 Eco-efficiencySarina Achterfeldt Chapter 47 in Elgar Encyclopedia of Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment, 2026, pp 164-168 from Edward Elgar Publishing Abstract: Eco-efficiency is a strategic concept that optimizes economic activities to minimize their environmental burden while maximizing effectiveness. This concept is integral to sustainable development and environmental management, aiming to create more value with less environmental impact. It encompasses principles such as reducing material and energy intensity of goods and services, increasing their service intensity, minimizing toxic dispersion, enhancing material recyclability, extending product durability, and maximizing renewable resource utilization. This approach aligns closely with circular economy principles, emphasizing waste elimination and resource regeneration. It represents a paradigm shift in business thinking, from viewing environmental concerns as obstacles to economic growth to recognizing them as opportunities for innovation and competitive advantage. Practically, eco-efficiency is operationalized through methodologies like data envelopment analysis (DEA) and is standardized in ISO 14045, allowing quantitative assessment of environmental impacts of a product throughout its life cycle. Keywords: Eco-efficiency; Life cycle assessment; Life Cycle Costing; Sustainability performance; Comparability; Environmental impact (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:elg:eechap:22215_47 Ordering information: This item can be ordered from Access Statistics for this chapter More chapters in Chapters from Edward Elgar Publishing |
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