Promoting Resource Efficiency in Small & Medium size ... - UNEP

adequate strategies for a better use of resources. The most commonly
used ones are:
• Life Cycle Analysis (see Chapter 2.3)
• The MIPS concept (see Chapter 2.4)
6.2 WHY:
Material saving benefits for SMEs
Increasing material efficiency brings a number of benefits. First, natural
resources are conserved, ensuring that the use of the most accessible and
lowest-cost resources will be extended, reducing the cost of production,
improving living standards and ensuring the resources will be available
for future generations. While scarcity of natural resources, other than
water and energy, does not appear to impose a substantial restraint on
development, conserving those resources does provide benefits.
Second, reducing the demand for raw materials will reduce the impacts of
raw material extraction, including both environmental and social impacts.
The environmental impacts of mining and primary processing, in
particular, can be severe, including water pollution, air pollution and land
degradation. Environmental regulation of mining and primary processing
has often been less effective than regulation of large-scale industry and
the energy sector, in part because mining enterprises tend to be small,
in some cases consisting of one mine. Small enterprises can disappear
or declare bankruptcy after resource deposits are depleted, leaving the
damage to be cleaned up by others. In the United States, for example,
many of the largest Superfund toxic waste sites are metal mines and
mining operations produce a large share of industrial toxic releases. The
costs of these environmental impacts are not reflected in the market prices
of raw materials. Analyses have generally found that the environmental
impacts of recycling materials are substantially less than the impacts of
extracting the same raw materials. The impacts of raw material extraction
will not be examined here, other than to note that increasing material
efficiency will reduce such impacts.
Third, energy will be conserved and greenhouse gas emissions
reduced. As indicated in the chapter on Energy Efficiency, the metals
sector in particular is very energy intensive. Recycling of materials can
save most of the energy required for refining and processing. Typical
energy savings from recycling relative to raw material extraction are
estimated at: aluminium 95%, iron and steel 74%, plastic 80%, paper
64% and glass about 10%.
Fourth, increasing material efficiency will reduce the amount of waste
material going to landfills or to be incinerated, reducing land use, water
and air pollution and other negative impacts from waste handling.
Industrial production and consumption are involved in almost all solid
waste disposals in developed countries, whether through wastes from
extraction of industrial raw materials, wastes from industry, or household
or office waste of industrial products. In the United Kingdom, industrial
production and consumption account directly for almost one-third of
solid waste, with mining and quarrying, and construction and demolition
accounting about equally for most of the remaining two-thirds. Within
the 33% due directly to industrial production and consumption, 14%
is directly from industry, 10% is from commercial sources and 9% is
household waste. Only the 5% of solid waste due to dredging, and a
few percent due to household yard waste (leaves and grass) and food
waste, is independent of industrial production. Agricultural residues are
generally not included in solid waste statistics, nor are livestock wastes,
which are considered liquid waste.
Fifth, improved collection and recycling of waste, particularly drink
containers and plastic bags, could reduce the amount of litter
cluttering land and water and in some cases clogging drainage
systems. In fact, the desire to reduce litter for aesthetic reasons has
been a major driving force behind municipal recycling schemes in
many areas. 50
6.3 HOW:
SMEs can improve their material efficiency
Material Flow Analysis 51
The so-called ‘material flow analysis’ is a systematic approach aiming at:
• Presenting an overview of the materials used in a company
• Identifying the point of origin, the volumes as well as the causes
of waste and emissions
• Creating a basis for an evaluation and forecast of future
developments
• Defining strategies to improve the overall situation
Problems of waste and emission for a company arise at those points
of production where materials are used, processed or treated. If a
company wants to find a strategic solution to environmental problems,
it is essential to capture the current material flows in a model to
identify points of origin, volumes and causes of waste and emissions.
Furthermore, in a material flow analysis the composition of the used
substances is analysed, their economic value is estimated and possible
future developments are forecasted. The introduction of an information
system will enable management to retrace material flows within the
company, to direct them and to guarantee that they are efficiently used.
“A material flow analysis is a systematic reconstruction of the way a
chemical element, a compound or a material takes through the natural
and/or the economic cycle. A material flow analysis is generally based
on the principle of physical balance.”
German commission of inquiry “Schutz des Menschen und der Umwelt“
– Protection of human life and the environment
– of the Deutsche Bundestag, 1993
The following types of charts can be used for the graphical representation
of a material flow analysis:
a. Flowcharts representing material flows and process steps
b. Pie charts and histograms illustrating ratios and compositions
c. Time-travel diagrams showing time relations
d. Sankey diagrams visualising material flows true to scale
a. b. c. d.
Step 1: Draw a Materials Flowchart
• Define the objective of the material flow analysis and the
parameters to be monitored
• Define the balance scope
• Define the balance period
• Identify and define process steps
Defining parameters:
One of the objectives of a material flow analysis is to retrace the flows of
goods and/or certain chemical compounds or single elements through
the company with regard to various criteria (costs, risks, safe disposal,
volumes, etc.). It is important to decide at the beginning how exact this
analysis will be.
50) Peck, M. and Chipman, R., Industrial energy and material efficiency: What role for
policies?, undated
51) UNIDO, Textbook Material flow analysis, 2003
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