Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1PZ, UK.
Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci. 2013 Jan 28;371(1986):20120496. doi: 10.1098/rsta.2012.0496. Print 2013 Mar 13.
Material efficiency, as discussed in this Meeting Issue, entails the pursuit of the technical strategies, business models, consumer preferences and policy instruments that would lead to a substantial reduction in the production of high-volume energy-intensive materials required to deliver human well-being. This paper, which introduces a Discussion Meeting Issue on the topic of material efficiency, aims to give an overview of current thinking on the topic, spanning environmental, engineering, economics, sociology and policy issues. The motivations for material efficiency include reducing energy demand, reducing the emissions and other environmental impacts of industry, and increasing national resource security. There are many technical strategies that might bring it about, and these could mainly be implemented today if preferred by customers or producers. However, current economic structures favour the substitution of material for labour, and consumer preferences for material consumption appear to continue even beyond the point at which increased consumption provides any increase in well-being. Therefore, policy will be required to stimulate material efficiency. A theoretically ideal policy measure, such as a carbon price, would internalize the externality of emissions associated with material production, and thus motivate change directly. However, implementation of such a measure has proved elusive, and instead the adjustment of existing government purchasing policies or existing regulations-- for instance to do with building design, planning or vehicle standards--is likely to have a more immediate effect.
材料效率，如本会议议题中所讨论的，需要追求技术策略、商业模式、消费者偏好和政策手段，以大幅减少实现人类福祉所需的大量能源密集型材料的生产。本文介绍了一个关于材料效率的专题讨论会议议题，旨在概述当前在环境、工程、经济、社会学和政策问题方面对该主题的思考。推动材料效率的动机包括减少能源需求、减少工业排放和其他环境影响，以及提高国家资源安全。有许多技术策略可能会实现这一目标，如果客户或生产者愿意，这些策略今天就可以主要实施。然而，当前的经济结构有利于用材料替代劳动力，而且消费者对物质消费的偏好似乎即使在消费增加不再带来任何幸福感的情况下也会继续。因此，需要政策来刺激材料效率。一种理论上理想的政策措施，如碳价格，将使与材料生产相关的排放的外部性内在化，从而直接推动变革。然而，这样的措施的实施被证明是难以实现的，因此，调整现有的政府采购政策或现有的法规——例如关于建筑设计、规划或车辆标准——可能会产生更直接的效果。
