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Spatial-temporal views on urban construction material flow and stock towards sustainability
Published in Natalia Yakovleva, Edmund Nickless, Routledge Handbook of the Extractive Industries and Sustainable Development, 2022
Hiroki Tanikawa, Jing Guo, Tomer Fishman
Material flow analysis (MFA) has been one of the main tools used to uncover socio-economic metabolisms through systematic assessment of the state and changes of flows and stock of materials within a predefined spatial and temporal system boundary, further directing toward the management of resources, the environment and waste (Brunner & Rechberger, 2016). Among the many fields that MFA is widely applied to, a substantial amount of research has been done on the metabolism of cities, including resource conservation and recovery, and especially concerning material stock accumulation. The basic principle of MFA is mass conservation, namely that input into the system equals that of the output. To achieve these various research goals, MFA has gradually developed different dimensions and models.
Sustainable Development and Climate Change
Published in Dalia Štreimikienė, Asta Mikalauskienė, Climate Change and Sustainable Development, 2021
Dalia Štreimikienė, Asta Mikalauskienė
Material and Energy Flow Analysis allows analysing the resource flow structure and finding inefficient manifestations in the system. This indicator class can be used for historical reconstruction of flows and emissions as well as decision-making. Material Flow Analysis (MFA) analyses physical metabolism of the society in order to support dematerialisation processes and to reduce the negative impact on the environment, related to wasteful resource usage (Kleijn and Adding 2001). MFA studies have been performed in many countries and regions (Fischer-Kowalski and Hüttler 1998). In addition, the number of MFA has significantly increased in recent decades. This indicator class is non-integrated; these indicators include only physical flows, so they analyse the environmental dimension. MFA of all economy, calculated by EUROSTAT (2001), is a standard MFA tool for the EU countries. World Resources Institute MFA studies for the developed world countries were the initial tool to standardise MFA in the European Union. EUROSTAT has prepared guidelines for the MFA economy assessment. In the EUROSTAT guidelines, material flow indicators are divided into three categories: input, outflow, and consumption. Each category includes different levels based on whether it involves local, foreign, or hidden flows. Hidden flows are the flows that are not included in the economic system, i.e. excavation, soil erosion, etc. (Matthews et al. 2000).
Accounting
Published in Sigrun M. Wagner, Business and Environmental Sustainability, 2020
Input-output analysis and life cycle assessment were mentioned in an earlier section. To this we can add life cycle costing, which assesses project costs from inception to retirement, whilst total cost assessment is a form of capital budgeting that attempts to calculate not only conventional costs but also the costs associated with environmental impacts (Lifset and Boons 2012). Here we find that industrial ecology overlaps with and complements accounting and finance. For example, material flow analysis is used as a key tool in industrial ecology and is similar to input-output analysis, whilst material flow cost accounting combines monetary units and physical flows, with roots in energy and material efficiency analysis, and management as well as environmental accounting. Material flow cost accounting is a tool that supports decisions for improved economic and environmental performance by revealing material efficiency and cost-saving opportunities (Christ and Burritt 2015; Guenther et al. 2015).
An integrated architecture for implementing extended producer responsibility in the context of Industry 4.0
Published in International Journal of Production Research, 2019
Fu Gu, Jianfeng Guo, Philip Hall, Xinjian Gu
The Information Systems layer compromises of information systems and tools, including product data management (PDM), ERP, MES, warehouse management system and Big Data analytics. Proper degrees of integration, automation and decentralisation of these information systems are becoming rising issues of research and development in the forthcoming of Industry 4.0, of which the integrated information systems demonstrate significant importance (Lasi et al. 2014). In this layer, common tools such as life cycle assessment, life cycle costing, material flow analysis can be applied for propelling eco-design and end-of-life collection, as well as enforcing other regulations such as environmental taxes.
Economic contradictions of the waste-to-energy concept and emissions reduction plan (case study, Czech Republic)
Published in Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects, 2019
Vojtěch Stehel, Jaroslav Dvořák, Zdeňka Wittlingerová, Anna Petruželková
These contradictions may significantly influence the quality of life and related economic aspects of the population not only in the EU. Material flow analysis (MFA, Brunner and Rechberger 2004) is an established method suitable for analyses of material and energy flows including subsequent evaluation of environmental impacts of the following categories: material input, energy from fossil fuels, non-metal waste production, global climate warming potential (GWP), acidification, particulate matter emission and formation, and photochemical ozone formation (Maroušek 2013, 2015).