IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v69y2017icp933-947.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The challenge of measuring biofuel sustainability: A stakeholder-driven approach applied to the French case

Author

Listed:
  • Baudry, Gino
  • Delrue, Florian
  • Legrand, Jack
  • Pruvost, Jérémy
  • Vallée, Thomas

Abstract

Measuring biofuel sustainability requires dealing with a wide variety of complex and conflicting values at stake. Consequently, the biofuel capacity to contribute to one specific value cannot lead to any absolute conclusion about the overall sustainability of biofuel. The scope of the sustainability concept may vary depending on individuals’ preferences, the time scale and the geographical region. Based on the 5 pillars sustainability concept that includes social, economic, environmental, legal and cultural considerations, the present study proposes to assess several biofuel sustainability options for France by 2030 through a stakeholder-driven approach. Rather than seeking to reach a consensus, our approach allows us to capture the wide diversity of stakeholders’ perspectives and preferences. French stakeholders perceive 22 different sustainability criteria for biofuels with a very low level of agreement between the different segments of professions (feedstock producers, biofuel producers, refining industry, fuel distributors, car manufacturers, end-users, government and NGOs). In order to operationalize the sustainability assessment, a set of indicators has been identified with stakeholders that allows us to measure the capacity of biofuels to fulfill each of their criteria. Seventeen biofuel options were assessed with regards to economic, social, environmental, cultural and legal considerations, allowing the identification of the strengths and weaknesses of each biofuel.

Suggested Citation

  • Baudry, Gino & Delrue, Florian & Legrand, Jack & Pruvost, Jérémy & Vallée, Thomas, 2017. "The challenge of measuring biofuel sustainability: A stakeholder-driven approach applied to the French case," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 933-947.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:69:y:2017:i:c:p:933-947
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2016.11.022
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032116307869
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2016.11.022?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Turcksin, Laurence & Macharis, Cathy & Lebeau, Kenneth & Boureima, Faycal & Van Mierlo, Joeri & Bram, Svend & De Ruyck, Jacques & Mertens, Lara & Jossart, Jean-Marc & Gorissen, Leen & Pelkmans, Luc, 2011. "A multi-actor multi-criteria framework to assess the stakeholder support for different biofuel options: The case of Belgium," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 200-214, January.
    2. Rennings, Klaus & Wiggering, Hubert, 1997. "Steps towards indicators of sustainable development: Linking economic and ecological concepts," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 25-36, January.
    3. Ajanovic, Amela, 2011. "Biofuels versus food production: Does biofuels production increase food prices?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 2070-2076.
    4. Smeets, Edward & Tabeau, Andrzej & van Berkum, Siemen & Moorad, Jamil & van Meijl, Hans & Woltjer, Geert, 2014. "The impact of the rebound effect of the use of first generation biofuels in the EU on greenhouse gas emissions: A critical review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 393-403.
    5. Ribeiro, Lauro A. & da Silva, Patrícia Pereira & Mata, Teresa M. & Martins, António A., 2015. "Prospects of using microalgae for biofuels production: Results of a Delphi study," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 799-804.
    6. Markevicius, A. & Katinas, V. & Perednis, E. & Tamasauskiene, M., 2010. "Trends and sustainability criteria of the production and use of liquid biofuels," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(9), pages 3226-3231, December.
    7. Hoefnagels, Ric & Smeets, Edward & Faaij, André, 2010. "Greenhouse gas footprints of different biofuel production systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(7), pages 1661-1694, September.
    8. Keeney,Ralph L. & Raiffa,Howard, 1993. "Decisions with Multiple Objectives," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521438834, October.
    9. Kathrin Sunde & Andreas Brekke & Birger Solberg, 2011. "Environmental Impacts and Costs of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oils, Transesterified Lipids and Woody BTL—A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 4(6), pages 1-33, May.
    10. Gallego Carrera, Diana & Mack, Alexander, 2010. "Sustainability assessment of energy technologies via social indicators: Results of a survey among European energy experts," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 1030-1039, February.
    11. Kern, Florian & Smith, Adrian, 2008. "Restructuring energy systems for sustainability? Energy transition policy in the Netherlands," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 4093-4103, November.
    12. Agneta Forslund & Fabrice Levert & Alexandre Gohin & Chantal Le Mouël, 2013. "Etude complémentaire à l'analyse rétrospective des interactions du développement des biocarburants en France avec l'évolution des marchés français et internationaux et les changements d'affectation de," Working Papers hal-01208866, HAL.
    13. Haberl, Helmut & Sprinz, Detlef & Bonazountas, Marc & Cocco, Pierluigi & Desaubies, Yves & Henze, Mogens & Hertel, Ole & Johnson, Richard K. & Kastrup, Ulrike & Laconte, Pierre & Lange, Eckart & Novak, 2012. "Correcting a fundamental error in greenhouse gas accounting related to bioenergy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 18-23.
    14. van Dam, J. & Junginger, M., 2011. "Striving to further harmonization of sustainability criteria for bioenergy in Europe: Recommendations from a stakeholder questionnaire," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 4051-4066, July.
    15. Yee, Kian Fei & Tan, Kok Tat & Abdullah, Ahmad Zuhairi & Lee, Keat Teong, 2009. "Life cycle assessment of palm biodiesel: Revealing facts and benefits for sustainability," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 86(Supplemen), pages 189-196, November.
    16. Demirbas, Ayhan, 2009. "Political, economic and environmental impacts of biofuels: A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 86(Supplemen), pages 108-117, November.
    17. Munda, Giuseppe, 2004. "Social multi-criteria evaluation: Methodological foundations and operational consequences," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 158(3), pages 662-677, November.
    18. Maxim, Alexandru, 2014. "Sustainability assessment of electricity generation technologies using weighted multi-criteria decision analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 284-297.
    19. Yang, Hong & Zhou, Yuan & Liu, Junguo, 2009. "Land and water requirements of biofuel and implications for food supply and the environment in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 1876-1885, May.
    20. Serra, Teresa & Zilberman, David, 2013. "Biofuel-related price transmission literature: A review," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 141-151.
    21. Greening, Lorna A. & Bernow, Steve, 2004. "Design of coordinated energy and environmental policies: use of multi-criteria decision-making," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 721-735, April.
    22. Cuppen, Eefje & Breukers, Sylvia & Hisschemöller, Matthijs & Bergsma, Emmy, 2010. "Q methodology to select participants for a stakeholder dialogue on energy options from biomass in the Netherlands," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 579-591, January.
    23. Agneta Forslund & Fabrice Levert & Alexandre Gohin & Chantal Le Mouël, 2013. "Etude complémentaire à l'analyse rétrospective des interactions du développement des biocarburants en France avec l'évolution des marchés français et internationaux et les changements d'affectation de," Working Papers hal-01208886, HAL.
    24. Robin Gregory & Tim McDaniels & Daryl Fields, 2001. "Decision Aiding, Not Dispute Resolution: Creating Insights through Structured Environmental Decisions," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(3), pages 415-432.
    25. Scarlat, Nicolae & Dallemand, Jean-François, 2011. "Recent developments of biofuels/bioenergy sustainability certification: A global overview," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 1630-1646, March.
    26. Janssen, Rainer & Rutz, Dominik Damian, 2011. "Sustainability of biofuels in Latin America: Risks and opportunities," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(10), pages 5717-5725, October.
    27. Mata, Teresa M. & Martins, António A. & Caetano, Nidia. S., 2010. "Microalgae for biodiesel production and other applications: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 217-232, January.
    28. Popp, J. & Lakner, Z. & Harangi-Rákos, M. & Fári, M., 2014. "The effect of bioenergy expansion: Food, energy, and environment," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 559-578.
    29. Ignaciuk, A. & Vohringer, F. & Ruijs, A. & van Ierland, E.C., 2006. "Competition between biomass and food production in the presence of energy policies: a partial equilibrium analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(10), pages 1127-1138, July.
    30. Jay Gregg & Steven Smith, 2010. "Global and regional potential for bioenergy from agricultural and forestry residue biomass," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 241-262, March.
    31. Upham, Paul & Tomei, Julia & Dendler, Leonie, 2011. "Governance and legitimacy aspects of the UK biofuel carbon and sustainability reporting system," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 2669-2678, May.
    32. Galo, Joaquim J.M. & Macedo, Maria N.Q. & Almeida, Luiz A.L. & Lima, Antonio C.C., 2014. "Criteria for smart grid deployment in Brazil by applying the Delphi method," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 605-611.
    33. Subhadra, Bobban G. & Edwards, Mark, 2011. "Coproduct market analysis and water footprint of simulated commercial algal biorefineries," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(10), pages 3515-3523.
    34. Menten, Fabio & Chèze, Benoît & Patouillard, Laure & Bouvart, Frédérique, 2013. "A review of LCA greenhouse gas emissions results for advanced biofuels: The use of meta-regression analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 108-134.
    35. Hognon, Céline & Delrue, Florian & Boissonnet, Guillaume, 2015. "Energetic and economic evaluation of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii hydrothermal liquefaction and pyrolysis through thermochemical models," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 93(P1), pages 31-40.
    36. Zhu, Liandong, 2015. "Biorefinery as a promising approach to promote microalgae industry: An innovative framework," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 1376-1384.
    37. Wiesenthal, Tobias & Leduc, Guillaume & Christidis, Panayotis & Schade, Burkhard & Pelkmans, Luc & Govaerts, Leen & Georgopoulos, Panagiotis, 2009. "Biofuel support policies in Europe: Lessons learnt for the long way ahead," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 789-800, May.
    38. Bracco, Stefania, 2015. "Effectiveness of EU biofuels sustainability criteria in the context of land acquisitions in Africa," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 130-143.
    39. Ziolkowska, Jadwiga R., 2014. "Optimizing biofuels production in an uncertain decision environment: Conventional vs. advanced technologies," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 366-376.
    40. German, Laura & Schoneveld, George, 2012. "A review of social sustainability considerations among EU-approved voluntary schemes for biofuels, with implications for rural livelihoods," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 765-778.
    41. Gnansounou, Edgard, 2011. "Assessing the sustainability of biofuels: A logic-based model," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 2089-2096.
    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. Baudry, Gino & Macharis, Cathy & Vallée, Thomas, 2018. "Can microalgae biodiesel contribute to achieve the sustainability objectives in the transport sector in France by 2030? A comparison between first, second and third generation biofuels though a range-," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 1032-1046.
    2. Brinkman, Marnix L.J. & Wicke, Birka & Faaij, André P.C. & van der Hilst, Floor, 2019. "Projecting socio-economic impacts of bioenergy: Current status and limitations of ex-ante quantification methods," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).

    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. Baudry, Gino & Macharis, Cathy & Vallée, Thomas, 2018. "Can microalgae biodiesel contribute to achieve the sustainability objectives in the transport sector in France by 2030? A comparison between first, second and third generation biofuels though a range-," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 1032-1046.
    2. Brinkman, Marnix L.J. & Wicke, Birka & Faaij, André P.C. & van der Hilst, Floor, 2019. "Projecting socio-economic impacts of bioenergy: Current status and limitations of ex-ante quantification methods," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    3. Ji, Xi & Long, Xianling, 2016. "A review of the ecological and socioeconomic effects of biofuel and energy policy recommendations," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 41-52.
    4. Ziolkowska, Jadwiga R., 2014. "Optimizing biofuels production in an uncertain decision environment: Conventional vs. advanced technologies," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 366-376.
    5. Iriarte, Alfredo & Rieradevall, Joan & Gabarrell, Xavier, 2012. "Transition towards a more environmentally sustainable biodiesel in South America: The case of Chile," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 91(1), pages 263-273.
    6. Bergthorson, Jeffrey M. & Thomson, Murray J., 2015. "A review of the combustion and emissions properties of advanced transportation biofuels and their impact on existing and future engines," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 1393-1417.
    7. Vo, Long Hai & Le, Thai-Ha, 2021. "Eatery, energy, environment and economic system, 1970–2017: Understanding volatility spillover patterns in a global sample," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    8. Fabio G. Santeramo & Monica Delsignore & Enrica Imbert & Mariarosaria Lombardi, 2023. "The Future of the EU Bioenergy Sector: Economic, Environmental, Social, and Legislative Challenges," International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, now publishers, vol. 17(1), pages 1-1–52, April.
    9. Schillo, R. Sandra & Isabelle, Diane A. & Shakiba, Abtin, 2017. "Linking advanced biofuels policies with stakeholder interests: A method building on Quality Function Deployment," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 126-137.
    10. Cansino, J.M. & Pablo-Romero, M.del P & Román, R. & Yñiguez, R., 2012. "Promotion of biofuel consumption in the transport sector: An EU-27 perspective," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(8), pages 6013-6021.
    11. German, Laura & Schoneveld, George, 2012. "A review of social sustainability considerations among EU-approved voluntary schemes for biofuels, with implications for rural livelihoods," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 765-778.
    12. Trumbo, Jennifer L. & Tonn, Bruce E., 2016. "Biofuels: A sustainable choice for the United States' energy future?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 147-161.
    13. Scott, James A. & Ho, William & Dey, Prasanta K., 2013. "Strategic sourcing in the UK bioenergy industry," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(2), pages 478-490.
    14. Bauer, Christian & Hofer, Johannes & Althaus, Hans-Jörg & Del Duce, Andrea & Simons, Andrew, 2015. "The environmental performance of current and future passenger vehicles: Life cycle assessment based on a novel scenario analysis framework," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 871-883.
    15. Menten, Fabio & Chèze, Benoît & Patouillard, Laure & Bouvart, Frédérique, 2013. "A review of LCA greenhouse gas emissions results for advanced biofuels: The use of meta-regression analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 108-134.
    16. Zhu, L.D. & Hiltunen, E. & Antila, E. & Zhong, J.J. & Yuan, Z.H. & Wang, Z.M., 2014. "Microalgal biofuels: Flexible bioenergies for sustainable development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 1035-1046.
    17. Milazzo, M.F. & Spina, F. & Cavallaro, S. & Bart, J.C.J., 2013. "Sustainable soy biodiesel," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 806-852.
    18. Baudry, Gino & Macharis, Cathy & Vallée, Thomas, 2018. "Range-based Multi-Actor Multi-Criteria Analysis: A combined method of Multi-Actor Multi-Criteria Analysis and Monte Carlo simulation to support participatory decision making under uncertainty," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 264(1), pages 257-269.
    19. Correa, Diego F. & Beyer, Hawthorne L. & Fargione, Joseph E. & Hill, Jason D. & Possingham, Hugh P. & Thomas-Hall, Skye R. & Schenk, Peer M., 2019. "Towards the implementation of sustainable biofuel production systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 250-263.
    20. César, Aldara da Silva & Batalha, Mário Otávio, 2013. "Brazilian biodiesel: The case of the palm's social projects," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 165-174.

    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:eee:rensus:v:69:y:2017:i:c:p:933-947. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    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.