Industrial Ecology Flashcards
Life-cycle thinking
Considers the entire environmental impact of a product or service, from raw material extraction to production, use, and disposal
Life-cycle thinking: Stages
Material extraction
Processing
Manufacturing
Use
End-of-life
Eco-efficiency
The amount of service delivered / the environmental impact
Higher eco-efficiency = reduced impacts per unit service delivered
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
A tool to measure eco-efficiency or environmental impacts across all stages
Linear metabolism
A traditional system in which materials are extracted, used, and then discarded as waste (take-make-dispose).
Circular metabolism
A sustainable system where resources are continuously reused, recycled, and regenerated, minimizing waste and resource extraction.
Industrial symbiosis
One company’s waste becomes another’s resource
Material flow analysis (MFA)
Measures the scale of resource use and the degree of circularity in an industrial system.
MFA: Metrics
Total material use, renewable vs. non-renewable resources, and the extent of recycling (circularity).
Territorial footprint
Measures environmental impacts within a geographic region.
Consumption footprint
Measures the impact of goods consumed by a region, regardless of where they were produced.
Environmentally Extended Input-Output Analysis
Uses inter-industry supply and use tables to capture interdependencies between different industries or economic sectors
Ecological modernization
Suggests that technology and innovation can solve environmental problems while supporting economic growth.
Ecological modernization: Critiques
Relying on market-driven solutions and technological innovation alone might not be sufficient without regulatory oversight and control.
IPAT equation
I=P×A×T
- I: Environmental Impact
- P: Population
- A: Affluence
- T: Technology
