Constructing Physical Input-Output Tables with Material Flow Analysis (MFA) Data: Bottom-Up Case Studies

In an economic system that aims at sustainable development, material indicators become increasingly more important than monetary indicators, as much of the literature now testifies. Monetary indicators are often not able to reveal all the implications and interactions between the biosphere and technosphere. With this in mind, it would therefore be fruitful to combine the Material Flow Analysis (MFA) of an economic sector with the related Physical Input-Output Analysis. Indeed, MFA is able to acquire data, in physical units, of the input and output of a production chain whilst the Input Output Analysis is able to describe the material flows underlining the relationships, within the technosphere, and between the biosphere and technosphere. A strong relationship therefore exists between the two tools that provide two complementary perspectives of the same phenomenon. The greater the knowledge, in physical units, of the production chain, the more detailed the representation of the flows among and from biosphere and technosphere. In the present paper we will outline the MFA of two production chains (primary aluminium and sugar) with the aim of drawing up the material balances. The methodology through which the final PIOT (physical input-output table) can be constructed, on the basis of the aforementioned MFA results, will then be illustrated.