The Factor 10 Institute Blog

The following paper was prepared for the Stakeholders Consultation on Eco-Innovation Action Plan, 11 February, 2010 in Bruxelles

Bio — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 19:09:54 +0000

Summary
In order to ensure a lasting protection of the eco-system functions and services, as well as in order to maximize the competitive economic advantage of the EU, the following actions, legal provisions, and R&D pertaining to eco-innovation are recommended.

further information: Eco Innovation Plan

Eco-innovation – putting the EU on the path to a resource and energy efficient economy

Bio — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 19:01:39 +0000

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The objective of this study is to support the European Parliament’s ITRE Committee in its work on the EU’s industrial and energy policy and to give advice on the following issues: Why is the issue of resource scarcity back on the agenda? What are the strategic conclusions for the EU? What can the EU expect from eco-innovation in a large range of industrial sectors? Are existing measures meeting the EU aims and expectations, and what new policy initiatives should be set forward? To meet these objectives, this study is structured as follows: Chapter 2 will give an overview on resource scarcities. Chapter 3 elaborates on ecoinnovation, including trends, barriers and driving forces. Chapter 4 outlines proposals for future EU policies. Chapter 5 sketches out a possible vision for the future.

futher information: Eco Innovation

System Policies

Bio — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:56:40 +0000

The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.
Lincoln’s Second Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862

In brief
Sustainable economic conditions cannot be reached without increasing the resource productivity of the industrialized countries dramatically. The price structure as well as economic boni and mali must be adjusted for approaching sustainability. By 2050, the worldwide average per capita consumption shall not exceed 8 tons of material per year. System policies need be developed and applied to ascertain success.

further indormation: system policies

Resource productivity in 7 steps

Bio — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:52:40 +0000

How to develop eco-innovative products and services and improve their material footprint

Foreword
Without radical dematerialization there will be no economic sustainability.In his book “The Call Girls” Arthur Koestler once noted „About feelings of gloom and warnings ofdoom. These two attitudes must not be confused. It is a great mistake to confuse them. A warning
serves a preventive, a positive purpose. A warning must be life-affirming. The geese on the Capitolwere not gloomy, Cassandra was. So the geese succeeded with their warning and Cassandra did not”.
For many years we in the environmental protection business were considered Cassandras. Unfortunately the climatic changes and Katrina in New Orleans – among many other recent desasters – made us look more like geese.
It is 20 years since I came to the conclusion that the physical root cause for the ecological failure ofour economy is the extravagant consumption of natural resources. This may sound trivial today, but atthat time I was pretty much alone with this opinion.
Still today, some 90% of the material lifted from nature does not appear in final goods! I proposed atenfold dematerialization of western technologies on average as a conditio sine qua non for approachingsustainable conditions, and my co-workers later showed in enterprises throughout Europe andJapan that very substantial savings in resource inputs are achievable with state of the art technologywithout loss of end-use satisfaction.

further information: Resource Productivity in 7 steps

A Solution Named Dematerialization System Policies

Bio — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 10:06:40 +0000

Sustainable economic conditions cannot be reached without increasing the resource productivity of the industrialized countries dramatically. By 2050, the world-wide average per capita consumption shall not exceed 8 tons of material per year. System policies need be developed and applied to ascertain success.

KEY CONCEPTS

The existing economic system de-stabilizes the ecosystem services that are crucial for the survival of humans on earth, and cannot be replaced by technology.
The physical root cause imperiling the eco-system services is the enormous consumption of natural resources (material, water, and land surface) for creating material welfare. The economic root cause is the near zero price for using nature.
Limited physical resources on earth, population growth and the need to protect eco-system services necessitate a substantial increase in resource productivity.
The human economy must be constrained to function within the limits of the environment and its resources and in such a way that it works with the grain of, rather than against, natural laws and processes (Ekins).
First estimates indicate that capping the yearly consumption of natural material resources at close to 6 or 7 tons per capita seems unavoidable. This implies a tenfold dematerialization on average for the economy of traditionally industrialized countries.

weitere Informationen A Solution Named Dematerialization

Amsterdam Declaration of the Global Assembly of the Club of Rome

Bio — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:07:46 +0000

The Club of Rome calls for urgent action to avert the growing risk of catastrophic climate change. The most
recent scientific data presented to the Assembly by the world’s top climate scientists demonstrate the
accelerating impacts of climate change on the natural systems of the planet. Beyond this existential threat to
the future of humanity, the Club stresses the need to find a new path for world development to resolve the
connected challenges in the fields of environment, global development and the restructuring of economies
onto a sustainable path. We insist that responsibility for care in the use of energy and resources,
responsibility for the environment and social inclusion are not simply costs to the economy, but investments
in the future of humanity. Governments have directed trillions of dollars to stabilize the financial system: we
call for the required levels of finance to salvage the future of the planet.

further Information Amsterdam Declaration

Report on Eco-Innovation to the European Parliament 2009

Bio — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:57:56 +0000

by: Wuppertal Institut (D), Sustainable Europe Research Institure (A), Factor 10 Institute (F).

www.wupperinst.org, ISBN: 978-3-929944-77-8

New Guideline for Eco-Design, 2009

Bio — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:56:35 +0000

Resource Productivity in 7 Steps – How to develop eco-innovative products and services“

Contact: Michael Lettenmeier Wuppertal Institut, or Prof. Friedrich Schmidt Bleek Factor 10 Institute

Ist die CO2 Emission wirklich das ökologische Mass aller Dinge?

Bio — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:45:40 +0000

Kann die CO₂-Emission pro Einheit Output das ökologische (negativ-)Mass aller Dinge, sein? Hätten wir bei der vollständigen Vermeidung von CO₂ Emissionen aus der Wirtschaft die ökologische Nachhaltigkeit erreicht? Bei weitem nicht! Insofern greifen auch politische Maßnahmen, Anlagen, Meßmethoden, F&E Projekte etc. zu kurz, die sich ausschliesslich oder vorwiegend mit Energie/CO₂ befassen.

Das oekologische Mass aller Dinge ist der lebenszyklusweite Verbrauch von natürlichen Ressourcen pro Einheit Output (Dienstleistung, Nutzen) = MIPS und FIPS. MI ist der Material + Energieverbrauch in kg Masse, FI ist die beanspruchte Fläche in m².

MIPS ist das in kg gemessene Mass fuer die Entkoppelung der Wirtschaft vom Naturverbrauch.

Vorträge beim World Resources Forum Davos 09

Bio — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:42:59 +0000

Vorträge des World Resource Forum in Davos September 2009