1
Compiled by Dr. Joe Herbertson
June 2001
Sustainable Resource
Processing
Eco-efficiency
and Innovation
Eco-efficiency is about the
simultaneous improvement of economic and ecological
performance: better satisfying the
needs for goods and services with fewer resources, less waste and pollution
ELEMENTS of ECO-EFFICIENCY 1
•Reduce the material intensity of goods and services
•Reduce the energy intensity of goods and services
•Increase the service intensity of products
•Reduce toxic dispersion
•Maximise the sustainable use of renewable resources
•Enhance material recyclability
•Extend product durability
The challenge is
achieving ‘Factor X’ levels of improvement in economically viable and socially
responsible ways
Innovators can
achieve major improvements in external impacts whilst improving competitiveness
through
continuous improvement, stretch targets, re-design of their business models and application of new technologies
1. The World Business
Council for Sustainable Development is a global advocate of eco-efficiency; see
L.DeSimone & F.Popoff, ‘Eco-Efficiency, the Business Link to Sustainable
Development’, MIT Press, 1997