Measuring material efficiency: a review of the historical evolution of indicators, methodologies and findings

TY - JOUR

T1 - Measuring material efficiency

T2 - a review of the historical evolution of indicators, methodologies and findings

AU - Zhang, Chao

AU - Chen, Wei Qiang

AU - Ruth, Matthias

PY - 2018/5

Y1 - 2018/5

N2 - Increasing material efficiency, or material productivity, is essential for decoupling resource depletion and associated environmental pressures from economic development. This paper reviews the historical evolution of indicators monitoring material efficiency, their underpinning methodologies and major findings in the past three decades. Early studies investigated the material-economy relationship through intensity of use (IU) of some selected single materials. Economy-wide material flow accounting (EW-MFA) established a standardized framework for aggregating overall material inputs into an economy. Consumption-based material footprint (MF) analysis extended the system boundary to cover global resource extraction along supply chains to satisfy final consumption. Studies on material cycles (MC), especially metal cycles, further helped trace all major life cycle stages of anthropogenic material use, with the capability to account for in-use stocks of materials and products. Impact-based indicators investigate the opportunities to reduce negative environmental, social and economic impacts of material use, which is the ultimate purpose of improving material efficiency. Monitoring material efficiency with different indicators might lead to very different conclusions regarding a society's dependence on material and its dematerialization trend. We present a generalized framework for constructing all kinds of material efficiency/productivity indicators and make the case that election of indicators should be problem-oriented and policy-relevant.

AB - Increasing material efficiency, or material productivity, is essential for decoupling resource depletion and associated environmental pressures from economic development. This paper reviews the historical evolution of indicators monitoring material efficiency, their underpinning methodologies and major findings in the past three decades. Early studies investigated the material-economy relationship through intensity of use (IU) of some selected single materials. Economy-wide material flow accounting (EW-MFA) established a standardized framework for aggregating overall material inputs into an economy. Consumption-based material footprint (MF) analysis extended the system boundary to cover global resource extraction along supply chains to satisfy final consumption. Studies on material cycles (MC), especially metal cycles, further helped trace all major life cycle stages of anthropogenic material use, with the capability to account for in-use stocks of materials and products. Impact-based indicators investigate the opportunities to reduce negative environmental, social and economic impacts of material use, which is the ultimate purpose of improving material efficiency. Monitoring material efficiency with different indicators might lead to very different conclusions regarding a society's dependence on material and its dematerialization trend. We present a generalized framework for constructing all kinds of material efficiency/productivity indicators and make the case that election of indicators should be problem-oriented and policy-relevant.

KW - Decoupling

KW - Dematerialization

KW - In-use stock

KW - Intensity of use

KW - Life cycle impact assessment

KW - Material cycle

KW - Material efficiency

KW - Material flow accounting

KW - Material flow analysis

KW - Material footprint

KW - Resource efficiency

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85041427093&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.resconrec.2018.01.028

DO - 10.1016/j.resconrec.2018.01.028

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85041427093

VL - 132

SP - 79

EP - 92

JO - Resources, Conservation and Recycling

JF - Resources, Conservation and Recycling

SN - 0921-3449

ER -