A Meta-narrative Review of Recent Advancements in Material Footprint Methodologies

Abstract: The circular economy is a strategy that aims at closing material loops and lower resource consumption. Resource use indicators, like the material footprint, can play an important role in this transition. The material footprint measures the total resource use of an economy, product, or service by adding up the mass of all resources used and has seen increasing policy attention. Research has indicated that the material footprint can be a useful proxy of indirect environmental impact. Several methodologies exist to calculate the material footprint, which has been categorised as multiregional input-output, coefficient-based, or hybrid-based approaches. The research question for this thesis was: what are the methodological advancements made to material footprint technologies in recent years? The aim was to conduct a meta-narrative review of these advancements. Objectives were to describe the development of the methods used for the contributions, highlight new research, and analyse critiques of the material footprint. The results indicate that multiregional input-output methodologies have seen significant development. The research was aided by the development of virtual laboratories, which can allow added resolution and flexibility by utilising cloud computing. This can allow new insights that contribute to sustainable development and the transition towards a circular economy. Critiques of the material footprint include concerns about its indirect connection to environmental impacts and the aggregation error of input-output assessments compared to process-based approaches' truncation error. Future research should prioritise advancing coefficient-based and hybrid approaches and investigate the limited adoption of the material footprint in lifecycle assessments.