Managing a Material World: Perspectives in Industrial Ecology An edited collection of papers based upon the International Conference on the Occasion of the 25th Anniversary of the Institute for Environmental Studies of the Free University Amsterdam, The N

355 Pages·1998·13.85 MB·English

by  Robert U. Ayres (auth.)

MANAGING A MATERIAL WORLD
ENVIRONMENT & POLICY
VOLUME 13
The titles published in this series are listed at the end of this volume.
Managing a Material World
Perspectives in Industrial Ecology
An edited collection of papers based upon the
International Conference on the Occasion of the
25th Anniversary of the Institute for Environmental Studies
of the Free University Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Edited by
Pier Vellinga
Institute for Environmental Studies,
Free University Amsterdam,
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Frans Berkhout
Science Policy Research Unit,
University of Sussex,
Brighton, UK
and
Joyeeta Gupta
Institute for Environmental Studies,
Free University Amsterdam,
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
w
SPRINGER SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, B.V.
A CLP. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-0-7923-5206-8 ISBN 978-94-011-5125-2 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-94-011-5125-2
Printed on acid-free paper
All Rights Reserved
©1998 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 1998
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1998
No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and
retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner
Contents
Preface v
List of Abbreviations ix
1. Rationale for a physical account of economic activities 1
ROBERT U. AYRES
2. Substance flows through environment and society 21
MICHAEL CHADWICK
3. Towards the end of waste 31
ROBERT A. FROSCH
4. Dematerialisation 45
ERNST ULRICH VON WEIZSACKER
5. Analytical tools for chain management 55
HELIAS UDO DE HAES, GJALT HUPPES & GEERT DE SNOO
6. Material flow accounts: definitions and data 85
IDDO WERNICK
7. Environmental research and modelling 97
HARMEN VERBRUGGEN
11
8. Software for material flow analysis 111
JOS BOELENS AND XANDER OLSTHOORN
9. Integrating life cycle assessment and economic evaluation 127
JANE POWELL, AMELIA CRAIGIDLL AND DAVID PEARCE
10. Dematerialisation and rematerialisation 147
SANDER DE BRUYN
11. Aggregate resource efficiency 165
FRANSBERKHOUT
12. The industrial ecology of lead and electric vehicles 191
ROBERT H. SOCOLOW AND VALERIE M. THOMAS
13. Dissipative emissions 217
ROB VAN DER VEEREN
14. Recycling of materials 229
PIETER VAN BEUKERING AND RANDALL CURLEE
15. Philips Sound and Vision 239
JACQUELINE CRAMER
16. Unilever 251
CHRIS DUTlLH
17. AT&T 259
BRADEN R. ALLENBY
18. Dow Europe 267
CLAUDE FUSSLER
19. The control of waste materials in Germany 275
ULFD. JAECKEL
20. Dematerialisation and innovation policy 285
J.L.A. JANSEN
21. The substance flow approach 297
MARIUS ENTHOVEN
III
22. The EU eco-Iabel 307
MARCO LOPRIENO
23. Towards industrial transformation 321
PIER VEWNGA, JOYEETA GUPTA AND FRANS BERKHOUT
Index 345
v
Preface
As we reach the end of the 20th century, the question of how to meet
human needs and preferences while safeguarding the global environment is a
major concern for many of us. If present trends are extrapolated into the
future, they raise serious questions. Will our children, grandchildren and the
generations thereafter be able to enjoy the quality of life we now strive for?
Can the demands for food of 10 billion or more people be met while
preserving biodiversity? Will all people have access to not only adequate
food, potable water, clothing but also to housing, transport, electronics and
recreation opportunities now common to the elite of the industrialised
countries? Will the life support systems be stable and will nature continue to
be the source of inspiration for all kinds of human activities?
Extrapolation of present trends in resource use and in resource efficiency
increases may not be the best way of imagining future economic and
ecological problems. History indicates that human ingenuity has helped to
adjust resource use to environmental conditions. But not in all cases. There is
also evidence that some cultures have collapsed as a result of the over
exploitation of natural resources.
One thing is for certain, a pre-condition for survival is a proper
understanding of signals of change and vulnerability. Since the late sixties a
series of signals has made society aware of the potential problems of over
exploitation and pollution of the earth's resources. In the nineties several
concerns have come together to provide the basis for international efforts and
new approaches to safeguard the global environment.
Concern about depletion of resources (Malthus revisited) ftrst emerged in
the late sixties and early seventies at the end of a period of high economic
growth in the world economy. With technological change, the discovery of
new reserves and slower growth rates, this concern diminished in the eighties.
vi
In the nineties the focus has shifted from limits on the input side of the
economy to limits on the assimilative capacity and resilience of global life
support systems such as the ozone layer, the climate system, biodiversity,
water quality and land use.
A second concern has been with pollution. Visible and noxious industrial
emissions have been managed progressively through end-of-pipe and
emergency measures. Over time this approach evolved into a reconsideration
of the production process. In the 1990s management has moved beyond the
process to include entire chains of material and substance flows. New
heuristics whose policy implications are only now being understood have been
developed to assess the resource and environmental burdens of production and
consumption in a systematic way.
A third concern is about fulfilling the needs of a growing world
population. In the event that the developing world follows a development path
similar to that of the industrialised world, the volume of goods and services
would grow by many orders of magnitude.
Theoretical analysis suggests that technological change and related
changes in our economic incentive structure may be able to cope with the
constraints of a finite set of resources at both the input and the output side of
the economy. But how can we be sure that the changes required in production
and consumption processes will come about? This calls for foresight, insight,
creativity and most importantly, the political will to bring about the necessary
changes.
How can humans ensure that the right choices are made in the trade off
between present use and safeguarding options for future generations? How
can we ensure that the quality of life of future generations is not degraded by
present over-exploitation?
The major question at the threshold of the 21s1 century is whether the
global market economy can deal with this challenge. Is our political system
capable of including future needs in present day decisions?
Research institutes world-wide can help to clarify the issues and the
choices. Moreover they can help to develop the necessary concepts, tools and
instruments that help producers, consumers, their interest groups and
governments to adjust their policies and practices. It is for this reason that the
Institute for Environmental Studies of the Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam has
published this book on the occasion of its 25th anniversary.
This book is about the management of energy and material substance
flows through environment and society. It starts with a series of chapters
illustrating the need for a physical account of the economy which matches the
more usual monetary account. These chapters show that the availability of
environmental resources and the stability of the global life support systems
are much too often taken for granted in our money economy. We need
vii
economic instruments and indicators that reflect the crucial role of the earth's
natural capital. These chapters also illustrate that nature is full of paradoxes.
For instance catastrophes are typical in nature, while this is what humanity
will be trying to avoid.
The next series of chapters illustrate research issues and tools. These
chapters deal with the question of value in environmental studies, and whether
economic valuation can be reconciled with other systems of value. Economic
valuation approaches are applied in life cycle assessment, which has
previously avoided this form of assessment. The challenges and tensions
between economic and ecological analysis and modelling are also discussed.
They illustrate how value judgement based on social and time preferences
will always be an important element in the development of rules and
incentives.
These chapters are followed by a set of chapters that demonstrate the
value of a systems approach in environmental analysis. A series of widely
held beliefs are tested in the form of testing hypothesis. Of particular interest
is the finding that the shift from an industrial economy to a services economy
does not automatically lead to a decrease of the materials intensity in the
economy. It also illustrates that dematerialisation, as an overall guiding
principle, can lead to controversial and not necessarily environment friendly
results. Finally, it shows that recycling of materials on an international scale
may be both economically and environmentally beneficial.
The book continues with case studies about progress in the development of
resource efficiency policies by the private sector and governments. Case
studies written by the representatives of Dow Europe, Unilever, Philips Sound
and Vision and AT & T reflect the state of the art in industry. The case
studies illustrate how environment has become a strategic element in the
design of processes, products and marketing. The case studies of government
initiatives deal with closed cycle management in Germany, product innovation
processes in the Netherlands and life cycle based product policies in the
European Union.
The final part of the book is about policy developments in the national and
international context. The concluding chapter sums up the key issues covered
in the book and argues in favour of comprehensive research activities
covering the relevant aspects of industrial transformation. We need a better
understanding of how the macro-incentive structure (including fiscal, trade
and liability aspects) effects production and consumption systems. The
physical throughputs associated with industrial activities need to be
considered through the framework of industrial ecology. Industrial
Transformation research should particularly consider technological innovation
and industrial ecology. A much better understanding of the patterns and
dynamics of consumption is also needed, including research into consumers