DESIRE
Developing and applying an optimal set of indicators and models to analyse and monitor the European progress towards resource efficiency.
The client
EU’s Seventh Framework Program – European Union
Our role
2.-0 LCA consultants especially contributed waste accounts based on detailed mass balances and integrated these with monetary and energy supply-use tables to create a multiregional hybrid IO-model. Project completed January 2018.
Development of a System of Indicators for a Resource efficient Europe
The main goal of DESIRE is to develop and apply an optimal set of indicators to monitor European progress towards resource-efficiency. This is done through a combination of time series of environmentally extended input output data (EE IO) and the DPSIR framework to construct the indicator set. This approach will use a single data set that allows for consistent construction of resource efficiency indicators capturing the EU, country, sector and product group level, and the production and consumption perspective including impacts outside the EU. The project
a) improves data availability, particularly by creating EE IO time series and now-casted data using Eurostat data and data from research databases.
b) improves calculation methods for indicators that currently still lack scientific robustness, most notably in the field of biodiversity/ecosystem services and critical materials. Novel reference indicators for economic success (‘Beyond GDP and Value added’) are developed.
c) explicitly addresses the problem of indicator proliferation and limits in available data that have a ‘statistical stamp’. Via scientific analysis the smallest set of indicators giving mutually independent information is selected, and it is demonstrated which shortcuts in (statistical) data inventory can be made without significant loss of quality.
The project comprises further policy analysis and indicator concept development in support of sustainability monitoring at the EU level and as such is related to the CREEA project. See also our presentation for SETAC Europe 24th Annual Meeting.
Reports for the project written by or with contributions by 2.-0 LCA consultants are:
Physical/hybrid supply use tables – methodological-report
D5.2 Interim report on data processing creating EE IO time series and now-casted data
D5.3 Integrated report on EE IO related macro resource indicator time series
D10.2 Final report with indicator framework, indicator set and implementation roadmap
See also two central publications in Journal of Industrial Ecology: Methodology for the construction of global multi-regional hybrid supply and use tables for the EXIOBASE v3 database and EXIOBASE 3: Developing a time series of detailed environmentally extended multi-regional input-output tables.