Summary ALL Lectures and Notes: Methods: Analysing Physical Processes, MSc Industrial Ecology

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?
o Substance, material
o Product, service
o Waste flow/emission
o Process
o Etc
- Space and time – when and where are we looking at?
o Spatial aspects
 Local, regional, national, global
o Temporal aspects
 Snapshot
 Steady state/comperative static
 (quasi) dynamic
- Types of questions, decision types
o Types of questions
 Strategic planning
 Capital investment
 Design and development
 Communication and marketing
 Etc
o Decision types
 Operational vs strategic
 Routine vs unique
 Internal vs external
- Levels of environmental
improvement
o Time 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
o Checklists and matrices
o Risk analysis
o LCA
o MFA/SFA
- Economic metrics
o Cost benefit analysis
o IOA

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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