Reference Materials

 

NIST

The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has a BEES performance indicator that uses the same scope as the McIlvaine interpretation of environmental burden. It includes health along with environment.

 

 

Life Cycle Analysis

Environmental Burden analyses as well as other sustainability analyses include the whole life cycle. There are ISO standards which are designed to guide analysts in calculating the impacts in entirety.

 

 

Eco-Efficiency

The challenge of introducing a number of environmental factors is to create an evaluation system which provides equivalent impact of various different air, water, waste and health results. McIlvaine has created an “environmental burden index” to reduce all variables to one set of factors.

 

The term eco-efficiency was coined by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).  It is based on the concept of creating more goods and services while using fewer resources and creating less waste and pollution.

 

According to the WBCSD definition, eco-efficiency is achieved through the delivery of "competitively priced goods and services that satisfy human needs and bring quality of life while progressively reducing environmental impacts of goods and resource intensity throughout the entire life-cycle to a level at least in line with the Earth's estimated carrying capacity."

 

This concept describes a vision for the production of economically valuable goods and services while reducing the ecological impacts of production. In other words, eco-efficiency means producing more with less.

 

According to the WBCSD, critical aspects of eco-efficiency are:

The reduction in ecological impacts translates into an increase in resource productivity, which in turn can create a competitive advantage.

 

The term “environmental burden” has been used in several contexts. One is to assess the burden of illness resulting from adverse environmental exposures.  McIlvaine has appropriated this term to identify an index which reduces environmental, resource, and health burdens into one common index.

 

Eco-efficiency for various options can be determined by dividing the environmental burden reduction by the cost.

 

The United Nations definition of eco-efficiency is relatively narrow and the emphasis is on the environmental burden as a ratio to the dollar value added. A whole manual has been prepared that provides ratios and equivalents for fuels, greenhouse gases etc.

 

 

Seebalance

BASF has created Seebalance as a broader view than eco–efficiency. It takes into account the economy and society as well as the environment. The orientation is assessment of the impact of products. This is different than indices focused on corporate performance.

 

 

Dow Sustainability Index

This index is focused on corporate performance and only incidentally on products. The environmental sector is a small portion of the sustainability index. Economic issues carry a major weight. So this index is only marginally relevant

 

 

Sustainability with More Narrow Definitions

Sustainability is also used much more narrowly as witnessed by this analysis of a wastewater treatment plant where it is used interchangeably with environmental burden.

 

 

Sustainability Defined as Environmental Burden

An article on sustainability in hospitals focuses on energy reduction and air and water considerations. So it really is defining sustainability in the narrowest of terms.

 

 

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)

Economic issues including labor are in the index. (Trade unions have director positions)

 
 The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has pioneered the development of the world’s most widely used sustainability reporting framework and is committed to its continuous improvement and application worldwide. This framework sets out the principles and indicators that organizations can use to measure and report their economic, environmental, and social performance.


The cornerstone of the framework is the Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. The third version of the Guidelines – known as the G3 Guidelines - was published in 2006, and is a free public good. Other components of the framework include Sector Supplements (unique indicators for industry sectors) and Protocols (detailed reporting guidance) and National Annexes (unique country-level information).

 

Sustainability reports based on the GRI framework can be used to benchmark organizational performance with respect to laws, norms, codes, performance standards and voluntary initiatives; demonstrate organizational commitment to sustainable development; and compare organizational performance over time.

 

 

Voluntary Unaudited Reporting

GRI encourages the independent assurance of sustainability reports and the development of standards and guidelines for the assurance process to be followed by assurance providers. Independent assurance of a sustainability report is not a requirement for in accordance reporting.

 

 

Membership is Not Representative

Microsoft, Ford and GM are members but not a broad cross section.

 

 

 

 

To submit comments, please e-mail me at: rmcilvaine@mcilvainecompany.com

 

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