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A Household's Burden – The Embodied Resource Use of Household Equipment in Germany

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  • Teubler, Jens
  • Buhl, Johannes
  • Lettenmeier, Michael
  • Greiff, Kathrin
  • Liedtke, Christa

Abstract

The paper describes patterns of resource use related to German households' equipment. Using cluster analysis and material flow accounting, data on socio-demographic characteristics, and expenditures on fuel, electricity and household equipment allow for a differentiation of seven different household types. The corresponding resource use, expressed in Material Footprint per person and year, is calculated based on cradle-to-gate material flows of average household goods and the related household energy use. Our results show that patterns of resource use are mainly driven by the use of fuel and electricity and the ownership of cars. The quantified Material Footprints correlate to social status and are also linked to city size, age and household size. Affluent, established and/or younger families living in rural areas typically show the highest amounts of durables and expenditures on non-durables, thus exhibiting the highest use of natural resources.

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  • Teubler, Jens & Buhl, Johannes & Lettenmeier, Michael & Greiff, Kathrin & Liedtke, Christa, 2018. "A Household's Burden – The Embodied Resource Use of Household Equipment in Germany," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 96-105.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:146:y:2018:i:c:p:96-105
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.10.004
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    Cited by:

    1. Alice Whetstone & Yuliya Kalmykova & Leonardo Rosado & Alexandra Lavers Westin, 2020. "Informing Sustainable Consumption in Urban Districts: A Method for Transforming Household Expenditures into Physical Quantities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-16, January.
    2. Caixia Mao & Ryu Koide & Lewis Akenji, 2020. "Applying Foresight to Policy Design for a Long-Term Transition to Sustainable Lifestyles," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-20, July.
    3. Johannes Buhl & Christa Liedtke & Sebastian Schuster & Katrin Bienge, 2020. "Predicting the Material Footprint in Germany between 2015 and 2020 via Seasonally Decomposed Autoregressive and Exponential Smoothing Algorithms," Resources, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-17, October.
    4. Jacksohn, Anke & Tovar Reaños, Miguel Angel & Pothen, Frank & Rehdanz, Katrin, 2023. "Trends in household demand and greenhouse gas footprints in Germany: Evidence from microdata of the last 20 years," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    5. Rui Huang & Shaohui Zhang & Changxin Liu, 2018. "Comparing Urban and Rural Household CO 2 Emissions—Case from China’s Four Megacities: Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-17, May.
    6. Ryu Koide & Michael Lettenmeier & Satoshi Kojima & Viivi Toivio & Aryanie Amellina & Lewis Akenji, 2019. "Carbon Footprints and Consumer Lifestyles: An Analysis of Lifestyle Factors and Gap Analysis by Consumer Segment in Japan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-25, October.
    7. Johannes Buhl & Christa Liedtke & Jens Teubler & Katrin Bienge & Nicholas Schmidt, 2018. "Measure or Management?—Resource Use Indicators for Policymakers Based on Microdata by Households," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-16, November.

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