Abstract
BackgroundSteel is an important material in modern economies but responsible, nevertheless, for substantial environmental impacts throughout its supply chain. During the last couple of decades, this industry has addressed its impacts more incisively with the support of modelling and assessment tools.MethodologyThis article used the European steel industry as a case study to explore the potential benefits of integrating life cycle analysis (LCA) into system dynamics (SD) under the scopes of circular economy and industrial ecology. The goal was to explore if this integration could not only reproduce results generated separately by LCA and SD, but also to provide additional support for decision- and policy-making on the biophysical aspects of long-term materials sourcing. Unlike previous studies focused on methodological exchanges between the two, the entire LCA methodology was brought into the SD modelling environment, following ILCD and ISO guidelines and standards.ResultsThe results indicated that integrating LCA into SD is feasible and capable of contributing to both in different levels, supporting discussions on raw material scarcity and self-sufficiency, and resource ownership retention.ConclusionGiven continued effort is put into supporting the use of environmental impact indicators, this approach has potential to interest policy-makers and industrial decision-makers alike.
Highlights
Steel is an important material in modern economies but responsible, for substantial environmental impacts throughout its supply chain
The results indicated that integrating life cycle analysis (LCA) into system dynamics (SD) is feasible and capable of contributing to both in different levels, supporting discussions on raw material scarcity and self-sufficiency, and resource ownership retention
After running the model, the authors proceeded to verify if the integration could reproduce results of studies that used SD and LCA separately
Summary
Steel is an important material in modern economies but responsible, for substantial environmental impacts throughout its supply chain. By the end of the conflict, the European demand for steel decreased significantly, all the Adequately supporting and informing decision-makers rose even further in the list of priorities as the roles and importance of technology critical elements (TCEs) and critical raw material (CRMs) present in steel became more evident. This industrial sector was among the first to the benefit from the efforts of managerial scientists, engineers and academics as the development of new concepts, tools and methods gained traction, notably after the 1960s (van Berkel et al 1997; Baas and Boons 2004)
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