Methods: Analysing Physical Processes

Methods: Analysing Physical Processes

Lectures and notes Industrial Ecology, first quarter

Lecture 1: Industrial ecology toolbox – Rene Kleijn

DEMAND for environmental information -Used in decision making in e.g. private companies, (N)GOs -Decision makers are confronted with a lot of different types of information, and it’s important to structure data to make it useful  use analytical tools Why do we need analytical tools  to produce relevant information for decision makers

What’s the question (demand of environmental information):

-Object of decision process/what’s the object?oSubstance, material oProduct, service oWaste flow/emission oProcess oEtc -Space and time – when and where are we looking at?oSpatial aspects Local, regional, national, global oTemporal aspects Snapshot Steady state/comperative static (quasi) dynamic -Types of questions, decision types oTypes of questions Strategic planning Capital investment Design and development Communication and marketing Etc oDecision types Operational vs strategic Routine vs unique Internal vs external -Levels of environmental improvement oTime scale vs level of impact (S curve) SUPPLY of environmental information

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Concepts for environmental sustainability: concepts such as life cycle thinking

and management, circular economy, design for environment, end of life management and industrial ecology

Analytical tools:

-Physical metrics oChecklists and matrices oRisk analysis oLCA oMFA/SFA -Economic metrics oCost benefit analysis oIOA

Procedural tools: More focused on the procedure rather than the method, so like

environmental audits, EIA, and environmental management systems Q&A difference analytical and procedural tools This course is mainly analytical tools. Condensing data and generating indicators to help decision making. Procedural tools have to be followed in a certain order to make them work; within rules and regulations. E.g. EIA. “What is the procedure/law”  a frame which can include analytical tools.

Technical elements/basic equations: such as mass balance models, dispersion

models, ecological models, and sensitivity analysis.Data is the basis of providing all of this information, from e.g. emission databases, LCA databases, etc.The implementation is the translation of the data and findings through e.g. policy instruments and tools.SURVEY of analytical tools Physical tools: based on physical matrices. Typical applications: -Checklists (e.g. eco-labelling with hurdle criteria) -Matrices (EIA) -Useful when considering many incomparable criteria.

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