ME-203 Sample Questions Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering economic actors, sustainability definitions, climate change metrics, LCA phases, and circular economy principles based on ME-203 lecture questions.

Main actors in the economy

Government, business, and finance.

Sustainability

Avoiding the depletion of our own natural resources in order to maintain a balanced ecosystem and preserve natural capital while meeting needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Paris Agreement Temperature Goals

The lower and upper goals are $+1.5^{\circ}\text{C}$ and $+2^{\circ}\text{C}$.

Highest Cumulative CO2 Emissions (1751–2017)

Europe.

SDG 3

Good Health and Well-being; focuses on improving healthcare access and outcomes but does not specifically mandate universal free healthcare.

SDG 12

Responsible Consumption and Production; identified as a major challenge for materials, products, and supply chains.

SSP1

Sustainability pathway; expected global warming of about $1.5\text{--}2^{\circ}\text{C}$ by $2100$.

SSP2

Middle of the Road pathway; expected global warming of about $2.6\text{--}3^{\circ}\text{C}$ by $2100$.

SSP3

Regional Rivalry pathway; expected global warming of about $3.5\text{--}4^{\circ}\text{C}$ by $2100$.

SSP4

Inequality pathway; expected global warming of about $2.6\text{--}3^{\circ}\text{C}$ by $2100$.

SSP5

Fossil-fuel development pathway; expected global warming of about $4\text{--}5^{\circ}\text{C}$ by $2100$.

Novel Entities

A Planetary Boundary (PB) affected by toxic and long-lived substances released by humans into the environment.

Mitigation

Efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to slow the rate of climate change.

Adaptation

Managing the risks and adjusting to current and future changes caused by climate change.

Scope 3 Upstream Emissions

Includes activities such as mining of the supplier for raw materials, capital goods, waste generated in operations, and business travel.

Scope 3 Downstream Emissions

Includes activities such as end-of-life dismantling, processing of sold products, use of sold products, and end-of-life treatment of sold products.

Hard to Abate Materials

Materials that are difficult to decarbonize, including steel, plastic, cement, aluminium, and petrochemicals.

Critical Materials

Materials that are susceptible to supply chain disruptions.

Iron and Steel CO2 contribution

Contributes $7\%$ to Global CO2e emissions.

Cement CO2 contribution

Contributes $5\%$ to Global CO2e emissions.

Plastic CO2 contribution

Contributes $3\%$ to Global CO2e emissions.

Aluminium CO2 contribution

Contributes $0.5\%$ to Global CO2e emissions.

Water Conservation

An action to build climate resilience that falls under both Mitigation and Adaptation.

Economics

The efficient allocation of scarce resources.

Product Emission Determination

Most of a product’s emissions are determined during the design and material selection phase.

Circular Economy Key Elements

Design out waste and pollution, keep products and materials in use, and regenerate natural systems.

Take-Make-Dispose

An example of a linear supply chain with hidden environmental costs.

Most Favorable R of Circular Economy

Reduce.

R.E.A.C.H.

An EU policy that regulates restricted chemical substances.

EU Waste Framework Directive Concepts

Introduced the Polluter Pays Principle and Extended Producer Responsibility.

Green Chemistry

Minimising toxic waste production and reducing the environmental impact of chemical processes.

Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) Benefits

Bypasses the need for evaporation ponds, offers faster extraction rates, and results in lower extraction costs.

Planetary Boundaries (PBs) Status

As of $2023$, humans have exceeded $6$ of the $9$ Planetary Boundaries.

Switzerland Circularity Rate

Currently between $7\%$ and $14\%$.

Natural Resource Pricing

The current price of natural resources is below the value that would halt its depletion.

Humanitarian Principles

Humanity, Impartiality (whom they help), Independence (where they work), and Neutrality (taking no sides).

Stakeholders Classifications

MICRO (Employee, Investors, Customers), MESO (Competition), and MACRO (NGOs, Nature based services, Society & community, Trade bodies).

Net Positive Company

A company that has an overall positive impact on its stakeholders, including employees, suppliers, customers, community, and society at large.

AIDA Model

A hierarchy for effectively influencing stakeholders representing Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action.

Weak Sustainability (Brundtland 1987)

Presents economic, societal, and environmental themes with equal weightings and seeks to balance them.

Strong Sustainability (Giddings 2002)

Presents the three themes as nested and confers different sizes and weights on them.

GDP Limitations

Fails to represent the distribution of wealth, unpaid activities, and negative externalities.

Genuine Progression Index (GPI)

An alternative index to GDP that takes economic, social, and environmental factors into account.

Externalities

A cost or benefit caused by an economic actor that is not suffered or enjoyed by that same actor; these are not included in the market price.

Social Cost of Carbon

The monetized damage to society from emitting a tonne of $CO_2$.

Internal Cost of Carbon

The cost per tonne on the amount of $CO_2$ emitted from assets and projects.

Global Wealth Distribution

The richest $1\%$ of the population owns $50\%$ of the wealth.

Operational Expenditure (OPEX) Components

Includes R&D costs and energy costs.

Production Cost Components

Includes tooling costs.

Business Cost Components

Includes corporate taxes.

CAPEX

Funds used to acquire, upgrade, and maintain physical assets.

Net Present Value (NPV)

The value in today’s money of a future investment.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

The compilation and evaluation of the inputs, outputs, and potential environmental impacts of a product system through its life cycle.

Cradle-to-gate

An LCA that evaluates only the manufacturing stage of a product.

Cradle-to-grave

An LCA that covers manufacturing, distribution, and the use-phase of a product.

Phases of LCA

1. Goal and scope definition, 2. Inventory analysis, 3. Impact assessment, 4. Interpretation.

SMART Goals

Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based.

Greenwashing

Making unsubstantiated claims to deceive stakeholders about environmental impact, or removing public targets to hide lack of progress.