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Eco‐efficiency and Its xsTerminology
Author(s) -
Huppes Gjalt,
Ishikawa Masanobu
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of industrial ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.377
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1530-9290
pISSN - 1088-1980
DOI - 10.1162/108819805775247891
Subject(s) - realm , value (mathematics) , normative , environmental economics , variable (mathematics) , productivity , environmental impact assessment , industrial ecology , economics , sustainability , mathematics , statistics , ecology , mathematical analysis , philosophy , epistemology , biology , political science , law , macroeconomics
Summary Eco‐efficiency has been defined as a general goal of creating value while decreasing environmental impact. Leaving out the normative part of this concept, the empirical part refers to a ratio between environmental impact and economic cost or value. Two basic choices must be made in defining practical eco‐efficiency: which variable is in the denominator and which is in the numerator; and whether to specify environmental impact or improvement and value created or cost. Distinguishing between two situations, the general one of value creation and the specific one of environmental improvement efforts, and leaving the numerator‐denominator choice to the user, as diverging practices have developed, four basic types of ecoefficiency result: environmental intensity and environmental productivity in the realm of value creation; and environmental improvement cost and environmental cost‐effectiveness in the realm of environmental improvement measures.