Using analytical hierarchy process (AHP) to introduce weights to social life cycle assessment of mobility services
Publication details: Stockholm : KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 2021Description: s. 292-301Subject(s): Online resources: In: Proceedings of the Resource Efficient Vehicles Conference – rev2021, 14–16 June 2021Abstract: Decisions in sustainability assessment of mobility services and in particular in social sustainability, often pose a multi-criteria decision making issue, as trade-offs can occur between multiple alternatives and a participatory process should be used. Thus, the goal of this research is to support decision-making through determining weightings for different criteria and indicators within the five stakeholder groups presented by the UNEP/SETAC Guidelines and by implementing a participatory process. The selected indicators to be weighted were adopted from Gompf et al. (2020), who conducted an intensive literature review and suggested for the first time a holistic set of indicators for the evaluation of mobility services. The analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method was used to determine weightings for the chosen indicators. A participatory analysis has been used to identify those weightings. In total, 48 experts in the field of sustainable urban mobility were questioned for the weighting process. These experts were chosen from three different groups: academic institutions, city authorities and mobility service providers in order to be able to analyse differences as well as similarities between these groups. While some indicators resulted in clear prioritization, other indicators revealed large differences between the expert groups. For the majority of indicators, the weighting results are similar for all three groups of experts. Consequently, the results provide clear guidance for decision makers in the field of sustainable urban mobility. Further research should consider expanding the sample size, the geographical scope as well as investigating whether additional expert groups in the area of sustainable urban mobility should be included in the weighting process.Decisions in sustainability assessment of mobility services and in particular in social sustainability, often pose a multi-criteria decision making issue, as trade-offs can occur between multiple alternatives and a participatory process should be used. Thus, the goal of this research is to support decision-making through determining weightings for different criteria and indicators within the five stakeholder groups presented by the UNEP/SETAC Guidelines and by implementing a participatory process. The selected indicators to be weighted were adopted from Gompf et al. (2020), who conducted an intensive literature review and suggested for the first time a holistic set of indicators for the evaluation of mobility services. The analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method was used to determine weightings for the chosen indicators. A participatory analysis has been used to identify those weightings. In total, 48 experts in the field of sustainable urban mobility were questioned for the weighting process. These experts were chosen from three different groups: academic institutions, city authorities and mobility service providers in order to be able to analyse differences as well as similarities between these groups. While some indicators resulted in clear prioritization, other indicators revealed large differences between the expert groups. For the majority of indicators, the weighting results are similar for all three groups of experts. Consequently, the results provide clear guidance for decision makers in the field of sustainable urban mobility. Further research should consider expanding the sample size, the geographical scope as well as investigating whether additional expert groups in the area of sustainable urban mobility should be included in the weighting process.