Evaluating the eco-efficiency of loading transport vehicles: A Brazilian case study

• Published in: Case studies on transport policy Vol. 9; no. 4; pp. 1688 - 1695
• Main Authors: Heymann, Mozart Caetano, Paschoalino, Fernanda Fidelis, Caiado, Rodrigo Goyannes Gusmão, Lima, Gilson Brito Alves, Pereira, Valdecy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.12.2021
• Subjects: Automotive transports; Data envelopment analysis; Eco-efficiency; PBEV; Sustainable development; Automotive transports; Eco-efficiency; Sustainable development; PBEV; Data envelopment analysis
• ISSN: 2213-624X; 2213-6258
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cstp.2021.06.018

•DEA to measure the performance of transports from the sustainable development perspective.•Eco-efficiency analysis of transports in the Brazilian automotive industry.•DEA with undesirable outputs – energy consumption and GHG emissions – at an empirical case study.•Inverted frontier DEA-based method as a decision support tool to choosing eco-efficient loading vehicles. In today's world, the transportation industry is globally known for its high energy consumption and intensive use of fossil fuels. However, the search for more sustainable, less resource-carrying, and environmentally friendly transportation alternatives is growing. In this sense, this paper aims to analyze the eco-efficiency of transports using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) in the Brazilian automotive industry and so to propose a method to measure the performance of transports from the perspective of sustainable development. In this case study, there were considered eleven alternatives and four variables: load capacity, fuel efficiency, total emissions, and energetic consumption. As a reference, it was used data provided by the Brazilian program for the rationalization of the use of petroleum derivatives and natural gas, Inmetro and Petrobras, and by the automobile manufacturers of the vehicles analyzed. Findings indicate that the use of DEA provided evidence of a closer view of operational reality, and proved to be an adequate and complementary tool, allowing greater discrimination for eco-efficiency analysis of vehicles. Thus, the proposed approach can bring important insights to improve the Government evaluation regarding the energy efficiency of vehicles and is up to enrich the body of knowledge in organizational sustainability management and its performance measurement in the transports sector. Finally, the main contributions of this study include: (i) it is an extension of previous DEA works that assesses the efficiency of the road transport sector, considering also undesirable variables; and it (ii) allows a comparative assessment of car eco-efficiency using DEA model, combining desirable and undesirable results, and provides the unified efficiency of the Brazilian transportation industry.