ISEE: A Computational Tool for Industrial Sustainability Assessment and Decision Making

In the study on industrial sustainability, a major challenge is how to pursue effective sustainability  assessment  and  decision  making  for  the  short-  to  long-term  sustainable development of industrial systems.  A sustainable system should demonstrate high efficiency of material and energy utilization, minimum waste generation, assured safety, high level social responsibility, etc.   

Sustainability assessment and decision making of industrial systems is a multi-objective and interdisciplinary task, which has been greatly challenged due to the inherent complexity and uncertainty carried by the sustainability essential.  To facilitate industrial practice on  engineering sustainability, a computational tool, namely ISEE (Industrial Sustainability Evaluation and Enhancement), has been designed, where basic sustainability principles are embedded in a systems approach for sustainability assessment and decision making.  The tool is featured by its capability of processing uncertain data and information, assessing sustainability status quo and predicting its future performance, and evaluating design alternatives using various sustainability metrics.  Based on the assessment, the tool is capable of identifying the most desirable design for sustainability improvement.  As a case study, biodiesel manufacturing in a large geographical region was illustrated.