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RESOURCE FLOWST H E M A T E R I A L B A S I S O FI N D U S T R I A L E C O N O M I E S

WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE

NETHERLANDS MINISTRY OF H O U S I N G ,

SPATIAL P L A N N I N G , A N D ENV1RONM

FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

RESOURCE FLOWS:THE MATERIAL BASIS OFINDUSTRIAL ECONOMIES

ALBERT ADRIAANSESTEFAN BR1NGEZUALLEN HAMMONDY U I C: H I MORIGUCHIERIC RODENBURGDONALD ROGICHHELMUT SCHUTZ

World Resources Institute

Washington, D.C., U.S.A.

Wuppertal Institute

Wuppertal, Federal Republic of Germany

Netherlands Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning, and Environment

The Hague, Netherlands

National Institute for Environmental Studies

Tsukuba, Japan

April 1997

KATHLEEN COURRIERPUBLICA TIONS DIRECTOR

HYACINTH BILLINGSPRODUCTION MANA CER

MAGGIE POWELLELECTRONIC PUBLISHING MANAGER

Each World Resources Institute Report represents a timely, scholarly treatment of responds to the guidance of advisory panels and expert reviewers. Unless otherwisea suhject of puhlic concern. WRI takes responsibility for choosing the study topics stated, however, all the interpretation and findings set forth in WRI publicationsand guaranteeing its authors and researchers freedom of inquiry. It also solicits and are those of the authors.

Copyright © 1997 World Resources Institute. All rights reserved.

ISBN 1-56973-209-4

Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 97-60566

Printed in the United States of America on Recycled Paper.

RESOURCE FLOWS: THE MATERIAL BASIS OF INDUSTRIAL ECONOMIES

ii

CONTENTS

Preface iv

Acknowledgments vi

Executive Summary 1

1. Introduction 3

2. Accounting for Material Flows. . . . 5

3. Results, Implications, andConclusions 11

4. Next Steps 19

Notes 21

Data Summary 23

Appendix 33

German Material Requirements 34

Japanese Material Requirements 43

Netherlands Material Requirements . . . 51

United States Material Requirements . . 55

About the Authors 64


iii

PREFACE

To begin industrial processes, peoplewithdraw natural resources from theenvironment. The industrial system

transforms these natural resources into nearly all ofthe products and services that we use—the food weeat, the clothes we wear, the cars we drive, theelectricity we use to light our homes and power ourcomputers. Virtually all of the natural resources thatsupport this activity ultimately return to theenvironment, often in an altered form. This flow ofmaterials from nature to the economy andback—the materials cycle—is fundamental toindustrial economies.

The sheer scale of the process is remarkable andsurprising, even in the most modern and efficientindustrial economies. As this report documents, sucheconomies require 45,000 to 85,000 kilograms ofnatural resources per person per year—the weeklyper person equivalent of 300 shopping bags filledwith materials, together weighing as much as a largeluxury car.

The 1992 United Nations Earth Summitconference in Rio de Janeiro reached a broadconsensus that the environmental resources of ourplanet are limited. Human activities, such aswithdrawing natural resources, disposing of wastes,and modifying the landscape, can interfere with theplanet's ability to support life. So sustaining a larger

and more prosperous human society and providingfor future generations requires decreasing the impactof economic activity on the environment. Naturalresource use must be made more efficient and thegrowth of industrial economies decoupled fromphysical growth. Eventually, industrial societies'dependence on natural resources must be reducedand our economies "dematerialized" to some degree.

Yet, our ability to track such trends and to calculatethe costs and benefits of industrial activity isn't up tothe task. Conventional national economic accountssimply do not provide the information needed, nordo the prices of natural resources give accuratesignals of the long term costs to society of their use.

This report proposes a way to enlarge ourunderstanding of what sustainable economiesrequire. It constructs a parallel set of nationalaccounts in physical terms using material flowanalysis and proposes new summary measures orindicators that can be used with economicindicators to give a far more accurate sense of thescale and consequences of industrial activity.

This analysis is particularly relevant in consideringthe expected global expansion of industrial activity.As human populations increase and industrialactivity expands, pressures on the environment areintensifying. A four-or-five-fold expansion—the


iv

magnitude of expected growth in economic activityover the next half century—will present veryserious environmental difficulties if the human useof natural resources and disposal of wastes growsapace. Yet, as this report shows, meaningfuldematerialization—that is, an absolute reduction inper capita use of natural resources—is not yetoccurring, even though over the past 20 yearsnatural resource use has not risen as fast as

economic activity. The world still has much to do toput itself on track toward a sustainable future.

This report results from a unique and productiveinternational collaboration among our institutions.In such joint work may lie the best hope for findingbroadly acceptable new approaches and powerfulnew insights that can stimulate the globaltransformation our societies need.

JONATHAN LASHP r e s i d e n tW o r l d R e s o u r c e s I n s t i t u t e

ERNST ULRICH VON WEIZSACKERP r e s i d e n tW up p e rt a l I n s t i t u t e

KEES ZOETEMAND e p u t y D i r e d o r - G e n e r a l f o r E n v i r o n m e n tN e t h e r l a n d s M i n i s t r y f o r H o u s i n g , S p a t i a l P l a n n i n g , a n dH n v i r o n m e n !

YOSHINORI ISHIID i r e c t o r - G e n e r a lN a t i o n a l I n s t i t u t e for E n v i r o n m e n t a l S t u d i e s


V

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The World Resources Institute would like toacknowledge the support of the WallaceGlobal Fund in making possible the WRI

contribution to this joint research effort and thepublication of this report.WRI also acknowledgesthe support of the Swedish InternationalDevelopment Cooperation Agency and the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency for its indicatorresearch.

The authors also wish to thank colleagues whoprovided helpful comments. These include John C.O'Connor, Robert U. Ayres, Peter Winsemius, IddoWernick, David Berry, H. Theodore Heintz,Jr.,

Terry Davies, and Herman E. Daly, and from withinWRI, Walt Reid, Alan Brewster, Daryl Ditz, DanTunstall, and Robert Repetto. Special thanks fortheir contributions to the report are also due to: inGermany, Fritz Hinterberger and FriedrichSchmidt-Bleek;inJapan,M.Yoshida,Y.Kato,T.Nakaguchi, and T. Itoh; and in the Netherlands,RJJ. van Heijningen,J.H.O. Hazewinkel, S. van derVen, HJ. Dijkerman, and SJ. Keuning.

Our special thanks to WRI's Kathleen Courrier forher skillful editing of the report and to MaggiePowell and Hyacinth Billings for their managementof the production process.


vi

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

There is a price to be paid for modifying ourenvironment, extracting resources, andemitting pollutants and wastes. But

conventional national economic accounts do notspell out that price. They do not make explicit manyactivities that entail environmental modifications oruses of natural resources with potentialenvironmental impact. For example, measures suchas the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) do notinclude the movement or processing of largequantities of materials that have no (or evennegative) economic value. Concepts such as full-costaccounting attempt to deal with such shortcomings,but trigger contentious debates about how to pricethe so-called externalities involved.

This study suggests an alternative or supplementaryapproach. It develops a parallel set of physical accountsto describe economic activity—accounts that can berelated to national economic accounts—and proposesa new summary measure, the Total MaterialRequirement (TMR) of an industrial economy. TheTMR measures the total use of natural resources thatnational economic activity requires.

National economic accounts fail to capture manyactivities of environmental consequence in partbecause the natural resources involved do notbecome commodities that are bought and sold.These hidden flows, which are associated withextractive activities, harvesting of crops, andinfrastructure development, are immense. In thefour countries studied, this report finds 55 to 75percent of the TMR arises from hidden flows.

National accounts in physical terms, such as thoseproposed here, are required to routinely documentsuch uses of natural resources and their potentialenvironmental effects.

In an ever more global economy, natural resourcesare frequently extracted in one country, transformedinto products in another, and consumed in a third.The result is that a significant portion of the naturalresource use that supports national economicactivity often takes place outside national borders.Except in the United States, which is largelyself-sufficient in natural resources, this report findsthat the foreign proportion of TMR ranges from 35to 70 percent in the countries studied, with thelarger percentages in smaller countries. Thesehigh-income countries gain the benefits ofconsuming imported resources, but theenvironmental cost of producing them falls onothers, often developing countries, that supply them.This disparity may not receive adequateconsideration, because national economic accountsdo not adequately measure the true extent ofnatural resource use and potential environmentalharm. While this report covers only high-incomecountries, the methodology developed here couldbe applied to document international imbalances inthe physical flows required to satisfy globaleconomic demand.

The TMR takes into account both hidden flows andforeign components of natural resource use, as wellas direct inputs of natural resources into theeconomy. The TMRs of even very modern


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industrial economies are enormous. This reportdocuments that such countries now require anannual TMR of 45 to 85 metric tons of naturalresources per person—and Direct Material Inputs(DMI) of 17 to 38 metric tons per person—toproduce their flow of goods and services. This totaldoes not include use of air and water.

This report also analyzes TMR figures over 20 yearsand finds both a general convergence among thecountries studied and, in most, a gradual rise in percapita natural resources use. The implication is thatmeaningful dematerialization, in the sense of anabsolute reduction in natural resources use, is not yettaking place.

A critical question is whether, in modern industrialcountries, economic activity is becoming decoupledfrom natural resource use. Historically, economistshave discussed materials intensity as the ratio ofnatural resource inputs to GDE This report proposesa more comprehensive measure of materialsintensity based on the ratio of TMR to GDP. Theresult shows a clearly declining pattern of materialsintensity, supporting the conclusion that economicactivity is growing somewhat more rapidly thannatural resource use. However, materials intensity astraditionally measured (based on direct materialinputs or DMI to GDP ratio) has leveled off overthe past decade, implying that use of naturalresource commodities may now be growing inparallel with economic growth. And examination ofdetailed material flows in each of the countriesstudied makes it clear that most natural resources arestill being used in an environmentally disruptiveonce-through manner.

Ultimately, sustainable development will require acloser understanding of how the economic andenvironmental aspects of human activity interact, aswell as actions based on such understanding.Conventional economic information, while useful,

provides very little insight into these interactions.But the parallel set of physical accounts illustrated inthis report allows comparison of economic andphysical factors, which can add significantly to theinformation and tools for decision-making.Indicators of these physical flows, such as the TMR,can guide progress toward more efficient use ofnatural resources. For example, the OECD recentlyadopted as a long range goal that industrialcountries should decrease their material intensitiesby a factor of 10—a profound change that is notlikely to occur unless the the target and progresstoward it can be explicitly measured. Using themethodology of this report, that target can beexpressed as 30 kilograms per $100 of GDP,compared to the present value of approximately 300kilograms per $100 of GDP.

Comprehensive physical accounts are also necessaryto develop policies that support more sustainableindustrial economies. Many environmental policieshave focused on wastes and pollution—on the backend of the materials cycle—even though more thanhalf, and as much as three-fourths, of the naturalresource use occurs at the front end of the process,before natural resource commodities enter theeconomy. Since what leaves the industrial system aswastes is closely related to the volume of materialinputs, policies that reduce the use of primary naturalresources not only diminish extraction pressures, butalso wastes and pollution. Similarly, policies that makenatural resource use more efficient or increaserecycling lower requirements and environmentalimpacts over the entire materials cycle.

To gain the full insights from the national materialsflow accounts proposed in this report will requireadditional work and expanded internationalcollaboration. This report suggests specific actionsthat governments and international organizationscan take in the near future.


INTRODUCTION

The analysis presented in this report derivesfrom a study of the physical basis of fourhigh-income industrial economies—

Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, and the UnitedStates—which together constitute a broadcross-section of the OECD countries. Workingtogether, researchers at four institutions applied acommon methodology to the diverse circumstancesof each country.

The study seeks to provide a quantitative physicaldescription of all the natural resources directly andindirectly used by the economic activity of theseindustrial countries, even when portions of that useoccur outside a country's borders. The materialflows documented here encompass both thecommodities that enter into commerce and all theflows associated with making a commodity availablefor human use. In addition, the study also accountsfor direct and indirect uses of natural resources inconstruction, deliberate alterations of the landscape,and such side effects of human economic activity assoil erosion from cultivated fields. The study focuseson broad categories of materials, not sectors of theeconomy. It traces the material flows for thesecategories over the 20-year period from 1975 to1994 to show how these flows are changing aspopulation and economic activity increase. More

broadly, this study creates an analytical frameworkfor examining the physical basis of industrialeconomies—the beginning of a more completeunderstanding of their environmental impacts. Byillustrating how physical accounts of material flowscan be created, in a manner similar to accountingmethods for economic flows, the study shows hownational accounts can be constructed using physicalmeasures. The study proposes new indicators thatsummarize trends in natural resource use, thatcompare material and economic flows, and thatallow analysts and decision-makers to examine andtrack trends in dematerialization. Thus this studyseeks to add to the information and tools availablefor decision-making.

This report presents the methodology developedand the preliminary results of the study, includingthe major trends evident in the data, a discussion oftheir implications, and summaries of the physicalaccounts. (To facilitate and stimulate further analysis,the Appendix includes disaggregated data sets, alongwith data sources and estimation techniques, foreach country.)

This work stands on the shoulders of many otherresearchers, including early theoretical studies of theimportance of material and energy "throughputs" in

* World Resources Institute, Washington, D.C.; Wuppertal Institute, Wuppertal, Germany; Netherlands Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning,and Environment, the Hague, Netherlands; and the National Institute for Environmental Studies of the japan Environment Agency, Tsukuba,Japan.


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industrial economies by Kenneth Boulding andHerman Daly; studies of commodity consumptionby Donald Rogich and others at the U.S. Bureau ofMines;" analyses of trends in material usage by AlanKneese,J Alvin Weinberg, Jesse Ausubel,3 IddoWernick,' and Martin Janicke; and work onmaterials flow analysis by Frederick Schmidt-Bleek,Stefan Bringezu, and colleagues at the WuppertalInstitute and by Marina Fischer-Kowalski. Thisstudy is also related to extensive work by manyauthors on life cycle analysis and industrial

ecology, which charts detailed materials flows forspecific industrial processes or within specific sectorsof industrial economies, and to efforts to develophighly aggregated environmental indicators. Thepresent study goes beyond these earlier efforts byconstructing a coinprehensive (although stillpreliminary) set of physical accounts, assessing therelated material flows at the national level for anumber of countries, refining the methodology ofmaterials flow analysis, and proposing new summaryindicators.


4

ACCOUNTING FOR MATERIAL FLOWS

Material flow accounting can systematicallytrack the physical flows of naturalresources through extraction, production,

fabrication, use and recycling, and final disposal,accounting for all losses along the way. Thistechnique is motivated by the desire to relate theuse of natural resources to the capacity of theenvironment to provide the materials and absorbthe wastes.

The method is used here to provide acomprehensive overview of the physical basis ofindustrial economies and to derive indicators forsustainability. Although water is an important, and insome countries a limiting, natural resource, waterflows are excluded from the analysis here, as is air,because its use varies widely among regions. Allother natural resources removed from theenvironment to support economic activities areaccounted for, as are materials moved or processed.

On the input side of the economy, agriculture,forestry, fisheries, mining, and oil or gas wells extractor harvest primary materials. Industrial processesthen transform these inputs to produce productsand services. Materials can be tracked through thechain of industrial processes to their use byconsumers and to their ultimate fate, whether

recycling and reuse (as with many metals),deposition as waste, or dispersion into theenvironment (as with fertilizers and pesticides or thecombustion gases released in fuel burning). In thisanalysis, the boundary between nature and theeconomy is defined at the point when humans firstextract or move materials from natural sites.

Extracting or harvesting primary natural resourcesoften requires moving or processing large quantitiesof materials that can modify or damage theenvironment even though they have no economicvalue. For example, to get access to metal deposits,mineral ores, or seams of coal, for example, oftenrequires moving huge amounts of covering materialsor overburden. Often crude ores must be processedor concentrated before they become commercialcommodities, leaving large amounts of processwastes to be disposed. The cultivation and harvest ofcrops often causes soil erosion by wind and water,potentially transporting large amounts of materialand reducing the soil's fertility. Constructing dams,highways, and buildings often requires theexcavating or shifting large amounts of earth andstone. All such flows are part of a country'seconomic activity, but most never enter themonetary economy as commodities. In this report,the flows of materials that do not enter the

* Because practices differ among different countries, especially in metals refining, so does the dividing line between what is a commodity andwhat is not. In Europe, for example, many ore concentrates enter commerce; in the United States, many unified refining operations processores completely, shipping pure metal as the commodity.

RESOURCE FLOWS: THE MATERIAL BASIS OF INDUSTRIAL. ECONOMIES

5

BOX 1 QUALITATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF MATERIALS FLOWS

The material excavated or moved in the preparation of aconstruction site has a qualitatively different impact on theenvironment than the release of heavy metals or organicchemicals. One way to take account of such differences isto segregate material flows by their long term impact onthe environment, ranking all flows as either major orminor on both the degree of mobilization of the materialand its potential for causing environmental harm.

Mobilization, the spatial domain affected by a flow, reflectsthe ability to reverse impacts caused by the flow; materialsreleased to the atmosphere or dissipated to land and watersystems affect larger areas than controlled landfills ortailings ponds. Materials that are biodegradable or havebeen moved or physically transformed generally have lesspotential to harm the environment than materials that havebeen chemically transformed.

Applying these criteria subjectively to the 21 billion tonsof material flows for the United States in 1991 andcalculating the percentage of the total flow in eachcategory gives the following result:

high mobilization, high potential for harm

high mobilization, low potential for harm

low mobilization, high potential for harm

12%

29%

5 %

54 %low mobilization, low potential for harm

Flows in the first category may be most important from along term national sustainability perspective. Locally,however, the third category of flows may be of greatestconcern. This example illustrates that aggregate materialflows can be disaggregated to give measures of theirqualitative characteristics.

monetary economy are separated from those that do.The former flows are described as the hiddenflows ' associated with the extracted primary naturalresource commodities. " The pressure on theenvironment exerted by hidden flows is oftendifferent from that due to materials that directlyenter the industrial system and are transformed togoods and services. A million tons of earth moved inconstruction is not the same as a million tons oftoxic wastes. But all uses of natural resources causepotentially important environmental alterations. Toprovide insight into measures of quality as well asquantity, materials can be classified in many ways.One is to distinguish those materials associated withconstruction and infrastructure from thoseassociated with production processes (such as soilerosion, removal of mining overburden, and oreprocessing) and those that become commodities.Another possible categorization distinguishes inertmaterials that have little capacity to interact or

combine chemically from those that are chemicallyreactive. Materials can also be classified by theirdegree of mobilization and whether they posemajor environmental hazards. (See Box 1.) Suchqualitative distinctions provide insight into howmaterials are used and into the nature of theenvironmental pressures that their use generates. Sofar, however, no standard method exists formeasuring this environmental pressure.

This analysis asserts that it is not possible to know inadvance what flows will be environmentallydamaging. Determinants include both theperspective of the observer and the characteristics ofthe local environment: Filling in a wetland withearth to construct a highway is not a tragedy from aglobal or even a national perspective, but from alocal perspective, it may be. Accordingly, in this study,flows of materials are recorded in the quantity asthey occur, without additional weighting, eventhough there are clearly substantial differences in


6

their character and potential environmental impact.Using the disaggregated accounts in the Appendix,however, researchers could combine data on themagnitude of different flows with additionalweighting factors, should a scientific or politicalconsensus emerge on the relative hazards or risksassociated with any particular type of material ornatural resource use.

Because the market does not place a price on thehidden material flows, economic accounts do notusually include them. The resulting statisticsunderstate the natural resource dependence of anindustrial economy, giving decision-makers adistorted image of the physical scale andconsequences of economic decisions. Under suchcircumstances, it is easy for economic planners ordecision-makers to fail to adequately anticipateenvironmental effects.

For a given product or service, the primary naturalresources and the associated hidden flows requiredto produce it comprise the total materialrequirements associated with that product or service.This quantity is also a measure of the potentialenvironmental pressures attributable to that productor service. In the same way, the total material flowsassociated with a national economy can becalculated. These flows represent the total use ofnatural resources required to generate a nationaleconomy's goods and services.

Materials transported in international trade requireadditional discussion. In today's global economy,materials may originate in one country (rawmaterial), be processed to some point(semi-manufactures) in another, created into finalproducts in a third country, and ultimatelyconsumed by yet a fourth nation. In principle, thehidden flows associated with exported materialscould be assigned to the exporting country on thegrounds that each country should be responsible for

the environmental burden that its exports create. Inpractice, however, that approach overlooks the severeasymmetry between industrial economies—all ofwhich import significant quantities of primarynatural resources—and developing economies, manyof which depend heavily on the export of suchresources and, therefore, suffer from theenvironmental costs of resource extraction. Such aconvention would also understate the actual physicalbasis of most industrial economies and theimportance, from a global environmentalperspective, of using natural resources moreefficiently in these economies. In this analysis, anestimate of the hidden flows associated withimported primary natural resources andsemi-manufactures (such as cast iron) is included ineach national account. Separately, a preliminaryaccount of the exports of each country is alsopresented.

Exactly how are the hidden material flowsassociated with imported materials calculated? Theyinclude estimates of the overburden removed inmining as well as materials that are processed butnot sold. Where accurate numbers from the countryof origin are not available, domestic numbers forcomparable processes are used. Erosion ofagricultural and forestry lands in the country oforigin is used to estimate the hidden flows ofimported renewable raw materials. The hidden flowsof imported semi-manufactures are also estimatedfrom calculations for domestic production.Provisionally, imported final products, such asmanufactured goods, are accounted for directly,without hidden flows. Further work on measuringthe hidden flows associated with internationallytraded products is needed to establish consistentconventions for regular reporting. Nonetheless, theapproximate numbers that this methodology yieldsprovide a reliable basis for making preliminaryinternational comparisons.


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BOX 2 SOME USEFUL DEFINITIONS

Hidden material (low: This is the portion of the total

in.ili.-ri.il requirement thai never enters the economy, ll is

the n.uur.il resource use that occurs when providing those

commodities that Jo emer ihe economy. 1 he hidden

material flow comprises two components, ancillary flows

and excavated or disturbed flows.

Ancillary material flow: 1 his is the material ih.it must

be removed from the natural environment, along with the

desired material, to obtain the desired material. Some

examples are die portion of an ore tli.it is procesied and

discarded lo concentrate the ore and the plant and forest

hiomass that is removed irom llic land along with the logs

and grain, but is later separated Irom the desired material

he I ore further processing.

(••'or simplicity, both ancillary and excavated or disturbed

material have been combined into the single category ol

hidden material, even though they cm have markedly

different environmental impacts. Hidden flows have been

calculated lor six categories of material flows: fossil fuels,

metals and industrial minerals, construction materials,

renewable natural resources, infrastructure creation and

maintenance, and soil erosion.

Direct Material Input (DMI): I his is the flow oi

natural resource commodities that enter the industrial

economy for further processing. Included in this category

are grains used by a food processor, petroleum sent to a

refinery, metals used by a manufacturer, and logs taken to

a null.

Excavated and/or disturbed material flow: I his ismaterial moved or disturbed to obtain a natural resource,

or to create, and maintain inirastrucrure. Included in this

category is the overburden that must be removed to

permit access to an ore body, the soil erosion from

agriculture, and the material moved in the construction of

infrastructure, such as a highway or a building, or in the

dredgmii of harbors and canals.

Total Material Requirement (TMR): This is the sumof the total material input and the hidden or indirect

material flows, including deliberate landscape alterations. It

is the total material requirement for a national economy,

including all domestic MK\ imported natural resources. ~l he

I \1R gives the best overall estimate for the potential

environmental impact associated with natural resource

extraction and use.

The total physical requirements of a nationaleconomy—the sum of domestic and importedprimary natural resources, together with theirassociated hidden flows—are called the TotalMaterials Requirement (TMR). This number is ameasure of the physical flows, or the magnitude ofeconomic activity measured in physical terms, thatunderpin an industrial economy. The TMRcomplements monetary measures of a nation'seconomic activity such as the GDP. Together,physical and monetary measures provide a morecomplete view of the size and scope of anindustrial economy The TMR can also be

considered an approximate measure of the potentialpressure exerted by an economy on the globalenvironment, though precise measures will dependon the disaggregated components of the TMR andtheir environmental impacts. For purposes ofinternational comparison, the material flowaccounts of the four countries considered in thisreport are presented on a per capita basis, TMR percapita. An economy's use of natural resourcecommodities, the Direct Materials Input (or DMI)per capita, is also calculated; this quantity is theTMR less the domestic and imported hidden flows.


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Discussion

As defined here, the TMR is concerned with theinput end of the materials cycle, the total physicalrequirements and throughputs of materials onwhich a nation's economic activity depend.Accordingly, the material flows associated withexports—raw materials, semi-manufactures, orfinished goods and their associated hiddenflows—have not been deducted from TMR. Themeasure is adjusted, however, to take into accountmaterials transfered across a country without beingaltered or stored there. This presents an accuratepicture for countries such as the Netherlands, theentry port for many materials intended for otherEuropean countries.

Exports for each country are reported separately. Inthis preliminary stage of analysis, fully consistentexport figures in physical terms for the fourcountries are not yet available. Nonetheless, theexport figures provided illustrate that comprehensivematerials flow accounts, which compare or"balance" imports and domestic extraction againstexports and outputs to nature, can be constructed.

These national material flow accounts, analogous tonational economic accounts, include the extractionand harvest of materials from the domesticenvironment. Imported materials, with theirassociated hidden flows, are added. Analysis ofhidden flows for imports into Japan, Germany, andthe Netherlands confirm that they are at least aslarge as the hidden flows associated with domesticextraction of primary natural resources; thus theseflows cannot be neglected when considering how anation's economic activity exerts pressure on theenvironment. These inputs can be compared withthe outputs to the domestic environment in theform of wastes, emissions, and dissipative use ofproducts, as well as outputs in the form of exported

products. The result is a set of national material flowaccounts. (See Appendix.)

These accounts provide valuable information on therelationships among flows, such as the ratio betweenrenewable and non-renewable inputs or the amountof food and fiber from agriculture compared to theerosion caused. The balance between inputs andoutputs indicates the net accumulation of materialsin the industrial system. Moreover, such accountslink economic activities to their physicalimplications, which may be particularly important inconsidering sustainable development.

If significant reductions in per capita naturalresource use and in the materials intensity ofindustrial economies are necessary in the long runto make sure that the benefits of industrial systemsare enjoyed by all the world's societies, for example,then such indicators as the TMR will be necessaryto monitor progress toward that goal. Since suchquestions arise not from a fear of resource scarcitybut rather from concern about the environmentalconsequences of resource extraction and use, theTMR is an appropriate indicator for these purposes.Planning and managing more efficient andsustainable industrial economies and developingpolicies to encourage such a transition will requireboth detailed knowledge of the underlying physicalflows and such highly-aggregated indicators as theTMR and the DMI to track overall trends.

Materials intensity has often been discussed as theratio of natural resource inputs, or of pollutionoutputs, to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Thisanalysis extends that concept by including thenatural resource use that does not enter themonetary economy, but is nonetheless a directconsequence of economic activity, the hidden flows.Thus, this analysis makes it possible to moreaccurately characterize the overall material intensity


9

of an economy, as defined by the ratio of the TMR associated with domestic economic activities. Into the GDP. addition, the analysis yields other potentially useful

measures, such as the savings in natural resource useThis analysis also makes it possible to report the obtained by recycling iron or other materials. (Morepercentage of TMR associated with imports, which detailed discussion of the methods used to measureindicates the amount of potential burden to the ol- estimate material flows in each country are givenenvironment within other countries that is m m e Appendix.)


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3RESULTS, IMPLICATIONS, AND

CONCLUSIONS

Trends in natural resource use for the fourcountries studied are presented in a seriesof graphs, beginning with trends in TMR.

Per capita figures are used to allow comparisonsamong countries. Subsequent graphs illustrate thecomposition of the T M R by six broad categories ofmaterials, decompose the T M R into direct inputsand associated hidden flows, and show theproportion of domestic and foreign components.Two views of the material intensity in these fourindustrial economies is presented, and the benefitsof recycling materials illustrated.

The four countries analyzed here vary considerably inthe size of their populations, economies, and land area;however, all are highly industrialized countries withhigh standards of living. Perhaps not surprisingly, theyshow very similar overall trends in natural resource use.

Figure 1 gives the TMR in per capita terms for eachof the four countries. In the early portion of theperiod studied, per capita TMR varied considerably,but over time the trends converge. For Germany, theNetherlands, and the United States, per capita naturalresource use as measured by the TMR appears to beleveling off at about 75 to 85 metric tons per year. Thedecline in U.S. TMR per capita in the early years ofthe period was due primarily to major reductions in

soil erosion after the enactment of the ConservationReserve Program—which paid farmers not to farmhighly erodible lands—and the completion of muchof the federal interstate highway system. Japan'sTMR per capita has followed a gradually risingpattern similar to that of Germany and theNetherlands, but at significantly lower levels, about45 metric tons per year. The sharp rise in GermanTMR in 1991 reflects the reunification with theformer East Germany, altering what wouldotherwise have been a relatively constant trend.

Despite the current overall similarity in TMR percapita for three of the four countries studied, thepattern of natural resource use varies significantly, asdoes the composition of the TMR by major categoriesof materials. There is one common factor: fossil fueluse is overwhelmingly the largest contributor to TMRin the United States and Germany and is the secondlargest contribution in Japan and the Netherlands. (SeeFigure 2.) In all of these countries except Japan, highlevels of energy consumption, primarily from fossil fuels,is a major reason for the high overall levels of TMR. Bythe same token, Japan's relatively small per capita use ofenergy is the primary reason that its TMR issignificantly lower than in the other countries. InGermany, heavy use of low-caloric content coal

* The German data in Figure 2 reflect the impact of the 1991 reunification, so that the figures reflect energy and other natural resourceconsumption for a number of facilities that have subsequently been closed.


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FIGURE 1

110

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

M

TOTALMATERIALREQUIREMENTANNUAL FLOWSPER CAPITA

1987 1990

GermanyNetherlands

Japan• United State:

FIGURE 2

40

PRIMARYCONTRIBUTIONSTO TMR, 1991

It i mam Japan Netherlands United State:

^B Metals and industrial minerals Fossil fuels

_=̂ Construction minerals ^^1 Renewables

H Infrastructure excavation Erosion

(lignite) and the accompanying hidden flowsstemming from the large overburden moved inmining coal dominates the fossil fuel contribution.Metals, reflecting strong automobile and steelsectors, and construction also contribute heavily tothe country's total material requirements. In Japanthe metals and industrial materials industry is thelargest contributor. The contribution from domesticerosion is relatively low, reflecting the dominance ofpaddy rice cultivation.

In the Netherlands, renewable materials are the largestcontributor to the country's TMR. Imports of feed forits large livestock operations, such as tapioca fromThailand and grain from Canada, account for most ofthe renewable flows. Fossil fuels, primarily natural gas,and metals are also major contributors. Domesticerosion is negligible, but some foreign erosion isincluded as a hidden flow with the imported livestockfeeds. In the United States, in addition to thecontribution of fossil fuels, continuing high levels of

road building and other infrastructure developmentare major contributors to TMR, as well as erosionfrom agricultural operations.

Hidden material flows dominate the TMR,accounting for between 55 and 75 percent of thetotal in 1991. (See Figure 3.) The Netherlands andJapan are at the low end of this range and theUnited States and Germany are at the high end. Theenormous size of the hidden flows underscore theimportance of taking their environmental impactsinto account.

An examination of trends over the past 20 years inthe United States shows that hidden flows havedecreased slightly and direct inputs have increasedslightly as a proportion of the TMR. Thus, in somesense, the overall efficiency of natural resource usehas improved. That improvement has come largelyfrom the Conservation Reserve Program, evidencethat appropriate policies can reduce hidden flowsand thus diminish their environmental impacts.


12

FIGURE 3 DIRECT INPUTS

AND HIDDENFLOWS (AS APROPORTIONOF TMR), 1991

Germany Japan

^ | Direct Inputs

Netherlands United States

~ _ Hidden Flows

i

FIGURE 4

100

I 80

1 6()

| 40

5 20

0

DOMESTIC ANDFOREIGNCOMPONENTSOF TMR, 1991

Japan Netherlands United States

| Domestic I Imported

The TMR can also be split into domestic andforeign components. As Figure 4 illustrates, theproportion of natural resources from domesticsources varies considerably among the countries,despite the overall convergence of TMR per capita.Since the United States is largely self-sufficient innatural resources, except for oil, bauxite (the orefrom which aluminum is made), and a few otherindustrial minerals, its material flows are almostentirely internal. In smaller industrial countries, asignificant proportion of the total material flow thatsupports their economies takes place outside theirborders: about 35 percent for Germany, more than50 percent for Japan, and more than 70 percent forthe Netherlands. These large proportions signify thatthe environmental impacts of these country's naturalresource use are only partly borne by, and visible to,the residents of these countries. Indeed, Figure 4suggests a generalization: the smaller an industrialcountry, the larger in proportion its transboundarymaterials flows and the greater the separation of the

environmental effects of its natural resource usefrom their consumption benefits.

A critical question is whether modern industrialeconomies are becoming less material intensive asthey shift, for example, from producing goods toproducing services: Is economic activity becomingdecoupled from natural resource use? Figure 5summarizes trends in overall materials intensity, asmeasured by the TMR/GDP ratio. To preventdistortions caused by currency fluctuations, theintensity is based on a constant monetary unit ineach country and indexed to a 1975 referenceyear. The curves are presented as moving five-yearaverages to smooth fluctuations in the businesscycle. The analysis shows a declining pattern ofmaterials intensity in all countries, supporting theconclusion that a modest decoupling is takingplace. The decoupling trend would be even strongerif the effects of Germany's reunification wereremoved.


13

FIGURE 5

120

110

[2 90

80

70

6 0 1975 1978

OVERALLMATERIALINTENSITY(TMR/GDP)INDEX

1981 1984 1987 1990 1993

(5 yr. average)• Germany Japan

Netherlands United States

Figure 6, a comparable analysis, includes only thedirect material inputs (natural resourcecommodities). It gives the DMI to GDP ratio, ameasure of the direct input intensity. As above, thisintensity is indexed to a reference year andfluctuations have been smoothed. The resultingpattern shows a modest decline in intensity, followedby a leveling off over the past decade, which impliesthat direct inputs of natural resources are nowgrowing in parallel with economic growth.Improvements in technology and industrial practiceor structural shifts to a more service-intensiveeconomy, which might be expected to reduce thismeasure of material intensity, do not seem to becontinuous.

This analysis makes it possible to characterize therelationship between natural resource use andeconomic activity more comprehensively, usingboth an overall materials intensity and a direct inputintensity. However, the TMR/GDP ratio providesthe best measure of a country's materials intensity oroverall eco-efficiencv, because it includes extractive

FIGURE 6 DIRECT INPUT

MATERIALSINTENSITY(DMI/GDP)INDEX

1978 1981 1984 1987 1990(5 yr. average)

German JapanNetherlands • United States

activities and other hidden flows. This indicator is auseful tool to track progress toward decouplingnatural resource use from economic activity. At thesame time, the DMI/GDP ratio can signal thepresence or absence of technology-related changesor industrial practices that increase the efficiency ofmaterials use.

As an example of how such a tool might be used,the research team calculated the dollar value of the1993 TMR/GDP ratio, using 1993 currencyexchange rates. The results show that the U.S.,German, and Dutch economies require, respectively,3.4, 3.3, and 3.2 kilograms of physical inputs perdollar of GDP. Japan has a distinctly lower intensityof 1.4 kilograms per dollar. Because currenciesfluctuate far more rapidly than do material flows,such figures should be used with caution; in 1985,for example,Japan's TMR/GDP ratio was 3.0kilograms per dollar, with the difference almostentirely due to currency fluctuations. It is the overalltrend, measured in a constant currency unit, that issignificant. Nonetheless, such figures provide a


14

bOX .1 SAVINGS FROM RECYCLING

Noi all materials ihiir filter industrial economies are

immediately returned u> ibo emirontnent as wastes or

pollut;nits. Some have semi-permanent economic uses,

such .is buildings or highways. Others, such as iron and

.ilumiiumi, ,ire increasingly recycled and reused. Such

reuse has significant economic: and environnu'iital effects.

To illustrate tliese effect, consider die recycling of iron, (he

hidden portion ol die material flow associated with mining

and processing of primary metals is particularly large. livery

ton of iron recycled not only replaces a ton that would have

been mined, but also avoids several tons of hidden material

flows associated with iron mining and processing. ('I lie

amount diftei's in each country.) The figure below shows

current material flows associated with iron mining in four

countries anil the material flow avoided by current recycling,

efforts. .'.Sir l-'iyitv.i lor example, without recycling, the

iron-related material flow and the associated environmental

Savings from Recycling Materials(Iron)

I.filpilM

I Irnn Mining

I I\L-rhcrl;iiuls Lniu:il Srnri.->M!nmg:iv. mitt!

costs in both the United Slates and the Netherlands would

be more than twice as large.

convenient rule-of-thumb for the material-intensivenature of modern industrial economies: To generate$100 of income at present in Germany, theNetherlands, or the United States, requires about300 kilograms of natural resources, including hiddenflows.

Implications

The results from this study have far-reachingimplications. Consider the sheer size of the naturalresource requirements in the four countries studied.The 45 to 85 metric tons of natural resources perperson per year required in these modern andadvanced industrial economies translates into anenormous amount of extractive activity, landscaperearrangement, soil erosion, and direct consumptionof natural resources to maintain current levels ofindustrial activity and lifestyles. For example, thefood and fiber produced by the U.S. agriculturalsystem causes about 15 metric tons of soil erosion

annually for each U.S. resident; to build highwaysand other infrastructure requires excavating andmoving about 14 metric tons of material per personevery year. To support the Dutch livestock industryrequires imported feeds and associated soil erosioncorresponding to more than 29 metric tons for eachresident, with most of the environmental impactfalling on other countries. To produce theautomobiles and other metal-intensive products forwhich Japan is well known demands the annualremoval or processing of about 14 metric tons ofmetal ores and industrial minerals for each resident,again with much of the environmental impactoccurring outside Japan. And to produce the energyused in a year in Germany requires, quite apart fromthe fuel itself or the pollution caused by itscombustion, removing and replacing more than 29metric tons of coal overburden for each German.


15

These are staggering volumes of material that createsignificant environmental impacts. Moreover, as theexamples above suggest, the environmental costs arenot borne entirely, in some cases even primarily, bythese industrial countries. Is such amaterials-intensive industrial model sustainable?Can it be replicated by many other countrieswithout serious environmental harm? If much ofthe world were to extract and use natural resourcesat volumes and in patterns comparable to those inthe countries studied in this report, where wouldresource withdrawals take place? And who wouldbear the environmental costs?

Even in the four countries studied here, aside fromthe erosion reductions in the United States, percapita natural resource requirements rose over theperiod analyzed, albeit slowly. The extractivepressures on domestic and foreign environmentsresulting from these industrial economies also rose.The most hopeful finding reported here is thatnatural resource requirements did not rise as rapidlyas economic activity as measured by the GDP, butthis analysis does not support the conclusion thatdirect input materials intensity, which most closelytracks industrial practices, is continuing to decline.For the past decade, at least, direct input materialsintensity has been roughly constant.

Conclusions

These considerations highlight the need for morecomprehensive materials accounts and for indicators,such as those proposed here, that can draw attentionto overall use of natural resources. Indeed, tounderstand the links between economic activity andenvironmental degradation—and to integrateeconomic and environmental planning andpolicy-making—requires a more detailedunderstanding of the material basis of industrialeconomies. Such information is also necessary toformulate policies for improving the efficiency of

natural resource use. What is needed are physicalaccounts, analogous to national economic accounts,that show the origin, use, and deposition of allmaterials associated with industrial economies. Asestablished industrial economies continue to expandand as developing economies move rapidly towardindustrialization, such information becomes evermore critical.

One example of how indicators based on physicalaccounts will be essential in decision-making comesfrom recent efforts to set social goals for decouplingnatural resource use and economic growth, i.e., fordematerializing industrial economies. TheCarnoule Declaration proposes a 30- to 50-yeargoal of "cutting in half of present globalnon-renewable material flows" and argues that toaccomplish this, given the needs of developingcountries, requires industrial countries to decreasetheir material intensity by at least a factor of ten; theOECD Environmental Policy Committee alsorecently adopted this target as a long term goal. Interms of the indicators proposed here, the Carnoulegoal is equivalent to a tenfold reduction of the ratioTMR/GDP, through both decreases in absolutelevels of material requirements and increases ineconomic activity. This translates to materialintensities (as calculated in this report) ofapproximately 30 kilograms per $100 of GDP ratherthan the present 300 kilograms. Such profoundchanges are not likely to occur without an explicitway to formulate the goals and to measure progresstoward such a goal, and without the detailedphysical and economic accounts needed tounderstand how the industrial system must betransformed accordingly. The concept of TMRprovides an important indicator for such purposes.

One more reason why both physical and economicaccounts are needed is to improve economicdecision-making. Because most material flows


16

I5OX4 IRREVERSIBLE NATURAL RESOURCE USE

Majiy current uses of nalur.iJ resources an.- wastefulbecause the resources Jiv used in a once through fashion.An iniiustri.il system may ignore potential efficiencies; forexample, when .1 metal is mined, processed into ,1 produce,used, and discarded as waste, instead of being recycled andreused. Mori: c.liicieut industrul professes that reuse andrecycle materials—metals, paper, plastics, evenconstruction materials llius point the way towardreducing the environmental eilects ol natural resource use.mil preserving them for future generations.

Not everything can be recycled, however. Some currentuses of natural resources are inherently dissipative orirreversible, lor example, when coal, petroleum, andnatural ga1- are used as fiiels. they can only he burnt once,

,i;id the resulting carbon dioxide is dispersed ro theatmosphere. Similarly, soil eroded from fields andtransported elsewhere by wind or water. Some CONK:materials, such as those contained in pesticides, aredeliberately dispersed in the course of use.

These examples are not trivial exceptions. Fossil fuels,including their hidden flows, represent between 2(> and 46percent of the I'VIK lor the countries surveyed in thisstudy, r.rusiou contributes 17 percent of the U.S. TMR.To reduce such irre\crsible uses will require policies thatgo beyond recycling to provide incentives to reduce thedemand for fuels or encourage more sustainable methodsof cultivation—policies that influence the front ciu\ of thematerials cvcle.

associated with industrial economies are notcommodities and hence unaccounted for ineconomic terms, many strictly economic indicatorsgive misleading signals. One widely-acknowledgedexample is the tendency to associate GDP growthunambiguously with economic progress, even whenit reflects such activities as cutting forests, erodingsoils, or other forms of natural resource degradationthat may undercut future economic progress.Recent studies also show that productivity measuresare similarly skewed because they fail to take intoaccount the use of materials that are not sold but aredisposed of in the environment. The growinginterest in alternative accounting practices at boththe national level and at the level of the firm, theinterest in industrial metabolism, product life-cycleanalysis, and the development of measures ofeco-efficiency all underscore the need for bothphysical and economic accounts.

A more fundamental rationale for physical accountsis a concern with the sustainability of industrialeconomies. Much of the policy attention to this

issue has focused on wastes and pollution, on theback end of the materials cycle. Yet, if more than half(and as much as three-fourths) of the naturalresources used occur at the front end of the cycle, asthis report documents, then efforts to reduceenvironmental impacts must also focus there. Sincewhat leaves the industrial system as wastes andpollution is closely linked to the volume of materialinputs, policy incentives to reduce use of primarynatural resources not only diminish extractionpressures but also waste and pollution. Similarly,policies that make natural resource use moreefficient or increase recycling lower materialrequirements and environmental impactsthroughout the materials cycle. Comprehensivephysical accounts are needed to support suchpolicies.

In an increasingly global economy that supportsgrowing international trade, the pattern ofeconomic activity is complex and involvesnumerous transborder flows of both money andmaterials. To the extent that the environmental costs


17

of each stage in this process are not adequatelycaptured in commodity prices, then an inherentinequity exists between who pays theseenvironmental costs and who gains the benefitsfrom using natural resources. As this studydocuments, large hidden portions of the materialsflows associated with economic activity are notcaptured by economic accounts, making it probablethat commodity prices do not adequately reflectenvironmental costs. Moreover, in all countriesstudied except the United States, very substantialportions of the materials flows, and hence the

environmental costs, associated with nationaleconomic activity take place outside nationalborders. To understand this complex pattern ofinterlinkages, and perhaps eventually to equitablyapportion costs and benefits, will requiredocumenting materials flows, establishing nationalaccounts of materials flows, and working out agreedinternational conventions on how to account fortransboundary flows of materials. This report offerssome preliminary attempts at such an accounting,but additional work is needed.


18

4NEXT STEPS

The outcomes of this study suggest that amore detailed understanding of thematerial basis of industrial economies is

needed to better understand the links betweeneconomic activity and environmental degradation.We suggest five next steps that would contribute:

1. The Development of AccountsThe present study introduced the concept of TMRas a means of summarizing the physical aspects ofeconomic activity at the input or front end of thematerials cycle. An obvious next step would be todevelop a more complete accounting and someaggregated indicators to summarize the physicalflows at the back end of the material cycle. Such anaccounting would comprehensively measure allhuman-induced materials flows entering theenvironment and would supplement morespecialized indicators of specific pollutants.

Systematic assessments at the front and the back endof the materials cycle would also make possiblecomprehensive national accounts that balancematerials flows by comparing domestic inputs andimports with exports and outflows to theenvironment and additions to infrastructure andother stocks. Such accounts have already beenestablished by the German Federal Statistical Officeas part of its integrated environmental andeconomic accounting procedures. Along withconventional economic accounts, they provide amore complete picture of economic activity and its

environmental consequences and allow scrutiny ofhow outputs are related to inputs, showing wheremore efficient use of primary materials can reducepollution.

2. Focusing on Economic Sectors

This study is materials oriented. It groups physicalflows into six broad categories of materials. Butdecision-making processes at the sectoral levelgenerally can not be based on national aggregatemeasures, such as the TMR, or on broad materialscategories, because they are not specific enough forany sector considered. An obvious next step wouldbe to further disaggregate and regroup the materialflows by economic sectors, for at least the mostimportant sectors. For example, it would be usefulto generate separate numbers for the materials flowsassociated with the production and consumptionsectors. This approach lends itself to developingsector-specific policies.

3. Taking Account of National DifferencesThe globalization of economic activity results in amore intense exchange of economic goods andservices. Since the products generated, the industrialtechnologies applied, and operational practices differfrom one nation to another, as do environmentalconditions, accurate calculations of the hidden flowsassociated with economic activity must also takeaccount of such differences. This will require furtherinternational collaboration. A related question is


19

whether and how hidden flows should be attachedto imports of manufactured products and other finalgoods.

4. Qualitative Aspects of Materials FlowsThe present study gives some examples ofcategorizing materials flows by their potential toharm the environment. Further work in thisdirection would seem warranted, including aninvestigation of weighting schemes that allow amore quantitative assessment of environmentalimpacts arising from different materials flows.

5, International CoordinationThis study is limited to the materials flows of fourindustrialized countries. Applying the methodology

to a larger number of countries would expand thephysical database, improve the methodology, and laythe basis for progress toward more sustainableeconomies. Adoption and application by such bodiesas the OECD and by additional nationalgovernments would further this process. The WorldTrade Organization and U.N. agencies such as theU.N. Commission on Trade and Development couldhelp coordinate and harmonize the methodology.Development banks could apply this methodologyon behalf of their client countries, either directly or,where data are lacking, by deriving coefficients fromcomparison of physical and economic flows in thisstudy to estimate the physical flows and potentialenvironmental consequences of development plans.


20

NOTES

1. K.E.Boulding, "The Economics of the Coming SpaceshipEarth," in H.Jarret, ed., Environmental Quality in a GrowingEconomy (Johns Hopkins University Press,Baltimore, 1966);H.E. Daly, "The Steady-state Economy: Toward a PoliticalEconomy of Biophysical Equilibrium and Moral Growth,"in H.E. Daly and K.N. Townsend, eds., Valuing the Earth(MIT Press, Cambridge, U.S., 1992).

2. D.G. Rogich et al., "Materials Use, Economic Growth, andthe Environment,"paper presented at the InternationalRecycling Congress and REC '93 Trade Fair (U.S. Bureauof Mines, Washington, D C , 1993); U.S. Bureau of Mines,Mineral Facts and Problems (U.S. Government PrintingOffice, Washington,D.C., various years).

3. A.V Kneese et al, Economics and the Environment: A MaterialsBalance Approach (Resources for the Future, Washington,D C , 1975).

4. H.E. Goeller and A.M. Wemberg, "The Age ofSubstitutability: What Do We Do When the Mercury RunsOut?", Science, Vol. 191 (1976), pp. 683-389.

5. R. Herman, S. Ardekani, and J. Ausubel,"Dematerialization," in J. Ausubel and H. Sladovich, eds.,Technology and Environment (National Academy Press,Washington D C , 1989), pp. 50-69.

6. I. Wernick and J. Ausubel, "National Materials Flows andthe Environment," Annual Reviews oj'Energy andEnvironmental. 20 (1995),pp. 463-492;I. Wernick el.al.,"Materialization and Dematerialization: Measures andTrends," Daedalus (Vol. 125, No. 3),pp. 171-198; I. Wernick,"Consuming Materials: The American Way," TechnologicalForecasting and Social Change, vol. 53(1996), pp. 111-122.

7. M.Janicke et al., "Green Industrial Policy and the Futureof'Dirty Industries'," paper presented at the conferenceFrom Greening to Sustaining: Transformational Challengesfor the Firm, Copenhagen, 13-15 November, 1994.

8. E Schmidt-Bleek, Wieveil Umwelt Braucht der Mensch?(Brikhauser verlag, Basel, 1994); S. Bringezu, "How tomeasure the total material consumption of regional ornational economies?" Fres. Environmental Bulletin,.Vol.2(1993), pp. 437-442; H. Schiitz, S. Brmgezu, "Major

material flows of Germany," Fres. Environmental Bulletinyol.2 (1993), pp. 443-448; S. Brmgezu et al., "IntegratingSustainability into the System of National Accounts: TheCase of Interregional Materials Flows," in Proceedings ofthe International afcet Symposium: Models of SustainableDevelopment (Paris, March, 1994),pp. 669-680; S.Bringezu, Ed., New Approaches to Environmental Statistics(Birkhauser Verlag,Basel, 1995),in German..

9. M. Fischer-Kowalski et al., Economic-ecological InformationSystem: A Proposal (Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin furSozialforschung, Berlin, 1993).

10. See for example R. Frosch and N.E. Gallopoulos,"Strategies for Manufacturing," ScientificAmerican,Vol.260(1989), pp. 144-152; G. Huppes, "Policy Instruments forChain Management: LCA-based Management Informationor SFA-based Taxes?", in Integral Chain Management ofEnergy and Materials: ECN Workshop papers(Energieonderzoek Centrum Nederland, Petten,Netherlands, 1994); R. Frosch, "Towards the End of Waste:Reflections on a New Ecology of Industry," Daedalusyol.125,No. 3 (Summer, 1996);R.U. Ayres and L.W. Ayres,Industrial Ecology: Toward Closing the Materials Cycle (EdwardElgar, Cheltenham, U.K., 1996).

11. A. Adriaanse, Policy Performance Indicators (SDU Publishers,The Hague, 1993); A. Hammond et al., EnvironmentalIndicators (World Resources Institute, Washington,DC,1995).

12. Because practices differ among different countries,especially in metals refining, so does the dividing linebetween what is a commodity and what is not. In Europe,for example, many ore concentrates enter commerce; in theUnited States, many unified refining operations processores completely, shipping pure metal as the commodity. .

13. In some of the literature, the term "ecological rucksacks,"after the German word for backpacks, is used to describehidden flows.

14. Just such weighting procedures are often used in applyingthe technique of Life Cycle Analysis to particular materialsor industrial processes.


21

15. Organization for Economic Co-operation andDevelopment (OECD) "Meeting of OECD EnvironmentPolicy Committee at Ministerial Level" (OECD, Paris,1996).

16. Factor 10 Club, Camoules Declaration (Wuppertal Institute,Wuppertal Germany, 1995) p.ll ; Organization forEconomic Co-operation and Development (OECD),Meeting of the OECD Environmental Policy Committeeat Ministerial Level, February, 1996.

17. Robert Repetto et al., Has Environmental Protection Really

Reduced Productivity Growth? We Need Unbiased Measures.

(World Resources Institute, Washington, D C , 1996).

18. Federal Statistical Oflice of Germany, Integrated

Environmental and Economic Accounting: Material and Energy

Flow Accounts, Series 19, Row 5 (Wiesbaden, Germany,1995), in German; see also, W Radermacher, C. Stahmer,"German Material and Energy Flow Information System,"in P. Bartelmus and K. Uno, Eds., Environmental Accounting in

Theory and Practice (Kluwer Academic Publishers,Dordrecht, Germany, 1997).


22

DATA SUMMARY

Based on this study, the material requirementsof industrialized economies were seen tovary significantly in their six main

underlying categories, although very similar in theaggregate. The data presented in this section,particularly in the Summary Table, provide aharmonized view of material requirements for thefour countries in this study. This table was developedas an overview of the detailed time-series data inthe attached Appendix. Data are presented on the

relative importance and nature of exports from eachof the four countries and illustrate the hidden flowsattached to exports in one country, the UnitedStates. Additional data are provided in this sectionfor Germany and the Netherlands to show howcomprehensive physical accounts of an economy(combining material requirements and outputs,including exports and flows into the environment)can be constructed to more completely map thematerial flows through an economy.

TABLE 1 SUMMARY TABLE OVERVIEW

Total domestic commodities

Total foreign commodities

Grand totai commodities

Grand total commodity per capita

Domestic hidden flows

Foreign hidden flows

Total hidden flows

Tot. hidden flows./tot. comm

TMR (commodities + hidden flows)

TMR/capita

U.S.A.

4 ,581

5 6 8

5,149

2 0

1 5 , 4 9 4

5 94

16,088

3

21,237

84

Japan

1,424

7 1 0

2 , 1 3 3

17

1,143

2 ,439

3 ,583

2

5,716

4 6

Germany

1,367

4 0 6

1,773

22

2 ,961

2 ,030

4,991

3

6 ,764

8 6

Netherlands

2 7 1

3 03

5 7 4

3 8

69

6 3 2

7 0 1

1

1,275

84


23

TABLE 2 SUMMARY TABLE

DOMESTIC

Material CategoryFossil fuels totalCommodity/capita (domestic and foreign)Total hidden flows/commodity (domestic)Metals totalCommodity/capita (domestic and foreign)Total hidden flows/commodity (domestic)Industrial minerals totalCommodity/capita (domestic and foreign)Total hidden flows/commodity (domestic)Construction material totalCommodity/capita (domestic and foreign)Total hidden flows/commodity (domestic)Infrastructure totalTotal/capitaSoil erosion totalRenewable totalCommodity/capita (domestic and foreign)Total hidden flows/commodity (domestic)Semi-manufacturesTotal hidden flows/commodity (domestic)Finished goodsSemi-manufactures + finished goods/capitaTotal commodities (domestic)Commodity per capitaTotal hidden flows (domestic)Total hidden flows/commodity (domestic)

Commodity Domestic Hidden FlowsNether- Nether-

U.S.A. Japan Germany lands U.S.A. Japan Germany lands

4,581

18

1,684

8

3

185

1

9

105

0

3

1 ,730

7

0

878

4

0

13

3

0

1

1

12

194

2

0

1,10 3

9

0

113

2

0

365

6

6

0

1

1

53

1

1

749

10

0

199

3

0

68

15

0

0

1

N A

7

0

0

5 9

7

(I

I 37

12

0

5,846

1,75(1

312

159

3,473

14

3.7 1(1

244

3

6

21

0

.10 5

9

8

NA

2.33 3

(1

35

1 64

3 0(1

4

129

NA

1

0

1

1 5

5 1

3

i

NA

1,424

11

1 ,367

1 7

2 7 1

18

1 5 , 4 9 4 1 , 1 4 3 2 . *J 6 1 6 9

Total Material RequirementsThe Summary Table, which combines data fromdetailed country specific data sets into a commonformat and for a single year, 1991, illustrates thesimilarities and differences found in the fourindustrialized countries. Data are presented by flowtype (direct or hidden flows), source (domestic orforeign), and material category (fossil fuels, metals,

industrial minerals, construction material,infrastructure, erosion, renewables, and the importsof semi-manufactures and finished goods) for eachof the four countries. The Summary Table Overviewalso contains the summary statistics for each country.

Soine conclusions are straightforward. In all fourcountries, construction materials constitute a major


24

TABLE 2 SUMMARY TABLE (continued)

FOREIGN

Material CategoryFossil fuels total

Commodity/capita (domestic and foreign)

Total hidden flows/commodity (domestic)

Metals total



Industrial minerals total



Construction material total



Infrastructure total

Total/capita

Soil erosion total

Renewable total

Commodity/capita (domes-tic and foreign)


Semi-manufactures


Finished goods

Semi-manufactures + finished goods capita

Total commodities (domestic)

Commodity per capita

Total hidden flows (domestic)


CommodityNether-

U.S.A. Japan Germany lands

Foreign Hidden FlowsNether-

U.S.A. Japan Germany lands

412 408 139 157 j 73 1,049 181 155

30 142 4")

17 12

9 26 4;

9 76 23 46

48

7

52

0 .

568

5410

10

1

710

6

124

7

45~>

406

5

1 1

13

34

3

3 03

20

42 662 228 6 1

13

347

594

7 619 (I

(I 10 I (

120 190 179 263

531 814

2.439 2,030

149

632

portion of direct domestic flows of materials into theeconomy. But sand, gravel, and stone also haverelatively small attached hidden flows and are usuallyproduced locally with relatively small foreign sources.

The data for fossil fuels are slightly more complex.Fossil fuels make up a large component of totalrequirements in all four countries, but each country

has a different mix of the relative importance ofdomestic and foreign sources and there is greatvariability in the relative size of hidden flows,depending largely on the amount of coal mined orimported and the mining method used to extractthat coal. For example, the hidden flow (primarilycoal overburden) from fossil fuel production in theUnited States is the single largest category of flow


25

TABLE 3 EXPORTS FROM FOUR INDUSTRIAL COUNTRIES

Commodity Exports

Material Flow CategoryFossil fuels totalCommodity /capita

Metals totalCommodity /capita

Industrial minerals totalCommodity/capita

Construction material totalCommodity/capita

Renewable totalCommodity/capita

Semi-manufacturesFinished goodsSemi-manufactures + finished goodsSemi-manufactures + finished goods/capita

Total commoditiesCommodity per capita

U.S.A.

15 1.960.6 0

10 .870.04

6.9 30 .03

5 .4 00 . 0 2

13 0.440 . 5 2

9 4 .953 0.9 6

12 5.900.5 0

43 1 .501 .71

Japan

7 . 1 5

0 . 0 6

0 . 0 0

0 . 0 0

0 .0 0

0. 0 0

0 .0 0

0 . 0 0

1 . 4 0

0 . 0 1

3 5 . 9 8

3 1 . 2 7

6 7 . 2 5

0 . 5 4

7 5 . 7 9

0 . 6 1

Germany

5 .5 7

0 . 0 7

0 . 3 5

0 . 0 0

5 . 3 6

0 . 0 7

2 5 . 5 0

0 . 3 2

1 4 . 4 5

0 . 1 8

4 7 . 6 4

1 1 2 . 3 9

16 0 . 0 3

2 . 0 0

2 1 1 . 2 5

2 . 6 4

Netherlands

1 2 9 . 7 48.65

3.270.22

•

0. 0 0

2 1 . 5 61 .44

3 0 .052 .00

4 1 . 2 011 .1452 .34

3.49

2 3 6 . 9 515 .80

Notes: Totals are in millions of metric tonnes. Per capita estimates are in metric tonnes.* Industrial minerals exported by the Netherlands are included in construction materials.

for the four countries. The same flow for Germanydominates its accounts.

Every country is different.The United Statesproduces most of its metals while Japan, Germany,and the Netherlands import theirs. Excavation forinfrastructure is very small in Germany and theNetherlands, and is large in Japan and the UnitedStates, which is partly due to the relative maturity ofinfrastructure in the two European countries. But itmight also be because of differences in building

methods and in the lifetimes of features of the builtenvironment. Erosion varies widely among thecountries, reflecting differences in soils, topography,and agricultural systems, but only the United Statesactually surveys erosion on a regular basis. Otherthan for erosion, there are no estimates of hiddenflows for renewable resources.

The summary statistics are surprisingly similar. TheUnited States, Japan, and Germany had almostidentical direct input flows, DMI, per capita. Those


26

TABLE 4 EXPORTS AND HIDDEN FLOWS:A UNITED STATES EXAMPLE

Material Flow Category

Fossil fuels totalCommodity /capita

Metals total

Commodity/capita

Industrial minerals totalCommodity/capita

Construction material totalCommodity /capita

Renewable totalCommodity /capita

Semi-manufacturesFinished goodsSemi-manufactures + finished goodsSemi-manufactures + finished goods/capita

Total commoditiesCommodity per capita

DirectCommodi ty

Exports

15 1 .96

0 . 6 0

1 0 . 8 7

0 . 0 4

6 . 9 3

0 . 0 3

5 . 4 0

0 . 0 2

13 0 . 4 4

0 . 5 2

9 4 . 9 5

3 0 . 9 6

1 2 5 . 9 0

0 . 5 0

4 3 1 . 5 0

1 . 71

AssociatedHidden Flows

6 2 4 . 8 1

2 . 4 7

3 5 . 0 5

0 . 1 4

2 7 . 7 2

(t.11

0 . 1 1

0 . 0 0

8 6 8 . 4 8

3 . 4 4

6 9 2 . 8 5

6 9 2 . 8 5

2 . 7 4

2 , 2 4 9 . 0 2

8 . 9 0

Total EffectiveExports

7 7 6 . 7 6

3 . 0 7

4 5 . 9 2

0 . 1 8

3 4 . 6 6

0 . 1 4

5 . 5 1

0 . 0 2

9 9 8 . 9 2

3 . 9 5

7 8 7 . 8 0

3 0 . 9 6

8 1 8 . 7 6

3 . 2 4

2 , 6 8 0 . 5 2

1 0 . 6 1

N o t e : Hidden flows for semi-manufactures are estimated from the aggregate hidden flows of imports.

same flows in the Netherlands were surprisinglyhigh, due to the relatively large flows from foreignsources of materials in all categories. Except forJapan, TMR per capita was also similar. Despite thedifferences in detail, the United States, Germany,and the Netherlands had almost identical figures, allof them much larger than the levels of naturalresource use in Japan. Japan's relatively low figure isdue to much lower levels of energy consumption, aswell as generally smaller rates of resource use andlow rates of soil erosion.

Exports and Hidden Flows

Among the physical outputs of an economy are rawmaterials, semi-manufactures, and finished goodsexported to other countries. Data on the quantityand nature of these exports help explain thestructure of a country's material requirements andthe ultimate disposition of some outputs. The ExportTable does not just detail exports, it also showsdifferences between the four countries' economies,and the ultimate fate of the material they mobilizefor that economy.


27

FIGURE 8 MATERIAL FLOW ACCOUNT OF GERMANY

FRG 1991 - Million tons in Germany

I MaterialAbroad Input Economy

MaterialOutput

Imports

AbioticMaterials

Erosion

433

2183

304

1 billion tons

Abioticraw materials

Erosion

Air (O2,N2)

4027

used:- minerals 8

- ores 0,4- energy carriers 366

unused:- non saleable

extraction 2532- excavation 300

1095

bioticraw materials(fresh weight) 199

Source: S. Bringczu and H. Schiitz, Wuppcrtal Institute,January 1997.

Additional stock

818

Kecycling

Exports 211

Waste disposal(excl. incineration) 2891

- controlled wastedisposal 222

- landfill and minedumping 2669

Erosion 129

Emissionsinto air 11

-CO, 1063- NOx,SO2,CO 20- Andere 33

Emissionsof waterfrom materials 647

dissipative useof products

*** emissionsinto water

37

34


28

FIGURE 9 TOTALMATERIALACCOUNT OFGERMANY

6000

Domestic

The Netherlands, for example, is a relatively largeexporter of fossil fuels, natural gas and refinedpetroleum products. Those exports are about 10percent of its TMR. Japan and Germany export trivialamounts of such fuels. The export of renewableresources is also large for the Netherlands, and is largein absolute terms for the United States, which reflectsthese countries' large agricultural sectors.

Germany, on the other hand, exports large amountsof semi-manufactures and finished goods, showingthe importance of its manufacturing sector intransforming material and the importance ofexports to that sector. The Netherlands, however,stands out on a per capita basis as the largestexporter of semi-manufactures and finished goodsamong the four countries. The total material exportsof the Netherlands make up almost 19 percent of itstotal material requirements and dwarfs those of theother countries on a per capita basis, fully six timeslarger than Germany, for example.

Understanding the magnitude and importance ofexports requires comprehending the hidden flows

that support them. In the table Exports and HiddenFlows, hidden flows associated with each category ofexport have been calculated for the United States.These flows can be large (especially in the case offossil fuels and renewables) and are 5.2 times themass of the actual exports of the United States.Exports and their associated flows account for 12.6percent of the TMR of the United States.

Comprehensive Material Accounts

In a complete accounting system, measurements ofTMR would be complemented by measures of totalmaterial outputs, and one of those componentswould be exports. This study did not attempt toprovide this complete accounting, but work on thistopic has begun. Figures 8 and 9 show highlyaggregate data for Germany and the Netherlandsthat provide a preliminary form of such anaccounting. These figures illustrate that requirementsare balanced by outputs, including additions to stock.Tracing flows associated with imports andindigenous resource extraction through theeconomy to outputs as exports and wastes expandsthe understanding of a country's economy beyondwhat is obtainable from economic accounts.

The Wuppertal Institute prepared Figure 8, theMaterial Flow Account of Germany. The Figureprovides information on the location of the flow,flows that cross international boundaries, and flowsinto the environment. Not all the material used bythe German economy ends up as output. Much ofthis material, 818 million tons, is added to the stockof materials use by people (such as buildings,infrastructure, and durable goods). The economycreates many products that are exported for useelsewhere. The hidden flows associated with exportsare shown in Figure 9. The economy also generateslarge amounts of waste in the form of landfills andmining wastes. Emissions into air and water make upa large proportion of all output.


29

FIGURE 10 MATERIAL FLOW ACCOUNT OF THE NETHERLANDS

Within The Netherlands

Abroad ! Material Input EconomyMaterialOutput

Imports 20.2

Hidden flows 42.1- energy carriers 24.5%- metals ores 9.6%- ind. min/mat's 2.5%- renewables 39.8%- manf. prod 23.8%

Abiotic rawmaterials 12.3

Biotic raw mat'ls 1.1

Air9.S

additional stock/stat diff. 5.7

erosion 0.1

Recycling 2.3

dden flows avoidedby recycling 2.7

* erosion 0.1* * dissipative use 0.7

Exports 15.8

waste disposal 1.7

Emissions Into Air 19.4 '

Hidden flows Export 29.1- energy carriers 15.8%- metals ores 4.5%- ind. min/mat's 1.7%- renewables 49.5%- semi-manf. prod 29.5%/


30

Figure 10, the Material Flow Account of the output the hidden flows associated with exports.Netherlands, parallels that of Germany but is Recycling is included (and is relatively largepresented on a per capita basis. Unlike the German compared to that of Germany) and the hidden flowsexample, the Netherlands example includes as avoided by recycling material are accounted for.

RESOURCE PLOWS: THE MATERIAL BASIS OF INDUSTRIAL ECONOMIES

31

APPENDIX

*o international institution or standardmethodology exists for tracking materialflows that support an economy. There is

also no international consensus on what dataconstitutes the minimum to describe those flows.While researchers have developed methods to lookat these flows in a specific country (e.g., Germanyin the case of the Wuppertal Institute), the challengefor this report has been to develop, apply, and testsuch a method in a cooperative internationalcontext. In this study, the authors created a set ofguidelines, based on the initial work of theWuppertal Institute, for use in each of the studycountries. These guidelines were then used todevelop each national data set based on national andinternational sources, academic studies, interpolationand extrapolation from known data, and estimationtechniques. The authors harmonized their efforts byagreeing to common definitions, boundaries, andconventions.

The participants agreed to be as comprehensive aspossible in their accounting of flows that supportnational economies, excluding only air, water, andagricultural tillage. Since the intent of the study inthe first place was to obtain an approximation of theoverall magnitude of the material flows in eachcountry, it was agreed that minor flows could be

excluded even if they might have significantenvironmental implications (e.g. flows of certainheavy metals). The accounting ranges from 1975 to1994. The year 1975 was chosen as the earliest datefrom which a reliable time-series could beconstructed for all four countries. As part ofindicator construction, 1991 was chosen as a basecomparable year, the first year for which reliable dataafter the reunification of Germany were available.

In principle, annual flows are only counted whenthey cross an imaginary boundary between theecosphere and the anthroposphere, essentially whenthey are mobilized to support the industrialeconomy, or to create the infrastructure thatsupports it. Since this study focused only on therequirements of industrial economies, once materialsenter the economy they are no longer counted, evenif they are shifted about several times. Whencalculating the flows, a distinction is maintainedbetween the direct input (e.g., the commodity whenit first enters commerce), and the total material flow,which includes hidden flows (material that does notenter commerce) that had to be mobilized to obtainthe direct input. Whether the flows occur in orexternal to a country is also differentiated. Importsof metals and minerals are problematical since theymay be imported as ore, several different grades ofconcentrated ores, or in a relatively pure form (inthis situation it would be counted as a


33

Isemi-manufacture). In all cases the total hiddenflows are harmonized among the four countries.

In each of the four countries, material flowsassociated with infrastructure were estimated by avariety of means. In some cases, annual time seriesdata were available (e.g., dredging in the UnitedStates). In others, such as roadway and generalconstruction, countries calculated material flowsbased on economic data and cost-estimationmethodologies, while others made direct estimatesof the material excavated. Where deemedappropriate, adjustments were made to thecalculated values for consistency.

Flows from renewable resources were estimatedsimilarly to those from non-renewable sources. Soilerosion, the primary hidden flow from agriculturaland forestry activities, is categorized separately.Agricultural and forestry production is counted asthe net weight of all major crops and the associatednon-saleable above ground biomass. A tree, forexample, is counted as the mass of roundwood, andthe hidden flows are the associated limbs, leaves,stumpage, and erosion (if not counted separately).Livestock, fish, and other animal biomass arecounted only when fed from non-agricultural feeds(since in theory human supplied food is counted asan agricultural flow). Fish harvested from wild stockare counted—fish raised in aquaculture are not.

Livestock produced primarily from grazing arecounted, those raised on grain are not.

Domestic semi-manufactures and final productswere not included in this accounting since the flowsof raw materials to produce them are alreadycounted. Imported semi-manufactures, such asPortland cement, are counted along with the hiddenflows of foreign origin associated with them.Participating institutions agreed to a harmonized setof factors for estimating hidden flows associatedwith the importation of semi-manufactured goods.Imported finished goods are counted only as thedirect tonnage involved, primarily due to lack ofdata on actual materials embodied in each product.

Recycled materials (e.g. scrap inetal and paper) arenot counted in these estimates except whenimported. Exports of any kind were not deducted incalculating the material requirements presented inthis report, although export data are presentedseparately.

To permit comparisons of material flows in relationto economic activity, each country's economic dataare harmonized to constant 1985 denominatedmonetary units for each country.

To show what data and methodologies were used bythe participating countries, a separate annex, preparedby each country, is included in this Appendix.

•M\_\! V-TIR h r<\>r 4

The physical basis of the German economyoriginates from both domestic and foreign materialflows. Although commodity imports account foronly 30% of domestic production of raw materials,the hidden flows associated with imports is onlyabout one third smaller than the total domestic

hidden flows. German imports carry on the averagea significantly higher hidden flow than domestic rawmaterials. Domestic extraction from theenvironment provides mainly construction materials,industrial minerals, and fossil fuels, as well asrenewable materials. Ores are usually imported as is


34

a significant proportion of total fossil fuels. Since1975, imports of semi-manufactures and finalproducts play an increasing role Germany's totalmaterial requirement. Thus, environmental pressurefrom material flows associated with the Germaneconomy has most probably been shifted to foreigncountries in recent years.

The overburden removed by the surface mining oflignite dominates the domestic hidden flows of rawmaterial production. Together with the non-saleableportion extracted from underground hard-coalmining, it accounts for about 78% of the totaldomestic hidden flows. About 52% of the totalhidden flows associated with imports is associatedwith raw material imports and about 48% associatedwith imported semi-manufactures. A large portionof the hidden flows of imported raw materials islinked to ores, coal, and industrial minerals,especially diamonds and other precious stones. Thehidden flows of imported semi-manufactures ismainly associated with metals.

Fossil fuel materials and their hidden flowsdominate the total material requirement of theGerman economy, contributing about 45% to totalTMR. Construction materials, iron, copper, andindustrial minerals and importedsemi-manufactured metals and their hidden flowsrepresent about 47% of the TMR of the Germaneconomy.

Excavation for infrastructure accounts for about 300million metric tons or roughly 10% of the totaldomestic hidden flows. This number refers to thereunited Germany in 1991. More recent trends inconstruction activities indicate that excavation forinfrastructure may have increased significantly since1991.

Erosion within Germany accounts for about 130million metric tons or roughly 4% of the total

domestic hidden flows. However, in recent years, thetrend is increasing, mainly due to an increasingcultivation of crops with high erosion risks,especially maize for animal feed. On the one hand,the average rate of domestic erosion exceeds the soilregeneration rate by a factor of ten. On the otherhand, erosion associated with imported renewablematerials is higher than domestic erosion if relatedto the absolute quantities of the commodity masses.This is mainly due to imports from regions withsevere erosion problems, such as parts of Africa,Southeast Asia, and Latin America.

Please note that data concerning domestic andimported hidden flows are based upon anorigin-oriented definition, i.e. they refer to thecountry where the materials are extracted from theenvironment. Metal imports are accounted for as theabsolute mass of the ore or the concentrate.

Data Sources and Methodology

General references:

FSOG: Federal Statistical Office Germany, severalofficial publications, especially Production Statistics,Foreign Trade Statistics, Water Statistics, WasteStatistics, Statistics of Economic and EnvironmentalAccounting.

FMEM: Federal Ministry for Economy and MiningAuthorities for the Federal States: mining industryand statistics, annual publication.

FMNAF: Federal Ministry for Nutrition,Agriculture and Forestry, Annual Statistical Yearbook.

FIGR: Federal Institution for Geosciences and RawMaterials, annual reports.

GGSI: Association of the German Gravel and SandIndustry, annual reports


35

Material Requirements 1975-1994Federal Republic of Germany (Domestic Requirements 1991 to 1994 for re-united Germany, Imports 1991-94 for Western Germany only)

1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 _ 1982_Unit:1000 metric tonsDOMESTIC

Non-renewablesI, Energy CarriersLigniteHard CoalCrude OilCrude Oil GasNatural Gas

II. Metai OresIronLead and ZincPyrite and PyrrhotiteBauxiteUraniumIII. Ind. MineralsPhosphatePotashSaltClayLimestone (industrial)OtherTotalIV. Construction MineralsSand and GravelCrushed Stone (ind. limestone)Clay for bricksV. ExcavationNon-saleable production (ind. overburden gangue)Excavation for infrastructure

RenewablesI. Plant biomassAgricultural HarvestLoggingPlant Biomass from "wild harvest"

II. Animal biomassFishingHunting

Soil Erosion

IMPORTS

Non-renewablesI. Energy CarriersLigniteHard CoalCrude OilNatural Gas

II. Metal OresIronIron-Manganes-meltings and slagsManganeseCopperLeadZincChromiumNickelPyrrhotiteOther Ores and MetalashesBauxite KryolitheIII. Ind. MineralsPhosphate rawPotashOther saltPrecious stones etc.IV. Construction MineralsStones, Clays, and Other Construction Materials

123,37792,393

5.741301

13,406

3,288308492

10

814,5189,3145,2862,816

16,19238,207

389,518173.18721,929

786,615143,802

131,86419,2647,333

43446

70,454

1,6476,248

88,41419,598

44,8281,813

2281,409

209551561

7498669

4,215

2,2700

6422

25,839

134,53589,2695,524

32914,118

2,256302523

00

864,310

11,3145,8632,411

14,20638,190

374.214182,56124,867

851,723147.634

122,64021,1097,398

41548

71,282

1.5655.970

97,66922,575

47.1571,739

2291,505

190601547

14175919

4,092

2,3620

7772

23,058

122.94884.5135,401

28413,886

2,573301531

03

805,953

12.3196.1252,384

13,46040,320

363,508193,09918,908

861,132153,307

137,23821,8337,464

39550

73,101

1,6156,353

96,29025,553

40,0491,529

1531,402

195563416

16154952

4,093

2,6840

7961

21,970

123,58783,5415,059

26115,516

1,601260502

010

06,253

12,6556,0472,615

13,57041,140

378.399188.29021.243

838.634158.935

138,69320,7127,529

35948

74,183

1.4746,565

94,37529,847

42,5141,833

2921,050

170499372

17117896

3,615

2,4350

7002

23,274

130,60885,7994,774

21815,616

1,657266460

00

06,728

15,0866,4792,381

12,43943,113

398,036192,86524,043

978,039170,044

131,06020,1237,594

32346

74,306

1,6067,773

107,35536,117

52,1602,075

2601,107

191503547

1699

1,0743,697

2,5790

9152

23,717

129,86286,5744,631

22613,543

1,948271502

011

06,7777,6316,7062,346

20,75344,212

377,408205,21023,228

1,105,025167,526

125,88622,4437,660

28744

75,255

2,1429,124

96,87636,454

50,1741,791

1491,095

182619329

14133

1,0534,179

2,5600

5992

24,857

130,64987,8644,459

7714,616

1,575253483

00

06,487

13,2976,2572,004

13,35241,397

328,017187,97521,208

1,089,106153,307

138,29821,7267,583

28244

76,374

2,72810,32179,24735,831

44,6121,626

283997215506268

1258

1,2043,913

2,2080

6711

22,522

127,35288,4424,256

20111,714

1,314242508

06

05,241

11,7486,3001,419

17,59642,305

294,758132,85717,159

1,118,201149,955

144.24721,3557,664

27643

77,781

2,68110,63572,54234,627

39,1711,558

133970192557244

1472

9653,535

1,8300

6501

20,233

124,36581,6534,116

17713,414

980256554

00

06,101

10,8676,5101,466

18,48943,433

289,638184,85418,119

1,128,369149,780

119.31919,2357,887

28544

78,446

2.6529,122

65,21334,188

35,8011,377

131533218542247

1280

8943,158

1,9800

6221

20,569

126,70378,8584,055

18113,000

1,060253514

07

06,500

12,2116,6931,454

19,33046,188

280,091163,64916,948

1,087,553149,660

138,20821,5077,995

29345

79,940

2,6158,847

66,93434,497

42,9241,496

180591207594338

12149

1,0054,057

1,9061

6402

21,672

RESOURCE FLOWS: THE MATERIAL BASIS OF INDUSTRIAL HCONOMIES

36

(Domestic Requirements 1991 to 1994 for re-united Germany, Imports 1991-94 for Western Germany only)1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992

Material Requirements 1975-1994Federal Republic of Germany

120,71881,8434,105

15411,779

1,034263512

00

06,365

13,0806,1251,805

18,65446,030

254,892174,634

13,202

1,123,916137,429

141,67423,040

7,965

19146

81,532

2,4719,862

64,19335,509

45,3201,159

65597237593385

13187

1,1174,036

1,9110

6881

19,203

114,36080,2624,017

14310,472

717231471

00

05,435

13,1026,2601,924

20,01946,740

271.913177,076

13,014

996,129145,950

141,65521.533

7,856

16147

81,892

2,4939,999

66,56931,757

42,0451,067

61636194621275

11203979

3,660

1,5280

6531

20,325

108,85275,8183,793

20912,331

147226412

04

05,656

13,4666,5321,882

18,60946,144

265,280177,829

13,360

985,881145,538

135.09121,161

7,679

16048

82,118

2,1878,170

63,84035,136

39,910972

52480226664259

13151986

2,881

1,4290

7101

18,426

108,62272,8723,937

20711,486

69162313

16

05,638

12,4477,3331,838

21,25148,508

282,917176,765

13,632

1,070.919151,859

142,14721.777

7,599

14250

81,940

1,9057,172

72,03734,653

45,1701,256

514567235605273

15159921

2,577

1,1570

7241

20,109

109,87670,9993,770

18911,396

106124342

07

05,584

11,7938,5922,101

23,25051,320

309,534218,130

14,161

1,083.771161,754

152,36423,424

7,594

16651

82,192

2,0136,409

66,32738,137

47,1711,236

546630222596344

1265

9572,880

1,2060

6291

20,300

107,58969,7633,606

14011,280

83113302

01

05,633

11,5808,8551,940

24,08652,094

312,678208,191

16,321

1,091,130170,000

137,68049,895

7,708

15456

82,098

2,08010,85772,40039,260

43,7301.304

369505206593246

1184

9933,077

9020

6601

21,632

279,40366,4813,487

21015,434

120105219

05

53,043

362,000364,876

22,579

2,531,631300,233

175,11523,313

30175

128,704

2,76414,07177,97943,964

42,1901,247

252543176625111

11121846

2,544

6710

9291

25,534

241,80565,9063,247

18911,972

120105219

05

53,043

398,000409,731

24,973

2,149,482293,300

175,11523,313

30175

128,704

3,01714,13490,88742,930

40,5581,178

285600200640231

17104983

2,617

5191

1,1391

29,823

221,80260,2883,051

11713,238

120105219

05

53,043

401,908411,792

27,121

1,971,669295,895

175,11523,313

30175

128,704

2,57512,44894,15442,049

34,8211,177

101514192695204

17105634

2,243

4120

1,0392

24,402

207,07754,3442,936

11113,714

120105219

05

53,043

459,546477,173

34,144

1,840,774342,616

175,11523,313

30175

128,704

2,41714,529

102,19441,426

42,0091,131

1166098

612172

10175790

2,268

2810

1,1321

26,214

UniCIOOO metric tonsDOMESTIC

Non-renewablesI. Energy Carriers

LigniteHard CoalCrude Oil

Crude Oil GasNatural Gas

II. Metal OresIron

Lead and ZincPyrite and Pyrrhotite

BauxiteUranium

III. Ind. MineralsPhosphate

PotashSalt

ClayLimestone (industrial)

OtherTotal

IV. Construction MineralsSand and Gravel

Crushed Stone (incl. limestone)Clay for bricksV. Excavation

Non-saleable production (incl. overburden gangue)Excavation for infrastructure

RenewablesI. Plant biomass

Agricultural HarvestLogging

Plant Biomass from "wild harvest"II. Animal biomass

FishingHunting

Soil Erosion

IMPORTS

Non-renewablesI. Energy Carriers

LigniteHard CoalCrude Oil

Natural GasII. Metal Ores

IronIron-Manganes-meltings and slags

ManganeseCopper

LeadZinc

ChromiumNickel

PyrrhotiteOther Ores and Metalashes

Bauxite KryolitheIII. Ind. MineralsPhosphate raw

PotashOther salt

Precious stones etc.IV. Construction Minerals

Stones, Clays, and Other Construction Materials


37

Material Requirements 1975-1994Federal Republic of Germany (Domestic Requirements 1991 to 1994 for re-united Germany, Imports 1991-94 for Western Germany only)

1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1933Unit:1000 metric tonsRenewablesI. Plant biomassAgricultural HarvestLoggingNatural Rubber and Gums

II. Animal biomassFishing

Semi-manufacturesTotal

Final ProductsTotal

Hidden Flows from Imported Raw MaterialsEnergy CarriersMetal OresIndustrial MineralsConstruction MineralsPlant Biomass from CultivationTotal

18,6111,861

208

312

79,374

15,680

76,221242,681856,267

7,752104.985

1,287,906

20,9982,273

228

337

89,238

20,588

77,396258,573577,118

6,917113,907

1,033,910

19,2422,298

232

339

91,435

19,246

81,734234,102509.298

6,591109,051940,776

19,6232,445

223

344

104,451

18,473

84,464206,502542,470

6,982114,449954,867

18,9092,482

225

364

105,212

16,931

98,814234,383613,813

7,115116,528

1,070,654

19,3022,367

220

403

102.068

17,559

109,199230,386613,117

7,457120,887

1,081,046

18,3442,123

208

371

95,990

16,937

117,218210,278505,902

6,757116,155956,309

18,5611,844

214

377

95,058

18,626

116,914193,242328,350

6,070123,120767,696

17,6321,861

227

403

103,108

23,413

106,101146,698329,300

6,171117,079705,348

17,1811,703

238

406

104,307

24,375

104,663172,076538,845

6,502111,734933,821

Hidden Flows from Imported Semi-ManufacturesTotal

Social & Economic IndicatorsWestern Germany's PopulationRe-united Germany's PopulationGDP (constant prices 1985) (Millions DM)

Domestic TotalImports without Hidden FlowsHidden Flows of Raw Material ImportsHidden Flows of Imported Semi-manufactures

INDICATORS

TotalTotal Material Requirements (TMR)TMR DM per kilogramTMR(kilogram) per DMPer Capita (metric tons)TMR Per CapitaDomestic TMR Per CapitaImports Per Capita without Hidden FlowsHidden Flows of Raw Material Imports Per CapitaHidden Flows of Semi-manufact. Imports Per Capita

323,955 359,414 357,936 365,779 375,437 419,329 348,676 364,523 369,987 404,474

61,829 61,531 61.400 61,327 61,359 61.566 61,682 61,638 61.423 61,175X X X X X X X X X X

1,471,220 1,549,800 1,593,910 1,641,640 1,709,170 1,727,510 1,730,520 1,714,140 1,740,900 1,789,350

2,021,959 2,088,937 2,100,794 2,098,503 2,278,991 2,391,752 2,305.292 2,240,634 2,264,924 2,216,710315,693 344,807 337,576 355.607 385,916 374,250 341,198 325,290 323,984 336,877

1,287,906 1,033,910 940,776 954,867 1,070,654 1,081,046 956,309 767,696 705,348 933,821323,955 359,414 357,936 365,779 375,437 419,329 348,676 364,523 369,987 404,474

3,949,514 3,827,068 3,737,082 3,774,757 4,110,998 4,266,377 3,951,474 3,698,144 3,664,243 3,891,8820.37 0.40 0.43 0.43 0.42 0.40 0.44 0.46 0.48 0.462.68 2.47 2.34 2.30 2.41 2.47 2.28 2.16 2.10 2.18

6433

521

5

6234

6176

6134

5156

6234

6166

6737

6176

6939

6187

6437

6166

6036

5126

6037

5116

6436

6157


38

(Domestic Requirements 1991 to 1994 for re-united Germany, Imports 1991-94 for Western Germany only)_1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993

Material Requirements 1975-1994Federal Republic of Germany

20,5271,694

257

432

108,096

24,539

109,981174,967293,959

5,761129,306713,974

19,8111,610

254

476

109,499

30,452

108,950169,530256.349

6,097131,232672.158

20,2541,519

254

433

109,928

29,648

97,496151,795395,793

5,528138,998789,611

19,3351,586

266

473

105,583

33,354

90,544176,244394,010

6,033131,793798,625

19,4321,734

292

527

108,900

34,117

87,987188,344394,163

6,090134,148810,733

19,7061,406

289

614

112,661

40,850

117,004179,719462,194

6,490140,335905,742

20,7211,166

281

659

123,707

45,021

145,090182.513496,142

7,660143,168974,573

20,9371,245

289

670

127,064

49,596

148,689185,508495,516

8,947148,727987,387

20,001893243

635

121,038

38,259

135,407157,868564,621

7,321149,018

1,014,234

19,4791,051

262

710

124,687

46,165

147,780191,221423,917

7,864144,886915,668

Unit:1000 metric tonsRenewables

1. Plant biomassAgricultural Harvest

LoggingNatural Rubber and Gums

II. Animal biomassFishing

Semi-manufacturesTotal

Final ProductsTotal

Hidden Flows from Imported Raw MaterialsEnergy Carriers

Metal OresIndustrial Minerals

Construction MineralsPlant Biomass from Cultivation

Total

433,618 432,330 391,014 685,095 538,972 627,913 652,272 618,659 552,972 596,399

61,024 61,066 61,077 61,450 62,063 63,254 64,100 64,900 65,500 65,800X X X X X X 80,000 80,600 81,100 81,400

1,823,180 1,863,770 1,890,280 1,960,510 2,027,330 2,130,500 2,647,600 2,705,866 2,675,434 2,750,773

2,224,959 2,114.640 2,082,082 2,195,929 2,301,271 2,320,882 4,327,334 3,979,604 3,787,881 3,813,434343,091 345,179 338,530 350,647 354,682 374,436 406,300 429,665 398,853 428,483713,974 672,158 789,611 798,625 810,733 905,742 974,573 987,387 1,014,234 915,668433,618 432,330 391,014 685,095 538,972 627,913 652,272 618,659 552,972 596,399

3,715,642 3,564,307 3,601,237 4,030,295 4,005,658 4,228,973 6,360,478 6,015,314 5,753,941 5,753,9840.49 0.52 0.52 0.49 0.51 0.50 0.42 0.45 0.46 0.482.04 1.91 1.91 2.06 1.98 1.98 2.40 2.22 2.15 2.09

61366

127

5835

6117

5934

6136

66366

1311

6537

6139

67376

1410

8654

61510

8149

71510

77476

158

76477

149

Hidden Flows from Imported Semi-ManufacturesTotal

Social & Economic IndicatorsWestern Germany's Population

Re-unlted Germany's PopulationGDP (constant prices 1985) (Millions DM)

Domestic TotalImports without Hidden Flows

Hidden Flows of Raw Material ImportsHidden Flows of Imported Semi-manufactures

INDICATORS

TotalTotal Material Requirements (TMR)

TMR DM per kilogramTMR(kilogram) per DM

Per Capita (metric tons)TMR Per Capita

Domestic TMR Per CapitaImports Per Capita without Hidden Flows

Hidden Flows of Raw Material Imports Per CapitaHidden Flows of Semi-manutact. Imports Per Capita


39

ASCI: Association of the German Stones and ClaysIndustry, annual reports

MAMS: Metal Association (Frankfurt/Main,Germany, metal statistics

SCI: Statistics of the Coal Industry, annual statistics

Fossil Fuels

Liquid (Crude Oil): Domestic production ofcommodity mass and non-saleable extraction wereobtained from FMEM, imports from FSOG. Thehidden flows of imported crude oil was obtainedfrom the database of the Wuppertal Institute,Department of Material Flows and StructuralChange.

Gaseous (Natural Gas and Crude Oil Gas):Domestic production of commodity mass wasobtained from FMEM (natural gas and minorquantities of crude oil gas), imports (natural gasonly) from FSOG. The domestic hidden flows fornatural gas were estimated by accounting for thedifference between crude gas and purified gas onthe basis of average contents of individualsubstances, and taking into account the sulfur whichis recovered from H2S in the crude gas. The hiddenflows of imported natural gas were estimated in asimilar way, by using a number of individualpublications on average crude gas compositionsaccording to locations and quantitative,country-specific information on the amounts offlared or re-injected gas (Annual Survey of EnergyResources).

Solid (Coal): Domestic production of commoditymass and non-saleable extraction (overburden) wereobtained from FMEM (hard coal) and SCI (lignite),imports from FSOG and SCI. Overburden ofimported coal was estimated using country-specificdata from several publications (e.g. Manstein, 1995,Wuppertal Papers No. 51, Wuppertal Institute).

Metals

Aluminum (Al): Domestic production ofcommodity mass and non-saleable extraction wereobtained from FMEM (negligible; e.g., 319 metrictons of commodity mass in 1990), correspondingimports from FIGR. Imported bauxite containsabout 24% net metal (Al). Overburden of importedbauxite was estimated using country-specific datafrom several publications (e.g., Rohn et al,. 1995,Wuppertal Papers No. 37, Wuppertal Institute).

Gold: No domestic production, imports only forsemi-manufactures and final products (FIGR). Thehidden flows for imported gold were estimated byapplying the corresponding hidden flow factor forimports from the United States as reported by WRIin this study, and applying an average hidden flowfactor of 350,000 tons per ton (metric ton of hiddenglow per metric ton of commodity) for all otherimports (Wilmouth et al, 1991).

Copper(Cu): No domestic production, imports fromFIGR. Imported copper concentrate contains about27% net metal (Cu). Hidden flow factors forimported copper were estimated on the basis of0.8% copper content in crude ores and 2 tons ofoverburden per ton of crude ore mined (database ofthe Wuppertal Institute).

Iron ore (Fe): (Domestic production of commoditymass and non-saleable extraction were obtainedfrom FMEM (small quantities of iron andmanganese ores, e.g., 83,473 metric tons of totalproduction in 1990, about 25% Fe content),corresponding imports from FIGR. Imported ironores or concentrates contain about 58% net metal(Fe) on the average. Hidden flows for imported ironwere estimated assuming 1.8 metric ton ofoverburden per metric ton of crude ore mined (at58% Fe content) (data base of the WuppertalInstitute).


40

Other: Domestic production of commodity massand non-saleable extraction were obtained fromFMEM (lead and zinc, pyrite and pyrrhotite),corresponding imports (comprising 17 individualcategories) from FIGR. Domestic production issmall, e.g. amounting to 104,726 metric tons of leadand zinc ores and 450,474 metric tons of pyrite andpyrrhotite in 1991. Domestic hidden flow factors in1991 were 2.36 tons per ton and 0.69 tons per tonrespectively. The following hidden flow factors wereattributed to imports (all taken from the data base ofWuppertal Institute): lead 9.9 tons per ton (for 61%metal content in concentrate), zinc 11.5 tons perton (for 61% metal content in concentrate), nickel17.5 tons per ton (for 15% metal content inconcentrate), tin 1,448.9 tons per ton (for 29%metal content in concentrate), manganese 2.3 tonsper ton (for 40% metal content in concentrate) andtungsten 63.1 tons per ton (for 54% metal contentin concentrate). For a number of other importedmetals only preliminary hidden flows numbers wereavailable: chromium 7.9 tons per ton (for 100%metal, imported raw material—i.e.. crudeore—contained 31% metal), mercury 230.6 tons perton (for 100% metal, imported raw materialcontained 50% metal, crude ore was assumed tocontain 0.5% metal content), molybdenum 665.1tons per ton (for 100% metal, imported raw materialcontained 53.9% metal, crude ore was assumed tocontain 0.2% metal content), silver 7,499 tons perton (for 100% metal, imported silver contained100%i metal, crude ore was assumed to contain0.03% metal content), vanadium 127.7 (for 100%metal, imported raw material contained 10.1 %metal, crude ore was assumed to contain 0.95%metal content), antimony 12.6 tons per ton (for100% metal, imported raw material contained 61%metal, crude ore was assumed to contain 9% metalcontent), titanium 232 tons per ton (for 100% metal,imported raw material contained 57% metal, crudeore was assumed to contain 0.52% metal content),

niob 83.6 tons per ton (for 100% metal, importedraw material contained 40.2% metal, crude ore wasassumed to contain 2% metal content), silicium (1.6tons per ton (for 100% metal from SiO2) and Cer39.5 tons per ton (for 100% metal, imported rawmaterial was assumed to contain 38.8% metal, crudeore was assumed to contain 3% metal content). Fora number of other metals, no hidden flow factor wasapplied because they are well characterized as typicalby products of other mining: cobalt, bismuth,cadmium, indium, thallium, circonium, and hafnium,gallium, germanium, magnesium, arsenic, and tellur.No information was obtained about lithium,beryllium, cesium, and strontium. The content ofmetals in corresponding imported ferro-alloys wasassumed to be vanadium 42%, nickel 33%,molybdenum 2%, titanium 30%, chromium 70%,manganese 75%, niob 1%, silicium 52.5%, andtungsten 80%.

Recycling rates were applied for hidden flow factorestimates of imported metals, assuming thefollowing content of secondary material in metals:copper 40%, aluminum 30%, iron 17%, lead 40%,zinc 11%, and nickel 40%. Recycled materials werenot accounted as TMR (Data from the database ofWuppertal Institute, from MAMS, from Gocht orfrom Wilmout e.t al.).

Industrial Minerals

Salt: Domestic production of commodity mass andnon-saleable extraction were obtained from FMEM(rock salt, industrial brine, boiling salt), imports fromFSOG. Domestic hidden flow factors were derivedfrom non-saleable extraction divided by productionof commodity mass and applied to imports as well.

Gypsum: Domestic production of commodity massand non-saleable extraction were obtained fromFMEM, imports from FSOG. Domestic hidden flowfactors were derived from non-saleable extraction


41.

divided by production of commodity mass andapplied to imports as well.

Clay: Domestic production of commodity mass andnon-saleable extraction were obtained from FMEM(special clays, slate clay, bentonite, and kaolin),imports from FSOG. Domestic hidden flow factorswere derived from non-saleable extraction dividedby production of commodity mass and applied toimports with the exception of imported kaolin fromthe United Kingdom for which a hidden flowfactor of 8 tons per ton was reported.

Sand and Gravel (industrial): Domestic productionof commodity mass (special sand) and non-saleableextraction were obtained from FMEM (commoditymass also from GGSI), imports from FSOG.Domestic hidden flow factors were derived fromnon-saleable extraction divided by production ofcommodity mass and also applied to imports.

Potash: Domestic production of commodity massand non-saleable extraction were obtained fromFMEM (K2O content from FSOG), imports fromFSOG (negligible amounts, e.g., 346.2 tons in1991). Domestic hidden flow factors were derivedfrom non-saleable extraction divided by productionof commodity mass and also applied to imports.

Phosphate: No domestic production, imports fromFSOG. The hidden flow factors for imports wasobtained from the data base of the WuppertalInstitute. It represents a global average according tothe quantitative distribution of different types ofnatural deposits. P2O5 content of imports wasassumed to be 27%.

Other: Domestic production of commodity massand non-saleable extraction were obtained fromFMEM (altogether about 30 individual categories,varying by number from year to year), imports fromFSOG. Domestic hidden flow factors were derived

from non-saleable extraction divided by productionof commodity mass and applied to imports as wellunless country specific information was available.

Construction Materials

Crushed Stone: Domestic production was obtainedfrom FSOG, ASCI, and FIGR (different kinds ofnatural stones like granite, marble, limestone, anddolomite rock), imports from FSOG. Data for totaldomestic production were checked for consistencyand avoidance of double-counting in cooperationwith FSOG (personal communication). Domestichidden flow factors were obtained from an internalstudy of the Wuppertal Institute and applied toimports as well.

Sand and Gravel (construction): Domesticproduction was obtained from GGSI, imports fromFSOG. Domestic hidden flow factors were obtainedfrom an internal study of the Wuppertal Instituteand applied to imports as well.

Clay for bricks: Total domestic production of claywas obtained from ASCI. The quantity of clay forbricks was estimated by the production of variouskinds of bricks as reported by FSOG. The empiricalbase for this estimate, as well as the hidden flowfactor, was obtained from an internal study of theWuppertal Institute.

Infrastructure

Excavation (excluding dredging): Domesticexcavation of soil in metric tons is reported byFSOG in waste statistics. However, due to limits inreporting of small-sized enterprises, these numbersdo not account for the total. Bridging this gap,GGSI estimates the total amount of soil excavationby construction activities. In order to check thosenumbers, a bottom-up approach was performed inthis study. A range of individual figures aboutspecific soil excavation in metric tons per meter of


42

road (different types) constructed and per numberof buildings constructed was applied to estimatetotal annual soil excavation in Germany (WuppertalInstitute, personal communications). The result forsoil excavation obtained from this bottom-upapproach corroborated the numbers reported byGGSI.

Dredging: Dredging is reported by the FederalEnvironmental Agency in metric tons (fresh weight).Their number refers to dredging in harbors,shipping routes, and estuaries in the North Sea.

Erosion

Domestic erosion was estimated using numbersfrom BUND (Friends of the Earth Germany).Erosion associated with imported goods (rawmaterials and semi-manufactures) was taken fromthe database of the Wuppertal Institute. It refers tocountry-specific calculations of the land-use inhectares for imported agricultural goods and averageerosion rates in metric tons per hectare. The latterwere derived from a number of individualpublications (especially by Pimentel and Lai).

RenewablesDomestic production of plant biomass (agricultureand gardening), forestry (logging), and animal

biomass (from fishing and from hunting) wasderived mainly from FMNAF, and correspondingimports also from FMNAF and from FSOG.

Imports

All imports are reported by FSOG foreign tradestatistics in metric tons and by individual counties oforigin. The classification of imports according toraw materials, semi-manufactures and final productsgiven by FSOG was adopted. The reference oncorresponding commodities from domesticproduction or import is provided by FSOG. Due toa very user friendly provision of data, imports ofmetals (raw materials and semi-manufactures) weretaken from FIGR and MAMS, imports of coals fromSCI, and imports of renewables from FMNAF.Hidden flows of imported semi-manufactures wereestimated on the basis of corresponding values forraw materials. Country specific hidden flow factorswere applied for a number of imported materials: 27categories of non-renewable raw materials and 39corresponding semi-manufactures, 35 categories ofrenewable raw materials, and 5 of correspondingsemi-manufactures. Altogether, the German TMR isbased on the accounting of about 450 individualcategories of imported materials (including finalproducts).

• F .

The material flows that support the Japaneseeconomy originate from both domestic and foreignsources, but the economy is highly dependent onthe import of natural resources. Importedcommodities account for about one-third of themass of direct inputs (DMI) to the economy andaccount for about one-half of the total materialrequirements (TMR) including hidden flows.

Imports provide the Japanese economy withessential materials, including fossil fuels, metal ores,and agricultural and forestry products. Importdependency is particularly high for metal ores andfossil fuels. Recent trends revealed that commoditiesincreasingly tend to be imported in moremanufactured forms, (e.g., refined metals rather thanmetal ores) and imports of semi-manufactured


43

Material Requirements 1975-1994Japan

Unit:mi!lion metric tons

TOTAL MATERIAL REQUIREMENT

DOMESTIC TOTAL

DOMESTIC COMMODITIESNon-renewablesEnergy CarriersSolidLiquidGaseous

Metal OresIron OreCopper OreLead and Zinc OreOther Metal Ores

Industrial MineralsLimestoneStone for industrySiliconSilicaDolomiteOther Industrial Minerals

Construction MineralsSand and GravelConstruction Slone

RenewablesPlant Biomass (agriculture)Plant Biomass (forestry)Animal & Fish Biomass

DOMESTIC HIDDEN FLOWS

Total ExcavationNon-saleable productionof fossil fuelsof metalsof minerals

Infrastructure, Surplus SoilsConstruction, Soil ResidueResidential Development, Soil

Soil Erosion

TOTAL FOREIGN FLOWS

IMPORTED COMMODITIES

Non-renewablesEnergy CarriersSolidLiquid (crude oil)Liquid (refined products)

GaseousMetal OreIron OreCopper OreLead and Zinc OreBauxiteNickel OreManganese OreChromium oreOther Metal ores

Industrial MineralsPhosphateSaltOther Industrial Minerals

Construction Minerals

4,186

2,092

1,057

945251916

2.60.70.10.31.416112115945

8

756353403

112792410

4,429

2,142

1,043

932251816

2.30.80.10.31.117112519946

8

733344389

111772510

4,500

2,178

1.142

1,025

251816

2.00.70.10.31.0180134181046

8

819385434

117832410

4,485

2,209

1,255

1,136

251916

1.70.50.10.30.8195146181346

8

914420494

119862310

4,608

2,239

1,282

1,162

231815

1.60.50.10.30.8202151181456

8

935430505

121882310

4,448

2,200

1,272

1,155

231805

1.70.50.10.30.8196144191456

8

934405529

117832410

4,411

2,172

1,236

1,119

231805

2.11.00.00.30.817513951346g

919382537

116842210

4,390

2,094

1,193

1.072

231805

1.40.40.00.30.7176132151345Q

871363508

121892210

4,393

2,025

1,146

1,027

221705

1.40.40.00.30.7176132141444o

827327500

119862211

4,551

2,005

1,151

1,029

221705

1.30.40.00.30.7173130131454o

832322510

122882312

854

1,028

4382213

984414570

1,091

4282113

1,049

423626

1,028

4282014986431556

9474081715

907439468

9494081516

910447463

9213981516882455427

9293981615890458432

8933781414

857461396

8723781415

835464372

8463681415

811467344

094

553

4753156222914101491323153411113610

2,287

574

4883266123320121501343144311102621

2,322

590

4993386124220151501333154311113621

2,276

564

4683275223620191301153153210113621

2,369

614

5103495924523231471303154310123722

2,248

603

5013356822119271521343164310123822

2,238

564

4743227819818271391233144310112722

2,296

555

4613127918519291361224133210102622

2,368

543

4443097518024301221093142210112622

2,546

595

4913388818627371401253143211112722


44

1990

4,430

1,986

1,128

1,0052216

1

51.30.30.00.30.6165122

1215

447

817310507

123892311

4,737

2,035

1,154

1,0302116

1

50.90.30.00.30.4

157118

1014

447

851312539

124912211

4,883

2,112

1,204

1,0821913

15

0.90.40.00.20.3

161121

1015

447

902327575

122902211

5,156

2,240

1,274

1,1551611

14

0.60.20.00.20.2173129

1117

457

965333632

119862211

5,344

2,375

1,358

1,2391510

14

0.70.30.00.20.2184137

1317

457

1,039354685

120882111

5,682

2,560

1,476

1,35713

81

40.60.20.00.20.2190143

1218

457

1,154408746

119892110

5,716

2,567

1,424

1,31113815

0.60.20.00.20.1194147

1219

457

1,103370733

1138420

9

5,494

2,509

1,330

1,21713

815

0.50.20.00.20.1

193147

1219

457

1,011350661

1138619

8

5,566

2,504

1,285

1,18213

715

0.40.10.00.20.1190144

1219

457

978338640

1047918

7

5,657

2,490

1,274

1,16412

715

0.20.00.00.10.1191147

1218

446

961341620

1108518

7

908

85060

81140

791470321

87357

81039

817507310

90055

68

41845544301

95957

57

45902582320

1,00957

47

46952619333

1,07632

39

211,044

656387

1,13631

37

211,105

692412

1,17231

37

211,141

729412

1,21235

36

261,177

765412

1,20932

34

261,177

765412

3,122

696 710

3,062 3,167

484331

931712839

139125

3143211

122723

472330

91164

3440

128115

31

3211

1127

K>

3

478338

931614342

124112

3123211

112725

5193641051674844

137123

31

3211

122737

542380106178

5046

142128

3124211

122837

5604001081964650

139125

4223211

122838

570408112205

3852

142127

42

4211

12

839

5323851121922854

126114

42

4111

122839

5353881141952455

127115

4223111

111738

555406118207

2557

128116

4123110

111839


Unit:million metric tonsTOTAL MATERIAL REQUIREMENT

DOMESTIC TOTAL

DOMESTIC COMMODITIES

Non-renewablesEnergy Carriers

SolidLiquid

GaseousMetal Ores

Iron OreCopper Ore

Lead and Zinc OreOther Metal Ores

industrial MineralsLimestone

Stone for industrySilicon

SilicaDolomite

Other Industrial MineralsConstruction Minerals

Sand and GravelConstruction Stone

RenewablesPlant Biomass (agriculture)

Plant Biomass (forestry)Animal & Fish Biomass

DOMESTIC HIDDEN FLOWS

Total ExcavationNon-saleable production

of fossil fuelsof metals

of mineralsInfrastructure, Surplus SoilsConstruction, Soil Residue

Residential Development, Soil

Soil Erosion

TOTAL FOREIGN FLOWS

IMPORTED COMMODITIES

Non-renewablesEnergy Carriers

SolidLiquid (crude oil)

Liquid (refined products)Gaseous

Metal OreIron Ore

Copper OreLead and Zinc Ore

BauxiteNickel Ore

Manganese OreChromium ore

Other Metal oresIndustrial Minerals

PhosphateSalt

Other Industrial MineralsConstruction Minerals


45


Unit:million metric tonsRenewablesPlant Biomass (agriculture)

Cereals and FodderOil seedsOthers

Plant biomass (forestry)Animal & Fish Biomass

Semi-manufacturesChemical ProductsRefined Metals

Iron & SteelAluminumCopperOthers

Scrap MetalsWood Products (chip, pulp, etc.)Other Semi-manufactures

Final ProductsFertilizerMeats Dairy ProductsPaper and Paper ProductsMachineryOthers

HIDDEN FLOWS OF IMPORTED COMMODITIES

Fossil Fuel (Coal)Metal Ores

CopperIronOthers

Industrial MineralsSoil ErosionPlant Biomass (cut-down forest)Animal Biomass (cattle)

Social ParametersPopulation (10A6)GDP at 1985 constant prices (trillion Yen)

IndicatorsTMS Per Capita (metric tons)Commodity Per Capita (metric tons)

Metal & MineralsFossil FuelsConstruction Minerals

Renewables Per Capita (metric tons)Hidden Flows Per Capita (metric tons)

Metal & MineralsFossil FuelsRenewables

Excavation Per Capita (Infrastructure, metric tons)Soil Erosion Per Capita (metric tons)TMI/GDP (metric tons/ trillion Yen)TMI/GDP1985 Yen (1985 =100)Import/Total including Hidden FlowsImportTTotal excluding Hidden FlowsTMI, Agriculture (metric tons/capita)TMI, Energy (metric tons/capita)TMI, Construction (metric tons/capita)TMI, Others (metric tons/capita)

1983

562821

53

271

182

1.30.60.40.20.1

384

31.50.60.20.60.5

643123

54

311

192

1.70.90.50.20.1

295

41.30.80.20.60.6

673325

54

321

202

1.91.00.60.30.1

295

41.60.80.30.70.7

693526

64

331

223

2.61.40.80.30.1

395

51.60.80.40.90.7

743728

64

351

264

3.92.50.80.40.2

410

5

51.70.90.51.00.8

693828

64

301

274

3.92.41.00.30.2

3124

61.90.80.71.50.9

623727

64

231

234

4.83.11.20.30.2

294

51.50.90.61.40.8

643827

65

252

254

6.04.01.50.40.2

295

51.70.80.81.00.9

664029

75

242

294

6.64.51.60.30.2

495

51.90.90.81.00.9

664130

65

232

325

7.95.81.40.50.2

410

5

61.80.90.81.41.0

1,541 1,713 1,755 1,674 1,742

578538197314

2612

12468

2

111.9215.6

37.414.4

3.03.16.81.6

23.07.05.30.88.81.2

19.4142.0

0.50.32.48.2

17.98.7

648561213319

2910

12786

3

113.1224.3

39.214.3

3.03.16.51.7

24.97.65.91.09.31.2

19.7144.4

0.50.42.48.8

18.39.5

648587239316

3211

14984

3

114.2235

39.415.23.13.27.21.7

24.37.55.80.98.61.4

19.2140.0

0.50.32.78.9

18.39.4

652546240274

3211

12786

3

115.2247.1

38.915.8

3.03.18.01.8

23.27.45.80.97.91.2

18.2132.7

0.50.32.58.7

18.19.5

616592248311

3412

13589

3

116.2260.6

39.716.3

3.23.28.11.8

23.37.85.51.07.81.2

17.7129.3

0.50.32.68.5

18.410.0

512610260319

3212

14276

3

117.1268.8

38.016.0

3.23.18.01.7

22.07.84.60.87.51.3

16.6121.0

0.50.32.67.4

17.99.9

559597271294

3110

11660

3

117.9277.4

37.415.3

2.93.07.81.6

22.27.94.90.77.61.1

15.9116.3

0.50.32.47.7

17.59.8

655601279291

3110

12761

3

118.7287.2

37.014.7

2.82.97.41.7

22.37.55.70.77.21.1

15.3111.8

0.50.32.58.3

16.79.3

753549265261

2411

12957

3

119.5295.8

36.814.1

2.72.86.91.7

22.67.36.50.77.01.1

14.9108.6

0.50.32.59.1

15.99.2

798563240299

2410

13153

3

120.3309.1

37.814.5

2.93.06.91.7

23.37.96.90.76.71.2

14.7107.7

0.60.32.59.6

15.89.7


46


1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991Unit:million metric tons

RenewablesPlant Biomass (agriculture)

Cereals and FodderOil seeds

OthersPlant biomass (forestry)Animal & Fish Biomass

Semi-manufacturesChemical Products

Refined MetalsIron & Steel

AluminumCopperOthers

Scrap MetalsWood Products (chip, pulp, etc.)

Other Semi-manufactures

Final ProductsFertilizer

Meat & Dairy ProductsPaper and Paper Products

MachineryOthers

HIDDEN FLOWS OF IMPORTED COMMODITIES

Fossil Fuel (Coal)Metal Ores

CopperIron

OthersIndustrial Minerals

Soil ErosionPlant Biomass (cut-down forest)

Animal Biomass (cattle)

Social ParametersPopulation (10A6)

GDP at 1985 constant prices (trillion Yen)

IndicatorsTMI Per Capita (metric tons)

Commodity Per Capita (metric tons)Metal & Minerals

Fossil FuelsConstruction Minerals

Renewables Per Capita (metric tons)Hidden Flows Per Capita (metric tons)

Metal & MineralsFossil Fuels

RenewablesExcavation Per Capita (Infrastructure, metric tons)

Soil Erosion Per Capita (metric tons)TMI/GDP (metric tons/ trillion Yen)

TMI/GDP1985 Yen (1985 =100)Import/Total including Hidden Flowsimport/Total excluding Hidden FlowsTMI, Agriculture (metric tons/capita)

TMI, Energy (metric tons/capita)TMI, Construction (metric tons/capita)

TMI, Others (metric tons/capita)

68423075242

315

6.74.51.60.40.24105

61.80.90.91.41.1

1,856

7345672352973510132553

121324

36.6

14.2

2.73.06.81.7

22.4

7.86.30.76.51.2

13.7

100.0

0.60.32.59.015.4

9.5

69433175242

336

7.25.21.40.30.24116

61.91.01.01.21.1

2,122

867564252275379

139504

121.7

333.3

38.9

14.3

2.62.97.01.7

24.7

8.77.40.76.71.2

14.2

103.9

0.60.32.610.0

15.8

10.4

74443275282

406

10.0

7.51.90.40.33147

72.41.21.10.91.7

2,172

9225802602675310131575

122.2

349.8

40.0

14.8

2.63.07.41.8

25.2

8.57.80.96.91.1

14.0

102.1

0.60.32.510.5

16.5

10.2

76463476273

517

14.3

11.1

2.40.50.32208

82.51.41.20.92.1

2,261

914604255294558

158516

122.7

370.6

42.0

15.7

2.83.17.91.8

26.3

9.07.70.97.41.4

13.9

101.7

0.60.32.710.5

17.6

10.9

77463376293

507

14.2

10.9

2.40.60.32199

92.41.51.41.22.6

2,291

928636272305597

140556

123.2

387.5

43.4

16.5

3.03.38.51.8

26.9

9.17.81.07.71.2

13.8

100.9

0.60.32.610.7

18.8

11.0

76473377273

507

15.5

11.7

2.70.70.42197

102.41.51.21.73.1

2,426

1,037

629273299587

123486

123.6407.2

46.0

17.6

3.03.49.41.8

28.4

9.38.60.98.41.1

14.0

102.0

0.60.32.411.7

20.3

11.3

76483477253

547

17.9

13.8

2.90.70.41217

102.41.71.31.72.8

2,439

1,049

662298303617

140447

124422

46.1

17.2

3.03.59.01.8

28.9

9.28.70.98.91.2

13.5

99.0

0.60.32.511.9

20.3

11.2

76483577243

467

12.2

8.92.60.40.31

206

102.31.91.21.62.8

2,321

1,055

652320271617

127438

124.5

424.7

44.1

16.0

2.83.38.21.8

28.1

8.38.70.99.21.1

12.9

94.6

0.50.32.411.7

19.5

10.3

76493576243

487

12.6

9.22.70.50.21226

102.41.91.21.52.9

2,392

1,106

665335273586

141428

124.8

423.2

44.6

15.7

2.83.37.91.7

29.0

8.39.10.99.41.2

13.2

96.2

0.60.32.512.1

19.6

10.3

86523778313

498

12.5

9.12.70.50.21226

112.52.11.31.83.3

2,466

1,148

634302277556

154519

125.1

425.3

45.2

15.8

2.83.47.81.8

29.4

8.39.41.09.41.3

13.3

97.3

0.60.42.712.5

19.5

10.4


47

goods and final products have been increasing. Largehidden flows are associated with metals (particularlywith copper and iron), coal, as well as agriculturaland forestry products.

Those flows associated with construction activitiesdominate both DMI and TMR from domesticsources, nearly 90% of both in 1991. This may bebecause of a poor stock of modern infrastructure.Domestic limestone, crushed stone, and sand andgravel are used to create and improve buildings,roadways, water reservoirs, and other infrastructure.A large percentage of TMR from foreign sourcescan be identified as serving domestic constructionactivities, as is the case of iron ore and coking coalfor steel production.

Excavation for infrastructure, even in this roughestimate, occupies a high percentage of TMR. Thisis partly because Japan is a mountainous country,where flat areas must be created for such purposes as"new-town" development around existingmetropolitan areas. In such cases, excavated soil isused on site to change the topography. Other publicworks, such as roadway construction and rivermodification, generate large amount of surplus soils.Transporting surplus soil and construction materialsby heavy duty trucks is a major source of pollutionfrom traffic in Japan.

There are no formal statistics on soil erosion fromJapanese agricultural land. The estimates used in thisaccounting are relatively small. Soil erosion is moreimportant as one of the hidden flows attached toimported agricultural products from countries withheavier erosion problems.

The hidden flows that accompany commodities arebased on limited data and might even beunderestimated. Some of these flows, such as thoseassociated with imported metals, are estimated frominformation provided by the U.S. and German

co-authors from their countries' experience, and donot necessarily reflect the actual flows experiencedby Japan's real trading partners for thesecommodities.


General references:

JEA (Japan Environment Agency)

"Preliminary Material Flow Balance," prepared forthe Quality of the Environment report. (A preliminarymaterial balance has been compiled by JEA, and hasbeen published since 1992 in the Quality of theEnvironment report (White paper). This balancecovers the mass of domestically produced andimported commodities, as well as amounts of wasteand recycled materials. Data sources and figures forthese preliminary accounts are carefully reviewed,and supplemented and modified whenevernecessary.)

MITI (Ministry of International Trade andIndustry)

Yearbook of Minerals and Non-Ferrous Metals Statistics.

Yearbook of Coal and Coke Statistics

Yearbook of Crushed Stone Statistics

Statistical Compendium of Mining Industry ("Kougyou

Binran")

White Paper of International Trade

MAFF (Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry andFisheries)

Crop Survey

Survey on Production and Shipment of Vegetables

Yearbook of Industrial Crops Statistics

Survey on the Marketing of Lumber

MOC(Ministry of Construction)

Census on By-products of Construction Activities for

1990


48

MOF (Ministry of Finance)/Japan TariffAssociation

Japan Export & Import (Trade Statistics)

Fossil Fuels

Domestic coal—Non-saleable production iscalculated as gross production reported in MITIstatistics minus net production.

Imported coal—Hidden flows are mainlyoverburden removed for open-pit mining. They areestimated by applying country specific or worldaverage factors (hidden flows per commodity mass)provided by the Wuppertal Institute and the WorldResources Institute. Country specific factors areapplied to 5 large coal exporters to Japan, Australia12.02 tons per ton, Canada 18.62 tons per ton, theUSA 6.27 tons per ton in 1991 (calculated for eachyear based WRI 's estimates), South Africa 3.13 tonsper ton, Russia 1.216 tons per ton. For otherexporters, 6.03 tons per ton—the estimated worldaverage—is applied.

Liquid—Original figures are converted to weight byapplying the following factors; crude oil 0.87kg/l,gasoline 0.67 kg/1, kerosene 0.81 kg/1, diesel oil0.84 kg/1, and heavy oil 0.89 kg/1. No hidden flowswere calculated for liquid fuels.

Gas—-Japan imports natural gas as LNG (liquefiednatural gas), and while it is known that the energyinput for liquidization is not negligible, suchinterlinked (indirect) material input such asprocessing energy is not included in this paper. Nohidden flows have been calculated for gaseous fuels.

Metals

Domestic production—Data on annual productionfor major metal ores (including gold, silver, copper,lead, zinc, iron, chromium, tungsten, molybdenum,manganese, tin , etc.) are available from MITl's

Statistics,. Estimates in the summary table are on anet weight basis. Ancillary mass is estimated basedon the average grade of proved reserves. (Gradeestimates may be substituted by actual grades ofannual production, which are reported for a limitednumber of metals). Overburden is not includedbecause of limited data availability. This will notseriously influence the TMR given the small totalvolume of metal mining in Japan.

Imported—Figures on the summary table are actualcommodity weights (including ancillary mass)reported in trade statistics. Hidden flows areestimated by applying factors provide by WI and/orWRI as world average or typical figures. Hiddenflows are estimated both for ores and refined metals.In order to avoid double-counting, hidden flows donot include ancillary mass which is actuallyimported as part of a commodity's mass. Factors areapplied as follows (ton-hidden flows per ton-netmetal content): gold 303,030 tons per ton, silver14,265 tons per ton, copper 304 tons per ton-netfor 27% grade ore, 184 tons per ton for refinedmetal with 40% secondary input, lead 16.2 tons perton-net for 61% grade ore, 10.1 tons per ton forrefined metal with 40% secondary input, zinc 18.9tons per ton-net for 61% grade ore, 17.3 tons perton refined metal with 11% secondary input, iron2.39 tons per ton-commodity mass of 60% grade,4.64 tons per ton for crude iron, chromium 3.2 tonsper ton , tungsten 117 tons per ton, molybdenum665 tons per ton, manganese 7.3 tons per ton, tin5002 tons per ton, nickel 117 tons per ton-net for15% grade ore, 73 tons per ton for refined metalwith 40% secondary input, bauxite 0.48 tons perton-commodity mass, aluminum 4.92 tons per ton.

Industrial Minerals

Domestic production—Data on annual productionare available from MITl's Statistics. Data on gradeare available only for limestone and dolomite, for


49

which ancillary mass is calculated. Figures for aminimum percentage of overburden (which heremeans mass actually mixed with mined ores) areapplied for estimating hidden flows. Limestone anddolomite for cement production are included in this

Imported data on commodity mass is based on tradestatistics. For estimating hidden flows, 5.1 tons perton is applied for phosphate based on the U.S.estimates by the WRI. The figure of mining wasteper commodity reported in the Global 2000 reportis applied for stones (0.073 tons per ton). The samehidden flow factors are used domestically when anyother appropriate figures are not available.

Construction materials

Domestic production of crushed stone, sand andgravel for construction is reported by MITI'sStatistics. No hidden flow is estimated because thesematerials are usually supplied by surface mining. Theestimate of imported stones for construction isbased on trade statistics.

Infrastructure

Surplus soil—The first comprehensive, nation-widesurvey was conducted in 1990 by MOC. This surveycounted the amount of soil moved from inside tooutside a construction site and did not include soilre-used at the same site. The time series is estimatedassuming that the amount of soil moved isproportional to the total ainount of money (at aconstant price) invested in construction.Considerable earth is used where it is excavated andso the amount of earth moved reported in this timeseries must be smaller than that actually excavated.

Residential area development—Usually, whendeveloping a new residential area, particularly onslopes, the balance of cut and fill is carefullydesigned to minimize the transport of earth to other

sites. Based on Environmental Impact Statements ofseveral actual development projects, and personalcommunication with civil engineers, the averageexcavation factor per unit area developed is set as 3cubic meters per square meter, and 1.75 tons percubic meter.

Erosion

There is no formal nationwide survey of soil erosionon agricultural areas. Rough estimates are made byapplying the universal soil loss equation (USLE)modified by MAFF researchers for Japanesesituations. Parameters for rainfall intensity, slope, soiltype are considered. National average erosion rate ofagricultural field is calculated as 6 tons per hectare.This constant factor is multiplied by the area ofagricultural fields.

Renewables

The commodity mass of domestic production is basedon MAFF's statistics, and imported commodities arebased on trade statistics. The hidden flows of importedagricultural products are estimated, as follows: applyinga productivity factor (yield per area) by type of crops,the total area required to produce products exportedto Japan is calculated. Then the erosion rate (erosionper unit area) is applied to the total area required. Theerosion rate of the U.S. (15 tons per hectare) is used, asthe U.S. is Japan's largest trading partner foragricultural products. Hidden flows of imported meatis estimated by assuming 5.5 tons of feed per ton ofmeat. For timbers and semi-manufactured timberproducts (plywood, wood chips) imported fromtropical South-East Asia, it is assumed that 5.5 times asmuch timber volume is cut down as is traded.

Imported Semi-manufactures and FinalProducts

Individual physical amounts (weight or other unitthat can be converted to weight) of tradedcommodities are reported for about 90% (price


50

basis) of total imports. The weight of the remaining10% was estimated assuming that the weight perprice is similar for similar commodities. Hiddenflows of semi-manufactures other than refinedmetals and timber products are roughly estimated byapplying a average factor of 4 tons per ton (derivedfrom German estimates).

Acknowledgments

The author would like to acknowledge thecontribution of Mr. Masaya Yoshida of FujiResearch Institute for his extensive data gatheringand editing assistance. Special thanks should be

extended to Dr. Yoshitake Kato (National Institutefor Agro-environmental Research, MAFF) and Mr.Takehiro Nakaguchi for their kind suggestions andassistance estimating Japanese domestic soil erosion;as well as to Mr. Takemi Itoh of Taisei Corporationfor his helpful information about excavation forinfrastructure. Thanks also should be extended to themembers of the Planning and Coordination Bureauof the JEA, and experts and consultants who havebeen supporting the Agency's activities concerningenvironmental accounting and indicatordevelopment. This work is financially supported bythe Global Environmental Research Fund of theJEA.


General References:

The majority of the Dutch data has been obtainedfrom a single source: Central Bureau of Statistics(CBS). Only in cases that CBS-data were notavailable have other sources have been used. Thefollowing other sources were used.

• RIVM, Milieubalans van Nederland [NationalEnvironmental Outlook of the Netherlands],1993-2015 (ISBN 90 6092 881 4): for data onemissions into the environment.

• Ontgrondingen [Earth Removal], N&M11, 1978(ISBN 90 70211 07 6): for earlier data ondomestic industrial and construction minerals.

• Ruimtebeslag in Nederland [Land Use and LandCover in the Netherlands]: for more recent dataon domestic extraction.

• POSW data on dredging

• Organisation for Economic Co-operation andDevelopment data on iron scrap

Wherever possible the data are presented with thesame number of significant figures as reported byCBS or the other sources. Missing years wereestimated through interpolation or extrapolation. Inthe case that only indirect information was available,the required data have been calculated using certainassumptions; all data derived this way are presentedin rounded figures.

Mass Flow Categories

The reported mass flows concern four commoditycategories: domestic, import, export, and transit. Inthe data for the Netherlands, these commoditycategories, as well as the connected hidden flows onimports and exports, are presented separately. As theinternational trade and transport functions play animportant role in the Dutch economy, both theexport and the transit flows are relatively large. Theinfluence of export and transit flows on the TMR


51

for the Netherlands are shown in the graph, "DutchTMR With and Without Transit Flows." This graphvisually confirms that the Netherlands is anintermediary in international flows and a majorexporter in its own right.

Corrections Applied

The Netherlands serves as the entry point for manyimports into Europe. These transit goods can bedefined into two categories: direct transit flows thatare immediately transhipped to other destinations,and indirect transit, goods that are stored for aperiod prior to shipment. The TMR for theNetherlands is defined as total flows less dii-ecttransit flows.

The import and export figures from CBS alsoinclude direct transit flows. The indirect transitflows, however, which are stored for some timeperiod , are not accounted for by CBS, so thesefigures had to be derived from other sources. In thedata table presented for the Netherlands, theimports and exports are corrected only for thedirect transit flows as reported by the CBS.

Methods Used for Presentation ofDomestic Production

Energy carriers: CBS energy figures were convertedfrom petajoules into metric tons using the followingfactors:

CoalOilNatural gas

29 MJ/kg42 MJ/kg0.8 kg/m3

Excavation necessary for the construction ofbuildings and roads is estimated on the basis of thenumber of houses newly built and the length of theadded road mileage using the following assumptions:

FIGURE

140

'E. 120

v 100

•5 80

t; 60 —

40

20 —1975

11

TilRTMR

DUTCWITHWITHTRAN

H TA N

M RD

O U TS I T

_——

1980 19S5

+ direct transit- indirect transit

- TMR.... TMR-

FLOW

1990

indirect transit -

S

1995

export

per kmhighwayother roads

Conversion

60,000 mJ

8,000 m3

- I T - - 3

1.73 metric tons per m

Excavationper house 72:

Materials from dredging are calculated on the basisof POSW data for the period 1990-95 (obtainedfrom the Dutch Ministry of Waterworks) assuming50% of that value for 1965 and 75% for 1980. Forthe other years a linear interpolation was applied.

Renewables

Soil erosion is taken as 10% gross weight of roottype biomass. In the Netherlands the common typeof soil erosion does not occur due to the flat andcultivated nature of the country. The Netherlandsexist because of erosion by wind and waterelsewhere. Intensive cultivation and subsequentdrainage often leads to compacting soil due to thelower ground water levels, rather than a loss of soil.Foreign erosion is captured in the hidden flows of


52

Material Requirements 1965-1994The Netherlands

Unit:1000 metric tonsDOMESTIC

Non-renewablesI,Energy CarriersCoalOilNatural GasTotalII. MetaiOres(none)III.Industrial MineralsMarlCommon saltCarnaliteTotalIV. Construction MineralsGravelSand, indust.Sand, constructionClayTotal

V. ExcavationInfrastructureDredgingTotal

RenewablesI. Plant Biomass (fresh weight)GrassWheatRyeBarleyOatPeasBeanColeseedFlaxPotatoesPotatoes (industrial)Sugar beetsOnionsCorn (for cattle)VegetablesFruit

II. Plant Biomass, Wild HarvestWoodill.Animal Biomass, Wild HarvestFish

Total Renewables

Erosion

Total Domestic

IMPORTS

Non-renewablesI.Energy CarriersSolid fuelsCrude oil and productsNatural Gas

li. Metal OresOres and metal residuesIII. + IV. Industrial & Construction MineralsCrude industrial and building materials

RenewablesAgricultural products including livestockFoodstuffs including fodder and concentrates

1970 1985 1990

11,6092,4001,537

15,546

0

4,0001,707

05,707

11,40024,00025,0006,000

66,400

92,36812,000

104,368

9,500838303452440

539

13114

9,2664,363

14,2921,929

08,4842,585

529

53553,70513,473

70040,232

246.426

4,3911,920

28,08434,396

0

4,0002,871

06,871

11,40024,00025,0006,000

66,400

116,44614,000

130,446

9,500776204399241471426

13513,64610,00018,8442,411

013,3913,190

529

42173,77214,1431.057

59,630312.941

01,570

80,31681,886

0

4,0002,690

06,690

6,70024,00025,0006,000

61,700

54,66716,00070,667

9,500640

76407192

271744

12510,86110,24523,7082,894

14,30115,0932,910

529

51792,08515,103

1,12376,982

314.150

01,643

81,27082,913

0

3,5003,464

06,964

4,50023,00025,000

5,50058,000

38,87818,00056,878

9,8981,069

47313114

187

35119

16,6679,772

23,7243,376

23,16816,4083,050

529

509108,82116,5581,255

92,263314,831

04,143

71,97076,113

0

3,5003,500

5007,500

5,00023,00025,0005,500

58,500

28,28021,00049,280

9,4681,032

23239

70861137

13619,78110,38425,3403,376

30,41118,2282,765

545

840122,77217,0001,383

105,772315.547

04,048

69,32073,368

0

3,0003,500

5007,000

5,00023,00025,000

5,50058,500

27,49524,00051,495

10,2101,304

44265

2074

831

15119,65410,03434,4924,389

36,05722,5882,550

551

767143,18818,9071,611

124,281335.162

03,786

64,62568,411

0

3,0003,500

5007,000

5,00023,00025,0005,500

58,500

27,39124,00051,391

8,9461,144

41288

223911

25135

20,4358,886

28,7564,466

35,66024,9622,100

551

740137,20617,1401,460

120,066323.968

03,405

64.90068,305

0

3,0003,500

5207,020

5,00023,00025,0005,500

58,500

28,76624,00052,766

8,3021,233

42247

2227

91777

22,1989,852

33,0045,527

39,61226,8372,635

551

732150,92317,268

1,642133,656339.156

03,357

66,20069,557

0

3,0003,500

5507,050

5,03222.24624,6325,500

57,410

27,18424,00051,184

8,3001,253

50305

3717

89

10221,36311,12229,9165,845

44,51026,0003,865

551

812154,065

17,5431,578

136,521340.844

0• 4,45262,80067,252

0

2,8003,500

6006,900

6,91425,08635,476

5,00072,476

27,45824,00051,458

8,3001,189

32276

341165

12619,67110,24124,5964,485

41,62626,2973,250

551

750141,44616,7241,370

124,721340,903

7,73454,719

0

9,171

24,617

6,6986,315

4,695105,514

0

11,632

42,076

10,9654,109

4,953127,086

0

13,424

29,251

13,8448,352

10,402127,869

2,650

14,910

30,359

11,74217,472

12,013113,234

1,650

6,304

40,684

13.19423,688

19,621111,416

2,125

10,176

45,637

13,54622.472

22,165134,546

10,157

44,586

14,18931.499

21,643124,986

9,659

45,594

15,38833,581

15,963117,654

5,652

35,195

15,74532,053


53

Material Requirements 1965-1994The Netherlands

Unit:1000 metric tons ~~Semi-manufacturesMetalsFertilizers

Final ProductsChemical productsOther final goods

Total Imports

Direct Material Inputs (DMI) Domestic + Import

HIDDEN FLOWS FROM IMPORTS

Non-renewablesI. Energy CarriersII. Metal Ores

III. & iV. Industiai and Construction Minerals

Renewables

Semi-manufactured Products

Total Hidden Flows from Imports

EXPORTS

Non-renewablesI.Energy CarriersSolid fuelsCrude oil and productsNatural gas

II. Metal OresOres and metal residues

III. + IV. Industrial and Construction MineralsCrude industrial and building materialsRenewablesAgricultural products including livestockFoodstuffs including fodder and concentrates

Semi-manufactured ProductsMetalsFertilizersChemical products

Final Products

Totaf Exports

HIDDEN FLOWS WITH EXPORTS

Non-renewablesI. Energy CarriersII. Metal Ores

ill. & IV. Industrial and Construction Minerals

Renewables

Semi-manufactured Products

Total Hidden Flows with ExportsINDICATORSTotal Material Requirement (TMR)TMR adjusted for exports and recyclingAvoided Hidden Flows from recyclingTMR per capita (metric tons)Domestic TMR Per Capita (metric tons)

1975 1980 1985

2,1674,149

3061,080

116,955

363.381

3,0434,106

4,0552,095

192,290

505.231

2,1382,858

3,1972,398

207,502

521,653

3,3324,133

7,8354,924

235,628

550.459

4,3114,244

15,5168,830

243,667

559,214

7,0623,905

17,05412,058

265,073

600,235

7,9193,241

20,25014,013

302,565

626.533

8,4913,180

21,37514,872

298,770

637.926

6,2112,267

16.20115,738

262,679

603.523

55,15955,0238,862

71,567

57,158

247,769

45,05169,78915,147

82,907

71,651

284,546

50,05180,54710,530

122,079

50,211

313.419

83,40389,45810,929

160,679

76,634

421,104

90,52437,82314,646

202,851

93,641

439,485

135,98061,05516,429

198,101

138,165

549,731

154,51560,94416,051

251,287

149,244

632,042

149,85357,95516,414

269,329

158,551

652,102

114,60133,91412,670

262,887

115,674

539,745

275,000

615,903

5,31229,978

32

5,987

13,141

4,7032,824

1.4613.952

603

241

68,232

1,86071,00910,021

6,710

16,666

6,6601,230

2,3743,4605,372

279

125,641

86295,26743,611

6,419

4,678

8,7224,343

2,9973,6545,187

1,229

176,970

3,27987,23339,300

7,797

4,457

6,77910,125

4,4255,017

10.132

2,527

181.071

1,86182,82631,675

(272)

17,992

8,37416,045

5,4835,722

20,731

5,921

196,357

4,02385.06027,025

2,583

21,174

9,87317,433

7,2967,166

23,165

9,373

214,172

8,234121,501

3,267

21,561

10,30019,745

8.0666,318

26,816

11,144

236,952

8,646121,132

2,783

22,612

10,72420,272

8,2906,155

26,131

11,989

238,735

2,071122,629

1,271

19,474

10,39020,317

7,5606,110

26,797

13,251

229,870 230,000

36,67435,9194,599

54,189

36,567

167,948

570,918334,737

7,3254627

24,52540,257

5,833

56,808

44,601

172,024

730,148432,483

9,3245633

29,13638,517

1,637

94,069

52,738

216,097

758,089365,022

15,4985627

41,49446,780

1,560

121,712

75,966

287,511

879,299410,71722,753

6229

30,7511,6336,297

175.817

91,662

306,161

892,927390,41029.510

6227

43,15515,4977,411

196,606

119,733

382,402

1,025,685429,11138,951

6929

68,84219,6047,546

216,328

124,349

436,670

1,138,509464,88739,273

7631

71,25516,6997,914

223,170

126,112

445,151

1,156,372472,48741,713

7631

32,0457,6286,816

221,087

117,486

385,062

1,006,746391,81444,397

6626

400,000

1,031,181401,18146,047

6726

RESOURCE FLOWS: THE MATERIAL BASIS OF INL>USTRIAL FICONOMIES

54

imported renewables. Disturbed soil caused byploughing, although a significantly larger quantitythan erosion, is not reported.

Hidden Flows of Imports and Exports

To estimate the hidden flows of imports andexports, the following procedure was adopted.

With respect to import and export data either theaggregated statistical data are in money values or inmass, and are very detailed. The approach chosenhere was to use the existing mass data on transport,including transit traffic in which a change of carrierhas occurred. Next the data were aggregated into 10categories.

1. Agricultural products including livestock

2. Foodstuffs, fodder, and concentrates

3. Solid fuels

4. Crude oil and oil products

5. Ores and metal residues

6. Metals

7. Raw industrial minerals and building materials

8. Fertilizers

9. Chemical products

10. Finished goods

Data were not available for all requested years;Therefore, averages were calculated from theavailable data for both the transit traffic and theaggregated 10 categories mentioned. This gave aconsistent set, indicating that the import and exportpackage of the Netherlands did not change toodrastically in the period taken into consideration.From different statistics a more detailed descriptionwas available for 1985. This was used to calculate thehidden flows for the above categories, with datafrom the Wuppertal Institute for German imports asa basis.

Recycling materials avoids hidden flows. For 1991the avoided hidden flows caused by the reuse ofpaper, scrap, aluminum, copper, and building or roadconstruction wastes were 39.3 million metric tons,which represents about 6% of the total hidden flowsof imports.

Acknowledgments

The Dutch contribution to this report "was onlypossible due to the efforts by Dr. R.J.J. vanHeijningen, Ir J.H.O. Hazewinkel, Drs S van derVen, and the valuable cooperation of Dr. HJ.Dijkerman and Dr. SJ. Keuning of the CentralStatistics Bureau.

UNITED STATES MATERIAL REQUIREMENTS

Material flows supporting the United States'economy are almost totally due to domesticactivities—with only about 5% associated with theimports of raw materials, semi-manufactures, orfinished goods. This concentration of materialextraction within its borders means that the bulk ofthe flows necessary to feed and house workers andextract that material (for example, fuel formachinery) are also accounted for. These additional

flows are not included with the hidden flows ofimports; so a country like the United States withlimited imports will show relatively higher materialflows than those countries with a greater share ofimports in their material flow accounts.

One of the largest material flows in the UnitedStates arises from the surface mining of coal.Overburden is removed from above coal seams and,


55

Material Requirements 1975-1994United States

Unit:million metric tonsNON-RENEWABLES

Industrial MineralsGypsumDomestic ProductionImportsTotal Hidden FlowsClayDomestic productionGangueOverburdenSand and Gravel (Industrial)Domestic productionOverburdenSaltDomestic productionImports

PotashDomestic productionImportsForeign Hidden FlowsDomestic Hidden RowsPhosphateDomestic production (phosphate rock)Domestic Hidden Flows

Construction MaterialsCrushed StoneTotal productionDomestic overburdenDomestic gangue

Sand and Gravel (Construction)Total productionOverburden

MetalsAluminumBauxite importsAlumina importsForeign overburden bauxiteForeign overburden aluminaForeign gangue aluminaDomestic gangue bauxiteDomestic gangue aluminaTotal Hidden FlowsGoldTotal Gold production (metric tons)GangueOverburdenTotal domestic Hidden FlowsCopperDomestic mine productionDomestic gangueDomestic overburdenDomestic Hidden FlowsCopper importsForeign gangueForeign overburden

Iron OreCrude ore minedProduction usable oreImports usable oreForeign gangueForeign overburdenDomestic gangue from importsDomestic gangueDomestic overburdenTotal Hidden Flows% of supply from secondary scrap

1978 1979 1982

951

472

141

250

383

231018

44228

1161

513

152

271

404

241318

45230

1261

513

154

281

394

251516

47244

1481

553

165

301

395

251517

50257

1371

523

157

301

425

261718

52266

1171

462

137

261

385

251617

54280

1071

422

125

271

354

251517

54276

1061

33299

250

345

241214

37193

1271

382

114

240

305

251415

43219

1381

422

126

271

367

251516

49253

816849

71614

817849

77616

8659

52

81416

9521057

87417

9951060

85817

892954

69214

792848

62513

717743

53811

781847

59312

867952

70014

1246449224

35102737

120528949402332

218804818951816818348252

13464410222

35102737

122031052904157

228814517901717718548749

13564510223

35102737

120528949503955

161563915771412612936145

14575510224

35102737

121129750815071

238823413681318619047043

14575510224

35102737

123232755802636

260873413691320520049950

14575511225

3092332

12022854881

5173

216712610519

17116340454

13464410222

43143751

224734759404056

231742911581118417143445

1045348218

46174662

118125543604867

11236156295898321245

834336113

6239105144

1172242414

15984

11738145275938821850

935337216

652773100

11632293921

5072

16252187356

12912029745


56

1987 1993 1994

1391

432

128

271

366

24

1314

51262

1491

422

126

250

346

1

41213

40207

1491

402

121

251

345

24

1214

41211

1591

412

124

261

365

24

1314

45234

1671

432

130

271

366

1

41112

50256

1581

432

129

261

376

24

1314

46238

1471

412

123

230

366

24

1215

48248

1571

402

121

251

365

24

1315

47242

1671

412

123

261

396

24

1314

36183

1791

422

127

271

4010

1

51413

41212

9089

54

72515

9289

56

80016

1,0891165

81216

1,13111

68

83617

1,1001166

81316

1,1081166

83117

9971060

70814

1,0501163

83417

1,1201167

86917

1.2301274

89118

8343361

14

763185

116

1

169221390

04053

1525016

632

6120114278

50

72322

1

12

11651

137187

1172225398

15673

1224017

734

69791

23555

10353372

17

15481

219300

1199291490

1

5669

1484817

634

6118109274

57

10453482

18

201118319437

1223342565

04867

1835820

840

7147132335

58

12464492

21

266156422578

1244429673

04768

1885920

839

7151136340

59

12464492

21

295184497681

2267594862

04579

1815618

7

367

146130325

62

12564592

22

294184496680

2279660940

155

105

18357135

275

147131315

60

11555

Oi

92

21

330220594814

2302592893

165

117

17956135

255

144128307

58

12464492

20

331221596816

2309590898

170

125

18056145

285

145128312

59

11353382

18

326217587804

2316600916

183

150

18858187

356

152134334

55


Unit:million metric tonsNON-RENEWABLES

Industrial MineralsGypsum

Domestic ProductionImports

Total Hidden FlowsClay

Domestic productionGangue

OverburdenSand and Gravel (Industrial)

Domestic productionOverburden

SaltDomestic production

ImportsPotash

Domestic productionImports

Foreign Hidden FlowsDomestic Hidden Flows

PhosphateDomestic production (phosphate rock)

Domestic Hidden Flows

Construction MaterialsCrushed Stone

Total productionDomestic overburden

Domestic gangueSand and Gravel (Construction)

Total productionOverburden

MetalsAluminum

Bauxite importsAlumina imports

Foreign overburden bauxiteForeign overburden alumina

Foreign gangue aluminaDomestic gangue bauxite

Domestic gangue aluminaTotal Hidden Flows

GoldTotal Gold production (metric tons)

GangueOverburden

Total domestic Hidden FlowsCopper

Domestic mine productionDomestic gangue

Domestic overburdenDomestic Hidden Flows

Copper importsForeign gangue

Foreign overburdenIron Ore

Crude ore minedProduction usable ore

Imports usable oreForeign gangue

Foreign overburdenDomestic gangue from imports

Domestic gangueDomestic overburden

Total Hidden Flows% of supply from secondary scrap


57


Unit:million metric tonsInfrastructureDredgingHighway ConstructionNew General Construction

Fossil FuelsTotal Fossil Fuels (Net)LiquidDomestic productionDomestic Hidden FlowsImportsForeign Hidden Flows

Natural GasDomestic productionDomestic Hidden FlowsImportsForeign Hidden Flows

CoalDomestic productionDomestic Hidden FlowsImportsForeign Hidden Flows

Total Fossil Fuel Hidden Flows

Soil ErosionSoil Erosion:non-federaJ

RENEWABLES

AgricultureAgricultural ProductionAgricultural Hidden FlowsAgricultural ImportsAgricultural Import Hidden Flows

ForestryForestry (roundwood)Forestry Hidden Flows

Animal BiomassLivestockWild fish harvest

IMPORTS OF SEMI-MANUFACTURES AND FINISHED PRODUCTS

Semi-manufacturesSemi-manufacturesSemi- manufactures Hidden FlowsFinished Products

INDICATORS

Total Material Requirement (TMR)TMR Per Capita (metric tons)Direct Inputs (% of TMR)TMR/GDP (1985 constant $US), Indexed 1985= 100Hidden Flows Per Capita (metric tons)

1980

5602,4271,433

5172,3421.674

5121,9161,796

4901,5241,626

4911,6671,750

5121,8911,485

5971,8321,644

4771,5451,732

4981,4281,819

5791,4441,973

1,935 1,908 2,022

5,420 5,317 5,267 5,167

1,786

4,952

1,946

49740

30124

356107

185

5955,014

112

5,202

48339

36329

353106

185

6235,237

116

5.432

48939

43735

354106

196

6345,816

1

226,024

51041

41533

354106

185

6095,699

340

5.925

50340

42034

364109

237

7105,648

226

5.863

50540

34327

359108

185

7545,889

114

6,084

50540

29824

355106

175

7495,953

1

126,140

50641

25420

3309917

5

7625,818

1

85,991

50941

25120

2988917

5

7115,136

114

5,305

52242

27022

32397165

8155,813

114

5,992

417166

569

223101

893

420167

569

246112

893

440177

569

256116

843

452183

569

286130

833

489199

569

306139

694

442176

570

303138

724

515210

672

297135

734

519211

673

285130

754

371145

568

312142

744

489200

677

338154

775

35120

31

35120

31

35120

31

35120

31

35120

31

35122

27

3512424

31117

31

42176

38

55238

47

21,4639921

13879

22,050101

21135

81

22,370102

22131

80

22,0139923

12377

22,402100

24122

77

21,9829722

12176

22,1519621

12077

20,8889021

11572

20,0568621

10768

21,5269122

10871


58

1,904

1987 1989

2,095 2,098

4,339 4,172 4,012 3,858 3,710

1993

3,543

1994

5201,377

1,790

5361,435

1,856

4581,291

1,797

4961,163

1,626

5621,250

1,908

4791,254

1,904

5161,251

1,707

4391,281

1,943

4731,074

1,862

5181,074

1,662

5254225220

30491185

8035,363

220

5,541

5084130925

29789144

8095,552

223

5,733

4933933227

30792185

8355,623

217

5,804

4843936729

31695247

8645,820

221

6,012

4553640032

32096268

8925,903

329

6,104

4423539832

32999288

9355,982

227

6,183

4513637930

327983310

9055,711

333

5,919

4403539231

330994012

9075,718

337

5,932

4263442834

3371014313

8605,630

769

5.881

4153344335

3491054714

9365,864

768

6,119

530218787

332151

775

494201785

351159

775

469189785

364166

786

380148785

370168

776

4711899

113

374170

796

5032059

116

372169

796

4781939

120

349159

805

5582289

123

359163

806

45618010126

359163

826

58623910130

359163

826

5323154

20,623

862410066

5223355

20,868

87249867

5324146

21,095

87259666

5524937

21,196

87259366

3915561

21,906

89259468

4217055

22,145

89259467

4718752

21,237

84249165

5220649

21.968

86259165

5822747

21,472

83258763

6525146

21,947

84268663


Unit:million metric tonsInfrastructure

DredgingHighway Construction

New General Construction

Fossil FuelsTotal Fossil Fuels (Net)

LiquidDomestic production

Domestic Hidden FlowsImports

Foreign Hidden FlowsNatural Gas

Domestic productionDomestic Hidden Flows

ImportsForeign Hidden Flows

CoalDomestic production

Domestic Hidden FlowsImports

Foreign Hidden FlowsTotal Fossil Fuel Hidden Flows

Soil Erosion

Soil Erosion:non-federai

RENEWABLES

AgricultureAgricultural Production

Agricultural Hidden FlowsAgricultural Imports

Agricultural Import Hidden FlowsForestry

Forestry (roundwood)Forestry Hidden Flows

Animal Bio massLivestock

Wild fish harvest

IMPORTS OF SEMI-MANUFACTURES AND FINISHED PRODUCTS

Semi-manufacturesSemi-manufactures

Semi- manufactures Hidden FlowsFinished Products

INDICATORS

Total Material Requirement (TMR)TMR Per Capita (metric tons)

Direct Inputs (% of TMR)TMR/GDP (1985 constant $US), Indexed 1985- 100

Hidden Flows Per Capita (metric tons)


59

according to law, is later returned and the areagraded and reclaimed. The impact of thisoverburden removal on environmental qualities alsovaries by the amount, duration of mining,topography of the site, and the hydrologicalsituation. The annual new excavation of thismaterial (almost 6 billion metric tons) makes it amajor human activity on this planet.

Erosion makes up another large component of theU.S. TMR. Although declining in recent years dueto policies that cause farmers to set aside highlyerosible land, soil erosion from crop and grazinglands makes up between 3 and 4 billion metrictons annually. This scale of soil erosion in theUnited States is due in part to its size anddiversity of landscapes. But it is also due to theinherent erosive potential of much of its mostproductive soils and the continued use ofrelatively marginal lands for cropping andintensive grazing.

Road and infrastructure building in the UnitedStates continues on a scale without precedent in theworld. Even though much of the vast highwaysystem is complete, a program of highwayimprovements, infrastructure repair and replacement,and the increasing demand for wider and fasterroadways, requires a high level of landscapemodification and material usage. Unlike countrieswhere dense rail and other public transportinfrastructure minimize demand for roads, transportinfrastructure in the United States reflects thecultural value given to the automobile andindependence of movement.

Of the non-fossil fuel raw materials used in theUnited States, construction materials, copper, gold,and iron dominate all other material flows.


General references:

MCS: Mineral Commodity Summaries, and annualreport published by the U.S. Bureau of Mines(USBM), now currently part of the U.S. GeologicalService (USGS).

MIS: Mineral Industry Surveys are commodity specificreports published annually or periodically by theUSBM.

Statistical Compendium: A USBM SpecialPublication, published December 1993.

Annual Energy Review 1994, United States'EnergyInformation Administration.

FAOSTAT, United Nations Food and AgricultureOrganisation.

FISHSTAT, United Nations Food and AgricultureOrganisation.

Personal communication: Unless otherwise noted,this notation indicates that verbal information orestimates were obtained from USBM/USGScommodity specialists. The help of these specialistsfacilitated data gathering and was greatly appreciated.

Industrial Minerals

Gypsum: Apparent consumption, domesticproduction, and imports data were obtained fromcurrent and historical MCS. Overburden andgangue were estimated to total 5% of production(personal communication).

Clay: Apparent consumption and domesticproduction were obtained from the USBMStatistical Compendium, more recent years fromMCS. Negligible amounts of clay are imported.Kaolin is estimated to have 25% gangue and to beabout 20% of all clay mined. Overburden associatedwith clay mining varies from zero to 10 tons perton, 3 tons per ton is considered to be a good


60

average (personal communication). Common clay,which is used almost exclusively for constructionpurposes, averaged about 60% of domesticproduction.

Crushed stone, cement rock, lime, agricultural rock:Total domestic stone production was obtained fromthe MIS Annual Review-1994 and StatisticalCompendium. This total includes cement andagricultural limestone. Domestic overburden isestimated to be 1% of production, gangue (stonefines) is estimated to be an additional 6% (personalcommunication).

Sand and gravel (construction): Apparentconsumption data were obtained from the MCS andStatistical Compendium. Overburden is estimated tobe 2% of production (personal communication).

Sand and gravel (industrial): Apparent consumptiondata were obtained from the MCS. This data is notembedded in the construction sand and gravel data.Overburden and gangue were estimated to be 2% ofproduction (personal communication).

Salt: Apparent consumption data were obtainedfrom the MCS and Statistical Compendium. Nooverburden or gangue data were included sincealmost all production is obtained by solution mining.

Potash: Apparent consumption and import data inK2O equivalents were obtained from the MCS. Adomestic ore average grade of 14% K2O was usedbased on a time series obtained from USGSpersonnel. The foreign ore grade, mainly fromCanada, was estimated to be 22% K2O (personalcommunication). Potash is imported at about 66%K2O.

Phosphate: The apparent consumption of P2O5equivalents was obtained from Fertilizer Institutedata. Phosphate rock production data were obtained

from the MCS and Statistical Compendium.Phosphate rock as marketed contains on average27% P2O5, U.S. production is about 5/6 fromFlorida and 1/6 from North Carolina with theFlorida rock grade averaging 10% P2O5 and theNorth Carolina grade 24.5%, (personalcommunication). Additionally, Florida mine slimeswere estimated to be about 6.3 tons per ton ofP2O5, and the mill gypsum waste about 2.7 tons perton of P2O5. For North Carolina, mine sandsaverage 0.41 tons per ton of P2O5 and mill gypsum2.67 tons per ton of P2O5 (personalcommunication). Overburden was calculated basedon estimates of 1 ton per ton of ore for Florida and4 tons per ton of ore for North Carolina (personalcommunication).

Metals

Aluminum: Apparent supply, which includes bothnew and old scrap whereas new scrap is excludedfrom apparent consumption, was obtained from theMCS and Statistical Compendium along withprimary metal production and scrap data. For overallcalculations, an average of 4 tons of bauxite wasconsidered to yield 2 tons of alumina, which yields1 ton of aluminum. All bauxite for primary metalproduction was assumed to be imported (personalcommunication). A worldwide weighted average of0.48 tons of overburden per ton of bauxite wascalculated based on global data contained inInternational Primary Aluminum Institute report"Bauxite Mine Rehabilitation Survey," by PeterMartyn, dated December 1992. Alumina import datafor 1977-90 was not available, but was calculated tobe 35% of the bauxite imports based on an averagefor 1991-95.

Gold: Domestic gold mine production was obtainedfrom the MCS and Statistical Compendium. Thechange in the average ore grade for the U.S. wasobtained from Figure 5 of USBM SP 24-94 "World


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Gold," 1994. The worldwide average grade wasobtained from Table E-3 of the same publication,which provided data for 1983 and 1992, a linearinterpolation was used for the intervening years. Aglobal weighted average of 2.56 tons overburden perton of ore was calculated, based on 1992 data inSP24-94, for the United States, Canada, Australia,and South Africa. The overburden average for theU.S. was taken as 2.7 tons per ton of ore based onSP 24-94 (p. 19).

Copper: Domestic mine production, apparentsupply, imports, and scrap data were obtained fromthe MCS and Statistical Compendium. The U.S. andworld average grade, and overburden to ore ratios,were obtained from the USBM Copper AvailabilityStudy,June, 1993 for the years 1984-95. Figuresequal to 1984 were assumed for the years 1975-83.

Iron ore: Production of useable ore was obtainedfrom the MCS and the Statistical Compendium. Forthe United States, useable ore is considered to havean average grade of about 63% (USBM IC 9128,Iron Ore Availability, 1987, and personalcommunication). U.S. crude ore mined for 1991-95was calculated based on data from 1977-90. Averageworld ore grade was taken to be 43.3%, and averagegrade of imported useable ore was taken as 60%based on data in IC 9128 and personalcommunications. Domestic overburden was assumedto be 2.3 tons per ton of useable ore, and foreignoverburden was taken to be 2 tons per ton ofuseable ore (personal communication). A calculatediron consumption was computed by taking 63% ofthe reported consumption of useable ore for all uses.This figure was used as the commodityconsumption from primary sources. The amountsfurnished from domestic and foreign sources wasobtained using the ratio of domestic to foreignuseable ore. The apparent consumption and steel

from secondary sources were used to calculate thepercent from secondary sources.

Metals recycling rates: Three different terms aresometimes used to describe scrap, secondary supply:old scrap, which is post consumer; new scrap, whichis post fabricator (cuttings and turnings); and homescrap, which never leaves the mill (usually this isonly considered for steel). To give an accuratepicture of recycling whatever is included in supplyor apparent consumption must also be included aspart of secondary supply. In calculating the percentfrom secondary supply both new and old scrap arecounted in the numerator and the denominator.

Infrastructure

Dredging: The dredging time series was obtainedfrom the Dredging and Navigation Branch of theU.S. Corps of Engineers in terms of dollars andcubic yards per year for 1966-1995. Dredging isboth for maintenance and new projects, with themajority being for maintenance. The predominant(about 80%) motive for dredging was harbor andchannel improvement, with the remaining sharebeing used for beach replenishment. All dredginghas been included. In addition to dredging by theCorps, private dredging is permitted in the amountof 50-100 million cubic yards per year. It is notknown exactly how much of the permitted privatedredging is actually done. A time series was notavailable for the private activity, so an average of 75million cubic yards per year was used all years. Insitu density varies from 1,400-2,200 gr./liter, or1.07-1.68 metric tons per cubic yard. An average of1.375 metric tons per cubic yard was used for allconversions.

Highways: All information was obtained fromannual reports of the Federal HighwayAdministration in the Department of Transportation.Obtained for each year was the total mileage of all


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roads (table HM-12), total capital outlay (table .HF-2), and construction costs exclusive of right ofway and engineering for the years 1977-86.Construction costs were estimated to be 83% of totalcapital outlay for the years 1987-94. In 1961 (PublicRoads magazine Vol.31 No. 10) excavationconstituted 34% of the contract cost for all highwayconstruction. Currently this percentage is much lowersince most current activity is road upgrading ratherthan new construction. For estimating purposesexcavation was assumed to be 30% of constructioncost m 1975-77, exclusive of right of way andengineering, declining to 10 % in 1995. A time seriesof current dollar average contract price per cubic yardwas obtained from publication numberFHWA-PD-95-006,1995. The contract price forexcavation was used to estimate total excavation incubic yards. An average density of 3,000 lbs per cubicyard was used to estimate total mass.

New general construction: Current dollarconstruction expenditures were obtained from tableB-53 of the 1994 Economic Report to thePresident. Included were private residential newhousing units and nonresidential construction, andpublic construction less total highway distributions(all segments of highway programs). Site preparationcosts, the earth moving component of a generalconstruction project, were estimated to be 2.13% oftotal project cost based on information fromConstruction Cost Systems Inc. of Fairfax, Virginia.As with highway construction, total constructioncosts were converted to project excavationexpenditures, which were then converted to cubicyard and tonnage estimates. This was done on a yearby year basis using the same conversion time seriesobtained from FHWA. This conversion factor waschecked against current data from ConstructionCost Systems Inc and found to agree with it.

Note: For both general construction and highways,it was not possible to separate estimates of therehandling of material from estimates of initial

excavation. In the interest of harmonizing thismaterial flow category with estimates from othercountries it was assumed that initial excavation andfirst transport constituted 50% of the calculatedmaterial flows for highways and generalconstruction.

Fossil Fuels

Liquid and Gas: Fossil fuel data were obtained fromthe United States' Energy InformationAdministrations report Annual Energy Review 1994.Petroleum was converted to mass units on the basisof .136 metric tons per barrel. Natural gas wasconverted from cubic feet to metric tons on thebasis of the weight of methane at standardtemperature and pressure (653 grams per cubicmeter). The hidden flows for liquid fuels was basedon the Wuppertal Institute's calculation forpetroleum's hidden flows. The hidden flows fornatural gas was taken from the difference betweengross and net production of dry natural gas found inthe Annual Energy Review 1994.

Coal: Coal production can be separated intounderground mining and surface mining. Thehidden flows for underground coal was based onwhat the Wuppertal Institute used forGermany—10% of the coal mined. The hiddenflows associated with surface mining are morecomplicated. Surface mines occur in three verydifferent depth regimes. Eastern services mines tendto be deeper than Midwestern mines which aredeeper than Western mines. Furthermore, the ratioof overburden to coal extraction is kept proprietaryby the mining companies. Based on the one extantpublication that compares four western (averageoverburden ratio 4.8:1) to one eastern surface mine(overburden ratio 26.9:1), the country waspartitioned into 2 zones west (includingmid-western) and east and these ratios were appliedto production in each zone for each year using datafound in the Annual Energy Review 1994.


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Erosion

Erosion is derived from the United States NaturalResource Inventory, which is a physical survey ofnon-federal land resources in the United Statesevery five years. Erosion estimates from federal lands,21% of the total, are explicitly excluded. This is neterosion from wind and water. Intermediate yearswere estimated by interpolation and out years byextrapolation from known rates of change.

Renewables

Agricultural, forestry and livestock data werederived from FAOSTAT 1995, the electroniccompilation of data from the United Nations Foodand Agriculture Organization. Fish production datawas extracted from FISHSTAT 1995. Roundwooddata was used as the basis for estimating forestry's

hidden flows (45% of roundwood mass, ForestryHandbook,}. Wiley New York, 1984, p. 316). Gram,otherwise accounted for in agricultural production,is often fed to cattle before slaughter to improve

their grade. Nonetheless, much of the weight of beefcattle slaughtered in the United States is due tograzing on rangeland and pasture not otherwiseaccounted for in the renewable resource flows.Aquaculture production was not accounted for inthe fishery flows—grain fed to such fish is otherwiseaccounted for in agricultural production.

ImportsImports of renewable raw materials,semi-manufactures, and final products were derivedfrom the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers annualWaterborne Commerce of the United States (Part 5,

National Summaries) (Washington, D.C.). Calculationsof hidden flows for semi-manufactured imports usedparameters supplied by the Wuppertal Institute whichuses these parameters to estimate the same hiddenflows for Germany. Imports of final products includeall imports by air. Imports by land were not included.Such imports by land from Canada and Mexico arecomplicated by the extensive re-import of materialsexported for labor only.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

ALBERT ADRIAANSE

STEFAN BRINGEZU

ALLEN HAMMOND

YUICHI MORIGUCHI

ERIC RODENBURG

DONALD ROGICH

HELMUT SCHUTZ

Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning, and Environment, Directorate for the Environment,

ipc 650, 8, Rijnstraat, P.O. Box 30945, 2500 GX, The Hague, The Netherlands

Wuppertal Institute, Postfach 100480, Doppcrsberg 19, D-42103, Wuppertal, Germany,

email: [email protected]

World Resources Institute, 1709 New York Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006,

U.S.A., email: [email protected]

National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba-shi, Ibaragi-ken, 305

Japan, email: [email protected]

World Resources Institute, 1709 New York Avenue, N.W., Washington. D.C. 20006,

U.S.A., email: [email protected]

World Resources Institute, 1709 New York Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006, U.S.A.

Wuppertal Institute, Postfach 100480, Doppersberg 19, D-42103, Wuppertal, Germany,

email: MAT_FLOW_DIV@MAIl. WUPPERJNST.ORG


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World Resources Institute

1709 New York Avenue, N . W The World Resources Institute (WRI) is an independent centerWashington. D.C. 20006. U.S.A.

tor policy research and technical assistance on globalWRis Board of Directors: environmental and development issues. WRI's mission is toMaurice F. Strong

chairman move human society to live in ways that protect Earth'sjoinFiror environment and its capacity to provide for the needs andVice LJiairman

joim H.Adams aspirations o f cur ren t and future generat ions.Manuel Arango

Robert O. Blake

Derek Bok Because people are inspired by ideas, e m p o w e r e d by knowledge ,Bert Bohn and moved to change bv greater understanding, the InstituteRobert N. Burt fo / & » '

DavidT.Buzzeiii p rovides—and helps o ther insti tutions provide—objec t iveMichael R. Dciand informat ion and practical proposals for pol icv and insti tutionalSylvia A. Earle r r r r ,

Alice E Emerson change that will foster environmenta l ly sound, socially equitable« h 7 F l t U H™ „, development. WRI's particular concerns are with globallyWilliam M.Haney, III r r ° '

Cymhia R. Helms significant envi ronmenta l problems and their in teract ion w i t ht'l'T^T . economic development and social equitv at all levels.Yolanda Kakabadse * 1 'Jonathan LashJeffrey T.Leeds The Institute's current areas of work include economics, forests,Thomas E.Lovejoy . . . . . . . , • i i • ijane Lubchenco biodiversity chmate change, energy, sustainable agriculture,c.Payne Lucas resource and environmental information, trade, technology,Robert S. McNamara O /

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Ronald L.oison i n aH o f its policy research and w o r k w i t h insti tutions, W R I triesFlorence r.Robinson t o bui ld bridges b e t w e e n ideas and action, mesh ing the insightsRoger w.Sant of scientific research, e c o n o m i c and institutional analyses, andSteplun Schmidheinylimce Smart practical exper ience wi th the need for open and part icipatoryjames Cusuve Speth decision-making.MostafaK.Tolba

Alvaro Umana

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Pieter Wmsemius

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Preside,}!

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Senior Vice President

Walter V Reid

Vice President for Prooram

})onm W Wise

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Mai'ione Beane

Sccrefrfry-'lreasurcr


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