- Methods and Projects
- Standards and Classifications
Standardised Methodological Report
Environmental Accounts: Material Flow Account
- 1Contact
- 1.1Contact organisation
National Statistics Institute of Spain
- 1.5Contact mail address
Avenida de Manoteras 50-52 - 28050 Madrid
- 1.1Contact organisation
- 2Metadata update
- 2.1Metadata last certified
12/12/2023
- 2.2Metadata last posted
16/12/2019
- 2.3Metadata last update
12/12/2023
- 2.1Metadata last certified
- 3Statistical presentation
- 3.1Data description
The Environmental Accounts (EA) are a synthesis statistical operation whose general objective is the integration of environmental information into the central system of National Accounts, following the methodology of the System of Economic and Environmental Accounts developed by the United Nations (SEEA), which constitutes the conceptual framework of the EA.
This comprises a set of satellite accounts compiled using account formats that are applicable to the different sectoral and territorial areas, with a strong presence of physical data. The use of similar concepts, classifications and norms that the National Accounts allow to expand analysis, without overloading the central system.
The result is an indispensable tool for analysing the interrelations between the environment and the economic in general, and in particular, for evaluating sustainable development through the design and construction of the Sustainable Development Indicator Systems, and for monitoring the actions of environmental policies at national and international levels.The Material Flow Account (MFA) shows the physical inputs of materials entering the national economic system, and the outputs to other economies, or to the natural environment, in physical units (tonnes). This account enables obtaining a set of aggregated indicators on the use of natural resources, from which indicators may be derived regarding the productivity of those resources (eco-efficiency) with regard to GDP and other economic and employment indicators, as well as material intensity indicators of lifestyles, considering the size of the population and other demographic indicators.
The Material Flow Account offers data on domestic extraction of materials, imports and exports of materials and domestic output processed to nature.
- 3.2Classification system
- Clasificaciones utilizadas
Four flows of materials are distinguished:
- Domestic extraction
- Imports
- Exports
- Domestic Processed Output
The variables that describe Domestic Extraction are classified by the type of material extracted as input for the economy, in accordance with the material classification established by European Parliament and Council Regulation (EU) no. 691/2011, regarding environmental European economic accounts (https://www.ine.es/normativa/leyes/UE/minine.htm#30086), in its Annex III.
Imports and exports are classified, pursuant to the same Regulation Annex, in such a way that the variables are classified in coherence with domestic extraction
The main categories of said classification would be the following:
Used Domestic Extraction
- Biomass
- Metal minerals
- Non-metal minerals
- Fossil fuels
Imports and Exports
- Biomass and biomass products
- Metal minerals (raw materials and finished products)
- Non-metal minerals (raw materials and finished products)
- Fossil fuels
- Other products
- Waste (imported or exported) for treatment or final elimination
Domestic Processed Output
- Emissions to air
- Waste disposal to the environment
- Emissions to water
- Dissipative use of products
- Dissipative losses
- Clasificaciones utilizadas
- 3.3Sector coverage
The distinction between stocks and flows constitutes a fundamental principle of a material flow system. In general, a flow is a variable that measures a quantity over a period of time, while a stock is a variable that measures a quantity at a given moment. The MFA measure the flows of entries, exits and variations in stocks of materials in the economy, in units of mass per year.
The MFA is coherent with the European System of Accounts (ESA).
https://www.ine.es/normativa/leyes/UE/minine.htm#30023
As with the national accounts, this follows the principle of residence, in such a way that it accounts for those flows of materials associated with the activities of all resident units of a national economy, regardless of their geographical location.
There are two types of material flows that cross the boundaries of the system in the MFA:
1. Flows of materials between the national economy and its natural environment. It consists, on the one hand, of the extraction of materials (raw, crude or virgin) from the natural environment. And on the other hand, emissions of materials into the environment (in solid, liquid or gaseous)
2. Flows of materials between the national economy and the economy of the rest of the world. These comprise imports and exports.
All flows that cross these boundaries of the system are included in the MFA, as well as the accumulations of stocks occurring. The remaining flows of materials in the economy are not represented in the MFA. The national economy is considered globally in the MFA, and the deliveries of products among branches of activity are not described. Likewise, the natural flows in the interior of the natural environment are excluded. - 3.4Statistical concepts and definitions
- Direct inputs of materials (users)
They are defined as all the solid, liquid and gaseous materials (excluding water and air) that enter into the economy for subsequent use in the production or consumption processes. The two main categories are the raw materials extracted in the country and imports. The sum of these two categories constitutes one of the indicators derived from the accounts, the Direct Input of Materials (DIM). Deducting exports from this indicator yields the National Consumption of Materials (NCM).
- Domestic extraction (unused)
Unused domestic extraction comprises those materials extracted or moved in the territory of country, due to technical requirements, and which are not apt, or not intended, for any use. For example: Soil and excavated rock during construction, dredged sediments in ports, mine and quarry rock (if not reutilised) and the biomass not used from the harvest. Eroded agricultural land is not moved on purpose, but it may be included as an optional informational item.
- Domestic extraction (used)
Domestic extraction includes the annual amount of solid, liquid and gaseous materials (not including air and water) extracted from the natural environment to be used as inputs in the economy
- Imports and exports of goods
Physical imports and exports comprise all the merchandise imported or exported, in units of mass. The merchandise exchanged includes goods at all stages of transformation, from basic products to finished goods.
- Institutional Unit
A basic economic-decision centre, characterised by uniform behaviour and autonomous decision-making in the exercise of its main function, grouped into institutional sectors (IS). They may be, for instance, a household, a company or a unit of the General Government.
- Local economic activity unit
A local economic activity unit is understood to be the part of a company that performs a given activity at a specific geographical location. The local activity unit is not subject to direct observation; it is an analytical unit whose data is obtained from the information collected on a company and industrial establishment level.
- Material flows
The flows of materials reflect the physical inputs of materials that enter the national economic system, and the outputs to other economies or to the environment. Flows are measured in physical units (tonnes) and they describe the extraction, transformation, consumption and final elimination of chemical elements, raw materials or products.
- Outputs into the Environment
Flows that enter nature, both during and after the production or consumption processes. Said exits include emissions into the air or the water, dumping of waste, as well as the materials that cause disseminated contamination (such as fertilisers or melting substances). Exits also include the dumping of unused domestic extraction.
- Direct inputs of materials (users)
- 3.5Statistical unit
As these are satellite accounts, the same units as those in the National Accounts are used, that is, those collected in the European System of Accounts (ESA).
In order to expand the information, see the ESA:
https://www.ine.es/normativa/leyes/UE/minine.htm#30023 - 3.6Statistical population
The Environmental Accounts combine data from several different statistical sources. The concept of statistical population cannot be applied in the strict sense in this context.
- 3.7Reference area
The Environmental Accounts cover the entire national territory.
The Material Flow Accounts must be consistent with the National Economic Accounts. The National Accounts define the national economy as the set of activities and operations of the resident economic agents who have a centre of interest in the national economic territory. Some operations of these units are carried out outside of the national economic territory, and other transactions, within this territory, are carried out by non-resident units. Therefore, in the Material Flow Accounts, as with the National Accounts, it is necessary to apply th eprinciple of residence. According to this principle, those materials used by units resident outside of the national territory must be considered inputs of the national economy, and those materials used by units that are not resident in the national economic territory must be excluded from the accounting framework.
- 3.8Time coverage
The Material Flow Accounts are compiled annually.
The length of the series of the Material Flow Accounts depends on the bases referred to:
In base which is currently in force, there is information for the 2008-2022 period, with the results of the year 2022 as early estimates.
- 3.9Base period
The Environmental Accounts must be updated periodically, in order to include pertinent methodological and statistical changes, and in particular, base changes of the economic accounts.
The results correspond to the 2019 Benchmark Revision (ESA 2010), being in line with National Accounts data.Base: 2015 for chain- linked volume index
- 3.1Data description
- 4Unit of measure
- 4.1Unit of measure
Units: tonnes
- 4.1Unit of measure
- 5Reference period
- 5.1Reference period
The account period is the calendar year
Data referred to the period: Anual A: 2022
- 5.1Reference period
- 6Institutional mandate
- 6.1Legal acts and other agreements
The compilation and dissemination of the data are governed by the Statistical Law No. 12/1989 "Public Statistical Function" of May 9, 1989, and Law No. 4/1990 of June 29 on “National Budget of State for the year 1990" amended by Law No. 13/1996 "Fiscal, administrative and social measures" of December 30, 1996, makes compulsory all statistics included in the National Statistics Plan. The National Statistical Plan 2009-2012 was approved by the Royal Decree 1663/2008. It contains the statistics that must be developed in the four year period by the State General Administration's services or any other entity dependent on it. All statistics included in the National Statistics Plan are statistics for state purposes and are obligatory. The National Statistics Plan 2021-2024, approved by Royal Decree 1110/2020, of 15 December, is the Plan currently implemented. This statistical operation has governmental purposes, and it is included in the National Statistics Plan 2021-2024. (Statistics of the State Administration).
European Parliament and Council Regulation (EU) no. 691/2011, of 6 July 2011, regarding European environmental economic accounts, constitutes the reference framework of common concepts, definitions, classifications and account regulations intended for the compilation of the Environmental Accounts.
This regulation is available at:
https://www.ine.es/normativa/leyes/minine.htm#30086
The first reference year for transmitting results is established as the year in which the aforementioned Regulation entered into force, 2011, with a first transmission including data from the series as of 2008, and with a period of 24 months following the end of the reference year. In each subsequent data transmission to the Commission, Member States shall provide annual data for years n-4, n-3, n-2, n-1 and n, with n being the reference year. - 6.2Data sharing
The exchanges of information needed to elaborate statistics between the INE and the rest of the State statistical offices (Ministerial Departments, independent bodies and administrative bodies depending on the State General Administration), or between these offices and the Autonomic statistical offices, are regulated in the LFEP (Law of the Public Statistic Function). This law also regulates the mechanisms of statistical coordination, and concludes cooperation agreements between the different offices when necessary.
- 6.1Legal acts and other agreements
- 7Confidentiality
- 7.1Confidentiality - policy
The Statistical Law No. 12/1989 specifies that the INE cannot publish, or make otherwise available, individual data or statistics that would enable the identification of data for any individual person or entity. Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society
- 7.2Confidentiality - data treatment
INE provides information on the protection of confidentiality at all stages of the statistical process: INE questionnaires for the operations in the national statistical plan include a legal clause protecting data under statistical confidentiality. Notices prior to data collection announcing a statistical operation notify respondents that data are subject to statistical confidentiality at all stages. For data processing, INE employees have available the INE data protection handbook, which specifies the steps that should be taken at each stage of processing to ensure reporting units' individual data are protected. The microdata files provided to users are anonymised.
The Environmental Accounts are a statistical operation included in the National Statistical Plan, therefore subject to the Law on Public Statistical Services of May 9 1989, and consequently, their data is protected by Statistical Secrecy, at all stages of compilation
https://www.ine.es/dyngs/IOE/en/operacion.htm?id=1259942700806
- 7.1Confidentiality - policy
- 8Release policy
- 8.1Release calendar
The advance release calendar that shows the precise release dates for the coming year is disseminated in the last quarter of each year.
- 8.2Release calendar access
The calendar is disseminated on the INEs Internet website (Publications Calendar)
- 8.3User access
The data are released simultaneously according to the advance release calendar to all interested parties by issuing the press release. At the same time, the data are posted on the INE's Internet website (www.ine.es/en) almost immediately after the press release is issued. Also some predefined tailor-made requests are sent to registered users. Some users could receive partial information under embargo as it is publicly described in the European Statistics Code of Practice
- 8.1Release calendar
- 9Frequency of dissemination
- 9.1Frequency of dissemination
The data is disseminated annually.
- 9.1Frequency of dissemination
- 10Accessibility and clarity
- 10.1News release
The results of the statistical operations are normally disseminated by using press releases that can be accessed via both the corresponding menu and the Press Releases Section in the web
- 10.2Publications
Users of the Environmental Accounts may access the data from the Material Flow Accounts through the INE website
Specifically, the following sections appear in the Material Flow Accounts:- Press release and main results: this contains a summary of the Results obtained during the reference period.
- Detailed results, presenting the complete set of results of the different account series available.
- Results of the pilot studies conducted, prior to the entry into force of Regulation 691/2011 regarding environmental economic accounts.
- 10.3On-line database
INEbase is the system the INE uses to store statistical information on the Internet. It contains all the information the INE produces in electronic formats. The primary organisation of the information follows the theme-based classification of the Inventory of Statistical Operations of the State General Administration . The basic unit of INEbase is the statistical operation, defined as the set of activities that lead to obtaining statistical results on a determined sector or subject based on the individually collected data. Also included in the scope of this definition are synthesis preparation.
Access to tables and results in INEbase (www.ine.es) /Agriculture and environment / Environmental accounts
- 10.4Micro-data access
A lot of statistical operations disseminate public domain anonymized files, available free of charge for downloading in the INE website Microdata Section
Due to the nature of the Environmental Accounts, microdata is not available
- 10.5Other
The policy regarding custom requests is to analyse whether they comply with the statistical secrecy and significance conditions. Following this analysis, a viability report is prepared and sent to the person who has made the request.
Requests are made through the User Care Area:
- 10.6Documentation on methodology
That manual compiled by Eurostat may be viewed on its website, through the following link:
“Economy-wide material flow accounts handbook”,
- 10.7Quality documentation
Fields 10.6 to 17 from this document are the quality report targeting the user for this operation.
- 10.1News release
- 11Quality management
- 11.1Quality assurance
Quality assurance framework for the INE statistics is based on the ESSCoP, the European Statistics Code of Practice made by EUROSTAT. The ESSCoP is made up of 16 principles, gathered in three areas: Institutional Environment, Processes and Products. Each principle is associated with some indicators which make possible to measure it. In order to evaluate quality, EUROSTAT provides different tools: the indicators mentioned above, Self-assessment based on the DESAP model, peer review, user satisfaction surveys and other proceedings for evaluation.
The quality of the synthesis statistics, such as the environmental accounts, is first derived from the multiple sources used. All of them have tried to achieve the most accurate information possible, minimising the different types of error that may affect them. On the other hand, the corresponding regulations are followed in preparing said data.
The estimates of material flow account are based on the methodology designed by Eurostat, using the principles, rules and classifications of national accounts, which ensures their internal consistency and with other modules of the environmental accounts, as well as comparability with aggregates of national accounts.
- 11.2Quality assessment
The Commission (Eurostat) evaluates the quality of the data transmitted, and during the period of one month following the receipt thereof, it may ask the Member State for additional information regarding the data or a set of revised data, as pertinent (Article 7.4 of European Regulation no. 691/2011).
The estimates of material flow account are based on the methodology designed by Eurostat, using the principles, rules and classifications of national accounts, which ensures their internal consistency and with other modules of the environmental accounts, as well as comparability with aggregates of national accounts.
- 11.1Quality assurance
- 12Relevance
- 12.1User needs
The environmental accounts enable observing the pressure that the economy exerts on the environment, and studying the means to reduce it. They show the interactions between the economy, households and environmental factors, and subsequently offer a greater degree of information than the national accounts in this area.
As a fundamental data source regarding the environment, these are basic for decision-making in environmental policy and in the development of impact assessments, on both national and international levels. According to the principles of sustainable development included in the framework of the European Green Deal (European Commission, 2020) and in other initiatives, as well as the advance toward an economy that is efficient in the use of resources and low in emissions, it is increasingly necessary to develop and implement a framework structure of data that systematically includes environmental issues as well as economics issues.
Moreover, as they constitute a synthesis statistical operation in the environmental field, they enable identifying gaps and improvements in the Spanish statistical system.
Worth noting among environmental account users are the following:• Ministry of Agriculture, Fishing and Food, Ministry for Ecological Transition and other public bodies (observatories, etc.)
• Territorial administrations (Autonomous Communities)
• Researchers and Academic institutions
• Companies and non-profit institutions (company research services, foundations, associations, etc.), trade unions and employers' organisations.
• Press and specialised media
Likewise, there are foreign institutional users (Eurostat, OECD, the United Nations, etc.) - 12.2User satisfaction
The INE has carried out general user satisfaction surveys in 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2019 and it plans to continue doing so every three years. The purpose of these surveys is to find out what users think about the quality of the information of the INE statistics and the extent to which their needs of information are covered. In addition, additional surveys are carried out in order to acknowledge better other fields such as dissemination of the information, quality of some publications...
On the INE website, in its section Methods and Projects / Quality and Code of Practice / INE quality management / User surveys are available surveys conducted to date.(Click next link)
The user satisfaction surveys conducted to date assess the Environmental sector in which the statistical operation is set in, which may provide direction with regard to the opinion users have of it.
In the next website of INE: Methods and projects / Quality and Code of Practice / INE quality management / User surveys
it is possible consult the last available user surveys
- 12.3Completeness
The Material Flow Accounts meet the information requirements demanded by European Parliament and Council Regulation (EU) no. 691/2011, of 6 July 2011, regarding the European economic environmental accounts, and therefore, it may be stated that they are comprehensive.
The rate of available compulsory statistical results is 100% (R1=100%).
- 12.1User needs
- 13Accuracy and reliability
- 13.1Overall accuracy
The environmental accounts are a synthesis statistical operation, by which sampling errors that affect it come from the sources that the information is collected from, which are analysed in order to see if they remain within reasonable limits. Non-sampling errors may come from both the sources and the actual information processing in this operation (lack of coverage, measurement errors). In summary, the direct measurement of accuracy in this case is not considered possible. The main instrument for analysing the accuracy is the analysis of the revisions. The revisions show the degree of proximity between subsequent estimators of the same value, and it is reasonable to assume that the estimators converge on the true value when they are based on better and more reliable data.
Environmental accounts are an example of synthesis statistics outside of economic statistics. For these kind of operations, the sampling errors come from the sources from which the information is collected, which are analyzed to see if they are kept within reasonable limits. Non-sampling errors may come from both the sources and the treatment of the information in this operation (lack of coverage, measurement errors). In summary, the direct measure of acuracity in this case is not considered possible. The main instrument to analyze the acuracity is the analysis of the revisions (see 17.2). The revisions show the degree of proximity between successive estimators of the same value, and it is reasonable to assume that the estimators converge to the true value when based on better and more reliable data. - 13.2Sampling error
The environmental accounts are a synthesis statistical operation, by which sampling errors that affect it come from the sources that the information is collected from, which are analysed in order to see if they remain within reasonable limits.
- 13.3Non-sampling error
The environmental accounts are a synthesis statistical operation, by which sampling errors that affect it may come from both the sources and the actual information treatment in this operation (lack of coverage, measurement errors).
- 13.1Overall accuracy
- 14Timeliness and punctuality
- 14.1Timeliness
The estimates of the Material Flow Account are sent to Eurostat, at most 24 months following the end of the reference year, in compliance with EU Regulation 691/2011 regarding European economic environmental accounts, regulating the periods for transmitting data.
The indicator of the time elapsed between the end of the reference period and the dissemination in INEbase is TP1=12 months for early estimates.
TP2=48 months
- 14.2Punctuality
The results of the Environmental Accounts are published in a timely manner, according to the INE structural statistics publication calendar.
- 14.1Timeliness
- 15Coherence and Comparability
- 15.1Comparability - geographical
The member countries of the EU use the same methodology in the preparation of the estimates, which enables the comparability of the estimates of the Material Flow Accounts, among others.
- 15.2Comparability - over time
The basic methodology for the compilation of the estimates has not changed since the first estimates of Material Flow Accounts as a pilot study, although new accounting series are coherent with Benchmark Revision (ESA 2010) of National Accounts data.
Therefore, the number of comparable elements of the time series since its last break is 15 (CC2=15)
- 15.3Coherence - cross domain
The Environmental Accounts are coherent with the National Accounts.
- 15.4Coherence - internal
The annual results of the material flow accounts are coherent among themselves, and with regard to the available annual series.
- 15.1Comparability - geographical
- 16Cost and burden
- 16.1Cost and burden
In the 2023 annual Program, the estimate of the necessary budget appropriation to finance the Environmental Accounts operation: Material Flow Accounts is 31.37 thousand euros.
The response burden is null, as the information provided by other statistical operations is used.
- 16.1Cost and burden
- 17Data revision
- 17.1Data revision - policy
The INE of Spain has a policy which regulates the basic aspects of statistical data revision, seeking to ensure process transparency and product quality. This policy is laid out in the document approved by the INE board of directors on 13 March of 2015, which is available on the INE website, in the section "Methods and projects/Quality and Code of Practice/INE’s Quality management/INE’s Revision policy" (link).
This general policy sets the criteria that the different type of revisions should follow: routine revision- it is the case of statistics whose production process includes regular revisions-; more extensive revision- when methodological or basic reference source changes take place-; and exceptional revision- for instance, when an error appears in a published statistic-.
The data from the Environmental Accounts is revised in coherence with the data revision scheme of the Annual National Accounts.
Regulation (EU) 691/2011 establishes that, in each annual data transmission, data be provided for years n-4, n-3, n-2, n-1 and n, with n being the reference year.
- 17.2Data revision - practice
The factors determining the revisions in the MFA estimates are basically the changes in the data from the Annual National Accounts, and the changes introduced by the improvement of the estimation procedures.
The first time that the data of a reference year t are published, in t+12 months, the data from the material flow account are early estimates, becoming provisional in successive years until the final data are published three years and 12 months (t+48) following the end of the corresponding reference year.
The practical way of proceeding consists of publishing the data, indicating their final, provisional or early nature. Each annual estimate is revised for four consecutive years, from early estimates until it ceases to be considered provisional and acquires the final nature.
A6-RMAR (Consumption of materials) = 0,47%
The A6-RMAR has been calculated on the reference year and the previous 4, which are the periods open to review by the environmental accounts regulation. This calculation refers to the revision of the data corresponding to the years (2017-2021)
- 17.1Data revision - policy
- 18Statistical processing
- 18.1Source data
As this is a synthesis statistical operation, the Environmental Accounts integrate and manage a large number of economics and environmental information sources.
In the case of the material flow accounts, the following statistical information is used:
- National Accounts
- Foreign Trade Statistics, State Tax Office.
- Statistics from different Ministries (Ministry of Agriculture, Fishing and Food, Ministry for Ecological Transition):
- Agrarian Statistics
- Fishery Statistics
- Livestock Statistics
- Forestry Statistics
- Mining and Energy Statistics
- Spanish Emissions Inventory System (SEI)
- Waste Statistics (Compost)
- Spanish Register of Emissions and Pollutant Sources (PRTR España)
- Environmetal accounts:
- 18.2Frequency of data collection
The data is compiled annually
- 18.3Data collection
The data collection techniques may vary, depending on the type of source, the date that the data is available, etc.
In general, the data is sent to the Environmental Accounts unit by the different units compiling it, though on occasion, the information may be obtained directly from the corresponding database.
- 18.4Data validation
The base information, from the different statistics, is subjected to a series of processes: identification of outliers, error filtering, adaptation to the terms of the Environmental Accounts.
- 18.5Data compilation
The preparation process may be structured into several phases:
1. Update of the base information: Collection of available data
2. Processing of the base information: this is subjected to a series of treatments, consisting of identifying outliers, filtering errors and adapting to the terms of the Environmental Accounts.
3. Preparation of the general structure file. With the new information available, the work file is completed with the breakdown level required in the European accounts Regulation. For each type of material, and for the purpose of obtaining more precision in the estimates, auxiliary files are used to work with the greatest breakdown level possible of the different identifiable components thereof.
4. Process of analysing and revising the estimates. The time series of results are analysed, for each product and operation, with the objective of detecting possible inconsistencies.
5. Preparation of the final results files with the different formats required: format for mailing to Eurostat, and files for dissemination in INEbase (Results, Methodology, Press Release)
- 18.6Adjustment
No seasonal adjustments are made.
- 18.1Source data
- 19Comment
- 19.1Comment
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- 19.1Comment
Contact