Economy‐wide Material Flow Indicators on a Sectoral Level and Strategies for Decreasing Material Inputs of Sectors

Abstract

SummaryThe article presents a method for the calculation of selected economy‐wide material flow indicators (namely, direct material input [DMI] and raw material input [RMI]) for economic sectors. Whereas sectoral DMI was calculated using direct data from statistics, we applied a concept of total flows and a hybrid input‐output life cycle assessment method to calculate sectoral RMI. We calculated the indicators for the Czech Republic for 2000–2011. We argue that DMI of economic sectors can be used for policies aiming at decreasing the direct input of extracted raw materials, and imported raw materials and products, whereas sectoral RMI can be better used for justifying support for or weakening the role of individual sectors within the economy. High‐input material flows are associated in the Czech Republic with the extractive industries (agriculture and forestry, the mining of fossil fuels [FFs], other types of mining, and quarrying), with several manufacturing industries (manufacturing of beverages, basic metals, motor vehicles or electricity, and gas and steam supply) and with construction. Viable options for reducing inputs of agricultural biomass include changes in people's diet toward a lower amount of animal‐based food and a decrease in the wasting of food. For FFs, one should think of changing the structure of total primary energy supply toward cleaner gaseous and renewable energy sources, innovations in transportation systems, and improvements in overall energy efficiency. For metal ores, viable options include technological changes leading to smaller and lighter products, as well as consistent recycling and use of secondary metals.