Eco-efficiency assessment of 42 countries’ administrative divisions based on environmental impact and gross regional product

To transition to a sustainable society, every local government needs to properly recognize, measure, and publish the current situation in their administrative division. This study conducted eco-efficiency assessment of activities carried out at the local level around the world based on the economic value and environmental load indicators in one year (2015). The assessment’s target areas were the administrative divisions of 42 countries that were mainly OECD members. The economic value was the Gross Regional Product (GRP), and the environmental load was calculated based on LIME3, an endpoint-type and global-scale Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) method that can calculate the assessment results in monetary units (the “eco-index USD”). The indicator for eco-efficiency (dimensionless) was quantitatively defined by dividing the monetary units of the eco-index USD by the GRP in each area. The assessment results show that the average eco-efficiency value in all areas of the 42 countries was 30.2. Of these countries, the major cities (administrative division unit) with the top-three values include Paris (213.1), London (154.3), and Dublin (141.8). The results for each division were visualized on graphs and maps in order to understand their positions from environmental and economic perspectives. No such assessment has ever been conducted at the local level and under the same conditions globally. This study provides insights that contributes to the establishment of a standard methodology for local governments’ environmental accounting.