es404166f_si_001.xlsx (529.46 kB)
Estimating Raw Material Equivalents on a Macro-Level: Comparison of Multi-Regional Input–Output Analysis and Hybrid LCI-IO
dataset
posted on 2013-12-17, 00:00 authored by Karl Schoer, Richard Wood, Iñaki Arto, Jan WeinzettelThe
mass of material consumed by a population has become a useful
proxy for measuring environmental pressure. The “raw material
equivalents” (RME) metric of material consumption addresses
the issue of including the full supply chain (including imports) when
calculating national or product level material impacts. The RME calculation
suffers from data availability, however, as quantitative data on production
practices along the full supply chain (in different regions) is required.
Hence, the RME is currently being estimated by three main approaches:
(1) assuming domestic technology in foreign economies, (2) utilizing
region-specific life-cycle inventories (in a hybrid framework), and
(3) utilizing multi-regional input–output (MRIO) analysis to
explicitly cover all regions of the supply chain. While the first
approach has been shown to give inaccurate results, this paper focuses
on the benefits and costs of the latter two approaches. We analyze
results from two key (MRIO and hybrid) projects modeling raw material
equivalents, adjusting the models in a stepwise manner in order to
quantify the effects of individual conceptual elements. We attempt
to isolate the MRIO gap, which denotes the quantitative impact of
calculating the RME of imports by an MRIO approach instead of the
hybrid model, focusing on the RME of EU external trade imports. While,
the models give quantitatively similar results, differences become
more pronounced when tracking more detailed material flows. We assess
the advantages and disadvantages of the two approaches and look forward
to ways to further harmonize data and approaches.