How Can the Eco‐efficiency of a Region be Measured and Monitored?

The concept of eco-efficiency is commonly referred to as a business link to sustainable development. In this article, ecoefficiency is examined at a regional level as an approach to promoting the competitiveness of economic activities in the Finnish Kymenlaakso region and mitigating their harmful impacts on the environment. The aim is to develop appropriate indicators for monitoring changes in the eco-efficiency of the region. A starting point is to produce indicators for the environmental and economic dimensions of regional development and use them for measuring regional eco-efficiency. The environmental impact indicators are based on a life-cycle assessment method, producing different types of environmental impact indicators: pressure indicators (e.g., emissions of CO₂), impact category indicators (e.g., CO₂ equivalents in the case of climate change), and a total impact indicator (aggregating different impact category indicator results into a single value). Environmental impact indicators based on direct material input, total material input, and total material requirement of the Kymenlaakso region are also assessed. The economic indicators used are the gross domestic product, the value added, and the output of the main economic sectors of Kymenlaakso. In the eco-efficiency assessment, the economic and environmental impact indicators are monitored in the same graph. In a few cases eco-efficiency ratios can also be calculated (the economic indicators are divided by the environmental indicators). Output (= value added + intermediate consumption) is used as an economic indicator related to the environmental impact indicators, which also cover the upstream processes of the region's activities. In the article, we also discuss the strengths and weaknesses of using the different environmental impact indicators.     

基于物质流分析和数据包络分析的区域生态效率评价——以江苏省为例

区域生态效率(eco-efficiency)评价是考量区域可持发展的重要内容.基于物质流分析(material flow analysis, MFA)构建区域生态效率评价指标体系,并将污染物排放作为一种非期望输入引入到数据包络分析(data envelopment analysis, DEA)模型中,以江苏省(1990～2005年)为例进行生态效率分析评价.结果表明,江苏省的区域生态效率在1990～2005年期间呈现逐步上升的趋势.但是,同期的总物质投入(total material input, TMI)、物质需求总量(total material requirement, TMR)和污染物排放量也呈上升趋势.因此,江苏省社会经济发展和环境影响总体上呈现"弱脱钩(weak de-link)".     

中国农业生态效率评价方法与实证——基于非期望产出的SBM模型分析

生态效率是衡量经济与资源环境协调发展的重要指标.基于将农业面源污染作为非期望产出的考量,在对传统DEA模型进行修正的基础上,采用非径向、非角度的SBM模型对中国30个省份的农业生态效率进行了测算,并给出了农业生态效率的改善途径.研究结果表明:1998-2009年中国农业生态效率虽然呈现缓慢上升态势,但整体仍处于较低水平,除北京、上海、海南、重庆外,其余省市都需要改变投入和产出来优化农业生态效率;资源的过度消耗和环境污染物的过量排放是农业生态效率损失的主要原因.提高资源利用效率、降低资源消耗量和环境污染物的排放量是农业生态效率改善的重要途径.     

Rethinking Environmental Performance from a Public Health Perspective: A Comparative Industry Analysis

To date the most common measures of environmental performance used to compare industries, and by extension firms or facilities, have been quantity of pollution emitted or hazardous waste generated. Discharge information, however, does not necessarily capture potential health effects. We propose an alternative environmental performance measure that includes the public health risks of toxic air emissions extended to industry supply chains using economic input-output life-cycle assessment. Cancer risk to the U.S. population was determined by applying a damage function to the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) as modeled by CalTOX, a multimedia multipathway fate and exposure model. Risks were then translated into social costs using cancer willingness to pay. For a baseline emissions year of 1998, 260 excess cancer cases were calculated for 116 TRI chemicals, dominated by ingestion risk from polycyclic aromatic compounds and dioxins emitted by the primary aluminum and cement industries, respectively. The direct emissions of a small number of industry sectors account for most of the U.S. population cancer risk. For the majority of industry sectors, however, cancer risk per $1 million output is associated with supply chain upstream emissions. Ranking industries by total (direct + upstream) supply chain risk per economic output leads to different conclusions about the relative hazards associated with these industries than a conventional ranking based on emissions per economic output.     

旅游地生态效率测度的SBM-DEA模型及实证分析

旅游地是典型的人地关系相互作用的特殊区域,旅游地的生态效率研究是其制定与实施包容性、持续性发展政策与措施的基础。采用基于时间序列、包含非期望产出的SBM-DEA模型方法,构建旅游地生态效率测度模型及评价指标体系,以黄山风景区为例,利用1981—2014年的投入产出数据,测度旅游地复合系统的生态效率,分析其演化特征和阶段,并利用Tobit回归模型对其影响因素进行实证检验。结果表明:(1)34年来,黄山风景区旅游生态效率(综合效率)不断提升,且具较大发展潜力,在分解效率中,技术效率较高,规模效率次之,规模效率是决定综合效率的关键因素;(2)旅游生态效率的演化经历了初期低效、快速成长、成熟高效、下行风险四个阶段,不同阶段效率的特征不同,影响因素也存在差异;(3)旅游生态效率完成了由规模报酬递增向递减的过渡,资源要素的投入冗余已成为现阶段阻碍生态效率的进一步提高的关键因素;(4)旅游发展水平、产业结构和技术水平对生态效率产生显著的正向影响,投资水平产生显著的负向影响,以废弃物末端治理为表征的环保规制对生态效率的提升作用并不显著。文章最后提出,在山岳型风景区发展初期,应尽可能扩大资源要素投入规模,进入成熟阶段后,则转向逐渐控制投入规模,改善技术能力和资源配置能力,摒弃过度依靠资源消耗和环境污染的粗放式发展模式,走精细化、可持续的发展道路。     

Ship Breaking and the Steel Industry in Bangladesh: A Material Flow Perspective

Bangladesh has emerged as a leading ship breaking nation. We conducted a material flow analysis of steel in Bangladesh with an emphasis on the ship breaking industry (SBI). The total aggregate domestic steel consumption in fiscal year (FY) 2010 was 2,930,000 tonnes (t) in Bangladesh; SBI met approximately 51% of the demand for raw materials and 37% of the demand for finished steel products. Rolling industries output in FY2010 was 1,451,000 t; 23% of the input for this production was from ship breaking sources. Dismantled ships also generate high‐quality reusable steel scraps. SBI was found to be the sole source of scraps for small rerolling industries in Bangladesh, and their output in 2008 more than doubled as compared to 2005. Larger rolling industries fulfilled their input needs for steel scraps by using both SBI and imported materials. We found a sharp increase in input imports during the global ship breaking recession in 2003–2007 and when Bangladesh's SBI faced a temporary ban in 2010. Induction furnaces in Bangladesh in FY2010 produced a total of 787,000 t of billets; more than 40% was from ship‐sourced scraps. In 2008, the country's steel consumption was 3,220,000 t, that is, 22 kilograms per person, and the intensity of steel use was 40 grams per U.S. dollar, which was much higher than that of other developing countries with a similar per capita gross domestic product (GDP). The country exhibited a high level of steel consumption relative to its GDP, which is indicative of the contribution of SBI.     

Material flow analysis (MFA) of an eco-economic system:a case study of Wujin District,Changzhou,China

The economic and ecological aspects of a social system are coherently linked and can be examined by its material and energy flows.In this study,we used the material flow analysis (MFA) to model the material input and output of the Wujin District of Changzhou City,Jiangsu Province in China.It was revealed that:(1) total material input and material input per capita increased with economic development,while the total material out-put and material output per capita decreased consistently;(2) except for water,the total material input continued to increase.Input of solid materials grew faster than that of gaseous materials,while the total material output declined.The gas output accounted for the largest pro-portion of the output resulting in primary environmental pollution as burned fossil fuel; (3) water use in agriculture continued with an increasing trend while that in industrial and residential sectors decreased per capita.The total wastewater discharge and wastewater discharge per capita decreased with a faster decreasing rate of residential was-tewater discharge followed by industrial wastewater dis-charge; (4) material input per unit GDP fluctuated and material output per unit GDP decreased.A decreasing trend in both water use and wastewater discharge per unit GDP was disclosed.These results suggest that the effi-ciency of resource use in the Wujin District has improved.This weakened the direct link between economic develop-ment and environmental deterioration.Additionally,we discussed the harmonic development between environ-ment and economy.Potential limitations of MFA's application were also discussed.It is suggested that effec-tive measures should be taken for the enforcement of cir-cular economic strategies and the construction of a resource-saving economy     

Eco-efficiency of Advanced Loop-closing Systems for Vehicles and Household Appliances in Hyogo Eco-town

The closing of material loops is a critical challenge in industrial ecology. It relies mainly on the utilization of recovered materials/parts/products in the original and principal production system while their original function is retained at the highest level possible. In this study, advanced loop-closing systems for the recycling of end-of-life vehicles and electric household appliances are first designed in "Hyogo Eco-town." Second, a methodology for evaluating the eco-efficiency of these systems is developed. Finally, the eco-efficiency of the designed advanced loop-closing strategies for the two products is evaluated, based on the results of materials flow analysis and life-cycle assessment.
The results show that, compared with conventional recycling systems, when an industrial complex and an advanced loop-closing system for end-of-life vehicles are established, the total economic value increases by 114% and the eco-efficiency in terms of the amount of direct material input is improved by 57%. This system permits the utilization of the by-products, wastes, and recovered materials that originate from other industrial sectors as input to production activities. In the case of end-of-life electric household appliances, an advanced loop-closing strategy to lengthen the product life with parts reuse improves the eco-efficiency in terms of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions by 4% compared with the conventional replacement of the appliance with a new product along with the material recycling option.     

Material flow analysis (MFA) of an eco-economic system: a case study of Wujin District, Changzhou, China

The economic and ecological aspects of a social system are coherently linked and can be examined by its material and energy flows. In this study, we used the material flow analysis (MFA) to model the material input and output of the Wujin District of Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province in China. It was revealed that: (1) total material input and material input per capita increased with economic development, while the total material output and material output per capita decreased consistently; (2) except for water, the total material input continued to increase. Input of solid materials grew faster than that of gaseous materials, while the total material output declined. The gas output accounted for the largest proportion of the output resulting in primary environmental pollution as burned fossil fuel; (3) water use in agriculture continued with an increasing trend while that in industrial and residential sectors decreased per capita. The total wastewater discharge and wastewater discharge per capita decreased with a faster decreasing rate of residential wastewater discharge followed by industrial wastewater discharge; (4) material input per unit GDP fluctuated and material output per unit GDP decreased. A decreasing trend in both water use and wastewater discharge per unit GDP was disclosed. These results suggest that the efficiency of resource use in the Wujin District has improved. This weakened the direct link between economic development and environmental deterioration. Additionally, we discussed the harmonic development between environment and economy. Potential limitations of MFA’s application were also discussed. It is suggested that effective measures should be taken for the enforcement of circular economic strategies and the construction of a resource-saving economy __________ Translated from Acta Ecologica Sinica, 2006, (8): 2578–2586 [译自:生态学报]     

我国农业生态效率的时空差异

农业生态效率是按照定量化的方式反映区域农业发展可持续发展水平,可以作为决策者制定政策的一个抓手。利用基于机会成本的经济核算方法对我国2003—2010年的农业生态效率进行总体分析与评价,并利用回归模型分析农业生态效率的影响因素。结果表明:我国农业生态效率总体水平比较低,但呈逐年好转的趋势,其中劳动力资源和COD环境要素在不同时期对生态价值增长起到关键性作用;农业生态效率空间分布特征显著,秦岭-淮河以北的省市区和传统粮食主产区的农业生态效率相对较低;区域资源环境禀赋条件有助于农业生态效率的提高,但是农资投入和农业政策支持与农业生态效率呈显著负相关,未来进一步提升农业生产资源与环境要素合理配置是保障农业生产可持续的必然选择。     

Production as a function of resource availability: Slopes and efficiencies are different

Abstract. A number of investigators have interpreted the slope of a linear production‐resource relationship as a measure of efficiency of resource utilization. However, this is rarely true and may lead to incorrect conclusions. Here, by means of simple mathematical equations and conceptual definitions, we point out the theoretical differences between slope and efficiency. While a slope represents the change in the dependent variable per unit change in the independent variable, efficiency expresses the amount of output produced by a unit amount of input. Practical implications of using slopes as indicators of resource‐use efficiency are less important as the resource amount increases. Slopes may be used as indicators of the sensitivity of production to changes in input, which is by itself an interesting property of biological systems. Finally, production function intercepts determine whether the efficiency will decrease, increase, or remain constant as resources increase.     

A Hybrid‐Unit Energy Input‐Output Model to Evaluate Embodied Energy and Life Cycle Emissions for China's Economy

We develop a hybrid‐unit energy input‐output (I/O) model with a disaggregated electricity sector for China. The model replaces primary energy rows in monetary value, namely, coal, gas, crude oil, and renewable energy, with physical flow units in order to overcome errors associated with the proportionality assumption in environmental I/O analysis models. Model development and data use are explained and compared with other approaches in the field of environmental life cycle assessment. The model is applied to evaluate the primary energy embodied in economic output to meet Chinese final consumption for the year 2007. Direct and indirect carbon dioxide emissions intensities are determined. We find that different final demand categories pose distinctive requirements on the primary energy mix. Also, a considerable amount of energy is embodied in the supply chain of secondary industries. Embodied energy and emissions are crucial to consider for policy development in China based on consumption, rather than production. Consumption‐based policies will likely play a more important role in China when per capita income levels have reached those of western countries.     

江西省主要作物(稻、棉、油)生态经济系统综合分析评价

基于成本收益分析和能值分析理论,构建经济效益指标和生态经济效益指标,对江西省水稻(早稻和晚稻)、棉花、油菜种植系统的经济效益、生态经济综合效益进行分析和评价。经济效益方面,分析比较了单位面积作物成本构成,构建了净利润(Rev)和净利润率(Prof)两个经济效益指标;生态经济方面,分析比较了单位面积能值投入产出构成,构建了能值投入率、能值产出率、环境负载率、宏观经济能值等四个能值评价指标。计算结果表明江西省水稻、棉花和油菜等作物的生产成本占主导地位,价格因素是影响种植成本最重要的因素。水稻主要是以生产物资费用为主,而棉花和油菜以人工费用为主。从产值和收益来看,Rev大小为棉花>晚稻>早稻>油菜,Prof大小为晚稻>棉花>早稻>油菜。水稻、棉花和油菜种植系统对自然更新资源的依靠程度较低,系统的维系主要依赖于外部购买能值的投入,其构成与生产成本构成是一致的。水稻、棉花和油菜等作物的种植系统能值投入率比较高,大小为棉花>早稻>晚稻>油菜,能值产出率:油菜>棉花>晚稻>早稻,造成生态环境压力为晚稻>早稻>油菜>棉花,宏观经济能值大小为油菜>棉花>晚稻>早稻。结果表明,江西省水稻、棉花、油菜种植系统是高度开放的系统,主要依赖购买能值,但是系统产出率不高,其环境压力也不大。研究结果可为深入认识江西水稻、棉花和油菜等主要作物种植系统提供一个新的视角,并为种植业可持续发展提供一定的参考价值。     

基于MFA和DEA的区域经济环境效率评价-以辽宁省为例

对经济与环境效率的科学评价是实现区域可持续发展的前提。运用物质流分析将辽宁省经济系统中数据进行物质化处理,再利用改进的数据包络分析模型对环境和经济效率进行综合评价。结果表明:辽宁省物资消费不主要依赖于进口,向其它地区物质输出量大;环境效率评价的综合效率主要受规模因素影响而显著低于纯技术效率,而整体经济的综合效率却主要受纯技术效率影响而下降。第二产业比重依然偏大的产业结构特征是导致上述结果的主因。进一步改造提升传统产业,发展战略性新兴产业,提高第三产业发展水平,扩大环保规模,促进居民生活质量水平全面提升,将是辽宁省以及与之相似的资源依赖型区域可持续发展的方向。     

Effects of Using Heterogeneous Prices on the Allocation of Impacts from Electricity Use: A Mixed‐Unit Input‐Output Approach

Economic input‐output life cycle assessment (IO‐LCA) models allow for quick estimation of economy‐wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with goods and services. IO‐LCA models are usually built using economic accounts and differ from most process‐based models in their use of economic transactions, rather than physical flows, as the drivers of supply‐chain GHG emissions. GHG emissions estimates associated with input supply chains are influenced by the price paid by consumers when the relative prices between individual consumers are different. We investigate the significance of the allocation of GHG emissions based on monetary versus physical units by carrying out a case study of the U.S. electricity sector. We create parallel monetary and mixed‐unit IO‐LCA models using the 2007 Benchmark Accounts of the U.S. economy and sector specific prices for different end users of electricity. This approach is well suited for electricity generation because electricity consumption contributes a significant share of emissions for most processes, and the range of prices paid by electricity consumers allows us to explore the effects of price on allocation of emissions. We find that, in general, monetary input‐output models assign fewer emissions per kilowatt to electricity used by industrial sectors than to electricity used by households and service sectors, attributable to the relatively higher prices paid by households and service sectors. This fact introduces a challenging question of what is the best basis for allocating the emissions from electricity generation given the different uses of electricity by consumers and the wide variability of electricity pricing.     

区域生态经济系统的物质输入与输出分析——以常州市武进区为例

运用物质流分析（MFA）方法,对江苏省常州市武进区生态经济系统中物质输入与输出进行了系统的分析,结果表明：（1）随着社会经济发展和人口增长,武进区物质输入总量及人均物质输入量也在增加,但递增速率均远小于GDP增长速率,而物质输出总量及人均物质输出量则呈现递减趋势;（2）在不考虑水的因素情况下,武进区物质输入量保持较快的上升速度,其中固体物质的增长速率远远大于气体物质的增长速率;物质输出量则呈总体下降趋势,其中以气体物质输出量的贡献最大,对环境造成污染的物质以气体特别是以化石燃料燃烧排放的废气和工业废气为主;（3）排除占大部分比例农业用水的上升,工业用水、城镇生活用水和地下水总量及人均利用强度都在减少;同时,总的废水排放量及人均排放量在减少,其中又以生活废水排放量的减少最快,其次是工业废水;（4）单位GDP物质输入量的变化处于波动状态,同期的单位GDP物质输出量则呈递减趋势,单位GDP用水量和单位GDP废水排放量则有相同的递减趋势,表征了武进区资源利用效率的稳步提高,区域经济增长和环境压力也在逐步脱钩。上述结果体现了武进区近年来循环经济发展模式的优势,但还存在较多问题,说明武进区在调整物质利用强度和提高资源利用效率方面还需下更大的功夫,并采取相关措施,以期提高实施循环经济战略与建设节约型社会的地位和意义。文章最后结合研究区实际情况就区域环境一经济的协调发展进行了展望,指出了物质流分析方法在应用中的一些缺陷,为今后该领域的进一步研究提供了借鉴。     

Approaches for Quantifying the Metabolism of Physical Economies: A Comparative Survey: Part II: Review of Individual Approaches

This article is the second of a two-part series that describes and compares the essential features of nine "physical economy" approaches for mapping and quantifying the material demands of the human economy upon the natural environ-ment. These approaches are critical tools in the design and implementation of industrial ecology strategies for greater eco-efficiency and reduced environmental impacts of human economic activity. Part I of the series provided an overview, meth-odological classification, and comparison of a selected set of major materials flow analysis (MFA) and related techniques. This sequel includes a convenient reference and overview of the major metabolism measurement approaches in the form of a more detailed summary of the key specific analytical and other features of the approaches introduced in part I. The surveyed physical economy related environmental analysis ap-proaches include total material requirement and output mod-els, bulk MFA (IFF (Department of Social Ecology, Institute for Interdiscplinary Studies of Austrian Universities) material flow balance model variant), physical input-output tables, substance flow analysis, ecological footprint analysis, environmental space, material intensity per unit service, life-cycle assessment (LCA), the sustainable process index, and company-level MFA.     

Integrated Environmental and Economic Assessment of Products and Processes

The eco-efficiency analysis method developed and used by the Öko-Institut analyzes different alternatives that fulfill a defined consumer need, from an environmental as well as an economic perspective.
Like life-cycle assessment (LCA), eco-efficiency analysis makes possible the setting of priorities in purchasing decisions or can be used to show optimization potentials in product development processes.
Eco-efficiency analysis builds upon two methods: LCA, according to ISO 14040 ff. (to assess the environmental aspects of products and processes), and life-cycle costing. Life-cycle costing results in a single figure—the total costs of ownership to one or several actors. The environmental impacts can be evaluated and aggregated as a single score or the impact category indicator results can be kept separate. In either case two single scores can be compared: the total environmental burden or the impact category indicator results, and the total costs of ownership of the alternatives under consideration.
The results can then be plotted in two-dimensional graphs that show the effectiveness of certain measures in environmental and economic terms. The efficiency is expressed as a numerical ratio of environmental savings to difference in costs.
Together with furnishing more detailed results and a discussion of additional benefits or potential barriers, eco-efficiency analysis broadens the basis for decision-making processes.     

基于能值和物质流的吉林省生态效率研究

为探讨生态效率计算方法,结合能值分析和物质流分析构建了生态效率表达式,并对吉林省进行实证分析.结果表明:①生态效率在17a间提高了2.9倍;②生态效率的提高使环境压力降低了205.62%,对经济增长的贡献率达63.7%;③人口增长并非环境压力升高的主要原因,资源消耗对环境压力的影响比废弃物排放更大,但其脱钩现象却弱于废弃物排放;④2000年以后,生态效率对抑制环境压力升高、促进经济增长的作用都在下降,各指标的脱钩指数也均在减小,吉林省经济发展的不可持续性在增强.研究结果在理论上有助于深化生态效率研究方法,在实践上有助于深思我国环保政策存在的缺陷,对促进吉林省可持续发展也具有一定的借鉴意义.     

Economic modelling and indicators in life cycle sustainability assessment

Purpose

Sustainability assessment in life cycle assessment (LCA) addresses societal aspects of technologies or products to evaluate whether a technology/product helps to address important challenges faced by society or whether it causes problems to society or at least selected social groups. In this paper, we analyse how this has been, and can be addressed in the context of economic assessments. We discuss the need for systemic measures applicable in the macro-economic setting.

Methods

The modelling framework of life cycle costing (LCC) is analysed as a key component of the life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) framework. Supply chain analysis is applied to LCC in order to understand the relationships between societal concerns of value adding and the basic cost associated with a functional unit. Methods to link LCC as a foreground economic inventory to a background economy wide inventory such as an input–output table are shown. Other modelling frameworks designed to capture consequential effects in LCSA are discussed.

Results

LCC is a useful indicator in economic assessments, but it fails to capture the full dimension of economic sustainability. It has potential contradictions in system boundary to an environmental LCA, and includes normative judgements at the equivalent of the inventory level. Further, it has an inherent contradiction between user goals (minimisation of cost) and social goals (maximisation of value adding), and has no clear application in a consequential setting. LCC is focussed on the indicator of life cycle cost, to the exclusion of many relevant indicators that can be utilised in LCSA. As such, we propose the coverage of indicators in economic assessment to include the value adding to the economy by type of input, import dependency, indicators associated with the role of capital and labour, the innovation potential, linkages and the structural impact on economic sectors.

Conclusions

If the economic dimension of LCSA is to be equivalently addressed as the other pillars, formalisation of equivalent frameworks must be undertaken. Much can be advanced from other fields that could see LCSA to take a more central role in policy formation.