Material efficiency is a description or metric (''M''p) (the ratio of material used to the supplied material) which refers to decreasing the amount of a particular material needed to produce a specific product. Making a usable item out of thinner stock than a prior version increases the material efficiency of the manufacturing process. Material efficiency goes hand in hand with

Green building Green building (also known as green construction or sustainable building) refers to both a structure and the application of processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from planni ...

and

Energy conservation Energy conservation is the effort to reduce wasteful energy consumption by using fewer energy services. This can be done by using energy more effectively (using less energy for continuous service) or changing one's behavior to use less service (f ...

, as well as other ways of incorporating

Renewable resources A renewable resource, also known as a flow resource, is a natural resource which will replenish to replace the portion depleted by usage and consumption, either through natural reproduction or other recurring processes in a finite amount of ti ...

in the building process from start to finish. The motivations for material efficiency include reducing energy demand, reducing

Greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and lar ...

, and other environmental impacts such as

land use Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as settlements and semi-natural habitats such as arable fields, pastures, and managed woods. Land use by humans has a long h ...

water scarcity Water scarcity (closely related to water stress or water crisis) is the lack of fresh water Water resources, resources to meet the standard water demand. There are two types of water scarcity: physical or economic water scarcity. Physical water ...

air pollution Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...

water pollution Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities, so that it negatively affects its uses. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. Water ...

, and

waste management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitoring ...

. With a growing population and increasing wealth, demand for material extraction and processing will likely to double in the next 40 years. The environmental impacts of the required processing will become critical in the transition to a sustainable future. Material efficiency aims to reduce the impacts associated with material consumption. Some technical strategies include: Increasing the life of existing products, using them more in entirety, re-using components to avoid waste, or reducing the amount of material through a lightweight product design. For example, making a usable item out of thinner stock than a prior version increases the material efficiency of the manufacturing process. Increasing material efficiency is a crucial opportunity to achieve the 1.5 °C goal by the Paris agreement.

Manufacturing

Material efficiency in manufacturing refers to reduce the amount of

raw material A raw material, also known as a feedstock, unprocessed material, or primary commodity, is a basic material that is used to produce goods, finished goods, energy, or intermediate materials that are feedstock for future finished products. As feedst ...

s used for manufacturing a product, generating less waste per product, and improving waste management. Generally using building materials such as steel, reinforced concrete, and aluminum release CO2 during production. In 2015, materials manufacturing for building construction were responsible for 11% of global energy-related CO2 emissions. The largest market for aluminum is the transportation sector, which produces vehicles, airplanes, railways, and subway cars; other applications include building, construction, and packaging. The potential in manufacturing can be related to improving waste segregation (e.g., separating plastics from combustibles). Recycling and reusing components allow for remanufacturing during the process improvement in creating the product, increasing the material's life for durability, technology development, and correct component/material purchasing. Material efficiency contributes to achieving a

circular economy A circular economy (also referred to as circularity and CE) is a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible. CE aims ...

and capturing value in the industry. Many companies have applied the theory of circular economy to design strategies and business models to close material loops.

Building process

Since 1971, global steel demand has increased by three times, cement by nearly seven times, primary aluminum by almost six times, and plastics by over ten times. Significant materials, such as iron and steel, aluminum, cement, chemical products, and pulp and paper, impact the building process. However, employing more efficient strategies to produce these materials will reduce energy and cost without ignoring the reduction of carbon emissions. An example of this would be using recycled steel to erect the frame of a building instead of using wooden timbers. Using recycled steel saves room in landfills that the steel would otherwise be taking up, saves 75% of the energy required to produce steel in the production process, and saves trees from being cut down to build homes.The recycled steel can be fashioned in the exact dimensions needed for building and can be made into "customized steel beams and panels to fit each specific design."

Strategies

During the manufacturing process, each stage has new opportunities to increase material efficiency, from design and fabrication, through use, and finally to the end of life. Some strategies are: * Reduction: Innovating and optimizing strategies may reduce the use of material while providing the same service. In addition, designing for durability could result in a resilient material. Modular design can facilitate material efficiency by reusing components and minimizing components needed in the production process. * Durability: Extending product life through redesign or repair. More intensive use and extending product or buildings lifetimes through repair and refurbishment can reduce the need for materials to produce new products. * Lightweight products: The reduction of material use for a service; Some examples are: Universal beams, food cans, reinforcing bars, commercial steel-framed buildings. * Reuse: The main purpose is re use components for remanufacturing/refurbishing. Reusing current materials uses even less energy than recycling.

Recycling

Recycling can enable lower-emission second purpose to new materials like steel, aluminum and other metals. Incorporating recycled materials into the manufacturing process of new goods is a necessary change. Recycling is common for most materials these days, is found in every country and economy. Some materials that can be recycle are: * Aluminum Aluminum offers the most savings, with cans from recycled material requiring as little as 4% of the energy required to make the same cans from bauxite ore. Metals don't degrade as they're recycled in the same way plastics and paper do, fibers shortening every cycle, so many metals are prime candidates for recycling, especially considering their high value per ton compared to other recyclables. Aluminum is a highly desirable metal for recycling because it retains the same properties and quality, no matter how many times the aluminum can be recycled. After all, once it's melted, the structure doesn't change. * Plastics According to World Economic Forum approximately 36% of all plastic produced is used to create packaging, 85% of which ends up in landfills. Plastic waste is a mixture of different types of plastics, and it isn't easy to recycle. Plastic recycling has several challenges. Plastic cannot be recycled several times without quickly degrading in quality; The total bottle recycling rate for 2020 was 27.2%, down from 28.7% in 2019. Every hour, 2.5 million plastic bottles are thrown away in the U.S. Currently, around 75 and 199 million tons of plastic are in our oceans, without considering

microplastics Microplastics are fragments of any type of plastic less than in length, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the European Chemicals Agency. They cause pollution by entering natural ecosystems from a v ...

. * Paper Paper (in particular newspaper) have lower energy savings than the previous materials, with recycled products costing 45% and 21% less energy respectively. Recycled paper has a large market in China, although work still needs to be done to facilitate mixed paper recycling as opposed to newspaper. Utilizing these recycling methods would permit spending less energy and resources on extracting new resources to use in manufacturing. Despite significant progress in recycling over the last decades, the paper sector is a substantial contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. The pulp and paper industries produce 50% of their own energy from biomass, which still requires huge amounts of energy.

Policy

Public policies help to discuss and provide a market incentive for more efficient use of materials. There are severe impediments to material efficiency improvement, including hesitation to invest, a lack of available and accessible information, and economic disincentives. However, a wide range of policy strategies and innovations have been created in some countries to achieve the mentioned goals. These include regulation and guidelines; economic incentives; voluntary agreements and actions; information, education, and training; and funding for research, development, and demonstration. In 2022,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, released the program "The Critical Material Innovation, Efficiency, And Alternatives" It will be to study, develop, demonstrate and trade with the primary goal of creating new alternatives to critical material, promoting efficient manufacturing and use. In addition, The U.S. Department of Energy released a new "Energy Efficiency Materials Pilot Program for Nonprofits" program to provide nonprofit organizations with funding to upgrade building materials to improve energy efficiency, lower utility costs, and reduce carbon emissions.

References