Lutter, Franz Stephan, Giljum, Stefan, Bruckner, Martin. 2016. A review and comparative assessment of existing approaches to calculate material footprints. Ecological Economics, 127, 1-10.

RIS

@ARTICLE{Lutter2016,
title = {A review and comparative assessment of existing approaches to calculate material footprints},
author = {Franz Stephan Lutter and Stefan Giljum and Martin Bruckner},
year = {2016},
doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2016.03.012},
url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800916303299},
volume = {127},
language = {EN},
pages = {1-10},
journal = {Ecological Economics},
abstract = {Effective implementation of resource policies requires consistent and robust indicators. An increasing number of national and international strategies focussing on resource efficiency as a means for reaching a green economy call for such indicators. As supply chains of goods and services are increasingly organised on the global level, comprehensive indica-tors taking into account upstream material flows associated with internationally traded products need to be compiled. Particularly in the last few years, the development of con-sumption-based indicators of material use also termed material footprints has made considerable progress. This paper presents a comprehensive review of existing methodol-ogies to calculate material footprint-type indicators. The three prevailing approaches, i.e. environmentally extended input-output analysis (EE-IOA), coefficient approaches based on process analysis data, and hybrid approaches combing elements of EE-IOA and process analysis are presented, existing models using the different approaches discussed, and advantages and disadvantages of each approach identified. We argue that there is still a strong need for improvement of the specific approaches as well as comparability of re-sults, in order to reduce uncertainties. The paper concludes with recommendations for further development covering methodological, data and institutional aspects.},
}