EnvStud 785 – MEASURING MATERIAL FLOWS AND RESOURCE PRODUCTIVITY - Synthesis report
Content:
The purpose of the course on material flows (MF) and resource productivity (RP) is to improve the quantitative and analytical knowledge base about natural resource and material flows within and among countries, so as to better understand the importance of material resources in member countries' economies and to inform related policy debates. This is done by providing guidance on how to measure material flows and resource productivity, paying attention to the “supply side”, i.e. how material flow accounts and related indicators can be constructed in a coherent framework that countries can easily implement and further adapt to their own needs, and the “demand side”, i.e. how material flow indicators can be selected to suit policy needs and how they can be interpreted and used.
The guidance documents reflect the state of the art concerning experience with material flow analysis and related indicators in OECD member countries.
Course Lecturer: Gerhard Berchtold, PhD
ECTS credits: 6
Coursebook:
MEASURING
MATERIAL FLOWS AND
RESOURCE PRODUCTIVITY
Synthesis report
OECD 2008
This report is part of the OECD work programme on material flows (MF) and resource productivity (RP) that supports the implementation of the OECD Council recommendation on MF and RP adopted in April 2004. It presents a synthesis of the work carried out by the OECD with ist member countries and international partners since 2005, takes stock of progress made, and adds selected examples from applications of material flow analysis.
The purpose of the OECD work programme on material flows (MF) and resource productivity (RP) is to improve the quantitative and analytical knowledge base about natural resource and material flows within and among countries, so as to better understand the importance of material resources in member countries' economies and to inform related policy debates. This is done by providing guidance on how to measure material flows and resource productivity, paying attention to the “supply side”, i.e. how material flow accounts and related indicators can be constructed in a coherent framework that countries can easily implement and further adapt to their own needs, and the “demand side”, i.e. how material flow indicators can be selected to suit policy needs and how they can be interpreted and used.
The work has benefited from a sequence of workshops hosted by member countries (
Main outputs include a series of guidance documents on Measuring material flows and resource productivity that have been drafted in a joint effort by a group of experts from OECD countries led by the OECD Secretariat. They have benefited from contributions by members of the OECD Working Group on Environmental Information and Outlooks and the Working Group on Waste Prevention and Recycling, the Eurostat Task Force on Material Flows, and the London Group on Environmental Accounting. In developing them, the co-operation of environmental administrations, statistical services and material flow experts in countries has been invaluable. Our sincere thanks are therefore extended to all concerned.
The guidance documents reflect the state of the art concerning experience with material flow analysis and related indicators in member countries. They are expected to help achieve greater convergence of already existing initiatives and to facilitate wider dissemination and uptake of existing experience and guidance. The documents may evolve in future as ongoing efforts on methodologies and measurement systems will show results and as more feedback from policy uses will become available.
No reproduction, copy, transmission or translation of this publication may be made without written permission. Applications should be sent to OECD
Publishing: rights@oecd.org or by fax (33 1) 45 24 99 30. Permission to photocopy a portion of this work should be addressed to the Centre français
d'exploitation du droit de copie, 20, rue des Grands-Augustins, 75006 Paris, France (contact@cfcopies.com) or (for US only) to Copyright Clearance
Center (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA, fax 1 978 646 8600, info@copyright.com..
- Teacher: Gerhard Berchtold
- Teacher: Peter Hodecek