Material availability and the supply chain: risks, effects, and responses.
Many authors suggest that market forces are inadequate to successfully manage the problems of resource availability and use. The fundamental question is whether these inadequacies are intrinsic to the market or if they arise from a failure of firms to detect and respond to subtle market signals. This paper explores the latter by describing (1) mechanisms that can limit materials availability, (2) effects of such limits on the firm, (3) preliminary metrics to diagnose these risks, and (4) strategies to reduce a firm's risk exposure. Case analyses of two materials systems are used to suggestthat private firm interests, when properly informed, can motivate strategies that drive toward sustainable materials use. These strategies include (1) improving production efficiency, (2) developing technology to use more sustainable substitute materials, and (3) facilitating a more effective materials recycling infrastructure.
Alonso
Elisa
E
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Laboratory for Energy and the Environment, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
Gregory
Jeremy
J
Field
Frank
F
Kirchain
Randolph
R
D003035:Cobalt / Q000191:economics; D003132:Commerce; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D003300:Copper / Q000191:economics
D003035:Cobalt; D003300:Copper