Participatory Sustainability Assessment Tool for Wood-Based Bioenergy Industry in Upper Michigan, USA

Our research is focused on understanding stakeholders’ concerns and perceptions regarding biofuel production in the upper Michigan region, where wood-based biofuel industry is being planned and researched by business, government agencies, and the local university. Interest in a wood-based bioenergy production industry is growing, yet whether this industry can be developed sustainably is a concern. The main goal of our research is to develop an expert-assisted sustainability assessment tool composed of criteria and indicators (C&Is) reflective of stakeholders concerns and interests, and at the same time are informed by science. This sustainability assessment tool is intended to facilitate context-specific, inclusive and sustainability-oriented decision-making for a wood-based bioenergy industry. Semi-structured interviews, focus group meetings and a workshop were used to collect information from key stakeholders, which were translated into sustainability C&Is. Multiple-criteria analysis method and information collected from other studies were used to develop a final set of sustainability C&Is.