Eco-efficient Design
Introduction
Eco-efficiency is the ratio between the added value of what has been produced and the added environmental impact that it cost to produce it.[1] This ratio can be used to compare possibilities. For example, moving a person 10 kilometers is more eco-efficient if done by bicycle than if they use a fossil fuel car, because, among other things, less carbon dioxide is emitted. Thus, greater eco-efficiency is achieved through the distribution of "goods and services that satisfy human needs and provide quality of life while progressively reducing the amounts of resources they require and environmental impacts."[2].
Definition
According to the definition of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), eco-efficiency "is the ratio between the added value of what has been produced and the added environmental impact that it has cost to produce it."[1] We tend to talk about "achieving the* eco-efficiency of something" when what is actually meant is "achieving greater eco-efficiency of something." The reduction in ecological impacts translates into an increase in resource productivity, which can also create a competitive advantage.[3].
According to the WBCSD, the critical aspects of eco-efficiency are:.
Eco-efficiency ensures the good use and development of natural resources at the lowest possible environmental cost. That is, it incorporates a new value to the production of goods and services: sustainability. This allows a more efficient and sustainable use of natural resources, whether water, soil and its biodiversity or renewable energies, generating less waste and pollution and guaranteeing their existence for future generations.[4].
In 2002, Michael Braungart and William McDonough's book on eco-efficiency ideas and their practical applications was published.
There are several NGOs in the world that work on the issue. Some of them address the challenge of generating an organizational culture that allows producing more with less in the field of business eco-efficiency.[5][6].
In the book Glossary for Environmental Studies by Luis Antonio González E. and Jorge Hernán Villegas J. the following definition appears: "environmental management program to make efficient use of water, energy, soil, raw materials and labor force in every productive process, reusing waste and treating discharges, so that risks are reduced and negative environmental impacts on health and ecosystems are eliminated or prevented."