Global sustainability accounting : developing EXIOBASE for multi-regional footprint analysis

Wood, Richard
Stadler, Konstantin
Bulavskaya, Tatyana
Lutter, Stephan
Giljum, Stefan
Koning, Arjan de
Kuenen, Jeroen
Schütz, Helmut
Acosta Fernandez, José
Usubiaga, Arkaitz
Simas, Moana
Ivanova, Olga
Weinzettel, Jan
Schmidt, Jannick H.
Merciai, Stefano
Tukker, Arnold

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Publication date

January 2015

DOI

10.3390/su7010138

Publisher

MDPI AG

Abstract

Measuring progress towards sustainable development requires appropriate frameworks and databases. The System of Environmental-Economic Accounts (SEEA) is undergoing continuous refinement with these objectives in mind. In SEEA, there is a need for databases to encompass the global dimension of societal metabolism. In this paper, we focus on the latest effort to construct a global multi-regional input-output database (EXIOBASE) with a focus on environmentally relevant activities. The database and its broader analytical framework allows for the as yet most detailed insight into the production-related impacts and "footprints" of our consumption. We explore the methods used to arrive at the database, and some key relationships extracted from the...