A methodological approach to comparative assessment of water–energy sustainability of urbanized areas based on DPSIR, ESG and IWE
Abstract
Purpose. To develop and test a methodological approach to the comparative assessment of water-energy sustainability of urbanized areas based on the integration of the DPSIR model, ESG indicators, and the integrated IWE index.
Methods. The study combines conceptual and quantitative approaches. The DPSIR model (Driving forces – Pressures – State – Impact – Response) was applied to structure the relationships between resource pressure, the condition of the urban environment, and management responses. The ESG approach was used to select indicators related to environmental performance and infrastructural modernization of urban systems. Quantitative assessment was carried out using the integrated IWE (Integrated Water-Energy Sustainability Index), calculated by a weighted additive aggregation method with min–max normalization of indicators.
Results. The index includes five indicators: water losses in distribution networks, energy intensity of the housing sector, specific CO₂ emissions, the share of renewable energy sources, and the wastewater treatment rate. The methodology was tested on four major Ukrainian cities: Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro. A sensitivity analysis was performed by varying the weighting coefficients in order to assess the stability of the model. The highest IWE value was obtained for Lviv, which is associated with lower energy intensity of the housing sector, the lowest specific CO₂ emissions, a higher share of renewable energy sources, and the highest wastewater treatment rate among the studied cities. The lowest value was obtained for Kharkiv, due to the highest water losses, the highest energy intensity of the housing sector, higher specific CO₂ emissions, and the lowest share of renewable energy sources. Kyiv and Dnipro demonstrated intermediate values. The sensitivity analysis showed that varying the weighting coefficients within the defined scenarios did not change the final ranking of the cities, indicating the relative stability of the model. It was found that the greatest contribution to intercity differentiation of the index is made by indicators related to energy transition and environmental infrastructure, primarily the share of renewable energy sources and the wastewater treatment rate.
Conclusions. The proposed methodological approach makes it possible to integrate the water and energy components of urban sustainability within a unified quantitative assessment framework. The IWE index can be used as a tool for comparative analysis of urbanized areas, municipal monitoring of resource efficiency, and identification of priorities for modernization of water and energy infrastructure. The practical value of the approach lies in the possibility of its application under conditions of limited availability of standardized municipal data.
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