Permanence?? How stable you are?

EcoVision
Nov 26
2 min read

What is Permanence? In sustainability (especially in carbon accounting and waste management), permanence refers to how long a material, carbon storage method, or environmental impact remains stable without being reversed.

In simple terms: It measures how long something lasts without breaking down, leaking, or being re‑released into the environment.

Permanence matters because long‑lasting materials (or carbon storage methods) carry different risks: • Long permanence = good for carbon storage, bad for pollution • Low permanence = materials degrade quickly, but carbon storage may not be reliable

Typical Permanence Figures for Common Materials (Approximate ranges often used in sustainability, circularity, and waste‑impact assessments)

High Permanence (100+ years to indefinitely) • Plastics: 400–1,000 years depending on type • Glass: effectively permanent (does not biodegrade) • Aluminium & metals: hundreds of years but infinitely recyclable • Concrete: hundreds of years (slow degradation) Medium Permanence (10–100 years) • Wood (treated): 20–100 years • Rubber: 50–80 years • Textiles (synthetic): 40–200 years • Paper in landfill (low oxygen): up to 50 years

Low Permanence (1–10 years) • Natural fibers (cotton, wool, silk): 1–5 years • Food waste: weeks to months • Bioplastics / biodegradable materials: 1–5 years (depending on composting conditions)

Carbon storage permanence (important in climate strategies) • Nature‑based solutions (forests/soil): 20–100 years (risk of reversal from fires, drought, etc.) • Biochar: hundreds to thousands of years • Geologic carbon storage (CCS): 1,000+ years (considered very high permanence)

For companies, permanence influences:

• product design and circularity strategies

• lifecycle impact assessments (LCA)

• regulatory and transition risks

• credibility of net‑zero pathways

• long‑term resilience planning

Thus understanding permanence isn’t just environmental — it’s strategic. It frames how we design today for a future that is sustainable, stable, and aligned with evolving climate expectations.

Currently no single global authority that provides one official set of permanence figures, because permanence depends on the material, context, climate, waste system, and carbon methodology.

However, several widely recognized institutions publish permanence‑related data or standards that companies and ESG professionals rely on.

Who provides permanence figures?

• IPCC – carbon permanence (most authoritative) • ISO – methods for calculating permanence • Verra, Gold Standard, Puro.earth – carbon market permanence rules • EU / OECD / national agencies – material degradation standards • Scientific research – actual material half‑life data

In practice, ESG professionals rely on a combination of all these sources, depending on whether they are analysing materials, carbon storage, or long-term environmental risk.