title: Method selection for sustainability assessments: The case of recovery of resources from waste water.
abstract: Sustainability assessments provide scientific support in decision procedures towards sustainable solutions. However, in order to contribute in identifying and choosing sustainable solutions, the sustainability assessment has to fit the decision context. Two complicating factors exist. First, different stakeholders tend to have different views on what a sustainability assessment should encompass. Second, a plethora of sustainability assessment methods exist, due to the multi-dimensional characteristic of the concept. Different methods provide other representations of sustainability. Based on a literature review, we present a protocol to facilitate method selection together with stakeholders. The protocol guides the exploration of i) the decision context, ii) the different views of stakeholders and iii) the selection of pertinent assessment methods. In addition, we present an online tool for method selection. This tool identifies assessment methods that meet the specifications obtained with the protocol, and currently contains characteristics of 30 sustainability assessment methods. The utility of the protocol and the tool are tested in a case study on the recovery of resources from domestic waste water. In several iterations, a combination of methods was selected, followed by execution of the selected sustainability assessment methods. The assessment results can be used in the first phase of the decision procedure that leads to a strategic choice for sustainable resource recovery from waste water in the Netherlands.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands; Department of Environmental Science, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9010, 6500 GL Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: michiel.zijp@rivm.nl.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Zijp
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Waaijers-van der Loop
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden University (CML), P.O. Box 9518, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands; Department of Econometrics and Operations Research, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Heijungs
authors.affiliation: Group Energy and Resources, Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, 3584CS Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: M L M
authors.initials: MLM
authors.lastname: Broeren
authors.affiliation: ERF-Energy and Resource Factory, P.O. Box 4103, 2980 GC Ridderkerk, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Peeters
authors.affiliation: Witteveen+Bos Consulting Engineers, P.O. Box 233, 7400 AE Deventer, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Van Nieuwenhuijzen
authors.affiliation: Group Energy and Resources, Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, 3584CS Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: E H W
authors.initials: EHW
authors.lastname: Heugens
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands; Department of Environmental Science, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9010, 6500 GL Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Posthuma
mesh_terms: D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D009426:Netherlands; D062065:Wastewater
chemical_list: D062065:Wastewater
keywords: Circular economy; Method selection; Resources; Sustainability assessment; Waste water