A systematic and methodological review of Indicator-based sustainability assessment concepts in wastewater management

Indicator-based assessment is an effective tool for achieving sustainability evaluation goals in wastewater management. This study systematically reviews the four stages of indicator-based assessment, including identification, classification, screening and prioritization. To achieve this, selected keywords were combined and searched in the Scopus database. After two screening stages, ۲۵ articles entirely relevant to the subject were selected. The chosen articles were analyzed in terms of publication year, country of study, stages of indicator-based assessment and sustainability dimensions. The results showed that the primary utilized methods for identifying and classifying indicators were literature review (۸۴% of the papers) and sustainability dimensions-based categorization (۶۸% of the papers), respectively. For the indicator screening stage, most articles utilized expert opinions, employing various methods such as SWOT, SMART and SPICED. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was the most commonly used method for indicator ranking, alongside other multi-criteria decision-making methods. In conclusion, given the limited development of 'sustainability indices' (۸% of the papers), more focus is recommended in this area. This research revealed that the most frequently addressed sustainability dimensions in the articles were environmental, economic and social, whereas the technical, institutional and ethical aspects received comparatively less attention.

کلیدواژه ها:

Indicator-based assessment ، Wastewater Management ، Identification & Classification ، Screening & Prioritization ، Indicators