SIST EN ISO 14051:2012

Environmental management - Material flow cost accounting - General framework (ISO 14051:2011)

ISO 14051:2011 provides a general framework for material flow cost accounting (MFCA). Under MFCA, the flows and stocks of materials within an organization are traced and quantified in physical units (e.g. mass, volume) and the costs associated with those material flows are also evaluated. The resulting information can act as a motivator for organizations and managers to seek opportunities to simultaneously generate financial benefits and reduce adverse environmental impacts. MFCA is applicable to any organization that uses materials and energy, regardless of their products, services, size, structure, location, and existing management and accounting systems.
MFCA can be extended to other organizations in the supply chain, both upstream and downstream, thus helping to develop an integrated approach to improving material and energy efficiency in the supply chain. This extension can be beneficial because waste generation in an organization is often driven by the nature or quality of materials provided by a supplier, or the specification of the product requested by a customer.
By definition, management accounting and environmental management accounting (EMA) focus on providing organizations with information for internal decision-making. MFCA, one of the major tools of EMA, also focuses on information for internal decision-making, and is intended to complement existing environmental management and management accounting practices. Although an organization can choose to include external costs in an MFCA analysis, external costs are outside the scope of ISO 14051:2011.
The MFCA framework presented in ISO 14051:2011 includes common terminologies, objective and principles, fundamental elements, and implementation steps. However, detailed calculation procedures or information on techniques for improving material or energy efficiency are outside the scope of ISO 14051:2011.
ISO 14051:2011 is not intended for the purpose of third party certification.

Umweltmanagement - Materialflusskostenrechnung - Allgemeine Rahmenbedingungen (ISO 14051:2011)

Diese Internationale Norm stellt einen allgemein gültigen Bezugsrahmen für die Materialfluss-kostenrechnung (MFKR) zur Verfügung. Mit der MFKR werden Materialflüsse und -bestände innerhalb einer Organisation erfasst und in physikalischen Einheiten (z. B. Masse, Volumen) quantifiziert; auch die Kosten, die mit diesen Materialflüssen verbunden sind, werden ermittelt. Das entstandene Ergebnis kann eine Veranlassung für Organisationen und das Management darstellen, nach Möglichkeiten zu suchen, Gewinne zu erwirtschaften und zugleich unerwünschte Umweltauswirkungen zu reduzieren. Die MFKR ist in jeder Organisation, die Material oder Energie einsetzt, anwendbar, ungeachtet ihrer Produkte, Größe, Struktur, des Standortes und vorhandener Management  und Abrechnungssysteme.
Die MFKR kann auf andere Organisationen entlang der Lieferkette, sowohl vor- als auch nachgelagert werden und dadurch die Entwicklung eines integrierten Ansatzes zur Verbesserung der Materialeffizienz entlang der Lieferkette unterstützen. Diese Erweiterung kann nutzbringend sein, da Abfall in Organisationen oft durch die Beschaffenheit des durch den Zulieferer bereitgestellten Materials oder durch die Produktspezifikationen nach Kundenanforderung entsteht.
Sowohl die konventionelle Kostenrechnung als auch die Umweltkostenrechnung (UKR) sind definitionsgemäß darauf fokussiert, Organisationen mit Informationen zur Unterstützung organisationsinterner Entscheidungen zu versorgen. Auch die MFKR, ein zentrales Instrument der UKR, konzentriert sich auf Informationen für die interne Entscheidungsfindung und ist darauf ausgerichtet, das existierende Umweltmanagement und die Umweltmanagementpraxis zu ergänzen. Daher bezieht sich die MFKR, wie auch die UKR und die konventionelle Kostenrechnung, auf interne Kosten. Obwohl sich eine Organisation dafür entscheiden kann, externe Kosten in die MFKR-Analyse einzubeziehen, sind die externen Kosten nicht dem Anwendungsbereich dieser Inter¬nationalen Norm zugeordnet.

Management environnemental - Coût d'acheminement des matières - Cadre général (ISO 14051:2011)

L'ISO 14051:2011 fournit un cadre général pour la comptabilité des flux matières (MFCA). En comptabilité MFCA, les flux et les stocks de matières au sein d'un organisme sont suivis et quantifiés en unités physiques (par exemple masse, volume) et les coûts associés à ces flux matières sont également évalués. Les informations résultantes peuvent agir comme un facteur de motivation pour encourager les organismes et leurs dirigeants à rechercher des opportunités de générer des avantages financiers tout en réduisant les conséquences néfastes sur l'environnement. La MFCA est applicable à tous les organismes qui utilisent des matières et de l'énergie, indépendamment de leurs produits, leurs services, leur taille, leur structure, leur lieu d'implantation et de leurs systèmes de management et de comptabilité existants.
La comptabilité MFCA peut être étendue à d'autres organismes de la chaîne logistique, en amont comme en aval, pour aider à développer une approche intégrée visant à une utilisation plus efficace des matières et de l'énergie dans la chaîne logistique. Cette extension peut s'avérer profitable si l'on tient compte du fait que la production de déchets au sein d'un organisme dépend souvent de la nature ou de la qualité des matières fournies par un fournisseur en amont ou des caractéristiques du produit demandées par le client en aval.
Par définition, la comptabilité de gestion et la comptabilité de management environnemental (EMA) visent essentiellement à fournir aux organismes des informations de nature à éclairer les prises de décisions internes. La comptabilité MFCA, qui constitue l'un des principaux outils de l'EMA et vise également à alimenter en informations le procédé décisionnel, est destinée à compléter les pratiques existantes en matière de management environnemental et de comptabilité analytique. Même si un organisme peut choisir d'inclure les coûts externes dans une analyse MFCA, ces derniers ne font pas partie du champ d'application de l'ISO 14051:2011.
Le cadre MFCA présenté dans l'ISO 14051:2011 couvre les terminologies communes, l'objectif et les principes, les éléments fondamentaux et les étapes de mise en oeuvre. Toutefois, le champ d'application de l'ISO 14051:2011 ne couvre pas les procédures de calcul détaillées ni les techniques à mettre en ?uvre pour promouvoir une utilisation plus efficace des ressources matérielles et énergétiques.
L'ISO 14051:2011 n'est pas destinée à être utilisée à des fins de certification par une tierce partie.

Ravnanje z okoljem - Stroškovno računovodstvo materialnega toka - Splošne smernice (ISO 14051:2011)

Ta mednarodni standard določa splošne smernice za stroškovno računovodstvo materialnega toka (MFCA). V skladu s stroškovnim računovodstvom materialnega toka se tok in zaloge materiala v organizaciji sledi ter meri v fizikalnih enotah (npr. masa, prostornina), pri čemer se ocenijo tudi stroški, povezani z materialnimi toki. Pridobljene informacije lahko spodbujajo organizacije in upravljavce k iskanju priložnosti za sočasno ustvarjanje finančnih koristi in zmanjševanje negativnih vplivov na okolje. Stroškovno računovodstvo materialnega toka lahko uporablja vsaka organizacija, ki uporablja materiale in energijo, ne glede na njihove izdelke, storitve, velikost, strukturo, lokacijo ter obstoječe upravljavske in računovodske sisteme. Stroškovno računovodstvo materialnega toka se lahko razširi na druge organizacije v dobavni verigi, tako navzgor kot tudi navzdol, s čimer prispeva k razvoju celostnega pristopa k izboljševanju materialne in energijske učinkovitosti v dobavni verigi. Takšna razširitev je lahko koristna, saj odpadki v organizaciji pogosto nastajajo zaradi narave ali kakovosti materialov, ki jih zagotavlja dobavitelj, ali specifikacije izdelka, ki ga stranka zahteva. Po definiciji se poslovno računovodstvo in računovodstvo ravnanja z okoljem (EMA) osredotočata na zagotavljanje informacij organizacijam za notranje odločanje. Stroškovno računovodstvo materialnega toka, eno glavnih orodij računovodstva ravnanja z okoljem, se prav tako osredotoča na informacije za notranje odločanje ter je namenjeno dopolnjevanju obstoječih praks računovodstva ravnanja z okoljem in poslovnega računovodstva. Čeprav se organizacija lahko odloči za vključitev zunanjih stroškov v analizo stroškovnega računovodstva materialnega toka, zunanji stroški ne spadajo na področje uporabe tega mednarodnega standarda. Smernice stroškovnega računovodstva materialnega toka, predstavljene v tem mednarodnem standardu, vključujejo skupno terminologijo, cilj in načela, osnovne elemente ter korake izvajanja. Vendar podrobni računski postopki ali informacije o tehnikah za izboljšanje materialne ali energijske učinkovitosti ne spadajo na področje uporabe tega mednarodnega standarda.

General Information

• Status: Published
• Public Enquiry End Date: 25-Oct-2010
• Publication Date: 24-Jan-2012
• ICS: 13.020.10 - Environmental management
• Technical Committee: UZO - Environmental management
• Current Stage: 6060 - National Implementation/Publication (Adopted Project)
• Start Date: 11-Jan-2012
• Due Date: 17-Mar-2012
• Completion Date: 25-Jan-2012
• Ref Project: EN ISO 14051:2011 - Environmental management - Material flow cost accounting - General framework (ISO 14051:2011)

Standards Content (Sample)

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
SIST EN ISO 14051:2012
01-marec-2012
5DYQDQMH]RNROMHP6WURãNRYQRUDþXQRYRGVWYRPDWHULDOQHJDWRND6SORãQH
VPHUQLFH,62
Environmental management - Material flow cost accounting - General framework (ISO
14051:2011)
Umweltmanagement - Materialflusskostenrechnung - Allgemeine Rahmenbedingungen
(ISO 14051:2011)
Management environnemental - Coût d'acheminement des matières - Cadre général
(ISO 14051:2011)
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN ISO 14051:2011
ICS:
13.020.10 Ravnanje z okoljem Environmental management
SIST EN ISO 14051:2012 en
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

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SIST EN ISO 14051:2012

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SIST EN ISO 14051:2012


EUROPEAN STANDARD
EN ISO 14051

NORME EUROPÉENNE

EUROPÄISCHE NORM
September 2011
ICS 13.020.10
English Version
Environmental management - Material flow cost accounting -
General framework (ISO 14051:2011)
Management environnemental - Comptabilité des flux Umweltmanagement - Materialflusskostenrechnung -
matières - Cadre général (ISO 14051:2011) Allgemeine Rahmenbedingungen (ISO 14051:2011)
This European Standard was approved by CEN on 3 September 2011.

CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European
Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national
standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to any CEN member.

This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translation
under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre has the same
status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland,
Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.





EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

Management Centre: Avenue Marnix 17, B-1000 Brussels
© 2011 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. EN ISO 14051:2011: E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

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SIST EN ISO 14051:2012
EN ISO 14051:2011 (E)
Contents Page
Foreword .3
2

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SIST EN ISO 14051:2012
EN ISO 14051:2011 (E)
Foreword
This document (EN ISO 14051:2011) has been prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 207 “Environmental
management”.
This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an identical
text or by endorsement, at the latest by March 2012, and conflicting national standards shall be withdrawn at
the latest by March 2012.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. CEN [and/or CENELEC] shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
According to the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organizations of the following
countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Endorsement notice
The text of ISO 14051:2011 has been approved by CEN as a EN ISO 14051:2011 without any modification.

3

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SIST EN ISO 14051:2012

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SIST EN ISO 14051:2012

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 14051
First edition
2011-09-15


Environmental management — Material
flow cost accounting — General
framework
Management environnemental — Comptabilité des flux matières —
Cadre général




Reference number
ISO 14051:2011(E)
©
ISO 2011

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SIST EN ISO 14051:2012
ISO 14051:2011(E)

COPYRIGHT PROTECTED DOCUMENT


©  ISO 2011
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without permission in writing from either ISO at the address below or
ISO's member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
Case postale 56  CH-1211 Geneva 20
Tel. + 41 22 749 01 11
Fax + 41 22 749 09 47
E-mail [e-mail]
Web www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland

ii © ISO 2011 – All rights reserved

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SIST EN ISO 14051:2012
ISO 14051:2011(E)
Contents Page
Foreword . iv
Introduction . v
1  Scope . 1
2  Normative references . 1
3  Terms and definitions . 1
4  Objective and principles of MFCA . 4
4.1  Objective . 4
4.2  Principles . 4
5  Fundamental elements of MFCA . 5
5.1  Quantity centre . 5
5.2  Material balance . 5
5.3  Cost calculation . 6
5.4  Material flow model . 8
6  Implementation steps of MFCA . 9
6.1  General . 9
6.2  Involvement of management . 10
6.3  Determination of necessary expertise . 10
6.4  Specification of a boundary and a time period . 10
6.5  Determination of quantity centres . 11
6.6  Identification of inputs and outputs for each quantity centre . 11
6.7  Quantification of the material flows in physical units . 11
6.8  Quantification of the material flows in monetary units . 11
6.9  MFCA data summary and interpretation . 12
6.10  Communication of MFCA results . 13
6.11  Identification and assessment of improvement opportunities . 13
Annex A (informative) Difference between MFCA and conventional cost accounting . 14
Annex B (informative) Cost calculation and allocation in MFCA . 16
Annex C (informative) Case examples of MFCA . 24
Bibliography . 37

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SIST EN ISO 14051:2012
ISO 14051:2011(E)
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies
(ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO
technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been
established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and
non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.
International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The main task of technical committees is to prepare International Standards. Draft International Standards
adopted by the technical committees are circulated to the member bodies for voting. Publication as an
International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the member bodies casting a vote.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
ISO 14051 was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 207, Environmental management.

iv © ISO 2011 – All rights reserved

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SIST EN ISO 14051:2012
ISO 14051:2011(E)
Introduction
The aim of this International Standard is to offer a general framework for material flow cost accounting
(MFCA). MFCA is a management tool that can assist organizations to better understand the potential
environmental and financial consequences of their material and energy use practices, and seek opportunities
to achieve both environmental and financial improvements via changes in those practices.
MFCA promotes increased transparency of material and energy use practices via development of a material
flow model that traces and quantifies the flows and stocks of materials within an organization in physical units.
Energy can either be included as a material or quantified separately in MFCA. Any costs that are generated by
and/or associated with the material flows and energy use are subsequently quantified and attributed to them.
In particular, MFCA highlights the comparison of costs associated with products and costs associated with
material losses, e.g. waste, air emissions, wastewater.
Many organizations are unaware of the full extent of the actual cost of material losses in adequate detail
because data on material losses and the associated costs are often difficult to extract from conventional
information, accounting and environmental management systems. However, once available via MFCA, these
data can be used to seek opportunities to reduce material use and/or material losses, improve efficient uses of
material and energy, and reduce adverse environmental impacts and associated costs.
MFCA is applicable to all industries that use materials and energy, including extractive, manufacturing, service,
and other industries. It can be implemented by organizations of any type and scale, with or without
environmental management systems in place, in emerging economies as well as in industrialized countries.
MFCA is one of the major tools of environmental management accounting and is primarily designed for use
within a single facility or organization. However, MFCA can be extended to multiple organizations within a
supply chain, to help them develop an integrated approach to more efficient use of materials and energy.
This International Standard provides
 common terminologies;
 objective and principles;
 fundamental elements;
 implementation steps.
In addition, the annexes illustrate some of the differences between MFCA and conventional cost accounting,
cost evaluation methods, and case examples of MFCA application from different sectors and a supply chain.

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SIST EN ISO 14051:2012

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SIST EN ISO 14051:2012
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 14051:2011(E)

Environmental management — Material flow cost accounting —
General framework
1 Scope
This International Standard provides a general framework for material flow cost accounting (MFCA). Under
MFCA, the flows and stocks of materials within an organization are traced and quantified in physical units
(e.g. mass, volume) and the costs associated with those material flows are also evaluated. The resulting
information can act as a motivator for organizations and managers to seek opportunities to simultaneously
generate financial benefits and reduce adverse environmental impacts. MFCA is applicable to any
organization that uses materials and energy, regardless of their products, services, size, structure, location,
and existing management and accounting systems.
MFCA can be extended to other organizations in the supply chain, both upstream and downstream, thus
helping to develop an integrated approach to improving material and energy efficiency in the supply chain.
This extension can be beneficial because waste generation in an organization is often driven by the nature or
quality of materials provided by a supplier, or the specification of the product requested by a customer.
By definition, management accounting and environmental management accounting (EMA) focus on providing
organizations with information for internal decision-making. MFCA, one of the major tools of EMA, also
focuses on information for internal decision-making, and is intended to complement existing environmental
management and management accounting practices. Although an organization can choose to include external
costs in an MFCA analysis, external costs are outside the scope of this International Standard.
The MFCA framework presented in this International Standard includes common terminologies, objective and
principles, fundamental elements, and implementation steps. However, detailed calculation procedures or
information on techniques for improving material or energy efficiency are outside the scope of this
International Standard.
This International Standard is not intended for the purpose of third party certification.
2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated
references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced
document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 14050, Environmental management — Vocabulary
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO 14050 and the following apply.
3.1
cost
monetary value of resources consumed to perform activities
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SIST EN ISO 14051:2012
ISO 14051:2011(E)
3.2
cost allocation
indirect attribution of a cost between different objects, such as a product or process, by using an appropriate
apportionment basis.
NOTE In this International Standard, the object can be processes, quantity centres, products and material losses.
3.3
cost assignment
direct attribution of a cost to a specific object, such as a product or process
3.4
energy cost
cost for electricity, fuels, steam, heat, compressed air and other like media
NOTE Energy cost can be either included under material cost or quantified separately, at the discretion of the
organization.
3.5
energy loss
all energy use, except energy incorporated into intended products
NOTE Energy loss can be either included under material loss or quantified separately, at the discretion of the
organization.
3.6
energy use
manner or kind of application of energy
EXAMPLE Ventilation; lighting; heating; cooling; transportation; processes; production lines.
[ISO 50001:2011, definition 3.18]
3.7
environmental management accounting
EMA
identification, collection, analysis and use of two types of information for internal decision making:
 physical information on the use, flows and destinies of energy, water and materials (including wastes) and
 monetary information on environment-related costs, earnings and savings
[15]
[IFAC, 2005 ]
3.8
input
material or energy flow that enters a quantity centre
3.9
inventory
stock of materials, intermediate products, products in process, and finished products
3.10
material
substance that enters and/or leaves a quantity centre
NOTE 1 Materials can be divided into two categories:
 materials that are intended to become part of products, e.g. raw materials, auxiliary materials, intermediate products;
 materials that do not become part of products, e.g. cleaning solvents and chemical catalysts, which often are referred
to as operating materials.
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SIST EN ISO 14051:2012
ISO 14051:2011(E)
NOTE 2 Some types of materials can be classified into either category, depending on their use. Water is one such
material. In some cases, water can become part of a product (e.g. bottled water), while in other cases it can be used as an
operating material (e.g. water used in an equipment washing process).
NOTE 3 Energy carriers like fuels or steam can be identified as materials, at the discretion of the organization.
3.11
material balance
comparison of physical quantities of inputs, outputs and inventory changes in a quantity centre over a
specified time period
3.12
material cost
cost for a substance that enters and/or leaves a quantity centre
NOTE Material cost can be calculated in various ways, e.g. standard cost, average cost, and purchase cost. The
choice between cost calculation methods is at the discretion of the organization.
3.13
material distribution percentage
proportion of the material inputs that flow into products or material losses
3.14
material flow
movements of a material or group of materials between various quantity centres within an organization or
along a supply chain
3.15
material flow cost accounting
MFCA
tool for quantifying the flows and stocks of materials in processes or production lines in both physical and
monetary units
3.16
material loss
all material outputs generated in a quantity centre, except for intended products
NOTE 1 Material losses include air emissions, wastewater and solid waste, even if these material outputs can be
reworked, recycled or reused internally, or have market value.
NOTE 2 By-products can be considered as either material losses or products, at the discretion of the organization.
3.17
output
product, material loss or energy loss that leaves a quantity centre
NOTE Any intermediate or semi-finished product that leaves a quantity centre is treated as a product in MFCA.
3.18
process
set of interrelated or interacting activities that transforms inputs to outputs
[ISO 14040:2006, definition 3.11]
3.19
product
any goods or service
NOTE Adapted from ISO 14040:2006, definition 3.9.
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SIST EN ISO 14051:2012
ISO 14051:2011(E)
3.20
quantity centre
selected part or parts of a process for which inputs and outputs are quantified in physical and monetary units
3.21
system cost
cost incurred in the course of in-house handling of the material flows, except for material cost, energy cost and
waste management cost
EXAMPLE Cost of labour; cost of depreciation and maintenance; cost of transport.
3.22
waste management cost
cost of handling material losses generated in a quantity centre
NOTE 1 Waste management includes management of air emissions, wastewater, and solid waste.
NOTE 2 Waste management cost includes the following:
 the costs for onsite activities, e.g. reworking of rejected products, recycling, waste tracking, storage, treatment, and
disposal;
 the costs for outsourced activities, e.g. waste storage, transport, recycling, treatment, and disposal.
4 Objective and principles of MFCA
4.1 Objective
The objective of MFCA is to motivate and support the efforts of organizations to enhance both environmental
and financial performance through improved material and energy use by means of the following:
 increasing the transparency of material flows and energy use, the associated costs and environmental
aspects;
 supporting organizational decisions in areas such as process engineering, production planning, quality
control, product design and supply chain management; and
 improving coordination and communication on material and energy use within an organization.
4.2 Principles
4.2.1 Understanding material flow and energy use
The flow of materials should be traced in order to create a material flow model (see 5.4) that illustrates the
movements of materials and the use of energy for all quantity centres where materials are stocked, handled,
used, or transformed (e.g. storage, manufacturing processes, and waste management operations).
4.2.2 Linking physical and monetary data
Environmental and financial decision-making within an organization should be linked by the collection of data
on the physical quantities of materials and energy use, and data on the associated costs. These two types of
data should be clearly integrated via the material flow model.
4.2.3 Ensuring accuracy, completeness and comparability of physical data
Physical data on material flows should either be collected in consistent measurement units or with sufficient
conversion factors so that the data may later be converted to a common measurement unit, preferably mass,
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SIST EN ISO 14051:2012
ISO 14051:2011(E)
for purposes of analysis and comparison. These data should be used to balance input and output flows to
determine if there are any significant data gaps.
4.2.4 Estimating and attributing costs to material losses
The total costs caused by and/or associated with material losses should be estimated as accurately and
practicably as possible, and these costs should be attributed to the material losses that generated the costs,
not to the products.
5 Fundamental elements of MFCA
5.1 Quantity centre
A quantity centre is a selected part or parts of a process for which inputs and outputs are quantified in physical
and monetary units. Typically, quantity centres are areas in which materials are stocked and/or transformed
such as storage, production units, and shipping points. The quantity centre serves as the basis for data
collection activities under MFCA. First, material flows and energy use are quantified in quantity centres.
Second, material costs, energy costs, system costs and waste management costs are quantified.
5.2 Material balance
Material that enters a quantity centre eventually leaves the quantity centre in the form of either product or
material loss. Material can also reside within the quantity centre (e.g. storage) for a period of time, contributing
to changes in inventory within the quantity centre (initial inventory minus final inventory).
Because mass and energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only transformed, the physical inputs
entering a system should be equal to the physical outputs from the system, taking into account any inventory
changes within the system. Thus, in order to ensure that all of the materials subject to the MFCA analysis are
accounted for, material balance should be performed, comparing the quantities of material inputs to outputs
(i.e. products and material losses) and changes in inventory to identify any significant “missing” materials or
other data gaps. Quantification of material flows and the assurance of a balance between material inputs and
outputs (i.e. products and material losses) are both essential requirements for MFCA.
An example of a simple material balance around a quantity centre is illustrated in Figure 1. In this example,
95 kg of material enters the quantity centre. Over the analysis time period, the inventory of the material
changes from initial inventory of 15 kg to final inventory of 10 kg. The amount of material leaving the quantity
centre is 100 kg, i.e. input (95 kg) plus initial inventory (15 kg) minus final inventory (10 kg). That 100 kg is
distributed to product (70 kg) and material loss (30 kg) as illustrated in Figure 1.
Input Output
Quantity centre
Material Product
95 kg 70 kg
Initial Final
inventory of inventory of
material material Material loss
15 kg 10 kg
30 kg

NOTE For simplicity, this figure only includes information on material flows, not energy use.
Figure 1 — Material balance in a quantity centre
In practice, imbalances between inputs and outputs can occur due to the intake of air or moisture, chemical
reaction effects that are not easily quantified, or measurement errors. Any significant imbalances should be
investigated.
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SIST EN ISO 14051:2012
ISO 14051:2011(E)
Physical data are often available in a variety of different measurement units. In order to perform material
balance, conversion factors may be necessary for converting the available physical data to a single
standardized unit (e.g. mass) for purposes of comparison. The need for data comparability should be taken
into account when MFCA data collection is ongoing. The usefulness of the data units for the purpose of
environmental impact assessment should also be considered.
5.3 Cost calculation
5.3.1 General
Decisions in organizations often involve financial considerations. Therefore, material flow data should be
translated into monetary units to support decision-making. To that end, all costs caused by and/or associated
with the material flows entering and leaving a quantity centre should be quantified and assigned or allocated
to those material flows.
Under MFCA, three types of costs are quantified: material costs; system costs; and waste management costs.
Energy costs can either be included under material costs or quantified separately, at the discretion of the
organization. For the purposes of this International Standard, energy costs will be calculated and shown
separately.
Input Output
Quantity centre
Material (95kg)
Product (70kg)
Material costs $ 950
Energy costs $ 50
Material costs $ 700
System costs $ 800
Energy costs $ 35
Waste management costs  $ 80
System costs $ 560
Total costs $ 1 295
Initial
Final
inventory of
inventory of
material (15 kg)
material (10 kg)
$ 150
$ 100
Material loss (30kg)
Material costs $ 300
Energy costs $ 15
System costs $ 240
Waste management costs $ 80
Total costs $ 635

Figure 2 — Cost calculation in a quantity centre
In Figure 2, the costs incurred for the quantity centre are as follows:
 material costs: $ 1 000;
 energy costs: $ 50;
 system costs: $ 800;
 waste management costs: $ 80.
NOTE 1 Material costs ($ 1000) = input ($ 950)  initial inventory ($ 150)  final inventory ($ 100).
Material costs, energy costs and system costs are subsequently assigned or allocated to the quantity centre
outputs (i.e. products and material losses) based on the proportion of the material input that flows into product
and material loss. Of the 100 kg of material used, 70 kg flows into product and 30 kg flows into material loss,
as illustrated in Figure 1. Thus, the material distribution percentages of 70 % and 30 % are used to allocate
energy and system costs to the product and material loss, respectively. In this example, the material
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SIST EN ISO 14051:2012
ISO 14051:2011(E)
distribution percen
...