From Eco-Efficiency to Eco-Effectiveness [1,2]

Eco-efficiency is a concept that has found large diffusion in managerial practice and can be defined as “the delivery of competitively-priced goods and services that satisfy human needs and bring quality of life, while progressively reducing ecological impacts and resource intensity throughout the life-cycle to a level at least in line with the earth’s carrying capacity” (DeSimone and Popoff, 1997, p. 47). Notwithstanding this broad definition, in the operational practice eco-efficiency has mainly focused on the positive association between an environmentally friendly attitude and increased productivity, product differentiation and brand strengthening. In other words, the debate on eco-efficiency has somehow left behind the question of limits, carrying capacity and effectiveness of environmental strategies, focusing mainly on the “business case”.

This discussion and the corresponding workshop focused on broadening the debate on corporate sustainability, introducing and discussing the concept of eco-effectiveness (Dyllick and Hockerts, 2002) both at the theoretical and practical level. The concepts discussed at previous workshops will be carried forward to successive symposia

Posts in From Eco-Efficiency to Eco-Effectiveness [1,2]:

Outcome of Eco-Effectiveness

March 27, 2008 by LYNN DALEY | Filed under: From Eco-Efficiency to Eco-Effectiveness [1,2] | No Comments »

Human Health and the Built Environment Section 4 of the attached article “Rebuilding the Unity of Health and the Environment: A New Vision of Environmental Health for the 21st Century” focuses on human health as a required outcome of of eco-effectiveness. The workshop contributers suggest that starting within the framework environmental justice and that designers/builders must must engage natural laws.

Beyond the Business Case for Corporate Sustainability

March 3, 2008 by John Morelli and Brian Butler | Filed under: From Eco-Efficiency to Eco-Effectiveness [1,2],Overview | No Comments »

Dyllick1, Thomas and Kai Hockerts2*, “Beyond the Business Case for Corporate Sustainability”. Business Strategy and the Environmnet. Vol. 11, pg 130-141 (2002)
1 University of St. Gallen, Switzerland
2 INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France

The article is intended as a contribution to the ongoing conceptual development of corporate sustainability. At the business level sustainability is often equated with eco-efficiency. However, such a reduction misses several important criteria that firms have to satisfy if they want to become truly sustainable. This article discusses how the concept of sustainable development has evolved over the past three decades and particularly how it can be applied to the business level. It then goes on to describe the three types of capital relevant within the concept of corporate sustainability: economic, natural and social capital. From this basis we shall then develop the six criteria managers aiming for corporate sustainability will have to satisfy: eco-efficiency, socio-efficiency, eco-effectiveness, socio-effectiveness, sufficiency and ecological equity. The article ends with a brief outlook towards future research.