Identifying and prioritizing sustainability indicators for China's assessing demolition waste management using...

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Civil Engineering
• Sustainability Studies

Background:

• Construction and demolition waste management (DWM) faces challenges due to limited incentives, regulations, and guidance.
• Systematic decision-making for DWM alternative selection is crucial for sustainable development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a sustainability assessment framework for DWM.
• To identify and prioritize key sustainability indicators for DWM through expert consensus.

Main Methods:

• Coupling a modified Delphi method with multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA).
• Utilizing the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) for indicator validation and prioritization.
• Employing mixed methods: online semi-structured interviews and two rounds of questionnaire surveys with industry practitioners in China.

Main Results:

• Eight key sustainability indicators were identified as determinants for DWM performance.
• Global warming potential (32%), energy efficiency (16.1%), and land use (13.5%) received the highest priority scores.
• Economic factors, such as total cost, were less prioritized compared to environmental indicators, diverging from previous studies in developing countries.

Conclusions:

• The developed framework empowers systematic decision-making in DWM.
• Environmental indicators, particularly global warming potential, energy efficiency, and land use, are paramount for sustainable DWM in the studied context.
• Practitioner perspectives highlight a shift towards prioritizing environmental impact over economic cost in DWM.