Meso
Principles of the MESO analysis
A. Collect relevant data To better study environmental aspects of the production process, it is necessary to understand the relations between economy and environment (doc 1 – PDF, French). The most pertinent aspects of this relation are highlighted. In MESO analyses, the industrial sector or urban community studied is seen as a ‘living body’, that is to say, through its activities, it ingests, transforms resources, produces goods, and generates discharges, thus putting pressure on ecosystems (industrial metabolism). This prospect sets the limits of the system studied.
The data collection takes place at the entry of the production process (input) and at its exit (output). The data are then analysed in detail listing precisely all materials entering the process (water, limestone, sand, energy, emternalities, etc.) and exiting the process (finished product, water, CO2, SO2, waste, etc.) as well as general economic and demographic data (turnover, annual production, added value, number of employees, etc.). Along with national economic records, the economic calculation of the environmental degradation of the sector is therefore possible. The results are then allocated to the seven environmental domains (water, air, noise, soil and landscape, wastes, energy/materials, global environment) and the three main economic categories (health/quality of life, natural capital, inefficiencies in the use of resources). More information is available here (doc. 2 – PDF, French). B. Appraise damages, inefficiencies and remediations quantitatively The MESO methodology lies on the monetary evaluation of costs of environmental damages and inefficiencies. Also, costs of remediation are assessed. The cost of environmental damages is a loss of well-being or economic value due to environmental degradation undergone by the society. It could be a loss of well-being due to the rise in respiratory diseases because of air pollution. This same pollution could
A. Collect relevant data To better study environmental aspects of the production process, it is necessary to understand the relations between economy and environment (doc 1 – PDF, French). The most pertinent aspects of this relation are highlighted. In MESO analyses, the industrial sector or urban community studied is seen as a ‘living body’, that is to say, through its activities, it ingests, transforms resources, produces goods, and generates discharges, thus putting pressure on ecosystems (industrial metabolism). This prospect sets the limits of the system studied.
The data collection takes place at the entry of the production process (input) and at its exit (output). The data are then analysed in detail listing precisely all materials entering the process (water, limestone, sand, energy, emternalities, etc.) and exiting the process (finished product, water, CO2, SO2, waste, etc.) as well as general economic and demographic data (turnover, annual production, added value, number of employees, etc.). Along with national economic records, the economic calculation of the environmental degradation of the sector is therefore possible. The results are then allocated to the seven environmental domains (water, air, noise, soil and landscape, wastes, energy/materials, global environment) and the three main economic categories (health/quality of life, natural capital, inefficiencies in the use of resources). More information is available here (doc. 2 – PDF, French). B. Appraise damages, inefficiencies and remediations quantitatively The MESO methodology lies on the monetary evaluation of costs of environmental damages and inefficiencies. Also, costs of remediation are assessed. The cost of environmental damages is a loss of well-being or economic value due to environmental degradation undergone by the society. It could be a loss of well-being due to the rise in respiratory diseases because of air pollution. This same pollution could