Page 375 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

6.2 The Three Dimensions of Sustainability 359

Ecosphere

Perspective: micro-and Participation and justice
macro-economics

Consumption Technosphere Emissions
- processes
- products

Material and energy flows in the technosphere

Figure 6.1 Natural basis of life is the prerequisite for sustainable development.

9)
An analysis made by the Austrian Ministry of Life defined national sustainability
by a twofold (‘dualistic’) model of spheres that has a certain resemblance to the
10)
functional environmental model (technosphere + environment). The two spheres
are defined as man/society and environment. Economy within this dualistic model
is of course part of the society (or technosphere) and thus emphasises the integrating
view of relations between economic and social phenomena. This Austrian model is
also related to the sustainability model developed by the Institut f¨ ur Energie- und
Umweltforschung (IFEU) commissioned on behalf of the German Environmental
Agency (Umweltbundesamt (UBA) Berlin). 11)
Since the current development of LCA adheres to the 3P (People, Planet, Profit)
model, 12) it will be chosen for further discussion. There are no fundamental
objections with regard to the combination of two dimensions (social and economy)
to a dual system.
The three dimensions of sustainability were discussed – as has already been
mentioned – on the occasion of the first SETAC Europe LCA workshop in Leiden,
The Netherlands, 1991, and reflected the philosophy of the ‘product line analysis’
proposed by the ¨ Okoinstitut in 1987. This method – whose successor has recently
13)
been called Product Sustainability Assessment (PROSA) 14) – served as a precursor to
LCAs, a ‘proto LCA’, 15) consisting of an inventory analysis, an impact assessment

9) Life Ministry (2006).
10) Frische et al. (1982) and Kl¨ opffer (2001, 2012). This model, also called thefunctional modelofthe
environment, defines the environment ex contrario: the technosphere is defined as everything
that is controlled by humans, and the environment as everything that the technosphere is not.
11) Giegrich, M¨ ohler and Borken (2003).
12) UNEP-DTIE (2011).
13) ‘Produktlinienanalyse’: Projektgruppe ¨ Okologische Wirtschaft.
14) Grießhammer et al. (2007).
15) Kl¨ opffer (2006a).