Exploring Sustainability in Resource Management: Implementation of a Water–Energy–Human Nexus Framework at a University Campus

Abstract

The intricate relationship between water and energy resources is embodied in the concept of water–energy nexus (WEN), emphasizing the need for a unified strategy to manage these vital resources with sustainability objectives like efficiency, cost savings, and emissions reduction in mind. To delve deeper into this relationship, this research presents a study focusing on the dynamics of the water–energy–human nexus (WEHN) specific to the academic environment of a university. It aims to delve into the multifaceted interactions among human behaviors, water usage, wastewater, and energy systems. This cohesive framework captures the symbiotic relationship between human-centric strategies—spanning end-users to high-level decision makers, technical facets, and environmental subsystems. To address this intricacy, our approach adopts an emergy-centric system dynamics (SD) model to map out these detailed interdependencies specific to academic environments. Simulation experiments were conducted using the SD model to test various sustainability improvement strategies. Results showed that influencing end-user’s water and electricity usage behaviors and operational decisions regarding space heating could be effective in reducing the overall emergy and improving system sustainability. It was also observed that when combining several strategies, the effect could be less than the sum of the effects of individual strategies. The proposed WEHN framework and emergy-based SD modeling provided a valuable approach for planners and decision makers to quantitatively assess sustainability of complex systems and evaluate different sustainability enhancement strategies. This study also bridges the gap between sustainability assessment and practical application, offering the construction engineering and management global community an easy-to-use framework to navigate and enhance complex infrastructural ecosystems.