Toward an overall analytical framework for the integrated sustainability assessment of the production and supply of raw materials and primary energy carriers

The sustainable production and supply of raw materials (nonenergy raw materials) and primary energy carriers (energy raw materials) is a core element of many policies. The natural resource base for their production and supply, and the access thereto, are limited. Moreover, raw material supply is high on environmental and social impact agendas as well. A broad, quantitative framework that supports decision makers is recommended so as to make use of raw materials and primary energy carriers more sustainably. First, this article proposes a holistic classification of raw materials and primary energy carriers. This is an essential prerequisite for developing an integrated sustainability assessment framework (ISAF). Indeed, frequently, only a subset of raw materials and primary energy carriers are considered in terms of their source, sector, or final application. Here, 85 raw materials and 30 primary energy carriers overall are identified and grouped into seven and five subgroups, respectively. Next, this article proposes a quantitative ISAF for the production and supply of raw materials and primary energy carriers, covering all the sustainability pillars. With the goal of comprehensiveness, the proposed ISAF integrates sustainability issues that have been covered and modeled in quite different quantitative frameworks: ecosystem services; classical life cycle assessment (LCA); social LCA; resource criticality assessment; and particular international concerns (e.g., conflict minerals assessment). The resulting four areas of concerns (i.e., environmental, technical, economic, and social/societal) are grouped into ten specific sustainability concerns. Finally, these concerns are quantified through 15 indicators, enabling the quantitative sustainability assessment of the production and supply of raw materials and primary energy carriers

Analysis of material recovery from silicon photovoltaic panels

Lifecycle impacts of photovoltaic (PV) plants have been largely explored in several studies in the scientific literature. However, the end-of-life phase has been generally excluded or neglected from these analyses. It is expected that the disposal of PV plants will become a relevant environmental issue in the next decades. An Italian company is currently developing the project FRELP - Full Recovery End of Life Photovoltaic- as part of the European “LIFE” programme. The FRELP project focuses on the development of an innovative process based on a series of mechanical and chemical treatments to recycle/recover waste crystalline-silicon (C-Si) photovoltaic (PV) panels. Thanks to the FRELP processing several materials can be sorted from 1 tonne of PV waste including: glass (98%), aluminium (99%), silicon metal (95%), copper (99%), and silver (94%) for a total quantity of 908 kg. Some of these materials (e.g. silicon metal, antimony, chromium and fluorspar) are considered as Critical Raw Materials for the European economy, having high economic importance and high risk of supply. The present report describes the application of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology to analyse the innovative process developed within FRELP project. The system boundaries of the LCA were set from the PV waste collection until the production of recyclable materials. Environmental benefits (i.e. credits) due to the potential productions of secondary raw materials have been accounted by expanding the system boundary. The benefits of the recycling process were compared to impacts due to the production of raw material and manufacturing of the PV panels. The report shows that, when waste materials are recycled to produce secondary raw materials, relevant environmental benefits can be obtained. The LCA methodology was also applied to assess the environmental performance of the innovative recycling process in comparison with the current treatment of PV waste in generic Waste of Electric and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) recycling plants. The results proved that this innovative recycling implies higher impacts for the processing but much higher benefits in terms of recycled materials. Relevant net benefits have been estimated. The LCA identified some hot-spots of the recycling process. Transport has been found to have an important contribution to all life cycle impacts. Finally, the high efficiency and quality of glass separated through the FRELP processes could be used for high quality application (i.e. glass for the production of new PV panels). This process would allow the recycling of antimony used in the glass and currently dispersed in the secondary glass production. In particular, this scenario would allow an overall benefit of 2,274 kg CO2 eq avoided per tonne of recycled PV (20% higher than the FRELP PV waste treatment base case scenario).JRC.H.8-Sustainability Assessmen

European Innovation Partnership on Raw Materials: Annual Monitoring Report 2017

The Annual Monitoring Report 2017 assesses the progress made by the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) on Raw Materials, namely by providing an overview on the state-of-play of Raw Material Commitments (RMCs) of the EIP on Raw Materials. Commitments are joint undertakings by several partners, who commit themselves to carrying out activities that contribute to achieving actions, targets and objectives of the EIP. It is based on indicators that measure inputs (human resources, funding, etc.) and outputs related to the commitments. The Annual Monitoring Report 2017 shows that the EIP currently counts 60 Raw Materials Commitments, which include around 650 unique partners. Taken together the commitments have reported a total indicative budget of close to €2 billion. They are found to be delivering tangible results such as innovative actions or pilots, and strategic documents. Commitments are joint undertakings by several partners, who commit themselves to carrying out activities that contribute to achieving actions and targets of the EIP. The Annual Monitoring Report 2017 is the fourth of the EIP Annual Monitoring Report series issued by EC. For the second time, the Annual Monitoring Report 2016 analyses the contribution of the Commitments to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.JRC.D.3-Land Resource

LCA of perennial crops: implications of modeling choices through two contrasted case studies

International audienceAs highlighted in several recent reviews, there is a need to harmonize the way LCA of perennial crops is conducted (Bessou et al. 2013; Cerutti et al. 2013). In most published LCA on perennial crops, the agricultural production is based on data sets for just one productive year. This may be misleading since performances and impacts of the system may greatly vary year by year and the evolution of the stand over the cycle induces specific mechanisms (nutrient re-mobilization, yield alternating, resistance etc.) that must be included. Without a proper mechanistic model, the only way to account for such phenomena is to wider the data sets to at least account for each stage of the stand development and, if possible, all years of the crop cycle. Three modeling choices for the perennial crop cycle were tested in parallel in two contrasted LCA case studies: oil palm fruits from Indonesia, and small citrus from Morocco. Modeling choices tested were: i) a chronological modeling over the complete crop cycle of orchards (Bessou et al. 2013), ii) a three years average from the productive phase and iii) a selection of different single years from the productive phase. In both case studies, the system boundary included all processes from the seed production until the harvested fruits at farm-gate. The functional unit was 1 kg of fresh fruits. The chosen approach to model the perennial cycle influences the final results and deserves specific attention

Non-energy, non-agriculture raw materials production: data to monitor the sector’s water use and emissions to water

Water is an essential resource in the operation and sustainability of facilities producing raw materials, which is used and impacted in multiple ways. Therefore, there is a need for sound data to monitor the EU sector water performance and its pressures on the environment from a quantitative and qualitative point of view. This study assesses available water data for a well-informed EU raw materials policy which covers the extraction of non-fuel, non-agricultural raw materials. In this study, EU available national level data on water use and water pollution were assessed. We found that official records are limited for a comprehensive assessment of the sector, and accessible water accounting by the industry is poor. Limited country and sector coverage and comparability of different datasets illustrate some of the challenges faced to provide sound data to some policy making areas. This highlights the need to combine data from official, scientific and industry data sources, yet this remains challenging. Therefore, the improvement in the systematic compilation of comprehensive, detailed and validated raw data related to water use, water pollution and industrial production remains the main priority.JRC.D.3-Land Resource

EU methodology for critical raw materials assessment : policy needs and proposed solutions for incremental improvements

Raw materials form the basis of Europe's economy to ensure jobs and competitiveness, and they are essential for maintaining and improving quality of life. Although all raw materials are important, some of them are of more concern than others, thus the list of critical raw materials (CRMs) for the EU, and the underlying European Commission (EC) criticality assessment methodology, are key instruments in the context of the EU raw materials policy. For the next update of the CRMs list in 2017, the EC is considering to apply the overall methodology already used in 2011 and 2014, but with some modifications. Keeping the same methodological approach is a deliberate choice in order to prioritise the comparability with the previous two exercises, effectively monitor trends, and maintain the highest possible policy relevance. As the EC's in-house science service, the Directorate General Joint Research Centre (DG JRC) identified aspects of the EU criticality methodology that could be adapted to better address the needs and expectations of the resulting CRMs list to identify and monitor critical raw materials in the EU. The goal of this paper is to discuss the specific elements of the EC criticality methodology that were adapted by DG JRC, highlight their novelty and/or potential outcomes, and discuss them in the context of criticality assessment methodologies available internationally

Raw Materials Information System (RMIS): towards v2.0 - An Interim Progress Report & Roadmap

The European Commission's (EC) Raw Materials Initiative (RMI) emphasises that raw materials are essential for the sound and sustainable functioning of Europe’s industries and, in a broader context, of Europe’s economy and society. The EC is committed to promote the competitiveness of industries related to raw materials. These industries play an important role in many downstream sectors in the European Union (EU) such as construction, chemicals, automotive, aerospace, machinery, pharmacy, equipment, renewable energy devices, and defence. These sectors have a combined added value of around EUR 1,000 billion and provide employment for some 30 million people. Securing the undistorted supply of raw materials and, in particular, Critical Raw Materials (CRM) is thus crucial and requires a sound and continuously updated knowledge base, namely the European Raw Materials Knowledge Base (EURMKB), as highlighted in the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) on Raw Materials, in its Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) from 2013, particularly in the Action area no. II.8. In this context, and responding to a specific action of the 2015 Circular Economy Communication, the EC's Directorate General (DG) Joint Research Centre (JRC), in close collaboration with DG GROWTH, is advancing its Raw Materials Information System (RMIS). The first version (hereinafter referred to as RMIS 1.0) was launched in March 2015. The advanced RMIS (hereinafter referred to as RMIS 2.0) intends to become a one-stop information gateway and knowledge service centre for non-energy, non-food primary (e.g. extracted through mining) and secondary (e.g. recycled, recovered from mining waste) raw materials and materials/commodities. RMIS 2.0 will (a) support European Union (EU) policy with tailor-made products like the Raw Material Scoreboard and CRM assessments, and (b) to help coordinate other EU level data and information on raw materials. The EU policy support will rely on knowledge from the EUKBRM. This will be made available directly in the RMIS from different sources. The coordination role will be jointly developed with Member States, industry representatives, and other stakeholders, e.g. hosting an entry point to the EURMKB and by further coordination activities with focus on compilation, presentation and application of EU level data. Towards the launch of the RMIS 2.0 (foreseen in the 4th quarter of 2017), this “Interim Progress Report & Roadmap” presents the up-to-date development of the RMIS, including the key policy support knowledge needs that shall be fulfilled, and starts linking identified (EURMKB) knowledge needs with knowledge providers. It also presents foreseen key building blocks for the policy support and several development milestones of the RMIS 2.0 (as of February 2017). The key building blocks focus on a number of themes, including: Critical Raw Materials (CRM) and criticality analysis; Material Flow Analysis (MFA) including the EC Material System Analysis (MSA); the Raw Materials Scoreboard; trade policy aspects; material efficiency and secondary raw materials; sustainability aspects; business & industry; Research & Innovation (R&I); and the policy context. With a view to reinforce synergies and stregthen cooperation with raw materials knowledge providers, as well as with other relevant stakeholder groups (including RMIS users), the first RMIS international workshop will take place in March 2017. The aim of the workshop is to present progress and the foreseen development milestones, as well as to discuss the frame and concept of the cooperation with stakeholders.JRC.D.3-Land Resource

Raw materials scoreboard

The raw materials scoreboard is an initiative of the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) on Raw Materials. Its purpose is to provide quantitative data on the EIP's general objectives and on the raw materials policy context. It presents relevant and reliable information that can be used in policymaking in a variety of areas. The scoreboard will, for example, contribute to monitoring progress towards a circular economy, a crucial issue on which the European Commission recently adopted an ambitious action plan. The scoreboard will be published every two years

EU Country Profiles in the Raw Materials Information System (RMIS): Belgium: Country-level key data and information related to non-food, non-energy raw materials

The module European Country Profiles of the European Commission’s Raw Materials Information System (RMIS) provides country-specific data and indicators related to non-food, non-energy raw materials. These data and indicators are derived from data from official sources and well-established data providers, or by their elaboration. Each profile is structured into nine thematic sections: i) Key indicators; ii) Investment and regulatory framework; iii) research, development and innovation; iv) Resources and reserves; v) Supply; vi) Raw materials use; vii) Trade; viii) Environment; and ix) Social & Policy. The current country report presents the data and indicators for Belgium, mirroring the EU Country Profile for Belgium included in the RMIS in May 2019, which is the reference month of the data used.JRC.D.3-Land Resource

EU Country profiles in the Raw Materials Information System (RMIS): Denmark: Country-level key data and information related to non-food, non-energy raw materials

The module European Country Profiles of the European Commission’s Raw Materials Information System (RMIS) provides country-specific data and indicators related to non-food, non-energy raw materials. These data and indicators are derived from data from official sources and well-established data providers, or by their elaboration. Each profile is structured into nine thematic sections: i) Key indicators; ii) Investment and regulatory framework; iii) research, development and innovation; iv) Resources and reserves; v) Supply; vi) Raw materials use; vii) Trade; viii) Environment; and ix) Social & Policy. The current country report presents the data and indicators for Denmark, mirroring the EU Country Profile for Denmark included in the RMIS in May 2019, which is the reference month of the data used.JRC.D.3-Land Resource