1.         INDICATOR  

(a)        Name:  Intensity of Material Use.  

(b)        Brief Definition:  The quantities of minerals and metals, including primary and secondary (recycled) materials, consumed per unit of real Gross Domestic Product (GDP).  

(c)        Unit of Measurement:  kgs, tonnes or m3 per $1,000 of GDP.  

(d)        Placement in the CSD Indicators Set:  Economic/Consumption and Production Patterns/Material Consumption.  

2.         POLICY RELEVANCE  

(a)        Purpose:  The indicator provides a basis for policies to increase the efficient use of raw materials in order to conserve natural resources and reduce environment degradation resulting from primary production, material processing, manufacturing and waste disposal.  

(b)        Relevance to Sustainable/Unsustainable Development (theme/sub-theme):  Primary production of raw materials, processing of the materials into products, and ultimate disposal of the waste material has major environmental impacts. Reducing the material intensity of production and consumption of goods and services is essential to environmental protection and resource conservation. Reductions in intensity of material use can be achieved by more efficient use of natural resources in production and consumption, by recycling used and waste material, and by shifts in consumption patterns to less material intensive goods and services.  The indicator allows an analysis of consumption of natural resources, as well as trends in recovery and recycling.  

The four-component structure of the indicator (consumption of primary material, consumption of secondary material, changes in stocks, and material embodied in imports and exports) provides a measure of the total material consumption of the economy.  Per-capita consumption of the materials could also be determined, facilitating the interpretation of trends in material intensity.  

The indicator can also be used as a proxy for assessing trends in industrial pollution.  In the United States, for example, it is estimated that material-intensive industries account for about 70% of total air and water pollution. Throughput-to-pollution ratios can be used for this calculation, although technological change would affect the results.

(c)        International Conventions and Agreements:  None.  

(d)        International Targets/Recommended Standards:  None.  

(e)        Linkages to Other Indicators:  This indicator is linked to other indicators which reflect the stage of economic development and the structure of the economy, such as share of manufacturing value-added in GDP and energy use per unit GDP.  

3.         METHODOLOGICAL DESCRIPTION  

(a)        Underlying Definitions and Concepts:  Not Applicable.  

(b)        Measurement Methods:  Using the UNCTAD database on minerals and metals, consumption of primary and secondary materials can be estimated. These data are then adjusted for (i) changes in stocks of producers, traders and manufacturers, and (ii) the volume of material contained in imports and exports of material-intensive semi-fabricates and manufactures. The calculated volume of material consumption is then divided by real GDP in order to compute material consumption per unit of GDP.  Material intensity data can be disaggregated into intensity of use of primary and secondary materials.  

(c)        Limitations of the Indicator:  It is difficult to accurately estimate the consumption of secondary materials, changes in stocks and the material contained in traded semi-fabricates and manufactures.  For manufactures, conversion factors for material content are being compiled and updated to take account of changing manufacturing technologies.  National and regional differences in this regard, however, are difficult to reflect.  

(d)        Status of the Methodology:  There is limited use of indicators of material intensity in some developed countries, with varying methodologies.  

(e)        Alternative Definitions/Indicators:  None.  

4.         ASSESSMENT OF DATA  

(a)        Data Needed to Compile the Indicator:  Most of the required consumption and trade data are available in UNCTAD's database on minerals and metals. Information on consumption of secondary materials is incomplete but can be estimated with reasonable accuracy.  Data on changes in stocks, in particular at the level of traders and manufacturers, are scant, although some reasonable estimates can be made. Conversion factors for material content in semi-fabricates are being compiled and updated in collaboration with various industry associations. Information, however, is often incomplete, not representative, or too general.  

(b)        National and International Data Availability and Sources:  New estimates of national consumption of some 20 commodities per unit of GDP are currently being prepared, updating the results of a 1991 survey.  The analysis emphasizes consumption trends of primary versus secondary materials.  

(c)        Data References:  Not Available.  

5.         AGENCIES INVOLVED WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDICATOR  

(a)        Lead Agency:  The lead agency is the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).  The contact point is the Coordinator, Sustainable Development, UNCTAD; fax no. (41 22) 907 0047.  

(b)        Other Contributing Organizations:  Eurostat, World Resources Institute, and the Wuppertal Institute on Climate, Environment and Energy have contributed to the development of this indicator.  

6.         REFERENCES  

(a)        Readings:  

Eurostat.  Primary Material Balances.  

Ndiaye, D.  Statistical Study on the Consumption of Metals. Centre d'Economie des Ressources Naturelles, Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris. Paris, 1991.  

World Resources Institute.  World Resources 1994-95, part IV, Chapter 21, 1995.  

Behrensmeier, R. and  S. Bringezu. On the Methodology of Analysing Macro-economic Material Intensity. Wuppertal Institute on Climate, Environment and Energy, Wuppertal Papers, No. 34, April 1995.  

Hammond, Allen, et al. Environmental Indicators: A Systematic Approach to Measuring and Reporting on Environmental Policy Performance in the Context of Sustainable Development, (Chapter VI and Appendix I).  World Resources Institute, Washington, D.C., 1995.  

Hoffmann, U and D. Zivkovic. Demand Growth for Industrial Raw Materials and its Determinants: An Analysis for the Period 1965-1988. UNCTAD Discussion Papers, No. 50, Geneva, November 1992.  

(b)        Internet sites:  None.