sustainability.

Conclusions

Identification and selection of safeguard subjects and state indicators benefit from a clear definition of sustainability, needs to be satisfied, and satisfiers. The interpretation of the sustainability concept has a large influence on which safeguard subjects that are included and which indicators that are needed to describe their state. Capacity building is an important sustainability indicator, which should be developed further for use in life cycle sustainability assessment. The top-down approach offers a good arena for a further research and discussions on how to structure and focus LCSA. Our results shall be seen as one example of which safeguard subject that may be identified with the top-down approach presented here.

     

A quantitative method to assess the ecological indicator system's effectiveness: a case study of the Ecological Province Construction Indicators of China

The ecological indicator system (EIS) is widely used. It is vital to develop a scientific and rational EIS for practical application. Assessment of an EIS's effectiveness is important to understand the gaps between practical indicators and indicators that are considered theoretically ideal. In this paper we develop a conceptual method to quantitatively assess the effectiveness of a practical EIS by comparing it with the ideal EIS that is considered perfect by using three assessment indices: linkage, coverage and representation degrees. Linkage degree reveals the relevance of individual indicators to the ideal system. Coverage degree shows the integrity of the practical indicator system compared with the ideal system. Representation degree is the ultimate goal of the quantitative assessment and can detect the gap and overlap between the practical indicator system and the ideal one. Case study on the Ecological Province Construction Indicators (EPCI) proved that our conceptual method is useful to assess the effectiveness of a practical EIS. Compared with an ideal EIS, the EPCI has a high linkage and coverage degree but biased representation. Although the practical EIS covers most of the objectives detailed in the Fujian eco-province construction documents, many social development indicators are overlooked, including ecological culture and green consumption. Using the quantitative method will improve the practical application of an EIS by detecting its redundancy and weakness.     

Mapping indicator models: From intuitive problem structuring to quantified decision-making in sustainable forest management

Most commonly, sustainability indicator sets presented as lists do not take into account interactions among indicators in a systematic manner. Vice versa, existing environmental indicator systems do not provide a formalized approach for problem structuring and quantitative decision support. In this paper, techniques for considering indicator relationships are highlighted and a coupled approach between a qualitative and a quantitative method is analysed. Cognitive mapping (CM) is used for structuring indicators and three different causal maps are derived based on established sustainability concepts: (a) criteria and indicators (C&I hierarchy), (b) indicator network, and (c) Driving Force-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) system. These maps are transferred to the Analytic Network Process (ANP) to allow their application in multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA).In an application example, Pan-European indicators for sustainable forest management (SFM) are utilized in an ANP-based assessment. The effects of the model structure on the overall evaluation result are demonstrated by means of three reporting periods on Austrian forestry.In a comparative analysis of CM and ANP it is tested whether their measures of indicator significance do correspond. Both centrality in CM and single limited priorities in ANP have been reported to identify key indicators that play an important role in networks. We found out that the correspondence between CM and ANP is the stronger the more rigidly cause-effect relationships are interpreted, which is the case for the DPSIR system of SFM indicators.It is demonstrated that using indicator sets without consideration of the indicator interactions will cause shortcomings for evaluation and assessment procedures in SFM. Given strict and consistent definition of causal indicator relationships, a coupled use of CM and ANP is recommendable for both enhancing the process of problem structuring as well as supporting preference-based evaluation of decision alternatives.     

城市环境保护规划与生态建设指标体系实证

在回顾分析各类环境指标体系的基础上,将环境指标体系分为3类：（1）综合性的可持续发展指标体系;（2）区域一半规划与管理指标体系;（3）面向某一领域或专题研究的指标体系。结合案例研究提出了一种面向规划与管理的城市环境保护与生态建设指标体系。该体系综合考虑环境保护与污染控制、生态保护与建设、生态环境管理以及经济发展、城市与社会发展5个专题要素,前3个专题要素组成主体指标系统,后2个组成扩展指标系统。根据规划管理不同层次的需要,设置了核心指标和辅助指标两个复杂程度不同的指标集,分别对应宏观与中观层次的规划要求,并使用灰色关联法对指标体系进行评价。在实例研究中,通过专家咨询法,选择了39项核心指标,31项辅助指标组成上海浦东新区环境保护规划与生态建设指标体系,在计算各项指标现状的基础上,确立了各指标2005年、2010年和2020年的规划值,结合多级灰色关联法,提出了CIEE指数（Comprehensive Index for Environmental Protection and Ecological Construction）对各项指标的现状和变化趋势进行了评价。     

Sustainability indicator systems within urban governance: Usability analysis of sustainability indicator systems as boundary objects

While sustainability indicator systems (SIs) have proven to be valuable rational tools for improving the availability of information related to the relationship of cities and communities to natural limits, the indicators movement has achieved limited instrumental uptake in policy. This paper begins from a recognition that instrumental use of sustainability indicator systems is rare. Greater potential impact exists for SIs designed to be much more attentive to their conceptual and political values within their particular social and political context. In other words, greater attention to what has been called the governance of indicator systems, or the ways in which SIs fit as policy tools within a multilevel and multiactor governance context, is key to increasing their utility. This is particularly true given the need for decisive policy change, or even the introduction of a new development path, which is asserted within the sustainability agenda.Understanding the real and potential utility of indicator systems within multiactor governance processes, in which their roles are primarily rhetorical, conceptual and political, is facilitated by thinking about indicator systems as boundary objects, tools which open up dialogue, information sharing, learning and consensus-building across different policy boundaries: between experts and nonexperts, formal government and different nongovernment actors, higher-order governments and lower-order governments. This paper offers a comparative analysis of three sustainability indicator systems in the North American context – Vancouver's Vital Signs (Vancouver Foundation), Seattle's Happiness Initiative, and LEED-ND (US Green Building Council) – all of which have shown some success in operationalizing a new policy boundary as a means of making conceptual and political contributions to governance practices. The specific boundaries operationalized, the different approach taken by each project, and the usability demonstrated by each project at that boundary in terms of salience, legitimacy and credibility, are assessed comparatively. In general, the trajectory in design and use of ecological and sustainability indicators demonstrates an increase in appetite, aptitude and numbers of channels for use in processes of governance; however, these factors vary with the local social–political opportunity structure. This analysis presents the advances made as well as the tradeoffs evident in these cases across the gamut of different forms of usability of nongovernmental indicator systems designed for use as boundary objects, and suggests a path forward for indicator work which aims to change policy, from a governance perspective.     

安徽省沿淮地区生态安全评价模型和指标体系

运用压力-状态-响应（PSR）模型,以安徽省沿淮地区为例进行了生态安全评价研究.根据安徽省沿淮地区的经济、社会和环境特点,提出社会经济作为模型组成部分的区域生态安全综合评价模型及指标体系.采用德尔菲法、层次分析法确定了17项评价指标及其权重,分类建立评价指标数学函数,计算该地区生态安全指数,并与PSR模型的评价结果进行了比较分析.结果表明,PSR模型评价结果为0.41,增加社会经济部分后的PSR模型的评价结果为0.34,两种评价结果同属较不安全等级,但相差为20.6%.区域生态安全评价模型和指标体系的建立应当结合区域特点,采用多模型进行评价,分析差异原因,以确定影响生态安全的主要要素.     

Suitability of presence vs. absence indicator species to characterize stress gradients: Lessons from zooplankton species of boreal lakes

Indicator species are species that readily reflect some measure of habitat characteristics and have become an increasingly appealing tool in environmental monitoring. Traditionally, habitat conditions were derived based on the presence of specific indicator species, but the absence of indicator species may be just as informative. To evaluate the importance of presence vs. absence of indicator species for characterizing habitats across environmental gradients, we evaluated the interactions of zooplankton and acid-stress in 244 boreal lakes. We adopted the statistical methods proposed by Dufrene and Legendre (1997) to identify presence and absence indicator species to characterize high, intermediate and low acid-stress lake categories. Presence indicator species (identified by the statistical analysis) for highly stressed lakes were not entirely appropriate because further evaluation identified them as ubiquitous generalists. In contrast, absence indicators for highly stressed lakes were more appropriate as these habitat specialists were specifically absent from this category of lakes. On the other hand, presence indicators for the low acid-stress category were largely habitat specialists and therefore appropriate indicators. However there were no presence or absence indicators for lakes at intermediate acid-stress level. Thus the combined use of both presence and absence indicators is recommended to characterize habitats across a stress gradient. To evaluate if the successful application of this combined approach is dependent on a stress gradient, we applied the same analyses to a sub-set of uninfluenced (non-sensitive) lakes representing three different environmental conditions. This approach identified statistically significant presence and absence indicator species for all three different reference conditions. Yet, the absence-based approach was not essential under unstressed conditions, as presence indicator species were habitat specialists for all reference categories. Finally, this study also emphasizes the importance of meaningful ecological traits of species in order to ensure the appropriateness of statistically selected indicator species.     

Measuring countries’ environmental sustainability performance—The development of a nation-specific indicator set

The complicated task of measuring environmental sustainability has often led to comparative evaluations of national performance using ranking lists and generic policy targets. In this paper, a set of national environmental indicators is determined through the deployment of a five-stage methodology, which includes the use of focus group research and formation of an expert team to guide the process, selection of an initial pool of pre-existing indicators, establishment of criteria to guide the selection process, and setting of appropriate policy or trend-based targets given the nation-specific context. The nations of Iceland and Norway are used as case studies to demonstrate an effective means of communicating indicator outcomes over time. National performance is first evaluated on an indicator-by-indicator basis and then summarised overall through a system of traffic lights and radar charts for trend and target-based indicators respectively. Via this analytical process, it also becomes clear that data shortages partially constrain the extent to which a nation’s environmental sustainability performance can be deciphered. Improved data collection is necessary connected to the measurement of several environmental issues on a national scale, particularly the sustainability of fisheries, soil erosion and biodiversity.     

Improving indicator species analysis by combining groups of sites

Indicator species are species that are used as ecological indicators of community or habitat types, environmental conditions, or environmental changes. In order to determine indicator species, the characteristic to be predicted is represented in the form of a classification of the sites, which is compared to the patterns of distribution of the species found at the sites. Indicator species analysis should take into account the fact that species have different niche breadths: if a species is related to the conditions prevailing in two or more groups of sites, an indicator species analysis undertaken on individual groups of sites may fail to reveal this association. In this paper, we suggest improving indicator species analysis by considering all possible combinations of groups of sites and selecting the combination for which the species can be best used as indicator. When using a correlation index, such as the point‐biserial correlation, the method yields the combination where the difference between the observed and expected abundance/frequency of the species is the largest. When an indicator value index (IndVal) is used, the method provides the set of site‐groups that best matches the observed distribution pattern of the species. We illustrate the advantages of the method in three different examples. Consideration of combinations of groups of sites provides an extra flexibility to qualitatively model the habitat preferences of the species of interest. The method also allows users to cross multiple classifications of the same sites, increasing the amount of information resulting from the analysis. When applied to community types, it allows one to distinguish those species that characterize individual types from those that characterize the relationships between them. This distinction is useful to determine the number of types that maximizes the number of indicator species.     

Key evaluation framework for the impacts of urbanization on air environment – A case study

Pressure-State-Response (PSR) model is one of the most commonly used models for environmental impacts assessment. As an effective tool for strategic management and performance evaluation, Balanced Scorecard (BSC) has been widely applied in the management field. PSR and BSC share the similar principles such as systematic, causality and sustainability oriented. Furthermore, BSC features equilibrium and dynamics. It is a feasible and innovative approach to establish a comprehensive environmental assessment framework by combining BSC and PSR. By placing the customer indicator on the top layer and following the PSR principle on the second layer, one model was designed to examine the impact of urbanization on the air environment in Shandong Province from 2005 to 2009 with factor component analysis. The results showed that urbanization and air environmental sustainability has been an upward trend in Shandong. The sustainable development level is low in Shandong presently, which provides a large potential for further improvement. This study is a useful reference for policy makers in terms of economic and environmental management.     

Assessing and comparing relative farm-level sustainability of smallholder shrimp farms in two Sri Lankan provinces using indices developed from two methodological frameworks

As shrimp farming can be an important means of income generation, particularly among Sri Lanka’s rural communities, it is important that this industry grows in a sustainable manner, starting at the farm level. The objectives of this study were to; 1) create baseline farm-level sustainability indices for smallholder shrimp farms in Sri Lanka using both content-based and system-based frameworks adapted from agriculture; 2) determine whether arranging indicators within both content- and system-based sustainability frameworks would provide additional insight into relative farm sustainability (rather than using just one framework); and 3) seek differences between the North Western Province (NWP) and the Eastern Province (EP) in sustainability index, sub-index, or indicator scores that might be used to create province-specific policies and education programs designed to potentially improve sustainable practices at the farm level. Since little has been published on the development of practical indicators and evaluation of farm-level sustainability in aquaculture, this study adapted two types of frameworks used for measuring sustainability in agriculture: content- and system-based. Using both frameworks, along with expert opinion, indicators of farm level sustainability were developed into a questionnaire and measured on 225 farms in two provinces of Sri Lanka. Indicators primarily included modifiable practices that farmers could influence to improve the chances of their farms’ survival. The farm indicators were normalized using “min-max” normalization, where scores of zero and one were assigned for the least and most sustainable options, respectively. Farm indicators in each province were then aggregated into sub-indices as well an overall aggregated sustainability index score. Similar themes were gleaned from both the content-based and system-based sustainability frameworks, and there was no significant difference between mean overall sustainability scores for the two different frameworks. Farms in the NWP scored significantly higher on the overall sustainability indices of both models despite the NWP’s history of severe disease outbreaks while the EP farms had no disease. Possible reasons for this difference were explored with an in-depth analysis of sub-indices as well as individual indicators. An overall aggregated sustainability index score was a useful baseline measure for monitoring changes in sustainability over time; however, its use was limited when attempting to identify gaps in sustainable management practices and provide practical information for farmers and stakeholders to improve farm-level sustainability. It was important to evaluate individual indicators in addition to sub-indices and overall index scores when making recommendations or identifying gaps in sustainable practices at the farm level.     

Meta-performance evaluation of sustainability indicators

There are many different kinds of frameworks for evaluating environmental and sustainability performance at the organizational level (profit or not-for-profit, private or public), sectoral level (e.g. industry, transport, agriculture and tourism), and local, regional or country levels. Despite the diversity of methods and tools to measure sustainable development, indicators are one of the approaches most used. However, these tools do not usually include evaluation of the performance measurement instrument itself. The main objective of this research is to develop a conceptual framework to design and assess the effectiveness of the sustainability indicators themselves. To put the proposed tool into practice, a set of key good-practice factors and meta-performance evaluation indicators is proposed for adoption in a national case study—the national sustainable development indicators system, SIDS Portugal, and the usefulness of this methodology is demonstrated. This approach aims to evaluate how appropriate a set of sustainability indicators is and allow an evaluation of overall performance-monitoring activities and results. Stakeholder involvement is an essential component of the proposed framework. The tool developed could support continuous improvement in the performance of ongoing sustainability indicator initiatives, allowing greater guidance, objectivity and transparency in sustainability assessment processes.     

国家公园旅游可持续性管理评估指标体系——以西藏色林错-普若岗日冰川国家公园潜在建设区为例

当前,国内外对于国家公园旅游可持续性的定义及其评估指标尚未形成共识,已有的部分指标存在可操作性较弱、管理成本较高等问题,无法直接应用于中国国家公园旅游可持续性的管理与评估。从三条路径构建国家公园旅游可持续性管理评估指标体系：以实际需求为导向,分析国家公园所在区域对旅游可持续性管理评估指标的需求;以国际共识为导向,检验《全球可持续旅游目的地标准》在国家公园的适用性;以实践为导向,梳理世界主要国家及地区国家公园旅游可持续性的管理重点。以色林错-普若岗日冰川国家公园（简称"色-普国家公园"）潜在建设区为例,建立国家公园旅游可持续性管理评估指标体系。从经济、社会、文化、生态环境等方面明确了色-普国家公园潜在建设区对管理评估指标体系的需求。经过适用性判定,识别在色-普国家公园潜在建设区具有较强适用性的可持续旅游目的地评估指标。通过频次统计,从经济、社会、文化、生态环境、制度建设等方面遴选世界主要国家及地区国家公园旅游可持续性的重点管理指标。所建立的色-普国家公园潜在建设区旅游可持续性管理评估指标体系包括5个一级指标,15个二级指标,36个三级指标。在此基础上,建议逐步建立健全监测与统计体系,为管理评估指标体系的应用提供支撑。     

Diversity of European seagrass indicators: patterns within and across regions

Seagrasses are key components of coastal marine ecosystems and many monitoring programmes worldwide assess seagrass health and apply seagrasses as indicators of environmental status. This study aims at identifying the diversity and characteristics of seagrass indicators in use within and across European ecoregions in order to provide an overview of seagrass monitoring effort in Europe. We identified 49 seagrass indicators used in 42 monitoring programmes and including a total of 51 metrics. The seagrass metrics represented 6 broad categories covering different seagrass organizational levels and spatial scales. The large diversity is particularly striking considering that the pan-European Water Framework Directive sets common demands for the presence and abundance of seagrasses and related disturbance-sensitive species. The diversity of indicators reduces the possibility to provide pan-European overviews of the status of seagrass ecosystems. The diversity can be partially justified by differences in species, differences in habitat conditions and associated communities but also seems to be determined by tradition. Within each European region, we strongly encourage the evaluation of seagrass indicator–pressure responses and quantification of the uncertainty of classification associated to the indicator in order to identify the most effective seagrass indicators for assessing ecological quality of coastal and transitional water bodies.     

Socioeconomic indicators for sustainable design and commercial development of algal biofuel systems

Social and economic indicators can be used to support design of sustainable energy systems. Indicators representing categories of social well‐being, energy security, external trade, profitability, resource conservation, and social acceptability have not yet been measured in published sustainability assessments for commercial algal biofuel facilities. We review socioeconomic indicators that have been modeled at the commercial scale or measured at the pilot or laboratory scale, as well as factors that affect them, and discuss additional indicators that should be measured during commercialization to form a more complete picture of socioeconomic sustainability of algal biofuels. Indicators estimated in the scientific literature include the profitability indicators, return on investment (ROI) and net present value (NPV), and the resource conservation indicator, fossil energy return on investment (EROI). These modeled indicators have clear sustainability targets and have been used to design sustainable algal biofuel systems. Factors affecting ROI, NPV, and EROI include infrastructure, process choices, and financial assumptions. The food security indicator, percent change in food price volatility, is probably zero where agricultural lands are not used for production of algae‐based biofuels; however, food‐related coproducts from algae could enhance food security. The energy security indicators energy security premium and fuel price volatility and external trade indicators terms of trade and trade volume cannot be projected into the future with accuracy prior to commercialization. Together with environmental sustainability indicators, the use of a suite of socioeconomic sustainability indicators should contribute to progress toward sustainability of algal biofuels.