Monitoring the consumption footprint of countries to support policy-making: An assessment of data availability in Germany

Monitoring the progress of circular economy policies requires robust estimates of the environmental impacts due to the consumption in individual countries also considering those effects beyond their territorial boundaries. The life cycle assessment (LCA)-based Consumption Footprint (CF) indicator, which was developed by the European Commission Joint Research Centre, provides a possible approach for quantifying such impacts for European countries. Building on the CF indicator, we assess the environmental impacts of Germany’s consumption for five product baskets (food, mobility, housing, household goods, and appliances) during 2010 – 2018 and focus on data availability at national level. A comparison between European and national data sources revealed some differences in terms of data composition, granularity, related consumption intensities, and environmental impacts. Using national data sources results in slightly lower environmental impacts, e.g., due to differences in the assessment scope of national statistics. Emerging consumption trends can be highlighted. Germany’s CF transgresses the safe operating space for several impact categories, with consumption of food, household goods, and mobility being the main drivers. Domestic impacts have decreased at the expense of outsourcing environmental pressures and impacts to other countries.

NUSS Philip;  SANYE MENGUAL Esther;  SALA Serenella; 

2023-11-08

WILEY

JRC131366

1088-1980 (online),   

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jiec.13412,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC131366,   

10.1111/jiec.13412 (online),