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Industrial Metabolism Extended Definition, Possible Instruments and an Australian Case Study

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Industrial Metabolism Extended Definition, Possible Instruments and an Australian Case Study Research Professorship Environmental Policy Prof. Udo E. Simonis FS II 97-404 Industrial Metabolism Extended Definition, Possible Instruments and an Australian Case Study by Andria Durney This report was prepared while on a three months’ internship at the WZB. Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung gGmbH (WZB) Science Center Berlin Reichpietschufer 50, D-10785 Berlin ABSTRACT The Industrial Metabolism concept is an instrument of process description useful for transforming industry into a sustainable form by basing industrial material and energy flows functions on those typical of a sustainable biological organism. This report supports an extended definition of industrial metabolism to include considerations of the Industrial Ecology and Material Intensity Per Unit of Service (MIPS) approaches to materials accounting and sustainable development. Political, economic, technological, informational, and social instruments aimed at implementing improvements in industrial metabolism are identified and described. An Australian case study is included to illustrate the methodology of the extended industrial metabolism concept and to highlight possible key natural and anthropological forces driving industrial material flows. Recommendations for research and priority steps of action towards improving industrial metabolism are discussed throughout the report. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the following people without whom writing this report would not have been possible: Professor Udo E. Simonis for providing inspiration and the opportunity to work with him at the Science Center Berlin, for his guidance and enthusiasm Sebastian Büttner for his computer wizardry and generous assistance in editing Petra Barsch for her support, encouragement, excellent sense of humour and impromptu German lessons Sabrina Möller for showing me the ropes, and for her friendship (and patience!) Frank Biermann and Carsten Helm for introducing me to Berlin and for helpful advice and support Tanja Rauch for keeping me motivated and for making me laugh Stephen Moore for encouraging me right from the beginning and providing valuable advice and information Professor Robert U. Ayres, Dr. Marina Fischer-Kowalski and Professor Friedrich Schmidt-Bleek for providing generous information Dr. Peter Mitchell for an insightful land management perspective I would also like to thank Matthias, Ira, Kai, Martin (for the last-minute airport dash!), the Berlin Greenpeace Energy group, Frau Gillwald, Sabine, Gudrun, the UNSW SEA mob, the Berlin World Music Orchestra, and all of my friends and family. CONTENTS 1.0 Introduction.......... ................................ .......... ........... ...7 1.1 Background Information...............................................................................7 1.2 State of the Art............................................................................................... 9 1.3 Aims of the Report.......................................................................................10 2,0 The Concept of Industrial Metabolism................. ...... .12 2.1 Current Definition of Industrial Metabolism .............................................12 2.2 Contributions from Industrial Ecology and MIPS-Concepts................... 15 2.3 Extended Definition of Industrial Metabolism ........................................ 21 3.0 Instruments to Improve Industrial Metabolism .............24 3.1 Political Instruments.....................................................................................24 3.2 Economic Instruments................................................................................. 27 3.3 Technological Instruments........................................................................... 31 3.4 Informational Instruments...........................................................................33 3.5 Social Instruments........................................................................................ 35 3.6 Further Areas of Application........................................................................36 4 0 An Australian Industrial Metabolism Case Study.......... 38 4.1 Purpose..................................................................... 38 4.2 Methodology..................................................................................................38 4.3 Results and Discussion............................................................................... 41 4.4 Conclusions from the Australian Case Study............................................77 5=0 Genera! Conclusions and Recommendations............. 80 8.0 Statistical Sources ==«.«..«=................................. ECSSXSKSSB ...... 84 7,0 Bibliography.................... u...... .............. ........... ... i s s x K s e s s 88 "The major problems in the world are the result of the difference between the way nature works and the way man thinks." Gregory Bateson Lindisfarne, Long Island, 1976 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background Information The industrial metabolism concept was officially formulated in 1988 during the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme conference, Tokyo, sponsored by the United Nations University (UNU), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the International Federation of Institutes for Advanced Study (IFIAS). It continues to gain international recognition as a theoretical framework useful for investigating the material and energy flows both within industry and between industry and the natural environment. In this report although the word “material” is mainly used, energy flows are also of major importance and can, therefore, also be included in the industrial meta­ bolism concept. The distinction between “industry” and “the environment” is an artificial one in many regards since neither is totally independent of the other; but for the purpose of this report, “industry” will be taken to mean the processes pertaining to an industrial society which use and impact upon natural resources and ecosystems. Theoretically, the industrial metabolism concept compares the functioning of typical industrial entities (eg. economic plants or companies) to those of typical biological organisms, each with particular inputs, outputs, regulating processes and links to the wider environment without which they can not live. This concept can be applied at different levels, including the global, national, regional, sectoral, firm, family and individual level, to give a holistic view of the impacts of industrial societies on the natural environment. 7 1.1.1 Scope of the Industrial Metabolism concept as applied so far Industrial societies today face serious problems of resource constraints, excessive waste and pollution, and in many cases are destroying non­ human species and natural ecosystems. The industrial metabolism concept can be applied to improve the "metabolism" of industry so that it resembles most closely that of a sustainable biological organism, with low material input, throughput and output. It can be used as a framework to identify sources and sinks of major material and energy flows resulting both directly and indirectly from economic activities, and to estimate the magnitude, rate, composition and direction of these flows (see for example, Stigliani and Jaffe, 1993). Relative environmental impacts of such material flows can then be assessed, and further investigation can identify spatial and temporal interactions between material flows and anthropological forces which drive them. Multidisciplinary industrial metabolism studies can act as a source of information and communication for all interested groups in their efforts to transform industrial societies into ecologically sustainable forms (Fischer-Kowalski, 1996). 1.1.2 Major approaches incorporated in the Industrial Metabolism concept Major philosophies or methodologies of environmental management are closely related to the concept of industrial metabolism, particularly: • precautionary environmental management (O’Riordan, 1994); • preventing media-, product-, process-, time- or country-shifting of environmental problems; • reducing materials and energy consumption of industrial society; • pollution prevention; • "cradle-to-grave" methodology (Life Cycle Analysis); • reducing the dissipative use of materials and the use of toxic materials; • employing cleaner and more efficient technology; • utilising "waste" and promoting re-using, repairing, and recycling of products and materials in an effort to close material cycles. 8 1.2 State of the Art 1.2.1 Improving material accounting procedures using the Industrial Metabolism concept Many material accounting and environmental management procedures use ad-hoc reactive procedures in attempting to alleviate already existing environmental problems, but fail to address the temporal, cumulative, socio-economic and political aspects of industrial material flows (Ayres, 1991). Applying the industrial metabolism concept can overcome such limitations and encourage pro-active environmental management, by identifying: • social, economic and political factors influencing material flows. This information can then be used to monitor, evaluate and reassess instruments applied to improve industrial metabolism; • sources and sinks of material flows both within industry and between industry and the environment, at different levels. Using a more holistic and comprehensive model of material flows than conventional reductionist methodology can reduce the shifting
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