Synthesis of sustainable production systems using an upgraded concept of sustainability profit and circularity
2018
Zore, Žan | Čuček, Lidija | Kravanja, Z. (Zdravko)
This paper describes an upgraded concept of the sustainability metric named Sustainability Profit (SP) from various micro- and macroeconomic perspectives and how it can be used for the synthesis of production systems in order to increase their circularity. An upgraded concept of SP is presented from three different perspectives: a microeconomic one, representing the company level, a macroeconomic perspective, combining the company and country (government) levels, and a wider macroeconomic one, with the addition of individuals (employees). Basic indicators of circularity, which measure the share of materials and energy reuse, are incorporated in order to synthesize more sustainable systems involving reuse of materials and energy. The concept is demonstrated on two case studies of supply network synthesis. The first case study is a supply network of fossil and renewable electricity production from various energy sources with fixed electricity demand, and the second case study is a larger-scale, renewable-based supply network for producing food, biofuels and electricity, and is applied to Central Europe. The results indicate that, by maximizing SP using the upgraded concept, overall circularity is favoured, and trade-offs between different sustainability pillars are obtained. The study could further be extended to account for uncertainty and more detailed Eco- and Social profit analysis and circularity measures as a good decision support tool in evaluating sustainable production systems.
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