eco-efficiency Articles
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Four theoretical issues and a funeral: improving the policy-guiding value of eco-efficiency indicators
For eco-efficiency indicators to be useful in guiding policy, four issues must be resolved: the meaning of "eco-efficiency", the meaning of "eco-efficiency indicator", the criteria for choosing the most suitable eco-efficiency indicator(s), and the strengths and limitations of eco-efficiency indicators for guiding policy makers' decisions. These issues, if not resolved, may prove to be the death ...
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The efficiency and eco-efficiency of manufacturing
In this paper, we review the efficiency of both manufacturing processes and systems over recent decades and compare nano-materials technologies in this context. To a first approximation, nano-materials processes appear to be about as efficient as semi-conductor processes. That is, their second law efficiencies are of the order 10−5, while conventional processes are of order 10−2. ...
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How to measure social impacts? A socio-eco-efficiency analysis by the SEEBALANCE® method
BASF has, in cooperation with Karlsruhe University, Jena University and the Oko-Institut e.V. (Germany), developed a socio-eco-efficiency analysis – the so-called SEEBALANCE®. The objective was the integration of quantified social indicators into the BASF eco-efficiency analysis. Many life cycle analyses do not include an assessment of social impacts and effects. However, in order to arrive at a ...
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Reconsidering quantification of eco-efficiency: application to a national economy
The concept of Eco-efficiency combines sparing use of natural resources and environmental policy objectives with economic efficiency, the aim being the reduced use of natural resources in order to alleviate the environmental consequences of overburdening the environment. Thus, it seems a potential action strategy for the striving towards sustainable development. One of the publicised quantitative ...
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Cleaner Production and Eco-efficiency - Complementary Approaches to Sustainable Development
This report was produced jointly by the WBCSD and UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme). It demonstrates that these concepts are finding practical applications by being translated into operating policies and business strategies worldwide. Cleaner production and eco-efficiency go beyond pollution prevention and are moving towards resource productivity, life-cycle thinking, performance ...
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Measuring solid waste eco-efficiency performance through environmental accounting
Planning and implementation of eco-efficient practices require different information measured both in financial and non-financial units. Indeed, eco-efficiency strategies, by definition, require this type of information to simultaneously confirm the reduction of the total amount of solid waste production and the improvement in organizations' added value. However, current solid waste accounting ...
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Eco-Efficiency and Cleaner Production: Charting the Course to Sustainability
Eco-Efficiency starts from issues of economic efficiency which have positive environmental benefits, while cleaner production starts from issues of environmental efficiency which have positive economic benefits. ...
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Editorial: Eco-efficiency is important when it is strategic
Microeconomics Eco-Efficiency (EE) theory is now a normative and prescriptive political position and a management goal. Macroeconomics science proves that microeconomics EE theory is false. The EE overall objective and vision is a relative ratio. That of macroeconomics sustainability is an absolute limit. Simple calculations of EE and factor X targets for different countries support the ...
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Measuring Eco-efficiency: a Guide to Reporting Company Performance
Abstract New corporate WBCSD guide offers common framework for measuring and reporting eco-efficiency. Eco-efficiency is widely adopted in today’s business world but approaches to measuring and reporting its performance have lacked consistency. For the first time, a report by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) proposes a common measurement framework that can be ...
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Impacts of increasing consumption on material flows over time: empirical results from Finland 1970-2005
Consumption is one of the main driving forces contributing to global environmental challenges. Industrial Ecology (IE) and Eco-Efficiency (EE) imply that excessive materials and energy flows contribute to unsustainable amounts of waste and emissions, which result in environmental degradation beyond nature's ability to regenerate and survive. This article analyses whether the consumption of ...
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Some reflections on the link between production and consumption for sustainable development
This paper addresses sustainable consumption as a way of contributing to the implementation of sustainable development. In order to introduce our reflections, the paper deals first with microeconomic consumer theory. The main aspects of neoclassical consumer theory are briefly outlined, and some recent theoretical reflections are introduced to better understand consumption patterns, In the second ...
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Eco-Efficient Leadership for Improved Economic and Environmental Performance
Eco-efficiency is a management philosophy. It encourages businesses to become more competitive, more innovative and more environmentally responsible. This paper outlines the main elements of this developing concept and provides examples of how it has improved the economic and environmental performance of companies. ...
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Conditional eco-efficiency measure from the perspective of pollution emission firms
This paper proposes a conditional eco-efficiency measure with constraints to profit and pollution goals from the perspective of pollution emission firms. The measure is obtained not only by comparing the relative performance to other decision-making units (DMUs), but also by comparing the existing level relative to expected profit and pollution goals. We use the proposed measure to appraise the ...
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Eco-efficiency improvements in industrial water-service systems: assessing options with stakeholders
The well-known eco-efficiency concept helps to assess the economic value and resource burdens of potential improvements by comparison with the baseline situation. But eco-efficiency assessments have generally focused on a specific site, while neglecting wider effects, for example, through interactions between water users and wastewater treatment (WWT) providers. To address the methodological ...
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Reducing the natural resource intensity of private and organisational consumption: the potential of ICT and service innovations
The article summarises the findings of two research projects evaluating the potential of ICT and service innovations to reduce natural resource use. The focus is on two issues: (1) the potential adoption of eco-efficient innovations and (2) the likelihood that these innovations, when adopted, will lead to less natural resource use in the national economy. The innovations studied include ...
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Work and eco-efficiency: opportunities and limitations
In industrial ecology, the interaction of industrial and ecological systems has been approached mainly with concepts of metabolism, material flows and ecological metaphors. Less attention has been paid to the concept of work. In this article I study the contribution of eco-efficiency to social and ecological sustainability from the perspective of human work, work performed by technology and work ...
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Cleaner Production and Eco-Efficiency in Australian small firms
This paper reviews the Cleaner Production (CP) and Eco-Efficiency (EE) initiatives from 30 Australian small firms that participated in government-funded programs. The review focuses on the type of opportunities implemented, their technical complexity and business significance, and motivators for their identification and implementation. Even though the results are only illustrative, they clearly ...
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Eco-efficiency analysis and pollutant emission quota allocation of Chinese paper mills
The objective of this paper is to develop an approach based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to address the eco-efficiency analysis and improvement problem of paper mills along the Huai River in China. In the proposed model, a system's overall eco-efficiency is evaluated considering undesirable outputs and pollutant (undesirable output) emission quotas simultaneously. Based on the developed ...
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Development of eco-efficiency in metal production in Finland
In this article we reconsider if Eco-Efficiency (EE) is a suitable practical tool of Industrial Ecology (IE) to measure the progress towards Sustainable Development (SD) and the aims of IE. EE combines sparing use of natural resources with economic efficiency, the aim being reduced use of natural resources. Many scientific, government and international organisations consider EE an essential ...
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Are we chasing our tail in the pursuit of sustainability?
People are urged to change their pattern of consumption and lifestyle in a more environment-friendly direction. More eco-efficient products and production are also developed. But when governments strive to promote economic growth, consumers may be urged to consume more to cure or prevent a stagnating economy. Here is an obvious contradiction. Gains in eco-efficiency are likely to be annihilated ...
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