IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i18p8148-d1480516.html

Sustainability Assessment Methods for the Transport Sector Considering the Life Cycle Concept—A Review

Author

Listed:
  • Dorota Burchart

    (Faculty of Transport and Aviation Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, Krasińskiego 8, 40-019 Katowice, Poland)

  • Iga Przytuła

    (Faculty of Transport and Aviation Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, Krasińskiego 8, 40-019 Katowice, Poland)

Abstract

This paper presents a summary and review of life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) methods for the transport sector. The paper provides a comprehensive overview of articles that employ a variety of methods for assessing sustainable development in the transport sector, taking into account the economic, social, and environmental dimensions. In the sustainability assessment of transport, three methods were evaluated: life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle cost analysis (LCC), and social life cycle assessment (SLCA). An overview of sustainability assessment methods in transport and a review of the indicators used in the life cycle sustainability assessment was conducted. It was found that the selection of indicators within the LCSA for assessing various aspects of sustainable development is dependent on various geographic and policy contexts. An overview of the application of multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) methods to assess LCSA in the transport sector was performed. MCDA methods are used to support decision-making regarding the selection of the most sustainable transport options and allow for the simultaneous consideration of multiple criteria, enabling a more sustainable assessment of different transport options. MCDA methods help to rank alternative transportation fuels and help decision-makers consider indicators encompassing economic, environmental and social aspects.

Suggested Citation

  • Dorota Burchart & Iga Przytuła, 2024. "Sustainability Assessment Methods for the Transport Sector Considering the Life Cycle Concept—A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-19, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:18:p:8148-:d:1480516
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/18/8148/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/18/8148/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ullah, Kafait & Hamid, Salman & Mirza, Faisal Mehmood & Shakoor, Usman, 2018. "Prioritizing the gaseous alternatives for the road transport sector of Pakistan: A multi criteria decision making analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(PB), pages 1072-1084.
    2. Rahman, Md. Mustafizur & Canter, Christina & Kumar, Amit, 2015. "Well-to-wheel life cycle assessment of transportation fuels derived from different North American conventional crudes," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 159-173.
    3. Quintero, J.A. & Montoya, M.I. & Sánchez, O.J. & Giraldo, O.H. & Cardona, C.A., 2008. "Fuel ethanol production from sugarcane and corn: Comparative analysis for a Colombian case," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 385-399.
    4. Tsita, Katerina G. & Pilavachi, Petros A., 2013. "Evaluation of next generation biomass derived fuels for the transport sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 443-455.
    5. Nuri Cihat Onat & Murat Kucukvar & Omer Tatari, 2014. "Towards Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment of Alternative Passenger Vehicles," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(12), pages 1-38, December.
    6. Xu, Yanzhi & Gbologah, Franklin E. & Lee, Dong-Yeon & Liu, Haobing & Rodgers, Michael O. & Guensler, Randall L., 2015. "Assessment of alternative fuel and powertrain transit bus options using real-world operations data: Life-cycle fuel and emissions modeling," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 143-159.
    7. Onat, Nuri Cihat & Kucukvar, Murat & Aboushaqrah, Nour N.M. & Jabbar, Rateb, 2019. "How sustainable is electric mobility? A comprehensive sustainability assessment approach for the case of Qatar," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 250(C), pages 461-477.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Claudia Alanis & Liliana Ávila-Córdoba & Ariana Cruz-Olayo & Reyna Natividad & Alejandro Padilla-Rivera, 2025. "Integrating Environmental and Social Life Cycle Assessment for Sustainable University Mobility Strategies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-24, August.
    2. Pedro Reyes-Norambuena & Alberto Adrego Pinto & Javier Martínez & Amir Karbassi Yazdi & Yong Tan, 2024. "The Application of Machine Learning and Deep Learning with a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis for Pedestrian Modeling: A Systematic Literature Review (1999–2023)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(1), pages 1-27, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Martin Kügemann & Heracles Polatidis, 2019. "Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis of Road Transportation Fuels and Vehicles: A Systematic Review and Classification of the Literature," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-21, December.
    2. Claudiu Vasile Kifor & Niculina Alexandra Grigore, 2023. "Circular Economy Approaches for Electrical and Conventional Vehicles," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-28, April.
    3. Khan, Muhammad Imran & Shahrestani, Mehdi & Hayat, Tasawar & Shakoor, Abdul & Vahdati, Maria, 2019. "Life cycle (well-to-wheel) energy and environmental assessment of natural gas as transportation fuel in Pakistan," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C), pages 1738-1752.
    4. Onat, Nuri Cihat & Kucukvar, Murat, 2020. "Carbon footprint of construction industry: A global review and supply chain analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    5. T.E.T Dantas & S.R Soares, 2022. "Systematic literature review on the application of life cycle sustainability assessment in the energy sector," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 1583-1615, February.
    6. Sehatpour, Mohammad-Hadi & Kazemi, Aliyeh & Sehatpour, Hesam-eddin, 2017. "Evaluation of alternative fuels for light-duty vehicles in Iran using a multi-criteria approach," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 295-310.
    7. Nuri Cihat Onat & Galal M. Abdella & Murat Kucukvar & Adeeb A. Kutty & Munera Al‐Nuaimi & Gürkan Kumbaroğlu & Melih Bulu, 2021. "How eco‐efficient are electric vehicles across Europe? A regionalized life cycle assessment‐based eco‐efficiency analysis," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(5), pages 941-956, September.
    8. Tolga Ercan & Mehdi Noori & Yang Zhao & Omer Tatari, 2016. "On the Front Lines of a Sustainable Transportation Fleet: Applications of Vehicle-to-Grid Technology for Transit and School Buses," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-22, March.
    9. Wang, Zhiwei & Lei, Tingzhou & Chang, Xia & Shi, Xinguang & Xiao, Ju & Li, Zaifeng & He, Xiaofeng & Zhu, Jinling & Yang, Shuhua, 2015. "Optimization of a biomass briquette fuel system based on grey relational analysis and analytic hierarchy process: A study using cornstalks in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 523-532.
    10. Danilo Arcentales-Bastidas & Carla Silva & Angel D. Ramirez, 2022. "The Environmental Profile of Ethanol Derived from Sugarcane in Ecuador: A Life Cycle Assessment Including the Effect of Cogeneration of Electricity in a Sugar Industrial Complex," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-24, July.
    11. Fan Zeng & Chris Kwan Yu Lo & Stacy Hyun Nam Lee, 2021. "Will Communication of Job Creation Facilitate Diffusion of Innovations in the Automobile Industry?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-22, December.
    12. Choudhary, Devendra & Shankar, Ravi, 2012. "An STEEP-fuzzy AHP-TOPSIS framework for evaluation and selection of thermal power plant location: A case study from India," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 510-521.
    13. Onat, Nuri Cihat & Kucukvar, Murat & Tatari, Omer, 2015. "Conventional, hybrid, plug-in hybrid or electric vehicles? State-based comparative carbon and energy footprint analysis in the United States," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 36-49.
    14. Kalim Shah & George Philippidis & Hari Dulal & Gernot Brodnig, 2014. "Developing biofuels industry in small economies: Policy experiences and lessons from the caribbean basin initiative," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 229-253, February.
    15. Paul Baustert & Tomás Navarrete Gutiérrez & Thomas Gibon & Laurent Chion & Tai-Yu Ma & Gabriel Leite Mariante & Sylvain Klein & Philippe Gerber & Enrico Benetto, 2019. "Coupling Activity-Based Modeling and Life Cycle Assessment—A Proof-of-Concept Study on Cross-Border Commuting in Luxembourg," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-24, July.
    16. Orsi, Francesco & Muratori, Matteo & Rocco, Matteo & Colombo, Emanuela & Rizzoni, Giorgio, 2016. "A multi-dimensional well-to-wheels analysis of passenger vehicles in different regions: Primary energy consumption, CO2 emissions, and economic cost," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 197-209.
    17. Song, Hongqing & Ou, Xunmin & Yuan, Jiehui & Yu, Mingxu & Wang, Cheng, 2017. "Energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of diesel/LNG heavy-duty vehicle fleets in China based on a bottom-up model analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 140(P1), pages 966-978.
    18. David J. Murphy & Marco Raugei & Michael Carbajales-Dale & Brenda Rubio Estrada, 2022. "Energy Return on Investment of Major Energy Carriers: Review and Harmonization," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-20, June.
    19. Cotterman, Turner & Fuchs, Erica R.H. & Whitefoot, Kate S. & Combemale, Christophe, 2024. "The transition to electrified vehicles: Evaluating the labor demand of manufacturing conventional versus battery electric vehicle powertrains," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    20. Gasparatos, A. & von Maltitz, G.P. & Johnson, F.X. & Lee, L. & Mathai, M. & Puppim de Oliveira, J.A. & Willis, K.J., 2015. "Biofuels in sub-Sahara Africa: Drivers, impacts and priority policy areas," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 879-901.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:18:p:8148-:d:1480516. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.