Author: Livio D. DeSimone
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262541091
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 312
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Book Description
This book outlines the principles of eco-efficiency and presents case studies of their application from a number of international companies, including 3M and the Dow Chemical Company. The term "eco-efficiency" describes business activities that create economic value while reducing ecological impact and resource use. This book outlines the principles of eco-efficiency and presents case studies of their application from a number of international companies, including 3M and the Dow Chemical Company. It also discusses the value of partnerships--with other companies, business associations, communities, regulators, and environmental and other nongovernmental groups. In the conclusion, the authors argue that business must become more eco-efficient and that governments need to change the conditions under which business operates, including tax and regulatory regimes, to make them more conducive to eco-efficiency.
Author: OECD
Publisher: OECD Publishing
ISBN: 9264040307
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 83
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Book Description
This report evaluates strategies to improve the efficiency with which environmental resources are used to meet human needs. Many firms in OECD countries have developed strategies that involve: - developing goals to reduce resource use and pollutant ...
Author: Markus Lehni
Publisher:
ISBN: 9782940240173
Category : Sustainable development
Languages : en
Pages : 32
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Book Description
Author: Jan-Dirk Seiler-Hausmann
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351281550
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 249
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Book Description
Business-as-usual, it is widely accepted, will exceed the Earth's carrying capacity in an alarmingly short space of time. In simple terms, we need to learn to use the world's rapidly depleting resources in a significantly more efficient manner. Practical and readily adopted solutions are needed now. Eco-efficiency-or "produce more with less" – is achieved when goods and services satisfy human needs, increase the quality of life at competitive prices and when environmental impacts and resource intensity are decreased to a degree that keeps them within the limits of Earth's expected carrying capacity. Eco-efficiency – a term first proposed by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development in 1992 – is a management approach that allows businesses to carry out environmental protection measures from a market-oriented point of view, with the aim of illustrating that ecology and the economy do not need to be a contradiction. Indeed, eco-efficiency has been portrayed as a win-win-for both business and the environment. This book, which developed out of two conferences on eco-efficiency held in Düsseldorf in 1998 and 2001, is edited by Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker and his team from the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy, one of the world's leading research programmes on resource productivity. The aim is not simply to explain the past and present of eco-efficiency but to look forward to and encourage a future where the comprehensive take-up of the concept by business, government and consumers could lead to innovation on a grand scale and the possibility of a giant leap beyond towards overall sustainability. There have been considerable achievements to date. The Dow Jones Sustainability Index, which aims to list the most sustainable corporations for investors, includes companies such as BASF, Climatex, Henkel and Matushita/Panasonic (all represented in this book), who are implementing eco-efficiency measures. A number of political initiatives have also been formed. In December 2001, the German government suggested a National Sustainability Strategy to measure Germany's sustainable development. While this not yet an accepted political target or even law, it shows that politics is moving toward binding targets for increasing efficiency. Eco-Efficiency and Beyond collects together the leading thinkers on the topic and aims to illustrate not only that the concept should be part of every business strategy but that it is a key trigger for innovation. Innovation cuts through paradoxes. It is the creation of solutions to conflicting demands. Flying in a vacuum gave us rockets and satellites; switching electrons through insulators gave us Silicon Valley and the digital age. Sustainable development presents a similar field of paradoxical innovation forces: i.e. provide affordable products and services for the growing unmet needs of the world population while reducing environmental impacts. This book is the definitive collection on eco-efficiency and will be required reading for business, government, NGOs and academicians.
Author: Roland Geyer
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000427609
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 122
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Book Description
The Business of Less rewrites the book on business and the environment. For the last thirty years, corporate sustainability was synonymous with the pursuit of ‘eco-efficiency’ and ‘win-win’ opportunities. The notion of ‘eco-efficiency’ gives us the illusion that we can achieve environmental sustainability without having to question the pursuit of never-ending economic growth. The ‘win-win’ paradigm is meant to assure us that companies can be protectors of the environment whilst also being profit maximizers. It is abundantly clear that the state of the natural environment has further degraded instead of improved. This book introduces a new paradigm designed to finally reconcile business and the environment. It is called ‘net green’, which means that in these times of ecological overshoot businesses need to reduce total environmental impact and not just improve the eco-efficiency of their products. The book also introduces and explains the four pollution prevention principles ‘again’, ‘different’, ‘less’, and ‘labor, not materials’. Together, ‘net green’ and the four pollution prevention principles provide a road map, for businesses and for every household, to a world in which human prosperity and a healthy environment are no longer at odds. The Business of Less is full of anecdotes and examples. This brings its material to life and makes the book not only very accessible, but also hugely applicable for everyone who is worried about the fate of our planet and is looking for answers.
Author: Fernando Pacheco-Torgal
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0857098993
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 625
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Book Description
Eco-efficient concrete is a comprehensive guide to the characteristics and environmental performance of key concrete types.Part one discusses the eco-efficiency and life cycle assessment of Portland cement concrete, before part two goes on to consider concrete with supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs). Concrete with non-reactive wastes is the focus of part three, including municipal solid waste incinerator (MSWI) concrete, and concrete with polymeric, construction and demolition wastes (CDW). An eco-efficient approach to concrete carbonation is also reviewed, followed by an investigation in part four of future alternative binders and the use of nano and biotech in concrete production.With its distinguished editors and international team of expert contributors, Eco-efficient concrete is a technical guide for all professionals, researchers and academics currently or potentially involved in the design, manufacture and use of eco-efficient concrete. - The first part of the book examines the eco-efficiency and life cycle assessment of Portland cement concrete - Chapters in the second part of the book consider concrete with supplementary cementitious materials, including properties and performance - Reviews the eco-efficient approach to concrete carbonation
Author: Gjalt Huppes
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402053991
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 330
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Book Description
A central asset of eco-efficiency analysis is that it does not depend on a specific evaluation of environmental impacts against economic effects. Several evaluation methods may be used, including those based on willingness-to-pay, panel procedures, and public statements on policy goals. This volume covers all aspects of eco-efficiency analysis and offers a global perspective on the subject.
Author: R. Kuehr
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401000336
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 306
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Book Description
Personal computers have made life convenient in many ways, but what about their impacts on the environment due to production, use and disposal? Manufacturing computers requires prodigious quantities of fossil fuels, toxic chemicals and water. Rapid improvements in performance mean we often buy a new machine every 1-3 years, which adds up to mountains of waste computers. How should societies respond to manage these environmental impacts? This volume addresses the environmental impacts and management of computers through a set of analyses on issues ranging from environmental assessment, technologies for recycling, consumer behaviour, strategies of computer manufacturing firms, and government policies. One conclusion is that extending the lifespan of computers (e.g. through reselling) is an environmentally and economically effective strategy that deserves more attention from governments, firms and the general public.
Author: Robert U. Ayres
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401733791
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 334
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Book Description
Achieving the goals and objectives of sustainable development requires better information about the consequences of proposed actions. Partial information accounts for many failed efforts in the past. The financial implications for the proponent of the projects have often been more thoroughly analyzed than the implications for other actors. The impacts on biological diversity, or on the social fabric of local communities, have often been ignored. Decisi- makers may also focus more on the short-term consequences instead of long- term impacts, creating negative unintended consequences. It is clear that better decision-making processes are needed. Making better decisions requires identifying, obtaining, synthesizing and acting on larger and more diverse data sets, including information that has previously been overlooked in development decisions. The good news is that better processes are being developed and are becoming available. If the goal is to reach decisions that are broadly understood and accepted, affected communities need to be consulted. Early public participation in defining problems is a prerequisite to effective decision-making. There is no universal formula or checklist of information applicable to every proposed project. The scope of information required should not be determined from the start by small cadres of experts. It is unlikely that any individual or small group processes all of the expertise to achieve the kind of profound int- disciplinary synthesis that is needed.
Author: Stephan Schmidheiny
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262692076
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 244
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Book Description
Whether the workings of financial markets do, or should, support sustainable development is the primary question of this study. Other questions examined may become increasingly important as populations grow and developing countries enter financial markets.
