Scientific update
Resource use evaluation of land footprint indicators
The LANDFLOW methodology was originally developed at IIASA for tracking land footprints along global supply chains from primary production to final consumption. LANDFLOW was extended in 2014 to track key proxies of environmental impacts and sustainable resource use, including deforestation and irrigation water use [1]. This has enabled hybrid accounting, namely, correlation of physical accounting based on data reported in physical volumes (i.e., tons) with environmental-economic accounting which applies input-output analysis and supply-chain tracking in monetary values.
The first methodological steps were taken in 2014 to implement other potential extensions for LANDFLOW, including sustainability of irrigation water use, energy use in agriculture, and nutrient use and normalized land use indicators accounting for land quality and yield gaps.
References
[1] Bruckner M, Giljum S, Fischer G, Tramberend S (2014). Review of land flow accounting methods and recommendations for further development. Vienna University of Economic and Business, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, on behalf of the Federal Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt) Germany.
Collaborators
Ecologic Institute of Berlin, Germany
Research program