Development of social sustainability assessment methods for solar thermal energy systems applied to industrial processes

Abstract

This thesis assessed the social sustainability of a newly developed Solar Thermal Energy (STE) system using the following methods. First, a Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) was conducted using Social Hotspot Database (SHDB) inventory data to assess social risks on employees involved in producing the system’s three components: Fresnel solar collectors (SunDial), the Phase Change Material (PCM) storage tank, and the Control Unit. Next, surveys involving 56 employees engaged in the technology’s Product Development phase were conducted to assess social impact in the following impact categories: Training Satisfaction (TS), Professional Development (PD), and Working Intensity (WI). Industrial and social acceptance of the technology was then assessed through surveys with 318 industries and 279 members of the public, capturing perceptions of the system’s adoption potential, greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction, and economic savings. Finally, a regression model was conducted to predict future trends in social impact and industrial acceptance over a 10-year timeframe, providing insights into long-term technological and financial improvements. Results of the S-LCA revealed substantial Health & Safety (H&S) risks for employees involved in the technology’s production, particularly in aluminium manufacturing of the PCM storage tank due to non-compliance with regional H&S policies. In the Product Development phase, positive impact was observed in PD and WI, whereas a negative impact score of -0.5 in TS revealed training provision gaps. Regression analysis identified strong correlations between social impact and influencing investments in Human Resource Management (HRM) including provision of training; PT (ρ = 0.54), employee engagement in R&D; EE, (ρ = 0.48), provision of professional development opportunities; PPD (ρ = 0.80), and task allocation; AT (ρ = 0.63), all statistically significant (p < 0.05). Next, surveys gauging the acceptance of worldwide industries showed strong results for the STE system’s technical compatibility (82%), costs (82%), and impact on standard compliance (87%), with highest scores reported by the Aerospace (92%), Metallic (89%), and Automotive (86%) industries. Acceptance was particularly strong among large companies (84%) and medium-sized companies (87%), whereas lower rates were observed for small (45%) and micro (37%) enterprises, largely due to the upfront costs of STE systems, which posed a greater financial burden for firms of this scale. Moreover, surveys involving the general public showed strong agreement with STE’s environmental benefits (86%) and willingness to consume products manufactured using STE’s clean energy goods (79%). Results of the future predictions showed that social impact on employees improved over the decade, as indicated by the probability of observing TS = 5 increased from 0.10 to 0.30 and TS = 4 from 0.35 to 0.60 due to annual investment in EE. Similarly, the probability of observing PD = 5 increased from 0.20 to 0.50 and WI = 4 from 0.25 to 0.50 from investment in PPD and AT, respectively. Industrial acceptance also marginally improved over the decade; most notably, AC = 5 rose from 0.44 to 0.52, and AC = 4 increased from 0.41 to 0.46. A large improvement was found amongst small and micro-sized companies as the probability of observing a high score rose 0.45 to 0.67 for small companies and 0.37 to 0.62 for micro-sized companies. The findings provide nuanced technological and monetary improvement measures to enhance the long-term sustainability and industrial relevance of newly developed STE systems. The findings of this thesis demonstrate the strong influence of targeted investments in workforce development, technological improvements, and financial support mechanisms on enhancing both social impact and industrial acceptance of STE systems over the decade. These thesis insights on influencing factors provide valuable implications for workforce managers, industrial stakeholders, and policymakers by offering practical guidance on forecasting, prioritising, and strategically allocating resources to maximise stakeholder satisfaction and support industrial adoption of current and future emerging STE deployments.