| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1733998 | Energy | 2011 | 10 Pages |
Indicators for sustainable development, such as: Dow Jones sustainability group indices, life cycle index, ecological footprint, sustainability cities index, Well-Being Index, are acknowledged evaluation instruments in the international development policy. They are used to evaluate dematerialization introduced in order to identify environmental efficiency. While these indicators describe the performance of single products on the market or the life style of societies, they do not provide exact information on product (resource) and sector dematerialization, which is one of the major objectives of the current development policies.In this paper, we present a new concept - ‘product generational dematerialization’ (PGD) indicator with the aim of extending the available sustainable development methodology and to cover the existing methodological gap. We show advantages of the practical application of this indicator for management policies on the national and international level by analyzing dematerialization of crude oil in the global economy during the time period 1972–2010.The implementation of the product generational dematerialization indicator for analyses of single products or branches can help to determine consumption areas characterized by the most significant consumption changes, as well as identify necessary actions to be taken to diminish environmental pollution and resource depletion.
► Dematerialization of crude oil in the global economy increased in 1972–2010, despite the growing world population. ► The highest dematerialization of crude oil (7.2%) occurred in 1981, whereas the lowest (0.3%) in 2008. ► Dematerialization of crude oil occurred more frequently and maintained for a longer time than materialization in 1972–2010. ► The periods of stable (at least 3 years long) dematerialization occurred between 1980 and 1983, 1990–1994 and 2006–2009. ► The projected decrease in the crude oil consumption per capita will reach 2.2% by 2020 (assuming a stable pace of PGD).
