Search Results (84)

As industrial companies transition from the Industry 4.0 stage to the more human-centric and resilient Industry 5.0 paradigm, there is a growing need for structured assessment tools to prioritize modern technologies. This paper presents an integrated multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) approach to support the strategic assessment of technologies from three complementary perspectives: economic, organizational, and technological. The proposed model encompasses six key transformation areas and 22 technologies representing both the Industry 4.0 and 5.0 paradigms. A hybrid approach combining the DEMATEL (Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory) and PROMETHEE II (Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation) methods is used to identify cause–effect relationships between the transformation areas and to construct technology rankings in each of the assessed perspectives. The results indicate that technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), cybersecurity, and supporting IT systems play a central role in the transition process. Among the Industry 5.0 technologies, hyper-personalized manufacturing, smart grids and new materials stand out. Moreover, the economic perspective emerges as the dominant assessment dimension for most technologies. The proposed analytical framework offers both theoretical input and practical decision-making support for companies planning their transformation towards Industry 5.0, enabling a stronger alignment between implemented technologies and long-term strategic goals. Full article

This study conducts a comparative evaluation of Turkiye’s carbon emission profile from both sectoral and global perspectives. Utilizing 2022 data from 76 countries, it applies two widely recognized multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods: MEREC, for determining objective weights of criteria, and PROMETHEE II, for ranking countries based on these criteria. All data used in the analysis were obtained from the World Bank, a globally recognized and credible statistical source. The study evaluates seven criteria, including carbon emissions from the energy, transport, industry, and residential sectors, along with GDP-related indicators. The results indicate that Turkiye’s carbon emissions, particularly from industry, transport, and energy, are substantially higher than the global average. Moreover, countries with higher levels of industrialization generally rank lower in environmental performance, highlighting a direct relationship between industrial activity and increased carbon emissions. According to PROMETHEE II rankings, Turkiye falls into the lower-middle tier among the assessed countries. In light of these findings, the study suggests that Turkiye should implement targeted, sector-specific policy measures to reduce emissions. The research aims to provide policymakers with a structured, data-driven framework that aligns with the country’s broader sustainable development goals. MEREC was selected for its ability to produce unbiased criterion weights, while PROMETHEE II was chosen for its capacity to deliver clear and meaningful comparative rankings, making both methods highly suitable for evaluating environmental performance. This study also offers a broader analysis of how selected countries compare in terms of their carbon emissions. As carbon emissions remain one of the most pressing environmental challenges in the context of global warming and climate change, ranking countries based on emission levels serves both to support scientific inquiry and to increase international awareness. By relying on recent 2022 data, the study offers a timely snapshot of the global carbon emission landscape. Alongside its contribution to public awareness, the findings are expected to support policymakers in developing effective environmental strategies. Ultimately, this research contributes to the academic literature and lays a foundation for more sustainable environmental policy development. Full article

This study examines the degree of alignment between the actual environmental performance and the ESG disclosures of 365 listed financial institutions in Europe for the fiscal year 2024. Although ESG reporting has become a standard practice in the financial sector, there are still concerns that the quality of the disclosure may not accurately reflect substantive environmental action, which increases the risk of greenwashing. This study addresses this issue by incorporating both ESG disclosure indicators and green accounting metrics into a multi-criteria decision-making framework. This framework is supported by entropy-based weighting to assure objectivity in criterion importance, as outlined in the PROMETHEE II method. The Greenwashing Risk Index (GWI) is a groundbreaking innovation that quantifies the discrepancy between an institution’s classification based on ESG transparency and its performance in green accounting indicators, including environmental penalties, provisions, and resource usage. The results indicate that there is a substantial degree of variation in the performance of ESGs among institutions, with a significant portion of them exhibiting high disclosure scores but insufficient environmental substance. These discrepancies indicate that reputational sustainability may not be operationally sustained. The results have significant implications for regulatory supervision, sustainable finance policy, and ESG rating methodologies. The framework that has been proposed provides a replicable, evidence-based tool for identifying institutions that are at risk of greenwashing and facilitates the implementation of more accountable ESG evaluation practices in the financial sector. Full article

In this paper, we propose the use of virtual labs (VLs) as a solution to bridge the gap between theory and practice in physics education. Through an experiment conducted in two towns in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), we demonstrate that our proposed lab (BRVL) is more effective than global alternatives in correcting misconceptions and ensuring compliance with the current curriculum in the DRC. We combine Conjoint Analysis (from SPSS) to weigh selected criteria—curriculum compliance, knowledge construction, misconception correction, and usability—alongside eight MCDA methods: AHP, CAHP, TOPSIS, ELECTRE I, ELECTRE II, ELECTRE TRI, PROMETHEE I, and PROMETHEE II. Our findings show that, among six VLs, BRVL consistently outperforms global alternatives like Algodoo and Physion in terms of pedagogical alignment, curriculum compliance, and correction of misconceptions for Congolese schools. Methodologically, the respondents are consistent and in agreement, despite individual differences. The sensitivity analysis of the ELECTRE and PROMETHEE methods has shown that changes in parameter values do not alter the conclusion that BRVL is the best among the compared VLs. Full article

Multi-criteria Decision Making (MCDM) presents a novel approach towards truly holistic green sustainability, particularly within the context of chemical process plants (CPPs). ASPEN Plus v12.0 was utilised for two representative CPP cases: isopropanol (IPA) production via isopropyl acetate, and green ammonia (NH₃) production. An integrated Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) and Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) was modelled in MATLAB v24.1 to prioritise the holistically green and sustainable pathways. Life cycle assessments (LCAs) were employed to select the pathways, and the most suitable sub-criteria per the four criteria are as follows: social, economic, environmental, and technical. In descending order of optimality, the pathways were ranked as follows for green NH₃ and IPA, respectively: Hydropower (HPEA) > Wind Turbine (WGEA) > Biomass Gasification (BGEA)/Solar Photovoltaic (PVEA) > Nuclear High Temperature (NTEA), and Propylene Indirect Hydration (IAH) > Direct Propylene Hydration (PH) > Acetone Hydrogenation (AH). Sensitivity analysis evaluated the FAHP–TOPSIS framework to be overall robust. However, there are potential uncertainties within and/or among sub-criteria, particularly in the social dimension, due to software and data limitations. Future research would seek to integrate FAHP with VIKOR and the Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation (PROMETHEE-II). Full article

Photovoltaic systems are increasingly recognized as one of the most advanced, efficient, and rapidly developing methods of electricity generation, utilizing the limitless potential of solar radiation while offering environmentally sustainable solutions to contemporary energy challenges. However, despite their clear benefits, issues such as high initial investment costs and relatively low energy efficiency must be carefully addressed during the design phase. Key considerations include the quantity and type of panels, battery capacity and number, environmental conditions, site-specific factors, and the mathematical models and interconnection strategies of system components. This study proposes a two-stage optimization approach for standalone photovoltaic systems, employing three distinct optimization algorithms—NSGA-II, DEMO, and Particle Swarm Optimization—to minimize both the Loss of Load Probability (LLP) and the life cycle cost (LCC). In the second stage, optimal solutions from the Pareto front are evaluated using three multi-criteria decision-making techniques: the hybrid AHP-TOPSIS method, VIKOR, and PROMETHEE. The proposed framework is applied to systems with storage batteries designed for deployment in three Cypriot cities, aiming to meet energy demands of 10, 15, and 20 kWh. The findings reveal a strong correlation between economic and energy performance and the degree of load coverage, with the combination of the DEMO algorithm and the AHP-TOPSIS method emerging as the most effective solution. Full article

Industrial enterprises and their supply chain partners are increasingly seeking methods to optimise production and logistics processes while pursuing sustainable development goals. The complexity and high risk associated with implementing Industry 4.0 technologies calls for structured decision-making support. This study presents a novel multi-criteria evaluation framework that integrates technological, organisational, and sustainability dimensions to support strategic transformation efforts. The proposed model comprises four subspheres of manufacturing, four subspheres of supply chain and logistics, twenty-three emerging technologies, and four sustainability perspectives adapted to industrial contexts. A hybrid MCDM approach combining DEMATEL and PROMETHEE II is applied to identify causal relationships, prioritise technologies, and rank sustainability priorities across different dimensions. The methodology enables companies to determine which technologies should be implemented first and how these relate to broader sustainability objectives. The results provide a structured roadmap for decision-makers, highlighting five key strategic areas for the sustainable implementation of Industry 4.0. In addition to its managerial relevance, the proposed model offers scientific novelty by bridging previously siloed research areas and demonstrating a data-driven approach to transformation planning. Full article

To address greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the maritime sector, the European Union (EU) has introduced the FuelEU Maritime regulation to incentivize ships to adopt diversified compliance pathways and energy solutions. This study aims to determine the optimal alternative fuel configurations for dual-fuel ships of different types under environmental, economic, and regulatory constraints. An integrated environmental and cost assessment model from a well-to-wake (WtW) perspective to systematically evaluate the environmental benefits and economic feasibility of fossil-based, bio-based, and renewable electricity-based alternative fuels applied in dual-fuel ships. By incorporating the PROMETHEE II method within a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) framework, together with the CRITIC objective weighting method, the study enables a robust ranking of alternative fuel configurations across three key dimensions: environmental performance, cost feasibility, and regulatory compliance. The results indicate that, regardless of ship type, the very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) + marine gas oil (MGO) and VLSFO + methanol (MEOH) combinations fail to meet the GHG intensity targets for 2025–2050. Only the VLSFO + electrolytic liquid hydrogen (E-LH₂) and VLSFO + electrolytic ammonia (E-NH₃) configurations are compliant. Although e-fuels incur the highest annual costs, the EU compliance penalty associated with fossil fuels increases exponentially. In contrast, e-fuels retain long-term cost advantages, ultimately driving a sector-wide transition toward e-fuel-dominated energy structures by 2050. Their superior environmental performance and regulatory compatibility emerge as the core drivers of the maritime energy transition. Full article

The article presents a research study dealing with the issue of identifying the crucial criteria driving the demand for electric vehicles and decision-making on the ideal electric vehicle choice for the company under investigation. Specifically, the research aimed to identify key factors influencing the decision-making process to purchase electric vans and to propose adequate recommendations when applying adequate multi-criteria decision-making methods, namely, ELECTRE I and PROMETHEE II, in the Czech and Slovak market conditions. The present survey identified six key criteria: mileage, load-carrying capacity, recharging speed, purchase price, load-bearing capacity, and electricity consumption. Based on the expert team preferences, the criteria weights were calculated, followed by data normalization and the application of both methods to evaluate individual vehicle models. Using the ELECTRE I method, the options were classified as either preferred (dominant) or unpreferred (undominant), while the PROMETHEE II ranked them from the best to the worst, preserving viable alternatives should the preferred model be unavailable. The study concludes by emphasizing the relevance of these methods in optimizing the selection of sustainable transport solutions and their broader applicability in the decision-making process on transport and mobility. Full article

This contribution presents a new approach for assessing/ranking the vulnerability of beaches to mean and extreme sea level rise at regional (island) scales. It combines socio-economic information with beach erosion projections from morphodynamic models to rank beach vulnerability in a structured, ‘holistic’ manner. It involves the collation of various beach geo-spatial environmental and socio-economic data, which are then combined with erosion projections under different climatic scenarios. A Strengths–Weaknesses–Opportunities–Threats (SWOT) framework is employed for the indicator selection, and multi-criteria methods (Analytical Hierarchy Process—AHP, Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution—TOPSIS, Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluations—PROMETHEE II) are then used to optimize indicator weights and rank beach vulnerability. Framework implementation in Lesvos and Kos has shown that there will be significant effects of the mean and (particularly) of the extreme sea levels on the carrying capacity and the capability of the beaches to buffer backshore assets, in the absence of appropriate adaptation measures. As the proposed approach relies on widely available information on many of the socio-economic indicators required to assess the beach’s significance/criticality, it can provide a reproducible and transferable methodology that can be applied at different locations and spatial scales. Full article

The European Green Deal (EGD) is a package of policy initiatives launched by the European Commission in December 2019, which aims to set the European Union (EU) on the path to a green transition with the final goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. The package includes interlinked initiatives covering the climate, the environment, energy, transport, industry, agriculture, and sustainable finance. It is thus evident that holistic and scientifically sound decision support systems are crucial to help EU policymakers and stakeholders in monitoring the progress of countries towards the implementation of the EGD. Indeed, the multidimensionality of this policy initiative lends itself well to its integration into a Multiple Criteria Decision Aiding (MCDA) approach to the identification of priorities for action. Therefore, this research aims to evaluate the progress of the EU countries towards the implementation of the European Green Deal, using MCDA. The PROMETHEE II method was applied to the data for EU countries, using 26 key indicators collected from the Eurostat database and organized into three thematic clusters. The results enabled us to calculate overall scores measuring the degree of implementation of the EGD by the EU countries, and their profiles with respect to the key indicators and thematic clusters. By analyzing these profiles, strengths and weaknesses were identified. Thus, the fundamental novelty of this research consists of the first concrete application of a holistic and ‘ready-to-use’ decision-making tool that can be adopted by EU policymakers and stakeholders to draw up a roadmap towards climate neutrality. Full article

The convenience of commuting for individuals using mobility aids (IMAs) depends on various features of urban road infrastructure. The present research selected different pathways based on the relevance and convenience of IMAs in three regions of Saudi Arabia, including Riyadh, Qassim, and Hail. A survey questionnaire was developed to evaluate the satisfaction of IMAs with four critical criteria of road infrastructure, including travel distance, slope, availability of footpaths, and number of junctions, using a 5-point Likert scale from very low to very high. A sufficient sample size of this exceptional proportion of the population from different genders, age groups, education levels, employment status, number of disability years, and types of mobility aid participated in the survey. The main reasons for dissatisfaction of more than 50% of the participants were inadequate infrastructure design of entrances to public facilities, pedestrian crossings, and junctions. Social stigma and inadequate assistive technology were also highlighted by around 20% of the participants. The fuzzy synthetic evaluation identified length, slope, and footpaths along the pathway as the most critical features based on the subjective opinion of the participants, of which around 65% have been using artificial limbs or manual wheelchairs. PROMETHEE II aggregated the importance of weights estimated by the participants’ opinion and performance scores of infrastructure features to effectively rank ten pathways in three major cities of the selected regions, using partial and complete outranking. The framework developed in the present study helps concerned organizations to comply with the Vision 2030 goal of a vibrant society in Saudi Arabia by identifying critical pathways and improving infrastructure design to ensure safety, convenience, and satisfaction for IMAs. Full article

Decision makers (DMs) are often viewed as autonomous in the majority of multicriteria group decision making (MCGDM) situations, and their psychological behaviors are seldom taken into account. Once more, we are unable to prevent both positive and negative flows of varying alternative preferences due to the nature of attributes or criteria in complicated decision-making problems. However, DMs’ perspectives are likely to affect one another in complicated MCGDM issues, and they frequently use subjective limited rationality while making decisions. The multicriteria quantum decision theory-based group decision making integrating the TODIM-PROMETHEE II strategy under linguistic Z-numbers (LZNs) is designed to overcome the aforementioned problems. In our established technique, the PROMETHEE II controls the positive and negative flows of distinct alternative preferences, the TODIM method manages the experts’ personal regrets over a criterion, and the quantum probability theory (QPT) addresses human cognition and behavior. Because LZNs can convey linguistic judgment and trustworthiness, we provide expert LZNs for their viewpoints in this work. We determine the criterion weights for each expert after first obtaining their respective expert weights. Second, to represent the limited rational behaviors of the DMs, the TODIM-PROMETHEE II approach is introduced. It is employed to determine each alternative’s dominance in both positive and negative flows. Third, a framework for quantum possibilistic aggregation is developed to investigate the effects of interference between the views of DMs. The views of DMs are seen in this procedure as synchronously occurring wave functions that affect the overall outcome by interfering with one another. The model’s efficacy is then assessed by a selection of renewable energy case studies, sensitive analysis, comparative analysis, and debate. Full article

Resident engagement is highlighted as a crucial aspect that directly impacts the residents’ well-being of life in the process of sponge-style old community renewal (SOCR). However, there is a lack of in-depth study on exploring the classification of resident engagement clusters in the SOCR and developing a comprehensive evaluation system to measure this engagement. Therefore, this paper categorizes resident engagement into distinct clusters and develops an evaluation method for quantifying resident engagement in the SOCR. First, this study identified seven types of engagement clusters in the SOCR drawing from educational psychology and Arnstein’s citizen engagement ladder theory. Second, an evaluation indicator system with 5 primary indicators and 21 secondary indicators was developed through a literature review and expert interviews. Third, a hybrid evaluation method combining the Analytic Network Process (ANP) and Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluations II (PROMETHEE II) was established to effectively quantify resident engagement in the SOCR. Finally, 16 typical communities from five Chinese cities were selected as study areas to examine resident engagement in the SOCR. The results demonstrated that the full engagement cluster achieved the highest scores at the individual level, while the non-engagement cluster recorded the lowest scores. At the city level, Shanghai attained the highest overall engagement score, whereas Chizhou recorded the lowest. Several strategies were proposed to improve resident engagement in the SOCR. This study not only contributes to the body of knowledge on resident engagement in the SOCR but also provides guidance for fostering resident engagement in sponge city construction. Full article

Transitioning to a circular economy is crucial for sustainable energy development; yet, current energy supply chains lack comprehensive assessment tools. This study introduces the Holistic Multi-Indicator Decision Support System (HMI_DSS), an innovative tool grounded in life cycle thinking and advanced multi-criteria decision-making methodologies, including Entropy and PROMETHEE II. The HMI_DSS quantifies and assesses sustainability and circularity in energy systems by employing 49 indicators, with a focus on energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions. A case study on the rice straw energy supply chain for biogas production illustrates the tool’s effectiveness, comparing a baseline scenario to an alternative. The results show that the global warming potential (GWP) of the baseline is 122 gCO₂eq/kWh, while the alternative is 116 gCO₂eq/kWh. However, the baseline scenario has lower energy consumption (1.72 × 10⁷ MJ annually) than the alternative (1.98 × 10⁷ MJ). Overall, the alternative outperforms the baseline in terms of sustainability and circularity. The HMI_DSS offers a flexible and robust framework for evaluating trade-offs in energy systems, providing valuable insights for energy companies and researchers in adopting circular economy principles to achieve sustainable development. Full article