Fraunhofer Research Institution for Materials Recycling and Resource Strategies IWKSHow to Assess Resource Efficiency of Circular Economy?
The enhancement of resource efficiency is a major goal of Circular Economy (CE) as well as of other policies for sustainable development. As a common ground of European sustainability policies, the term of resources has been defined as “natural resources”, covering raw materials and energy resources, environmental media, biodiversity and other ecosystem resources. Thus, the concept of natural resources is a comprehensive framework embedding both the extraction of materials and the carrying capacity of nature. Consequently, goals of Circular Economy cannot be measured exclusively by descriptive circularity indicators, but require the assessment of material flows and their impact on the natural environment.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Material Flow Analysis (MFA) both are methodologies to investigate flows of materials or substances between the natural environment and the technosphere, i.e. they assess the extraction of raw materials and the emissions into the environment. Both methodologies comprehend a modelling approach based on an in-depth understanding of the technosphere and the driving forces for material flows. However, LCA and MFA have different perspectives on flows and systems within the technosphere which go along with differences as to systems boundaries and methodology. The presentation will outline the generic methodologies of LCA and MFA, with a special focus on the specific research questions of each methodology which enable complementary perceptions on material flows. For the comprehensive investigation of CE, both methods can be applied in a combined approach.
As a case study for the combined application of MFA and LCA in the area of circular economy, an investigation on material flows of rare earth elements for use in Nd-Fe-B magnets is presented. The aim is to assess the possible contribution of recycling to reduce environmental impacts from global rare earth production. Methodological aspects as well as findings from the case study are discussed. Concluding, an outlook will focus on future research issues for assessment of resource efficiency in CE.