Eco-efficiency and innovations

1
Eco-efficiency and innovations

• Workshop 8
• Moderator Ágnes Zsóka PhD

2
Definitions of eco-efficiency

• Eco-EfficiencyService/Material Input
• Energy efficiencyService/Energy Input
• Ehrlich and Ehrlich formula
• Total environmental impact
• Population X GDP/population X env.imp./GDP
• Factor 4, Factor 10

3
Eco-efficiency and innovations

• We expect them to stimulate each other, but
• it is not necessarily the case see examples
• What is efficient for
• the company
• the society
• Economic and ecological efficiency
• In line or in tension?
• The role of the time frame

4
Incentives of energy efficiency measures
(Mitchell, Robbins, Zilahy)

• Strong motivators
• financial reward,
• acquired environmental awareness,
• performance motivation,
• competence motivation.
• Not motivating
• promotion,
• power motivation,
• reinforcement.

• Weak motivators
• esteem and status,
• self-enhancement,
• the presence of colleagues,
• environmental awareness of other members of the
  organisation,
• attitudes of colleagues.

5
Constraints of energy efficiency measures

• Strongly restrictive factors
• constraints of decision-making processes,
• Lacking knowledge of measures aiming at the
  improvement of efficiency,
• technological dependencies.
• Factors with no restrictive impacts
• professional competence,
• job features.

• Weakly restrictive factors
• Lack of job security,
• lacking knowledge of objectives and involvement
  in setting the objectives,
• no ability to change and learn,
• social (group) dependence.

6
Driving forces to cleaner production (CP)
innovations (after Corral, 2002)

• Environmental and economic risks ? CP attitude
• Pressures from the community, the market and the
  authorities ? social pressure
• Technological and organizational capabilities ?
  control of behavior
• ?
• Willingness to develop cleaner production
• ?
• Actual behavior CP innovation
• Important impacts from outside industrial
  cooperation and environmental policy of the
  country

7
Questions eco-efficiency and innovations

• How to recognize and promote eco-efficiency
  within the company?
• How to rely on benefits and overcome or eliminate
  obstacles?
• How to stimulate innovation?
• How to reconcile eco-efficiency and innovation?
• What is the role of environmental manager?

8
Conclusions of the workshop

• Step 1 Recognise eco-efficiency within the
  company
• Change the culture
• Attitudes of collegues
• Environmental manager provide examples
• Measure environmental impacts beside economic
  impacts
• LCA
• LC costing
• EMA

9

• Step 2 Include consumer behaviour
• Long-life versus short life products problem of
  life cycle of technologies
• Step 3 measurement of WASTE differently
• Go beyond waste megmt concept
• Waste of time, energy, labour force, costs etc.

10
Macro-level

• Need of measuring eco-efficiency
• GDP does not tell us
• From eco-efficiency towards eco-effectiveness
• What to do with rebound effect?
• Need of absolute measures
• Need of changing our mindset
• Problem of the world market primary demand,
  secondary demand
• How to keep consumers loyalty? To teach them to
  save money and energy at the same time?

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The role of environmental manager /1

• Initiator
• coordinator
• Communicate to the top mgmt and to everybody,
  teaching
• Leading by examples
• Measurement behind
• Credibility, feedback
• Conceptual, philosophical skills,
  value-orientation

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The role of environmental manager/2

• Interaction between profit and environmental
  interests
• Searching for appropriate toolkit
• Plus contribution from outside experts can be
  necessary