Indirect environmental impacts from the defence sector
Publish date: 2002-01-01
Report number: FOI-R--0368--SE
Pages: 54
Written in: Swedish
Abstract
The instruction of environmental management systems requires that not only the direct environmental impacts from an organisation, but also the indirect impacts are assessed. The direct impacts from the Swedish defence sector have been analysed in earlier studies. In this study the indirect impacts have been analysed using environmentally extended input/output analysis giving a life-cycle perspective. The defence sector is defined as the armed forces plus a number of closely related governmental agencies. Indirect impacts come from production of all the different types of products and services that the defence sector is using. The results presented include the use of energy carriers, emissions of some traditional air pollutants plus indicators for the use of chemical products. The results indicate that the indirect impacts can be of significance compared to the direct impacts. It may therefore be of importance to consider also the indirect impacts when the total impacts from the sector are examined. The results and the general methodology are transferable and can be used when assessing total environmental impacts from other societal sectors. The results can also serve as an input to a strategic environmental assessment of a new policy, plan or programme for future development within the sector.