Posters

Abstract

In the Western Mediterranean, integrating environmental factors into floating offshore wind design requires a comparative and verifiable decision metric throughout the full project lifecycle. We propose a Do No Significant Harm (DNSH)-anchored, Key Performance Indicator (KPI)-driven multi-criteria methodology that combines DNSH screening with a quantitative carbon footprint indicator, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The approach targets three design hotspots:  (A) cable landfall and protection (Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) vs. open trench, and protection by concrete mattresses/cast-iron shells vs. rock dumping), (B) mooring and anchoring systems including shared mooring options, and C) eco-structures.  We complement this with (D) integrated bird/bat monitoring and collision avoidance planning and (E) manufacturing and supply chain choices as material drivers of lifecycle CO₂.  The method codifies site-specific no-go rules for priority habitats (e.g., Posidonia oceanica, Cymodocea nodosa), enforces underwater-noise safeguards such as, Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and contiguous Atlantic area (ACCOBAMS) or International Maritime Organization (IMO), and applies geotechnical buffers for active faults and liquefaction zones. Weighted DNSH objectives (biodiversity, water/marine, pollution, circularity, climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation) structure the evaluation. Field-based Mediterranean evidence feeds the KPIs—e.g., seabed impact footprints (direct occupation or due to produced turbidity), biomass generation, etc.  The outcome is a traffic-light decision matrix and transparent decision log that de-risk permitting and align engineering choices with environmental performance and carbon reduction objectives. The approach is scalable to early screening and detailed design and is intended to inform both project choices and suppliers’ disclosure of Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) grade data to substantiate carbon claims.