Industrial Ecology

Aim

The course aims at developing the participants’ understanding of a proactive approach to the prevention of environmental impacts from products, organizations and technical systems. This will be accomplished since the participant will be able to:

• Apply resource strategies such as dematerialization, transmaterialization and closing material loops on different technical systems and products with the awareness of the risk for problem shifting.
• Analyze material and energy flows in terms of their characteristics, environmental pressures and related measures for eco-efficiency.
• Describe the usability of environmental systems analysis tools such as Life cycle analysis and Material flow analysis and apply them for analyzing resource and pollution aspects.
• Describe how realization of industrial ecology principles is influenced by institutional and business conditions.

Content

• Resource aspects and strategies such as criticality, dissipation, exergy and entropy, dematerialization, transmaterialization and closing material loops.
• Usefulness and applicability of environmental systems analysis tools for addressing different types of resource and pollution challenges with special emphasis on Life cycle assessment and Material flow analysis.
• Drivers, enablers and barriers for implementation of strategies and measures for obtaining a more effective use of natural resources. This part will cover implications of institutional conditions, worldwide changes and trends and business dimensions.
• Characteristics and environmental pressures from production, use and end-of-life strategies of selected important materials such as metals, cement, plastics and biomass.