Application of symmetric fuzzy linear programming in life cycle assessment

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is known to entail multiple objective decision-making in the analysis of tradeoffs between different environmental impacts. The work of Azapagic and Clift in the late 1990s illustrates the use of multiple objective linear programming (MOLP) in the context of LCA. However, it will be noted that their approach yields a range of Pareto optimal alternatives from which the decision-maker must ultimately select the final solution. An alternative approach making use of Zimmermann’s symmetric fuzzy linear programming method is proposed and illustrated with a simple case study. The procedure effectively yields a single, optimal compromise solution.