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The intermediate approach to sustainability enhancement and scale-related measures in environmental assessment

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  • Sueyoshi, Toshiyuki
  • Goto, Mika

Abstract

Many studies have applied data envelopment analysis to environmental assessments. The approach measures the performance of various organizations with economic activities that use inputs to produce not only desirable (e.g., electricity) but also undesirable (e.g., CO2 emission) outputs. This study uses the method and discusses how to measure the level of sustainability, implying simultaneous achievement of economic prosperity and environmental protection within a unified framework. Conventionally, we classify this type of approach as either radial or non-radial. Recently, the intermediate approach, analytically located between them, has been proposed as the third alternative. This study discusses the methodological features of the intermediate approach. We focus in particular on its scale-related measures such as scale efficiency, returns to scale, and damages to scale. All of those measures can serve as new performance indicators for sustainability enhancement. As an illustrative example, we apply the proposed approach to assess the special districts of Tokyo and discuss those empirical results from the municipal planning.

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  • Sueyoshi, Toshiyuki & Goto, Mika, 2019. "The intermediate approach to sustainability enhancement and scale-related measures in environmental assessment," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 276(2), pages 744-756.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ejores:v:276:y:2019:i:2:p:744-756
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ejor.2019.01.032
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    5. Yong Tan & Mike G. Tsionas, 2022. "Modelling sustainability efficiency in banking," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(3), pages 3754-3772, July.
    6. Toshiyuki Sueyoshi & Mika Goto, 2019. "DEA Non-Radial Approach for Resource Allocation and Energy Usage to Enhance Corporate Sustainability in Japanese Manufacturing Industries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-22, May.
    7. Toshiyuki Sueyoshi & Mika Goto, 2023. "Energy Intensity, Energy Efficiency and Economic Growth among OECD Nations from 2000 to 2019," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-29, February.
    8. Toshiyuki Sueyoshi & Zemin Du & Derek Wang, 2020. "Regional Sustainable Development with Environmental Performance: Measuring Growth Indexes on Chinese Provinces," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-21, April.
    9. Alizadeh, Reza & Gharizadeh Beiragh, Ramin & Soltanisehat, Leili & Soltanzadeh, Elham & Lund, Peter D., 2020. "Performance evaluation of complex electricity generation systems: A dynamic network-based data envelopment analysis approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
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