Techno-Economic Approaches to Environmental Actions: A Case Study For The Establishment of a Centre For Sustainable Development In The Island of Rhodes

For the economic world, the ever-increasing speed with which economic changes occur requires quick and safe responses that are aimed at increasing efficiency and competitiveness, while at the same time keeping business risk to a minimum. Under such conditions, decisions taken need to be backed by a thorough and convincing investigation of the issues involved, enabling clear conclusions to be drawn as to what course of action should ensue. By the way, the techno-economic study is a tool for exploring the feasibility, the technical characteristics, the cost and the viability of a decision (investment, project, action). The object of this study is to examine the potential for using the classic approach of techno-economic studies as a methodological tool in planning projects and actions related to the environment and sustainable development. The main hypothesis supported in this study is that, the application of the techno-economic study can be standardized the decision-making process and this is highly useful in decision-making. The research analysis has shown that the techno-economic study is an adequate tool for making an integrated approach to actions/investment/projects of environmental content. However, this study has also shown that the techno-economic approach is adequate without requiring major deviations from the specifications, conventions and standard forms on which it is based in the case of business-oriented applications.