Content uploaded by Paul H. Brunner
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Paul H. Brunner on Jun 16, 2014
Content may be subject to copyright.
Materials Accounting as a Tool for Decision Making in Environmental Policy
... As the importance of material stocks for understanding societies metabolism is increasingly recognized, the body of scientific literature focusing on material stocks is growing (Augiseau and Barles, 2017;Krausmann et al., 2017b;Lanau et al., 2019;Müller et al., 2014). For Vienna, several studies have investigated material stocks and flows, starting from early work by (Brunner et al., 1998), followed by recent studies on buildings (Kleemann et al., 2017;Lederer et al., 2019), the public transport network (Gassner et al, 2018(Gassner et al, , 2020Lederer et al., 2016a) as well as specific metals such as copper (Kral et al., 2014). ...
Sustainable resource use calls for substantial changes to existing infrastructures, which lock societies into current resource use patterns. Urban mobility is a case in point: existing material stocks of infrastructure and vehicles require large amounts of materials and energy for maintenance and operation in order to provide mobility services, thereby causing considerable emissions. Understanding the stock-flow-service nexus of urban mobility is crucial for achieving progress towards absolute reductions of resource use and emissions. In this article, we investigate personal mobility in an urban context - Vienna. We use stock-driven material and energy flow analysis to quantify mobility stocks and flows for four different modes of mobility:pedestrian, bicycle, public transport and motorized individual traffic (MIT). We quantify material flows for maintenance, expansion, as well as primary energy use and emissions linked to personal mobility within city territory and compare a number of stock-flow-service indicators. Public transport was found to deliver most mobility services (38%), when services were measured as trips. Pedestrian mobility showed the lowest stock intensity of services while using less energy and generating lower emissions per service than any other mobility mode. Trips crossing the city border showed high shares of motorized individual traffic (62–63%). Traffic surfaces dominated material requirements of mobility and are mainly (78%) used by MIT. We conclude that considering stock-flow-service relations can support prioritizing future urban mobility planning, highlight the importance of infrastructure-related measures in doing so and the need for better monitoring especially of mobility service indicators.
... Or les travaux de recherche montrent que même si les taux de valorisation des déchets de chantiers augmentent, les ressources secondaires ne pourront que partiellement se substituer aux ressources primaires. À Vienne, si la totalité des déchets de chantiers était traitée dans un centre de recyclage, la consommation de ressources primaires ne serait réduite que de 7 % (Obernosterer et al. 1998 (Serrand et al. 2013). À l'échelle de vingt-sept pays de l'Union européenne, ce taux de recyclage ne répondrait qu'à la moitié de la consommation requise d'ici 2020 (Wiedenhofer et al. 2015). ...
Ce chapitre porte sur l’application du concept d’économie circulaire à la construction. Cette dernière est entendue dans le sens de filière économique et comprend selon Vincent (1985) cinq principaux segments : matériaux de construction, distribution-négoce, bâtiment et travaux publics, concepteurs-maîtres d’oeuvre, maîtres d’ouvrage.
À ces cinq segments, il nous semble pertinent d’ajouter les gestionnaires de déchets issus des chantiers.
Le chapitre sera composé de quatre parties. Les enjeux environnementaux liés à la construction seront tout d’abord brièvement présentés dans la section 10.2. Puis seize éléments de définition de l’application du concept d’économie circulaire à la
construction identifiés dans la littérature seront étudiés dans la section 10.3. Dans la section 10.4, un bref panorama des politiques, projets de recherche et développement et projets de construction et d’aménagement sera dressé. Enfin, nous identifierons dans la section 10.5 quatre principales limites à ces définitions, politiques et projets.
... However, research shows that even if the recycling rates of construction and demolition waste increase, secondary resources can only partially replace primary resources. In Vienna, if all construction and demolition waste was treated in a recycling center, the consumption of primary resources would only be reduced by 7% (Obernosterer et al. 1998). In Orléans (France), recycling 70% of mineral waste would only cover a quarter of aggregates consumption from 2005 to 2030 (Serrand et al. 2013). ...
This chapter focuses on the application of the concept of a circular economy to
construction. The latter is understood in the sense of an economic sector and,
according to Vincent (1985), comprises five main segments: building materials,
distribution-trading, construction and public works, designers and project managers,
and contracting authorities. To these five segments, we think it is appropriate to add
construction and demolition waste managers.
This chapter consists of four sections. The environmental issues related to
construction are first briefly presented. Then, sixteen elements of definition of a
circular economy applied to construction that were found in the literature are
studied. In the third section, a brief overview of policies, research and development
projects and construction and urban development projects are provided. Finally, four
main limitations to these definitions, policies and projects are discussed.
... However, research shows that even if the recycling rates of construction and demolition waste increase, secondary resources can only partially replace primary resources. In Vienna, if all construction and demolition waste was treated in a recycling center, the consumption of primary resources would only be reduced by 7% (Obernosterer et al. 1998). In Orléans (France), recycling 70% of mineral waste would only cover a quarter of aggregates consumption from 2005 to 2030 (Serrand et al. 2013). ...
... However, research shows that even if the recycling rates of construction and demolition waste increase, secondary resources can only partially replace primary resources. In Vienna, if all construction and demolition waste was treated in a recycling center, the consumption of primary resources would only be reduced by 7% (Obernosterer et al. 1998). In Orléans (France), recycling 70% of mineral waste would only cover a quarter of aggregates consumption from 2005 to 2030 (Serrand et al. 2013). ...
... Vienna(Daxbeck et al 1996;Obernosterer et al. 1998;Hendriks et al 2000) ...
At the period of economic globalisation and speedy urbanization, in the most
developed countries the sustainable uses of natural resources have become more and
more important and policy relevant. Exploring urban metabolism applying material
flow analysis could help to better understand the complex features of input-output
processes, and the material consumption of the society.
Hungary’s capital, Budapest together with its surroundings is one of the highly
developed metropolitan regions in Central Europe where the concentration of
economic and financial resources and technical and social infrastructure have made it
possible to support about 2.5 million people (25 per cent of the country’s total
population) on about 2,500 km2 land area. This population of capital region depends
on a continual supply of materials, energy and information to maintain function and
everyday life. Economic activities are highly concentrated in Budapest agglomeration
producing roughly 40 per cent of the national Gross Domestic Product.
The economic and social changes in Budapest between 1950 and 1990, coupled with a
large population increase, brought with them greater material and energy
consumption needs and unprecedented waste generation habits. After the political
and economic transformation in 1990, radical economic, demographic and social
changes have occurred which had altogether a great impact on different resource uses
(e.g. water, energy, land and food), and resource efficiency.
The case study highlights the economic, social and environmental transformation of
Budapest by emphasizing the following most important aspects: development and
transformation of the economy and society; material resource consumption and waste
generation and related environmental impacts. The main findings and
recommendations of the case study can contribute to underpin both more resource
efficient urban policy and design, as well as enhancing sustainable consumption and
production in Budapest.
In this study, an ammonia flow analysis that presents how ammonia is used or handled in the South Korean fertilizer industry is developed using material flow analysis concepts. Due to increasing concerns related to ammonia-related accident cases and human health and toxicity impacts in the country, an ammonia flow analysis is presented in this study. Ammonia data were collected from several data sources, such as the National Statistical Office of South Korea and the 2019 edition of the fertilizer yearbook, published by the Korean Fertilizer Association. The results show that 1,840,000 tons of ammonia were used or handled in domestic manufacturing. Furthermore, the total amount of ammonia used in the fertilizer industry, including 504,000 tons in the manufacture of fertilizers and nitrogen compounds, amounts to 757,000 tons. The amount of ammonia in the import and production of fertilizer and the past stock is inversely estimated utilizing the process of manufacture and LCI data. The amounts have been concluded to be 565,000 (508,000–621,000) tons of urea, 1420 (1279–1563) tons of ammonium sulfate/ammonium nitrate, and 981,000 tons of composite fertilizer, which were found to be used or handled in the export, agriculture, industry, stock, and raw materials. The developed ammonia flow analysis contributes to increased safety measures in industries that utilize significant amounts of ammonia and other chemicals responsible for industrial injuries and deaths, such as carbon monoxide, chlorine, hydrochloric acid, and sulfuric acid. Furthermore, due to ammonia’s high toxicity levels towards animals and plants and damages to human respiratory systems, the presented analysis can be a critical part of minimizing these impacts. And finally, while the geographic scope is limited to South Korea, the study is applicable to and replicable in other regional scopes, especially those that experience significant human health impacts related to ammonia.
Circular economy and urban metabolism concepts have recently received great attention both in the political and academic arenas, starting a roll-over process of the “take, make, and dispose” dominant economic model that is leading to an ongoing increase of resource consumption and waste generation. However, there is a relative lack of guidelines for introducing such concepts in a decision-making process able to support the design of appropriate policies and strategies and the definition of specific actions to cope with such challenges. This paper attempts to contribute to the recent efforts at incorporating these concepts in policy and decision-making processes by providing a methodology for the development of strategic plans for waste prevention and resource management. The proposed methodology, developed within the Urban_WINS project, combines different quantitative–analytical and qualitative methods and tools, together with a participatory process. The methodology was tested in eight EU cities and allowed to formulate several measures and actions aimed at addressing the challenges posed by the current consumption patterns. Moreover, the participatory approach led to the legitimization of the strategic plans, as well as to raise awareness among stakeholders. Although it might require specific tailor-made adjustments, this methodology is suitable to be replicated in other contexts.
Materials and Substance Flow Analysis (MFA/SFA) studies are designed to support environmental decision-making. Although in practice such studies have been carried out successfully (e.g. Adriaanse et al., 1997; Kleijn et al., 1997), the issue of connecting such research with policy has arisen frequently (Brunner et al., 1997). Researchers may feel the results of MFA and SFA studies are giving a clear message, but for policy-makers they are often not quite so self-evident. It would therefore seem appropriate to pay closer attention to the translation of MFA/SFA results into policy-relevant terms. Three issues need to be addressed for such communication: the basic principles of MFA and SFA, the terminology and the complexity of MFA/SFA results.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.