Material Input per Service Unit (MIPS) is a method of calculating the natural resources used during the life cycle of a product or service and estimating its environmental impact. MIPS includes all materials that have been moved from their original place during the life-cycle (the so-called ‘ecological rucksack’). MIPS is directly related to the assessment tool Life Cycle Assessment as described in the assessment tool guidelines. Five main types of material inputs are considered: biotic and abiotic resources, water consumption, air consumption and the movement of soil (all measured in tons moved in nature).

The five main objectives of the MIPS concept are:

• * Aid in making decisions regarding material consumption
• * Aid in the formulation of resource efficiency objectives
• * Provide a measurement of resource efficiency
• * Provide an indicator of sustainable production and consumption
• * Enable stakeholders to evaluate the environmental impact of a product or service along its life cycle

Figure: presentation of the pig iron process chain (Source: Ritthoff, M., Rohn, H., Liedtke, C. (2002). Calculating MIPS. Resource productivity of products and services. Wuppertal Spezial 27e)

Service units per unit of material input (the reciprocal calculation of MIPS) is a measure of resource efficiency, i.e. how much use can be obtained from a certain “amount of nature”. MIPS can be used to find ways of increasing resource efficiency and achieve more sustainable methods of production and consumption. There are two available options for reducing the material consumption per unit of service: reducing the material input of the product (for example by using less energy or raw materials in the production phase), or increasing the amount of service units derived from a certain amount of material. For instance, the resource efficiency of a car can be increased either by decreasing the materials used for its production (decreasing material input) or by increasing the amount of passengers per car (increasing the amount of service units).

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Strengths and weaknesses

How you can take action

Currently, most sustainable production efforts focus on the manufacturing phase of the value chain while the remaining stages of resource extraction, transportation, distribution, consumption and disposal or recycling receive comparatively less attention. CSOs can make use of the MIPS concept to highlight the importance of reducing material input throughout the value chain. Using the Material Input per Service Unit as a sustainability indicator of production and consumption allows companies to move from sporadic and ad-hoc management towards a more systematic approach in order to reduce their environmental impact.

With regard to the CSO strategies identified above, MIPS can serve as a tool for managing and promoting sustainability within policy making as well as in mainstreaming resource efficiency throughout supply chains. Furthermore, the indicator can be used to campaign for systematic assessments that lead to a reduction in the environmental impact of products and services and for increased cradle to grave resource efficiency. CSOs can take part in filling knowledge gaps by collecting data for MIPS and engaging in lifecycle discussions based on quantitative numbers. While the MIPS concept can be used for lobbying governments, it can also play an important role in networking with other CSOs, business and policy makers.

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Case study: SERI – ECR Austria

Currently, awareness surrounding material inputs of the services we consume is not high but issues of sustainability, environment and climate change have gained importance in the economic, public and political arenas. ECR Austria (Efficient Consumer Response) is a platform for producers and retailers aiming to optimise their value chains in order to satisfy customers’ needs and is interested in addressing “sustainability”.

Companies were unsure about the hot spots in their supply chains where sustainability could best be addressed. There was no coherent standard to compare the environmental impacts of different products.

SERI calculated the MIPS of different products and gave recommendations on how to improve resource efficiency along the supply chains.

The project raised awareness among companies about the environmental impacts of their products and helped them to identify hot spots for improved resource efficiency along their products’ supply chains. Several suppliers have since expressed interest in improving resource efficiency. All partners expressed the need to establish an international database where data on resource intensity and other validated core indicators can be internationally harmonised, validated and periodically updated.

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Case study: FANC – Finland

The Finnish association for nature conservation (FANC) has used the MIPS method in a research and information dissemination project called FIN-MIPS household. The concept of the project was to calculate the ecological rucksacks of Finnish households using the MIPS method. 27 voluntary households participated in the project, each one filling in a household survey for six weeks that covered the seven sectors of household consumption: mobility, tourism, food and drink, housing, household goods and appliances, and leisure time activities. Based on the household survey, the researchers calculated the ecological rucksacks of the households and formulated ways to reduce resource consumption. A total of eight research reports were written on the project and the results were published and disseminated in many newspaper articles, poster exhibitions and two seminars. The main strength of the MIPS method was found to be its simplicity. It was possible to make extensive calculations with only a few researchers and a limited budget. The household participants were very interested to receive information regarding the impacts of their own lifestyles. The main critique was that MIPS measures material inputs instead of environmental impacts.

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You can download the whole paper on indicators “Measuring Performance towards Sustainable Consumption and Production – Types of Indicators and Indicator Sets” and other interesting papers of the Action Town project in the Library!