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On multi-criteria sustainability assessment: Spider-gram surface and dependence biases

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  • Dias, Luis C.
  • Domingues, Ana Rita

Abstract

Multi-criteria evaluation methods are often used for sustainability assessment. One such method is the Multi-criteria Spider-gram Cumulative Surface Area (MCSA score) recently used for this purpose (Nzila et al., Multi-criteria sustainability assessment of biogas production in Kenya. Applied Energy 93:496–506, 2012). This paper presents results illustrating that the MCSA method results and rankings might be biased by the arbitrary order of the criteria. This paper also addresses the way the comparison of two alternatives can be biased by the presence of a third (possibly irrelevant) alternative. Such dependence bias is due to the use of an internal normalization operation, a problem shared by some multi-criteria analysis methods. The paper concludes with a few suggestions to avoid such biases.

Suggested Citation

  • Dias, Luis C. & Domingues, Ana Rita, 2014. "On multi-criteria sustainability assessment: Spider-gram surface and dependence biases," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 159-163.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:113:y:2014:i:c:p:159-163
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2013.07.024
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Christina Wulf & Jasmin Werker & Christopher Ball & Petra Zapp & Wilhelm Kuckshinrichs, 2019. "Review of Sustainability Assessment Approaches Based on Life Cycles," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-43, October.
    3. Pollesch, N.L. & Dale, V.H., 2016. "Normalization in sustainability assessment: Methods and implications," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 195-208.
    4. Wang, Endong, 2015. "Benchmarking whole-building energy performance with multi-criteria technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution using a selective objective-weighting approach," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 92-103.
    5. Huguet Ferran, Pau & Heijungs, Reinout & Vogtländer, Joost G., 2018. "Critical Analysis of Methods for Integrating Economic and Environmental Indicators," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 549-559.
    6. Tom Waas & Jean Huge & Thomas BLOCK & Tarah Wright & Francisco Javier Benitez Capistros & Aviel Verbruggen, 2014. "Sustainability assessment and indicators: Tools in a decision-making strategy for sustainable development," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/189410, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    7. Andrzej Macioł & Bogdan Rębiasz, 2018. "Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) methods in Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA): A comparison of private passenger vehicles," Operations Research and Decisions, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Management, vol. 28(1), pages 5-26.
    8. Yizhong Huan & Haitao Li & Tao Liang, 2019. "A New Method for the Quantitative Assessment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and a Case Study on Central Asia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-27, June.
    9. Tom Waas & Jean Hugé & Thomas Block & Tarah Wright & Francisco Benitez-Capistros & Aviel Verbruggen, 2014. "Sustainability Assessment and Indicators: Tools in a Decision-Making Strategy for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(9), pages 1-23, August.
    10. Mario Martín-Gamboa & Luis C. Dias & Paula Quinteiro & Fausto Freire & Luís Arroja & Ana Cláudia Dias, 2019. "Multi-Criteria and Life Cycle Assessment of Wood-Based Bioenergy Alternatives for Residential Heating: A Sustainability Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-17, November.
    11. Luis C. Dias & Carolina Passeira & João Malça & Fausto Freire, 2022. "Integrating life-cycle assessment and multi-criteria decision analysis to compare alternative biodiesel chains," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 312(2), pages 1359-1374, May.

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