Structural Resource Intensity & Externalities
Structural assessment of the environmental 'Debt.' Measures the inherent resource requirements (Thermodynamic/Biological) and the resulting exposure to environmental taxes and resource scarcity.
Structural Resource Intensity & Externalities has a meaningful correlation with overall industry risk (r = 0.41). Elevated scores on this attribute frequently accompany broader structural risk patterns.
Scoring Scale (0-5)
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0Regenerative / Circular
Production actively restores ecosystems; net-positive resource contribution (e.g., carbon-sequestering forestry, restorative aquaculture).
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1Closed-Loop / Low Intensity
Minimal external inputs required; waste is recovered and reused; high resource efficiency as a structural feature.
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2Optimized Industrial
Standard modern production with active mitigation; low reliance on scarce water or high-carbon energy.
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3Input Intensive
Requires significant continuous inputs of energy or water; P&L is structurally sensitive to resource price shifts or carbon taxes.
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4High Extraction / Polluting
Inherently high-impact processes (e.g., traditional smelting, chemical synthesis); produces significant non-circular waste streams or Scope 1 emissions.
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5Critical Externality / Heavy Extractive
Production requires massive land conversion, systemic water depletion, or hazardous emissions that create permanent sovereign liability (e.g., open-pit mining in sensitive biomes, thermal coal).
Score Distribution
How 129 industries score on this attribute
v2.0 prioritizes the 'Inherent Process Type' over annual carbon snapshots.
Industry Examples
129 industriesReal industries from our analysis demonstrating each score level for Structural Resource Intensity & Externalities.
65 more industries
Mining of hard coal ISIC 510 Extraction of crude petroleum ISIC 610 Mining of iron ores ISIC 710 Support activities for petroleum and natural gas extraction ISIC 910 Manufacture of vegetable and animal oils and fats ISIC 1040 Distilling, rectifying and blending of spirits ISIC 1101 Preparation and spinning of textile fibres ISIC 1311 Manufacture of wearing apparel, except fur apparel ISIC 1410 Manufacture of soap and detergents, cleaning and polishing preparations, perfumes and toilet preparations ISIC 2023 Manufacture of pharmaceuticals, medicinal chemical and botanical products ISIC 2100 Manufacture of basic iron and steel ISIC 2410 Manufacture of computers and peripheral equipment ISIC 2620 Manufacture of communication equipment ISIC 2630 Manufacture of consumer electronics ISIC 2640 Manufacture of domestic appliances ISIC 2750 Manufacture of engines and turbines, except aircraft, vehicle and cycle engines ISIC 2811 Manufacture of lifting and handling equipment ISIC 2816 Manufacture of agricultural and forestry machinery ISIC 2821 Manufacture of motor vehicles ISIC 2910 Manufacture of air and spacecraft and related machinery ISIC 3030 Manufacture of furniture ISIC 3100 Manufacture of jewellery and related articles ISIC 3211 Manufacture of medical and dental instruments and supplies ISIC 3250 Electric power generation, transmission and distribution ISIC 3510 Water collection, treatment and supply ISIC 3600 Construction of buildings ISIC 4100 Electrical installation ISIC 4321 Maintenance and repair of motor vehicles ISIC 4520 Sale of motor vehicle parts and accessories ISIC 4530 Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles ISIC 46 Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet ISIC 4791 Freight transport by road ISIC 4923 Sea and coastal freight water transport ISIC 5012 Warehousing and support activities for transportation ISIC 52 Warehousing and storage ISIC 5210 Courier activities ISIC 5320 Accommodation ISIC 55 Short term accommodation activities ISIC 5510 Restaurants and mobile food service activities ISIC 5610 Event catering ISIC 5621 Motion picture, video and television programme production activities ISIC 5911 Television programming and broadcasting activities ISIC 6020 Wired telecommunications activities ISIC 6110 Wireless telecommunications activities ISIC 6120 Data processing, hosting and related activities ISIC 6311 Web portals ISIC 6312 Other monetary intermediation ISIC 6419 Technical testing and analysis ISIC 7120 Research and experimental development on natural sciences and engineering ISIC 7210 Advertising ISIC 7310 Veterinary activities ISIC 7500 Combined facilities support activities ISIC 8110 General cleaning of buildings ISIC 8121 Landscape care and maintenance service activities ISIC 8130 Organization of conventions and trade shows ISIC 8230 Packaging activities ISIC 8292 Defence activities ISIC 8422 Higher education ISIC 8530 Hospital activities ISIC 8610 Medical and dental practice activities ISIC 8620 Residential nursing care facilities ISIC 8710 Creative, arts and entertainment activities ISIC 9000 Library and archives activities ISIC 9101 Operation of sports facilities ISIC 9311 Hairdressing and other beauty treatment ISIC 960236 more industries
Manufacture of plastics products ISIC 2220 Manufacture of glass and glass products ISIC 2310 Manufacture of structural metal products ISIC 2511 Manufacture of measuring, testing, navigating and control equipment ISIC 2651 Manufacture of irradiation, electromedical and electrotherapeutic equipment ISIC 2660 Manufacture of electric motors, generators, transformers and electricity distribution and control apparatus ISIC 2710 Manufacture of batteries and accumulators ISIC 2720 Manufacture of parts and accessories for motor vehicles ISIC 2930 Building of ships and floating structures ISIC 3011 Manufacture of railway locomotives and rolling stock ISIC 3020 Repair of fabricated metal products ISIC 3311 Materials recovery ISIC 3830 Construction of roads and railways ISIC 4210 Building completion and finishing ISIC 4330 Other specialized construction activities ISIC 4390 Retail sale in non-specialized stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating ISIC 4711 Retail sale of clothing, footwear and leather articles in specialized stores ISIC 4771 Passenger air transport ISIC 5110 Beverage serving activities ISIC 5630 Non-life insurance ISIC 6512 Other activities auxiliary to financial service activities ISIC 6619 Activities of insurance agents and brokers ISIC 6622 Real estate activities with own or leased property ISIC 6810 Legal activities ISIC 6910 Management consultancy activities ISIC 7020 Market research and public opinion polling ISIC 7320 Specialized design activities ISIC 7410 Activities of employment placement agencies ISIC 7810 Travel agency activities ISIC 7911 Combined office administrative service activities ISIC 8211 Activities of call centres ISIC 8220 Activities of collection agencies and credit bureaus ISIC 8291 Other education n.e.c. ISIC 8549 Social work activities without accommodation for the elderly and disabled ISIC 8810 Activities of professional membership organizations ISIC 9412 Repair of computers and peripheral equipment ISIC 951113 more industries
Wholesale of computers, computer peripheral equipment and software ISIC 4651 Software publishing ISIC 5820 Sound recording and music publishing activities ISIC 5920 Computer programming activities ISIC 6201 Computer consultancy and computer facilities management activities ISIC 6202 Other information technology and computer service activities ISIC 6209 Other credit granting ISIC 6492 Life insurance ISIC 6511 Architectural and engineering activities and related technical consultancy ISIC 7110 Renting of video tapes and disks ISIC 7722 Private security activities ISIC 8010 Other human health activities ISIC 8690 Gambling and betting activities ISIC 9200Archetype-Specific Considerations
This attribute has special risk drivers when applied to certain industry archetypes:
Driven by continuous capacity, uptime, and infrastructure.
Risk Driver: Grid Decarbonization & Baseload Intensity
Driven by bits, code, and cognition. Zero marginal cost.
Risk Driver: Data Center Thermal & Energy Density
Driven by biology, nature, and decay. Time is the enemy.
Risk Driver: Land-Use Conversion & Biodiversity Fragmentation
Related Strategies
Strategies that incorporate Sustainability & Resource Efficiency pillar analysis (5 strategies):
Playbooks Using This Attribute
3 playbooks use SU01 in their feasibility checks:
Rules Using This Attribute
8 risk rules use SU01 in their trigger conditions: