The Road to 2030: Combining Life Cycle Assessment and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis to Evaluate Commuting Alternatives in a University Context

Denner Deda, Jônatas Augusto Manzolli (), Margarida J. Quina and Helena Gervasio
Additional contact information
Denner Deda: ISISE—Institute for Sustainability and Innovation in Structural Engineering, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra, Rua Luís Reis Santos, Polo II, 3030-788 Coimbra, Portugal
Jônatas Augusto Manzolli: IMaTS Lab—Intelligent Mobility and Transportation Safety Laboratory, Department of Civil Engineering, McGill University, 817 Sherbrooke St West, Montreal, QC H3A 0C3, Canada
Margarida J. Quina: CERES—Chemical Engineering and Renewable Resources for Sustainability, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra, Rua Sílvio Lima, Polo II, 3030-790 Coimbra, Portugal
Helena Gervasio: ISISE—Institute for Sustainability and Innovation in Structural Engineering, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra, Rua Luís Reis Santos, Polo II, 3030-788 Coimbra, Portugal

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 13, 1-31

Abstract: Institutions are increasingly being challenged to reduce the environmental impacts of daily commuting, while balancing complex and often conflicting sustainability goals. This study addressed the limitations of carbon-centric assessments by proposing a framework that integrated life cycle assessment (LCA) with multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) to evaluate seven prospective commuting alternatives for 2030, using a Portuguese university as a case study. Utilizing the PROMETHEE method across 16 environmental criteria, the analysis revealed that active mobility offered the most balanced and sustainable outcomes, consistently performing the best across all impact categories. In contrast, the electrification of private vehicles, although it reduced greenhouse gas emissions, was identified as the least favorable option, due to significant trade-offs in areas such as resource depletion and water use, as well as other environmental burdens. Public transport scenarios, particularly those involving electric bus systems, showed intermediate performance. In this context, the proposed LCA–MCDA framework provides policymakers and institutions with a comprehensive decision-support tool to navigate environmental trade-offs, promote low-impact mobility strategies, and meet evolving sustainability reporting requirements.

Keywords: life cycle assessment; multi-criteria decision analysis; sustainable mobility; scenario analysis; environmental impact evaluation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/13/5839/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/13/5839/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:13:p:5839-:d:1686841

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().