The MEI method - Combining material flow analysis and life cycle assessment for evaluating effectiveness and potentials of municipal measures to reach environmental targets

Research Project, 2015 – 2020

Consumption of resources and products in a municipality gives rise to the storage of materials and waste - just like the turnover in natural systems - and can be described as the municipality's metabolism. The aim of the project is to create an understanding of the connection between the municipalities' metabolism, municipal environmental measures and the actual environmental impact reduction that is achieved with these. For this purpose, a new method for calculating environmental performance in municipalities (MEI - Municipal Environmental Impact) will be developed and tested. The method evaluates how well-targeted municipal environmental measures are and what potential they have for achieving set environmental goals. It is also a method for examining possible compromises between different environmental impacts such as eutrophication and greenhouse effect. The project combines the methods of material flow analysis (MFA), which examines physical flows, and life cycle analysis (LCA), which examines the environmental impact of physical flows. In this way, the flows that are totally responsible for a large part of the environmental impact in a municipality are identified. The project also develops a method for quantifying municipal environmental measures for changes in material flows. The MEI method aims to enable more efficient municipal planning to reach local environmental goals and contribute to the national environmental goals.