System design framework for equity/ fairness among actors

Perceived unfairness has hindered participation and support from actors (i.e. decision makers and stakeholders), rendering some next generation systems solutions ineffective. This work develops a framework for system design by explicitly considering equity/fairness. Equity is looked at from the perspective of how financial costs and benefits are distributed among actors. Implications of different equity principles are explored using a case study about efforts to reduce aviation emissions. The study investigates aviation biofuels production involving farmers, biorefineries, airlines, aircraft/engine manufacturers, and taxpayers. An isoperformance approach is employed to identify the trade-off space in which burden for reducing emissions can be shared among the actors.