Institute of Social Ecology (SEC) established the concept of social metabolism in the early 1990s and was at the forefront of the development of MFA methods and its harmonisation at the Austrian and international level. From the early days on, part of the scientific research efforts were funded by the Austrian Ministry of Environment and implemented in cooperation with Statistics Austria. This strong cooperation among science, policy and statistics was one important ingredient to the successful implementation of the concept of social metabolism and Material Flow Accounting.
The research activities in the area were and are manifold and cover several aspects:
- the development and implementation of MFA concepts, methods and indicators,
- the compilation of large empirical data sets and the analysis of patterns and trends in socio-economic resource use,
- a special focus on trade and the upstream resource requirements (material footprints),
- the consultancy of national and international policy makers in the implementation of MFA in policy programs.
Here you will find research topics and relevant publications that were prepared by the Institute of Social Ecology or to which the Institute contributed.
