The Experts below are selected from a list of 20421 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Shishir Kumar Behera - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
methodological aspects of applying eco efficiency indicators to industrial symbiosis networks
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2014Co-Authors: Hungsuck Park, Shishir Kumar BeheraAbstract:Abstract In this study, we proposed eco-efficiency indicator as an integral parameter for simultaneously quantifying the economic and environmental performance of industrial symbiosis (IS) networks. Based on the World Business Council for Sustainable Development definition of eco-efficiency, the eco-efficiency indicators proposed include one economic indicator, and three generally applicable simplified environmental indicators (Raw Material Consumption, energy Consumption, and CO2 emission). Three eco-efficiencies corresponding to three environmental indicators are assessed using seven IS networks that were developed between 2007 and 2012, which are currently operational in Ulsan Eco-Industrial Park (EIP), South Korea. Our results indicate that the eco-efficiency of individual IS networks improved up to 28.7%. Besides, the evolution of seven IS networks comprising 21 companies resulted in an overall eco-efficiency enhancement of about 10%. The proposed eco-efficiency indicators for IS networks can be easily utilized to communicate with decision makers at any level to assist in transforming conventional industrial complexes to EIP. The implications of the study and limitations of the methodology are delineated.
-
methodological aspects of applying eco efficiency indicators to industrial symbiosis networks
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2014Co-Authors: Hungsuck Park, Shishir Kumar BeheraAbstract:Abstract In this study, we proposed eco-efficiency indicator as an integral parameter for simultaneously quantifying the economic and environmental performance of industrial symbiosis (IS) networks. Based on the World Business Council for Sustainable Development definition of eco-efficiency, the eco-efficiency indicators proposed include one economic indicator, and three generally applicable simplified environmental indicators (Raw Material Consumption, energy Consumption, and CO2 emission). Three eco-efficiencies corresponding to three environmental indicators are assessed using seven IS networks that were developed between 2007 and 2012, which are currently operational in Ulsan Eco-Industrial Park (EIP), South Korea. Our results indicate that the eco-efficiency of individual IS networks improved up to 28.7%. Besides, the evolution of seven IS networks comprising 21 companies resulted in an overall eco-efficiency enhancement of about 10%. The proposed eco-efficiency indicators for IS networks can be easily utilized to communicate with decision makers at any level to assist in transforming conventional industrial complexes to EIP. The implications of the study and limitations of the methodology are delineated.
Anke Schaffartzik - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
international trade drives global resource use a structural decomposition analysis of Raw Material Consumption from 1990 2010
Environmental Science & Technology, 2018Co-Authors: Barbara Plank, Nina Eisenmenger, Anke Schaffartzik, Dominik WiedenhoferAbstract:Globalization led to an immense increase of international trade and the emergence of complex global value chains. At the same time, global resource use and pressures on the environment are increasing steadily. With these two processes in parallel, the question arises whether trade contributes positively to resource efficiency, or to the contrary is further driving resource use? In this article, the socioeconomic driving forces of increasing global Raw Material Consumption (RMC) are investigated to assess the role of changing trade relations, extended supply chains and increasing Consumption. We apply a structural decomposition analysis of changes in RMC from 1990 to 2010, utilizing the Eora multi-regional input-output (MRIO) model. We find that changes in international trade patterns significantly contributed to an increase of global RMC. Wealthy developed countries play a major role in driving global RMC growth through changes in their trade structures, as they shifted production processes increasingly t...
-
Consumption based Material flow indicators comparing six ways of calculating the austrian Raw Material Consumption providing six results
Ecological Economics, 2016Co-Authors: Nina Eisenmenger, Anke Schaffartzik, Dominik Wiedenhofer, Stefan Giljum, Martin Bruckner, Heinz Schandl, Thomas Wiedmann, Manfred Lenzen, Arnold TukkerAbstract:Understanding the environmental implications of Consumption and production depends on appropriate monitoring tools. Material flow accounting (MFA) is a method to monitor natural resource use by countries and has been widely used in research and policy. However, the increasing globalization requires the consideration of ‘embodied’ Material use of traded products. The indicator Raw Material Consumption (RMC) represents the Material use – no matter where in the world it occurs – associated with domestic final demand. It provides a Consumption-based perspective complementary to the MFA indicators that have a territorial focus. Several studies on RMC have been presented recently but with diverging results; hence, a better understanding of the underlying differences is needed. This article presents a comparison of Austrian RMC for the year 2007 calculated by six different approaches (3 multi-regional input–output (MRIO) and 3 hybrid life-cycle analysis-IO approaches). Five approaches result in an RMC higher than the domestic Material Consumption (DMC). One hybrid LCA-IO approach calculates RMC to be lower than DMC. For specific Material categories, results diverge by 50% or more. Due to the policy relevance of the RMC and DMC indicators it is paramount that their robustness is enhanced, which needs both data and method harmonization.
-
Consumption-based Material flow indicators — Comparing six ways of calculating the Austrian Raw Material Consumption providing six results
Ecological Economics, 2016Co-Authors: Nina Eisenmenger, Anke Schaffartzik, Dominik Wiedenhofer, Stefan Giljum, Martin Bruckner, Heinz Schandl, Thomas Wiedmann, Manfred Lenzen, Arnold Tukker, Arjan De KoningAbstract:Understanding the environmental implications of Consumption and production depends on appropriate monitoring tools. Material flow accounting (MFA) is a method to monitor natural resource use by countries and has been widely used in research and policy. However, the increasing globalization requires the consideration of ‘embodied’ Material use of traded products. The indicator Raw Material Consumption (RMC) represents the Material use – no matter where in the world it occurs – associated with domestic final demand. It provides a Consumption-based perspective complementary to the MFA indicators that have a territorial focus. Several studies on RMC have been presented recently but with diverging results; hence, a better understanding of the underlying differences is needed. This article presents a comparison of Austrian RMC for the year 2007 calculated by six different approaches (3 multi-regional input–output (MRIO) and 3 hybrid life-cycle analysis-IO approaches). Five approaches result in an RMC higher than the domestic Material Consumption (DMC). One hybrid LCA-IO approach calculates RMC to be lower than DMC. For specific Material categories, results diverge by 50% or more. Due to the policy relevance of the RMC and DMC indicators it is paramount that their robustness is enhanced, which needs both data and method harmonization.
-
What Drives Austrian Raw Material Consumption?: A Structural Decomposition Analysis for the Years 1995 to 2007
Journal of Industrial Ecology, 2015Co-Authors: Manuel Wenzlik, Nina Eisenmenger, Anke SchaffartzikAbstract:The growth in Austria's Raw Material Consumption (RMC) or Material footprint is driven by changes in Consumption and production. In using the tool of structural decomposition analysis and applying it to Austrian RMC between 1995 and 2007, three specific drivers (technology, composition, and volume of final demand) are identified and quantified. The overall growth of Austrian RMC across the period of time under investigation shows that neither improved production or Consumption efficiency nor reduction of Consumption alone can lead to absolute Material savings. The “rebound effect” has been used to describe how efficiency gains can be offset by growth in overall Consumption, putting “degrowth” on the agenda of sustainability sciences and political movements. Absolute decoupling, that is, simultaneous growth in gross domestic product (GDP) and reduction of RMC, can only be achieved if reductions in final demand volume as a driver of Material use are not offset by increases as a result of the changing final demand mix and/or technology effect (and vice versa). The Austrian case study provides very little evidence for such developments having occurred simultaneously during the period of time under investigation. In order for economic degrowth to contribute to lower Material use and thus greater environmental protection, it must occur not only quantitatively, but also qualitatively in production and Consumption structures.
Nina Eisenmenger - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
international trade drives global resource use a structural decomposition analysis of Raw Material Consumption from 1990 2010
Environmental Science & Technology, 2018Co-Authors: Barbara Plank, Nina Eisenmenger, Anke Schaffartzik, Dominik WiedenhoferAbstract:Globalization led to an immense increase of international trade and the emergence of complex global value chains. At the same time, global resource use and pressures on the environment are increasing steadily. With these two processes in parallel, the question arises whether trade contributes positively to resource efficiency, or to the contrary is further driving resource use? In this article, the socioeconomic driving forces of increasing global Raw Material Consumption (RMC) are investigated to assess the role of changing trade relations, extended supply chains and increasing Consumption. We apply a structural decomposition analysis of changes in RMC from 1990 to 2010, utilizing the Eora multi-regional input-output (MRIO) model. We find that changes in international trade patterns significantly contributed to an increase of global RMC. Wealthy developed countries play a major role in driving global RMC growth through changes in their trade structures, as they shifted production processes increasingly t...
-
Consumption based Material flow indicators comparing six ways of calculating the austrian Raw Material Consumption providing six results
Ecological Economics, 2016Co-Authors: Nina Eisenmenger, Anke Schaffartzik, Dominik Wiedenhofer, Stefan Giljum, Martin Bruckner, Heinz Schandl, Thomas Wiedmann, Manfred Lenzen, Arnold TukkerAbstract:Understanding the environmental implications of Consumption and production depends on appropriate monitoring tools. Material flow accounting (MFA) is a method to monitor natural resource use by countries and has been widely used in research and policy. However, the increasing globalization requires the consideration of ‘embodied’ Material use of traded products. The indicator Raw Material Consumption (RMC) represents the Material use – no matter where in the world it occurs – associated with domestic final demand. It provides a Consumption-based perspective complementary to the MFA indicators that have a territorial focus. Several studies on RMC have been presented recently but with diverging results; hence, a better understanding of the underlying differences is needed. This article presents a comparison of Austrian RMC for the year 2007 calculated by six different approaches (3 multi-regional input–output (MRIO) and 3 hybrid life-cycle analysis-IO approaches). Five approaches result in an RMC higher than the domestic Material Consumption (DMC). One hybrid LCA-IO approach calculates RMC to be lower than DMC. For specific Material categories, results diverge by 50% or more. Due to the policy relevance of the RMC and DMC indicators it is paramount that their robustness is enhanced, which needs both data and method harmonization.
-
Consumption-based Material flow indicators — Comparing six ways of calculating the Austrian Raw Material Consumption providing six results
Ecological Economics, 2016Co-Authors: Nina Eisenmenger, Anke Schaffartzik, Dominik Wiedenhofer, Stefan Giljum, Martin Bruckner, Heinz Schandl, Thomas Wiedmann, Manfred Lenzen, Arnold Tukker, Arjan De KoningAbstract:Understanding the environmental implications of Consumption and production depends on appropriate monitoring tools. Material flow accounting (MFA) is a method to monitor natural resource use by countries and has been widely used in research and policy. However, the increasing globalization requires the consideration of ‘embodied’ Material use of traded products. The indicator Raw Material Consumption (RMC) represents the Material use – no matter where in the world it occurs – associated with domestic final demand. It provides a Consumption-based perspective complementary to the MFA indicators that have a territorial focus. Several studies on RMC have been presented recently but with diverging results; hence, a better understanding of the underlying differences is needed. This article presents a comparison of Austrian RMC for the year 2007 calculated by six different approaches (3 multi-regional input–output (MRIO) and 3 hybrid life-cycle analysis-IO approaches). Five approaches result in an RMC higher than the domestic Material Consumption (DMC). One hybrid LCA-IO approach calculates RMC to be lower than DMC. For specific Material categories, results diverge by 50% or more. Due to the policy relevance of the RMC and DMC indicators it is paramount that their robustness is enhanced, which needs both data and method harmonization.
-
What Drives Austrian Raw Material Consumption?: A Structural Decomposition Analysis for the Years 1995 to 2007
Journal of Industrial Ecology, 2015Co-Authors: Manuel Wenzlik, Nina Eisenmenger, Anke SchaffartzikAbstract:The growth in Austria's Raw Material Consumption (RMC) or Material footprint is driven by changes in Consumption and production. In using the tool of structural decomposition analysis and applying it to Austrian RMC between 1995 and 2007, three specific drivers (technology, composition, and volume of final demand) are identified and quantified. The overall growth of Austrian RMC across the period of time under investigation shows that neither improved production or Consumption efficiency nor reduction of Consumption alone can lead to absolute Material savings. The “rebound effect” has been used to describe how efficiency gains can be offset by growth in overall Consumption, putting “degrowth” on the agenda of sustainability sciences and political movements. Absolute decoupling, that is, simultaneous growth in gross domestic product (GDP) and reduction of RMC, can only be achieved if reductions in final demand volume as a driver of Material use are not offset by increases as a result of the changing final demand mix and/or technology effect (and vice versa). The Austrian case study provides very little evidence for such developments having occurred simultaneously during the period of time under investigation. In order for economic degrowth to contribute to lower Material use and thus greater environmental protection, it must occur not only quantitatively, but also qualitatively in production and Consumption structures.
Jan Kovanda - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
Raw Material Consumption or total Material Consumption? Which indicator is better for evaluating Material resource Consumption and environmental pressure?
Environmental monitoring and assessment, 2020Co-Authors: Jan KovandaAbstract:The article presents a time series of Raw Material Consumption (RMC) and total Material Consumption (TMC) indicators for the Czech Republic for 1990-2017 calculated with the use of hybrid input-output life cycle assessment approach (hybrid IO-LCA). While the RMC indicator has already been calculated with the use of various alternatives of input-output or hybrid approaches for some other countries, we are not aware of any published TMC time series calculated with the use of these methods. We briefly discuss the time development of the indicators' Material components. The core of the article lies in the assessment of the suitability of RMC and TMC indicators for (1) Quantification of Material resource Consumption of nations or groups of nations and (2) Evaluation of environmental pressure related to Material resource Consumption. We concluded that RMC is more appropriate for quantification of Material resource Consumption, as unused flows included in TMC are not consumed, but only displaced. Regarding the second purpose of the indicators, we found that trends of environmental pressure expressed by RMC and TMC are similar for the Czech Republic. We showed that RMC significantly underestimates total environmental pressure related to Material resource Consumption, which is particularly relevant for international comparison. Finally, we revealed that the Material structure of the indicators differ and referring to an example of coal and construction and industrial minerals we argued that TMC is more appropriate for the evaluation of environmental pressure attributable to particular resources.
-
Raw Material Consumption of the european union concept calculation method and results
Environmental Science & Technology, 2012Co-Authors: Karl Schoer, Jan Weinzettel, Jan Kovanda, Jürgen Giegrich, Christoph LauwigiAbstract:This article presents the concept, calculation method, and first results of the “Raw Material Consumption” (RMC) economy-wide Material flow indicator for the European Union (EU). The RMC measures t...
-
Raw Material Consumption of the European Union – Concept, Calculation Method, and Results
Environmental science & technology, 2012Co-Authors: Karl Schoer, Jan Weinzettel, Jan Kovanda, Jürgen Giegrich, Christoph LauwigiAbstract:This article presents the concept, calculation method, and first results of the “Raw Material Consumption” (RMC) economy-wide Material flow indicator for the European Union (EU). The RMC measures t...
-
Structural Decomposition Analysis of Raw Material Consumption
Journal of Industrial Ecology, 2011Co-Authors: Jan Weinzettel, Jan KovandaAbstract:The aim of this article is to quantify the drivers for the changes in Raw Material Consumption (domestic Material Consumption expressed in the form of all Materials extracted and used in the production phase) in terms of technology, which refers to the concept of sustainable production; the product structure of final demand, which refers to the concept of sustainable Consumption; and the volume of final demand, which is related to economic growth. We also aim to determine to what extent the technological development and a shift in product structure of the final demand compensate for the growth in final Consumption volume. Therefore, we apply structural decomposition analysis (SDA) to the change in Raw Material Consumption (RMC) of the Czech Republic between 2000 and 2007. To present the study in a broader context, we also show other Material flow indicators for the Czech Republic for 2000 and 2007. Our findings of SDA show that final demand structure has a very limited effect on the change in Material flows. The rapid change in final demand volume was not compensated for crude oil, metal ores, construction Materials, food crops, and timber. For the Material category of non‐iron metal ores, even the change in technology contributes to an increase in Material flows. The largest relative increases are reported for non‐iron metal ores (38%) and construction Materials (30%). The main changes in Material flows related to the Czech Republic are driven by exports and enabled by imports, the main source of these increased Material flows. This emphasizes the increasing role of international trade.
Christof Schremmer - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
-
Raw Materials Consumption and demolition waste generation of the urban building sector 2016 2050 a scenario based Material flow analysis of vienna
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2021Co-Authors: Jakob Lederer, Andreas Gassner, Johann Fellner, Ursula Mollay, Christof SchremmerAbstract:Abstract Cities are substantial consumers of Raw Materials and producers of waste. For this reason, a number of cities including Vienna, defined in their sustainable development strategies a reduction of the Raw Material Consumption as a sustainability target. As the majority of Raw Materials consumed by cities are used in the building construction sector, buildings play a key role to achieve this target. While many Raw Material reduction strategies of cities focus on demolition waste recycling, only few studies also consider the reduction of this waste by avoiding the demolition of buildings. Using the case study of Vienna, this article presents the investigation of three urban development scenarios with respect to the demolition of buildings for the time span 2016–2050. The first scenario projects the business-as-usual from the past years (1991–2015), the second foresees a higher demolition of buildings and substitution by new ones, and the third assumes a zero-demolition of selected old buildings, but extensive renovation toward higher thermal insulation standard and attic-extension of these. The results show that in comparison to the year 2015, the business-as-usual reduces the Raw Material Consumption for building construction by −26%, the demolition scenario by −17%, and the renovation scenario by −35%. On a per-capita basis, the reductions are higher. While these results indicate that the renovation scenario is the most suitable to contribute to the sustainable urban development targets in cities like Vienna with respect to the reduction of the Consumption of Raw Material for building construction, further investigations are required to define other measures to finally achieve this target. Furthermore, environmental impacts and land-use of such urban development scenarios should be investigated.
-
Raw Materials Consumption and demolition waste generation of the urban building sector 2016-2050: a scenario-based Material flow analysis of Vienna
Journal of Cleaner Production, 1Co-Authors: Jakob Lederer, Andreas Gassner, Johann Fellner, Ursula Mollay, Christof SchremmerAbstract:Abstract Cities are substantial consumers of Raw Materials and producers of waste. For this reason, a number of cities including Vienna, defined in their sustainable development strategies a reduction of the Raw Material Consumption as a sustainability target. As the majority of Raw Materials consumed by cities are used in the building construction sector, buildings play a key role. While many Raw Material reduction strategies of cities focus on waste recycling from demolishing old buildings, only few studies also consider the reduction of this waste by avoiding the demolition of buildings. Using the case study of Vienna, this article presents the design and investigation three urban development scenarios for the time span 2016-2050. The first scenario projects the business-as-usual from the past years (1991-2015), the second foresees a higher demolition of old buildings and substitution by new ones, and the third assumes a zero-demolition of selected old buildings, but extensive renovation toward higher thermal insulation standard and attic-extension of these. The results show that in comparison to the year 2015, the business-as-usual reduces the Raw Material Consumption for building construction by -24%, the demolition scenario by -16%, and the renovation scenario by -32%. While these results indicate that the renovation scenario is the most suitable to contribute to the sustainable urban development targets in cities like Vienna with respect to the reduction of the Consumption of Raw Material for building construction, further investigations are required to define other measures to finally achieve this target. Furthermore, environmental impacts and land-use of such urban development should be investigated.
