Analyzing the energy performance of manufacturing across levels using the end-use matrix

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu MdM-2015-0552Within the context of the controversial use of the concept energy intensity to assess national energy performance, this paper proposes an innovative accounting framework: the energy end-use matrix. This tool integrates quantitative assessments of energy use of the various constituent compartments of socioeconomic systems. More specifically it identifies, moving across levels of analysis, what compartments (or sub-compartments) are using what type of energy carriers for what type of end-use. This analysis is integrated with an assessment of labor requirements and the associated flows of value added. The enduse matrix thus integrates in a coherent way quantitative assessments across different dimensions and hierarchical scales and facilitates the development of integrated sets of indicators. In this way it contributes to a multi-criteria characterization of national or sectoral energy performance. The tool is illustrated with an analysis of three EU countries: Bulgaria, Finland and Spain. Challenges to improving the usefulness of biophysical analysis of the efficiency of the industrial sector are identified and discussed. Increasing the discriminatory power of quantitative analysis through better data standardization by statistical offices is the major challenge

A holistic framework for the integrated assessment of urban waste management systems

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu MdM-2015-0552Altres ajuts: LIFE11 ENV/DE/343We report on the development of a holistic framework to organize and integrate quantitative information characterizing the performance of Urban Waste Management Systems (UWMS) across dimensions and scales. The framework builds on the theory of metabolic networks and the Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism (MuSIASEM) accounting method. We perceive the UWMS as an organ of a socio-ecological system that modulates the interaction between the metabolic processes of the urban area and those of the embedding ecosystems providing inputs and local sink capacity. Building on these premises, we can define: (i) the flow of wastes produced by the urban system in quantity and quality; (ii) the mix of inputs required for the operation of the different stages of the waste management process, such as technology, labor, energy, water and material flows; (iii) the degree of openness of the system, that is, the imports and exports of urban waste flows in the different stages of its operation; (iv) the final outputs released into the local environment. The proposed framework can accommodate various indicators referring to the socio-economic performance of the UWMS (viability and desirability) and those related to environmental impact/stress (feasibility). Theoretical considerations are illustrated with preliminary data from a case study on the Metropolitan Area of Naples, Italy

Multi-scale integrated evaluation of the sustainability of large-scale use of alternative feeds in salmon aquaculture

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-MThe steady increase in production volume of salmon aquaculture has sharpened concerns about its sustainability. In particular the production of salmon feed is a reason for concern given its reliance on scarce natural resources, such as wild fish captures. Multi-scale integrated analysis is put forward as a tool to anticipate the environmental and socio-economic impacts of large-scale implementation of alternative salmon feeds, considering both plant and insect sources as potential replacements of fish meal and fish oil. The proposed accounting framework, based on relational analysis across hierarchical levels, describes the patterns of required inputs using biophysical and economic variables. It also considers the inputs used by external systems for the production of imported feed, thus providing a coherent assessment of the sustainability of the production system in terms of feasibility, viability, and desirability. The analytical tool-kit is illustrated in conceptual terms and then applied to the Norwegian salmon aquaculture, both in diagnostic (describing the actual situation) and anticipatory mode (examining feed scenarios). Results are used in an exercise of quantitative story-telling to check the quality of the narratives currently shaping policy discussions on aquaculture. Quantitative story-telling is a heuristic approach aimed at checking the robustness of knowledge claims in face of uncertainty. It is concluded that rearing insects in the salmon feed production chain enlarges the option space of feed sources by opening up the possibility of using locally-produced seaweed and organic waste, but also raises the level of uncertainty with regard to the possible insurgence of negative side effects

A waste lexicon to negotiate extended producer responsibility in free trade agreements

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-MDeveloping economies largely rely on imported consumer goods from the manufacturing industries of industrialized economies through free-trade agreements. After consumption, goods end-up in local waste streams and landfilled because of poorly developed waste management systems. This paper proposes a methodology to extend responsibility to exporting country manufacturers for indirect waste disposal in developing countries through imported goods. It establishes a functional relationship between the weight and volume of the imported goods and the local municipal solid waste stream derived from their consumption, by adapting the recycling concepts of by-product and co-product to the municipal solid waste stream derived from the household sector. A lexicon is formalized to conceptualize an extended-producer-responsibility information system operating at the global level between exporting and importing countries. This EPR system i) determines the recyclability, reusability and treatability attributes of imported goods based on their constitutive parts (primary package or product), as well as the material value as per the net value in the global waste market and final destination once consumed, ii) defines specific conditions regarding the goods' materials value and structural configuration of their constitutive parts for inclusion in Free-Trade Agreement clauses, and iii) checks for the fulfilment of these proposed conditions. The proposed methodology was validated with a case study on Panama. It was found that 24%(w/w)-34.5%(v/v) of valued materials derived from goods imported in Panama through FTAs could be exported back to the country of origin, 18%(w/w)-2.8%(v/v) could be locally reused, and 58%(w/w)-62.5%(v/v) locally valorized. Only 16% (w/w)-16%(v/v) would have to be landfilled