Measures of Environmental Performance

Sustainable development was recognized and accepted easily as a vision for a future in which the “limits of growth” are respected while the wealth and welfare of humans continues to increase. Governments, companies, communities, and even individuals are now aware that environment needs more consideration and some effort should be invested in protecting or restoring it. Most of these efforts mean higher costs and lower incomes or profit, contradicting the basic tenets of economics. Nevertheless, there is an area where the interests could and should meet. This area is efficiency, and since it could be interpreted from the perspective of environmental outcomes, is ecoefficiency. Reducing water consumption, energy use, amount of waste that is generated, volume of discharged waste water means for a company less costs. In case that these reductions are occurring and production is steady or even increasing, efficiency is improved, along with the environmental performance of the company. The paper explains the rational of eco-efficiency concept and makes comments on a number of quantitative approaches.