Using material/substance flow analysis to support sustainable development assessment: A literature review and outlook

The essence of sustainable development (SD) is to deliver social and economic development without compromising environmental quality. Material Flow Analysis or Substance Flow Analysis (M/SFA) is a well-established method to assess the sustainability of socioeconomic development and environmental change, particularly from the perspective of improving material/substance flow efficiency. A material/substance flow chart or accounting table makes SD assessment results comprehensive, comparable and verifiable by (1) providing systematic information and indicators for SD assessment, (2) identifying critical pathways, links and key substances in the anthroposphere, and (3) allowing the dynamic interaction between material flow and social, economic and/or environmental processes to be analyzed. However, the role of M/SFA in SD assessment could be expanded by strengthening simultaneous analysis of various features of material/substance flows, integrating M/SFA with other assessment methods, improving sustainability indicators, and further developing standardized methods for material classification, data acquisition and processing, and measuring indirect flows and unused flows. It is anticipated that future improvements in monitoring material/substance flows in the anthroposphere will provide more systematic information, allowing M/SFA to play an even greater role in SD assessment. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.