A sociomaterial conceptualization of flows in industrial ecology
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2022

A major starting point in industrial ecology (IE) is that reaching ecological sustainability requires understanding relations between human actions and material (tangible) flows. IE studies have enabled assessments of different technical and sociotechnical configurations but only to a limited degree provided concepts that support the design of interventions for industrial ecologies. We contribute by proposing a sociomaterial flow approach, here applied to life cycle thinking. After problematizing some common concepts in IE, the key concepts, a procedure, and some applied variants of the proposed sociomaterial approach are presented. The approach is theoretically grounded in related sociomaterial research. This body of theories underpins our conceptualization of how flows in, for example, a product life cycle can be related to nets of human actions within one rather than several analytical frames. The sociomaterial interaction point (SMIP) is a key concept in our approach for the sociomaterial connection between material flows and actor networks. A SMIP can be described as the interactions where humans come closest to the flows. The conceptualization of the methodology provides a framework for exploring actor and action networks shaping material flows and a basis for a relational analysis of governance, organization, and management of the flows in industrial ecologies. A sociomaterial approach to flow studies can therefore help in designing more concrete sustainability interventions in industrial ecologies.

philosophy of science

industrial ecology

material flows

actor-network-theory

sociomaterial

conceptualization

Författare

Henrikke Baumann

Chalmers, Teknikens ekonomi och organisation, Environmental Systems Analysis

Mathias Lindkvist

Chalmers, Teknikens ekonomi och organisation, Environmental Systems Analysis

Journal of Industrial Ecology

1088-1980 (ISSN) 1530-9290 (eISSN)

Vol. 26 2 655-666

Ämneskategorier

Annan maskinteknik

Tvärvetenskapliga studier

Övrig annan teknik

DOI

10.1111/jiec.13212

Mer information

Senast uppdaterat

2022-05-24