SYSTEMATICALLY EXPLORING THE ECO-EFFICIENCY PERFORMANCE OF METALS

Only what we measure can we know. To increase the sustainability of consumption and production it is therefore necessary to develop sound methods to measure environmental impacts along product value chains.

Public perceptions of the eco-efficiency performance of products are often focussed on the most visible life-cycle phases and only the most direct impacts. These perceptions can be misleading and can motivate efforts to focus on certain stages of the value chain while potentially neglecting other areas that may be of greater importance. In the case of metals, emphasis often lies on the impacts arising in production and processing despite the fact that the use of metals can in some cases lead to increases in overall life-cycle eco-efficiency. An example is the metal aluminium, which is very energy intensive in the production phase. Despite this drawback, significant fuel savings can be achieved through the application of lightweight aluminium in vehicles. Furthermore, considering the lifecycle perspective aluminium can be very attractive given that the metal can be recycled with just 5% of the energy required for primary aluminium production.

Indicators for the Impact and Added Value of Metals 

The “Eco-Efficiency Indicators for Metals” project aims to develop a methodology to assess environmental impacts and the added value of a variety of metals in selected products. The objective is to provide a scientific and stakeholder based assessment that includes both value added sustainability benefits as well as negative impacts. The project bases on a study that surveyed four metals applications: aluminium in cladding, nickel in batteries, copper in motors and zinc in gutters. The selected cases cover a broad range of eco-efficiency aspects within the relevant application fields. With the help of these practical examples gaps in stakeholder perceptions of eco-efficiency for the four metals were identified. On the basis of these findings perception gaps for metals in general were extrapolated.

The Life Cycle Approach: Identifying Hot Spots

The lifecycle of metals can be divided into six phases: Resource extraction, extractive metallurgy, processing, logistics, use phase and recycling, each of which presents specific eco-efficiency challenges and opportunities. It is essential to identify the life-cycle phases with the highest environmental impacts, the so called “hot spots”. The intention of the “Eco-Efficiency Indicators for Metals” project is to develop a flexible toolbox that can be applied to a number of different metals and which will reveal the eco-efficiency performance over the entire life cycle. This will enable comparability and will help identify joint actions and areas for stakeholder outreach and cooperation for future sustainability efforts of the metal industry.

Background

The UNEP/Wuppertal Institute Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSCP) together with the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Energy, Environment collaborates with the European Association of Metals (Eurometaux) representing the metal industry to deliver this project.

The CSCP and the Wuppertal Institute hold significant experience in the field of indicator development through providing support to, amongst others, the UN Commission of Sustainable Development, the OECD and the European Union.