The general focus of the conference is on technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, from renewables through zero-emission buildings to CO2 capture and storage. The conference addresses engineering, policy and environmental issues. IndEcol organizes a session on the sustainability assessment of energy technologies, which invites abstracts both with a methodological focus and case studies of specific technologies. Sessions of interest to industrial ecologists include "Innovation in transition to a green economy" and "Social Science perspectives in the Transition to a Sustainable Energy Systems".

The Sir Richard Stone Prize is for the best paper published in Economic Systems Research, the journal of the International Input-Output Association (IIOA), and it is awarded every other year. This round covered the period 2009-2010.

Sir Richard Stone was a British economist in the 20th century, and received The Nobel Prize in Economics (The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, to be precise) in 1984 "for having made fundamental contributions to the development of systems of national accounts and hence greatly improved the basis for empirical economic analysis". He is, so to speak, the father of the system of national accounts, which includes input-output tables.

Nobel Prize: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economics/laureates/1984/

IIOA: http://www.iioa.org/

Received the award at Berkley

The award was handed out by Professor Marian Chertow from Yale University during the ISIEs conference at UC Berkley in the beginning of June.

The jury emphasized in their statement that Strømman has given a substantial contribution to improve the methodology for life cycle analysis. They also emphasized his work within environmental assessment of bioenergy and global production systems.

Environmental assessments

Associate Professor Anders Hammer Strømman has helped to build up a research activity on environmental assessments of energy and production systems and sustainable mobility that is internationally recognized.

It is the fifth time the prize is awarded. The first prize winner was Professor Edgar Hertwich. The other three winners are now professors at UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara and Carnegie-Mellon University.

Hertwich was once supervisor of Anders Hammer Strømman, and through the recent award ceremony, NTNU is the only institution in the world that can boast of having received this award twice.This shows that NTNU has a leading international position in industrial ecology.

In memory of the pioneer in materials technology
The Laudise Medal is awarded in memory of Robert Laudise(1931-1998)who was a pioneer in the field of materials technology and primarily the formation of crystals. He is a key contributor in the early development of industrial ecology as a discipline.The prize is donated by AT&T Environment.

Stipendiat Bhawna Singh ved Program for Industriell Økologi ved NTNU har i sin avhandling brukt livsløpsanalyser (LCA) for å studere ulike CCS teknologier anvendt på energiproduksjon basert på kull og naturgass. CCS er betraktet som en av de mest realistiske måtene for å få ned utslippene av klimagasser og samtidig møte den økende etterspørselen etter energi.

Singh viser i sin avhandling at CCS kan bidra med å redusere uslippene av klimagasser med 74-78% fra kullkraftverk og 64-73% fra gasskraftverk, men at påvirkningen fra nesten alle andre miløpåvirkningskategorier øker betydelig. Økningen på human toksisitet er 40-75%, terrestrisk økotoksisitet er 60-120% og for eutrofiering 60-200%.

For kullbaserte kraftverk viser analysene at det er anlegg som er basert på såkalt IGCC-teknologi (integrert gassifisering med kombinert syklus) som har best miljøprofil, mens det for gassbaserte anlegg er teknologier basert på delvis oksidering eller bruk av oxyfuel som har best miljøprofil. Dette skyldes lavt energiforbruk, høy fangseffektivitet og ingen utslipp av tokisiskeforbindelser fra disse anleggene. En utfordring med disse teknologiene er imidlertid at de fortsatt kun er på forsøksstadiet.

I sine analyser har Singh også brukt LCA til å analysere framtidige scenarioer. Her blir viktige parametre som energieffektivitet og utslippskontroll endret i tråd med en antatt teknologisk utvikling. Disse analysene viser at det er sannsynlig at den samlede miljøpåvirkningen kan reduseres betydelig fram mot 2050 slik at problemstillingen med avveining mellom klimaproblemer og andre miljøpåvirkninger blir mindre etter hvert som teknologiene utvikles videre.

For mer informasjon, kontakt

• Professor Edgar Hertwich, tlf 91 89 75 68
• Førsteamanuensis Anders Hammer Strømman,       tlf   91 89 79 93
• Stipendiat Bhawna Singh, tlf 735 98957

You can download the report in two sizes:

IndEcol Annual Report 2010 (pdf, small size file,725kb)

IndEcol Annual Report 2010 (pdf, large size, 6,635 mb)

Program:

12:15 -  Welcome - and a short introduction to CenBio - Bioenergy Innovation Centre - by Associate Professor Anders Hammer Strømman

12:30 - Climate impact of biogenic vs fossil CO2 based on decay functions (incl. a short presentation of LCA on biorefineries) - by Dr. Francesco Cherubini

13:00 - Changes in albedo offset carbon emissions following expanded timber harvesting for bioenergy in northern Europe(incl. a short presentation of biodiesel revisited) - by   PhD Candidate Ryan M. Bright

13:30- PROSUITE – PROspective SUstaİnability Assessment of Technologies, with focus on macroeconomic assessment in LCA - by Dr. Richard Wood

14:00 - A short break

14:10- Current development at Environmental Systems Analysis exemplified by Comparative LCA study of polyethylene based on sugarcane and crude oil - by Professor Anne-Marie Tillman from Chalmers University of Technology

14:55 - CCS deployment at large scale in the Netherlands. An overview of the potentials and limitations in the short and long term - by Dr. Andrea Ramirez Ramirez from Utrecht University

15:40- Discussion – future challenges and research questions, future collaboration?

16:00 - End

The school builds on the successfully completed "Postgraduate School of Industrial Ecology", an EU Marie Curie series of research training courses. It leverages NTNU's leading position in industrial ecology, including a comparatively large number of own PhD students and a long focus in PhD education in the field.The summer school targets Ph.D. candidates, young researchers and faculty members from throughout Europe

The course is registered as a PhD course at NTNU and credited and graded according to the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) with 7,5 ECTS credits. The course consists of 2 weeks of self-study and 2 weeks of intensive training sessions in Trondheim. Fulfillment of each course requires the completion of an exam and submission of a research paper.

For more information about the course and admission process, please visit our  PSIE homepage.

Program:

9:00 Opening and welcome

• The Green and the Brown Economy: Dichotomous choices; Edgar Hertwich, NTNU 
• Transforming product design and performance - beyond DfE.; Roland Clift, University of Surrey

ca 10:20: Break

• Efficiency or sufficiency: guidelines for a low carbon transition; Julia Steinberger, Leeds University
• Towards a Green Economy - Deliberations on a Sustainable European Agro-Food System; Arnold Tukker, Leeds University

 ca 12:00: Panel discussion

About the speakers:

Dr. Julia K. Steinberger

Dr. Julia Steinberger is a Lecturer in Ecological Economics at the University of Leeds' Sustainability Research Institute in the School of Earth and Environment. She obtained her PhD in experimental physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2004, and has since focused on research in Industrial Ecology at the Universities of Lausanne and Zurich, and Ecological Economics at the Institute of Social Ecology in Vienna. Her research interests centre on the question of attaining and maintaining high living standards at reduced levels of resource use and carbon emissions. Homepage

Professor Roland Clift

Professor Roland Clift is Emeritus Professor of Environmental Technology and founding Director of the Centre for Environmental Strategy at the University of Surrey; previously Head of the Department of Chemical and Process Engineering at the University of Surrey; Visiting Professor in Environmental System Analysis at Chalmers University, Göteborg , Sweden; Adjunct Professor in Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; Executive Director and immediate past President of the International Society for Industrial Ecology; past member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution and UK Ecolabelling Board; member of the Science Advisory Council of Defra; and a Vice President of Environmental Protection UK.  His research is concerned with system approaches to environmental management and industrial ecology, including life cycle assessment and energy systems. Homepage.

Dr. Arnold Tukker

Dr. Arnold Tukker manages the Sustainable Innovation Research Program for TNO, a large not for profit research organization in the Netherlands, and is part time professor of Sustainble Innovation and NTNU, Trondheim, Norway. He set up the Sustainable Consumption Research Exchanges (SCORE!), a network of a few hundred researchers under the EU's 6^th Framework Program, which developed knowledge for various international policy agenda's such as the UN's Ten Year Framework of Programs Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP). He authored 5 books, 40 papers and 5 special issues on sustainability research, and has been engaged with work of the UN on the Green Economy Initiative and the Resources Panel. Homepage.

Professor Edgar Hertwich

Edgar Hertwich is a Professor of Energy and Process Engineering and director of the Industrial Ecology Program at NTNU. He is a member of the International Panel for Sustainable Resource Management, where he lead the Working Group on the Environmental Impacts of Products and Materials. He also contributes to the Global Energy Assessment as lead analyst.  He has served the International Society of Industrial Ecology in various functions, including as a council member, and he is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Industrial Ecology. His research interests cover climate mitigation, life cycle assessment, sustainable consumption and production, trade and environment, and risk analysis. Homepage.

Environmental due-diligence for climate change mitigation

The rapid large-scale implementation of low-carbon technologies is seen as the most likely path towards a sustainable and energy-secure future. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has identified three levers for such a change: energy efficiency, power sector, fuel switching in end-use sectors and carbon capture and storage. The environmental and resource implications of the massive scale-up of these technologies are however yet still unknown. The current study is carried out on behalf of the International Resource Panel and will be published by the United Nations Environment Programme.

Integrated approach

The objective of this project is to carry out a broad-scale modelling and integrated assessment of environmental impacts of energy systems. We focus on stationary energy production and use: concentrating solar power, photovoltaics, wind power, biomass, carbon capture and storage, passive house and energy efficiency. The purpose is to be help policymakers, investors, and the public understand trade-offs in technology choices and mitigation pathways.

The work will be conducted during 2011 and will be published in 2012.

Expert contributions

The Resource Panel is looking for expert involvement in the study to fulfill following purposes:

1. Provide initial information on the technology and input data on the assessment
2. Contribute as author of report sections
3. Provide feedback and review of the work

If you are interested in making a contribution to the work, we would like to invite you to a workshop of the working group planning this work. The workshop will be held in Paris on 24-25 March. To register for the workshop, please feel free to contact Edgar Hertwich or Thomas Gibon.

Alternatively, you can just give us your contact information through this online form.

The current discussion has focused exclusively on the carbon cycle, where the combustion of wood leads to a temporarily higher CO2 concentration in the atmosphere until the forest has regrown.  Associate Professor Anders H. Strømman and colleagues point out that clearcutting also leads to a increased reflectivity of snow-covered ground and hence reduced absorption of incoming sunlight, an effect that offsets the effect of temporarily increased CO2 concentration. For more information, see press release.

The book draws from leading academics and sustainability I-O practitioners from around the world in creating an introduction to the use of input-output techniques for probing some of the most crucial questions in Industrial Ecology.

“…this time around success will need to be measured not by how much we can control nature but by how well we can live as part of it. Our efforts in the transition to a sustainable future require decisions that not only acknowledge the ecosphere, but embrace the complexity of our societies and the natural systems that support us.

A vital part of this transition is communication. We need to map and communicate as clearly as possible the impacts of our current trajectory and provide a clear and comprehensive system for tracking the world’s progress towards sustainability…

This book provides an introduction to input-output analysis for sustainability practitioners. It is designed for those with knowledge about the sustainability dilemma we face, but who are unsure about the how of measuring our impacts, tracking our progress and informing the decisions for a sustainable future.

Input-output analysis placed in a transdisciplinary setting is a method that captures the complexities and interdependencies of our social, economic and environmental support systems. Examples of the use of input-output analysis in life-cycle assessment, triple bottom line accounting and carbon and ecological footprints are provided along with an introduction to a range of software tools. In academic circles research has been gathering pace on these methods and issues over the last years. This book brings this state of the art to the decision makers and policy shapers of today.”
 

IndEcol is currently experiencing a tight schedule of international visits. Professor Annik Magerholm Fet welcomes a delegation from Bhutan lead by State Secretary Dasho Sonam Tshering, Ministry of Economic Affairs. The purpose of the visit to Norway is to hold its annual consultations with its partner institution the Norwegian Geological Institute and to showcase Bhutan as a new investment destination in collaboration with Innovation Norway.  As part of this programme, the Ministry is visiting NTNU to learn more about environmental management, industrial ecology and the development of the hydropower and ferro-silicon industry. These are two industries in Bhutan that have the potential for large scale growth.  The Ministry also wants to explore the possibility of establishing formal ties with NTNU for sending its officials to study and learn from the Norwegian development experience. The Economic Development Policy places high importance on the development of Bhutan as a knowledge economy and promotion of education as an important industry.

It is expected that this visit will lead to a better understanding on both sides to the possibilities and potential for mutually beneficial co-operation. Learning from the Norwegian development experience is also expected to enable the Ministry to be able to adopt policies and initiate reforms that lead to a more sustainable development of industry in Bhutan.  It is anticipated that after the visit there could be more Bhutanese students interested in studying in Norway and Norwegian students visiting Bhutan under exchange programmes.

Dr. Jan Kovanda of the Environment Centre  at Charles University in Prague is on a 2 week visit to collaborate on research regarding the combination of material flow analysis and life-cycle assessment to study the material metabolism of the Czech Republic.

Dr. Jakub Kronenberg is on a 2 week teaching and collaboration visit. Dr. Kronenberg is a Lecturer in international and environmental economics at the University of Lodz, Poland and has recently published the textbook Challenges of Sustainable Development in Poland. He will stay as a visiting professor at the department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management and contribute to their courses as well as to their PhD-research program.

Finally, a faculty delegation from Tsinghua University is visiting IndEcol and the Department of Hydrology and Environmental Engineering as part of a study tour. We have also scheduled a trip for them to the Tjeldbergodden Industrial Park  located in a scenic fjord landscape west of Trondheim.