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Toward a Framework for Resource Efficiency Evaluation in Industry: Recommendations for Research and Innovation Projects
- Source :
- Resources; Volume 6; Issue 1; Pages: 5, RESOURCES-BASEL, Resources, Resources, Vol 6, Iss 1, p 5 (2017)
- Publication Year :
- 2017
- Publisher :
- Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2017.
-
Abstract
- The world is facing a tremendous resource supply challenge. One strategy of regions and nations to address this issue is to encourage research and innovation through funding programs. Most of the time, these programs require that research and innovation projects quantify potential increases in resource efficiency achieved by the projects. However, no consensus exists on how to calculate resource efficiency; therefore, a wide range of approaches is followed. As a result, resource efficiency results are not comparable between projects, and because no rules or guidelines exist to help project developers, the approach followed is not always appropriate. This paper aims to discuss the existing approaches and methods used to evaluate resource efficiency. In this context, resource efficiency is defined as the ratio between the benefits obtained from resources and the impact or amount of resources used. The most challenging step is the determination of this ratio’s denominator because a wide range of methods to quantify resource consumption exist and are being used. They can be classified as gate-to-gate or life cycle based methods and can be subdivided into accounting methods and impact assessment methods. Each method considers different aspects of resources; thus, no single method aims to answer the same research questions. Therefore, project developers must make a well informed choice about which method to use. This paper provides recommendations to support this choice, as well as the overall evaluation and the valorization of the resource efficiency ratio in the framework of research and innovation programs.
- Subjects :
- resource consumption
INDICATORS
IMPACTS
process efficiency
life cycle assessment
sustainable innovation
Engineering
Technology and Engineering
020209 energy
Resource efficiency
Context (language use)
02 engineering and technology
Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
ECOINVENT DATABASE
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
DESIGN
Resource breakdown structure
0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering
MANAGEMENT
Resource management
lcsh:Science
Nature and Landscape Conservation
Accounting method
business.industry
Management science
AQUACULTURE
LCA
Natural resource
LIFE-CYCLE ASSESSMENT
Risk analysis (engineering)
Earth and Environmental Sciences
Sustainability
Resource allocation
lcsh:Q
business
NATURAL-RESOURCE
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 20799276
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Resources; Volume 6; Issue 1; Pages: 5
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....c850f1f8027db1cf0419d998716ed59f
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.3390/resources6010005