Development of a methodological framework for sustainability assessment

We all face a climate and energy challenge that cannot be solved with incremental innovations alone, but where radical innovations are also needed to make the transition to a low-carbon economy and society a reality. The MOONSHOT innovation program therefore provides means to realize technological breakthroughs by 2050 in order to contribute to the achievement of the Flemish climate objectives. Given the objective and timeline of the innovation program, it is crucial to use the resources in a targeted and efficient way. There is a need for a harmonized framework that allows projects proposed and implemented within the MOONSHOT innovation program to be evaluated on their sustainability impact. This framework should allow to estimate the environmental and economic impacts at low TRL and from the project application onwards, in order to adjust the projects and project proposals in time. Despite the availability of LCA, TEA and IA methods, there is no harmonized framework that can be directly applied to the MOONSHOT innovation program. Clear agreements on system boundaries, methodological choices and default values are necessary in order to evaluate the projects in an independent, objective, transparent and overarching manner.Thanks to the development of a new methodological framework, support can be offered for the allocation of (follow-up) projects and the allocation of budgets, but also for improved communication with external stakeholders, industry, and researchers. In addition, it allows technology developers to be supported from a low TRL onwards in setting research goals, and to test these during development and adjust them where necessary. In addition to evaluating 'strong' KPIs where more attention is paid to environmental aspects such as energy consumption and CO2 emissions, sufficient attention must also be paid to the technical and economic feasibility of future developments.

Keywords:ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT

Disciplines:Agricultural and natural resource economics, environmental and ecological economics