Building a Sustainability Balanced Scorecard for Desalination Plants : Literature Review and a Performance Assessment Conceptual Framework

The demand for non-conventional water resources has been intensified by a multifaceted set of factors, including water stress, drought, population growth, and rapid urbanization. This demand has escalated notably, particularly within the MENA region, which is home to 14 of the 17 most water-stressed nations worldwide. This issue is of pressing concern for different stakeholders. Seawater desalination is regarded as a resilient freshwater solution, yet challenges persist, including elevated energy consumption, environmental impacts, capital and operational cost constraints, and quality issues concerns. Current studies rarely address these multifaceted performance challenges. The objective of this study is twofold. Firstly, it will provide a comprehensive performance assessment tool by developing a Sustainability Balanced Scorecard (SBSC) that incorporates both traditional BSC and sustainability dimensions. Secondly, it will propose a conceptual framework suggesting the assessment of the impact of SBSC non-financial perspectives on the financial performance of desalination plants.