Eco-effectiveness

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Eco-effectiveness , also consistency in the context of sustainability , is a concept for achieving the compatibility of nature and technology . The basic idea is that in sustainable systems there should be no waste , only products . The concept aims to avoid waste through reusable resources ( recycling ). Instead of the eco-efficiency of the individual product, the focus is on the overall ecological impact of a company.

term

The term was used by the German chemist Michael Braungart and the American architect William McDonough in their 2002 book Cradle to Cradle (C2C, "from the cradle to the cradle"). They contrasted the term “eco-effectiveness” with “ life cycle assessment ” (which analyzes the cycle of materials and its environmental impact from the cradle to the grave ) and with “eco-efficiency”.

Ökoeffektiv are by Braungart and McDonough products either as biological nutrients in biological cycles can be recycled or as "technical nutrients" are continuously held in technical cycles.

The principle for an eco-effective approach is: waste equals food . Both energy and material are wasted in many natural processes. Plants and animals produced large amounts of "waste". They are not eco-efficient. Nonetheless, they are eco-effective because they are part of a sustainable system that reuses every piece of waste, for example as fertilizer.

“Nature has been producing completely inefficiently but effectively for millions of years. A cherry tree produces thousands of flowers and fruits without polluting the environment. On the contrary: as soon as they fall to the ground, they become nutrients for animals, plants and the soil in the area. "

- Michael Braungart : quoted in Berliner Zeitung

Analogous to this, technical production can be effective if it emits substances that can be used in other productions.

Examples

Biological and technical cycle

Eco-effectiveness

Eco-efficiency

  • The fuel consumption by fifty percent reduction, but the total number of cars worldwide to triple ( rebound ).
  • Developing brake pads in such a way that they emit fewer particles but still leave thousands of tons of pollutants on the roads.
  • Increase the proportion of recycled material in polymer products without paying attention to the reduction in quality of the recycled material ( downcycling ).
  • The wastewater volume decrease in textile production, but the number of additives to increase and therefore the end to still have a non-reusable product.

criticism

A prominent critic of Braungart is Friedrich Schmidt-Bleek , the longtime director of the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy . The assertion, cited several times in Braungart's book, that the pessimistic orientation of the environmental movement suppresses the creativity necessary to solve the problems, he described as "pseudo-psychological nonsense". Schmidt-Bleek also doubts the practical feasibility of the concept. As an example, he cited the compostable seat covers designed by Braungart for the new Airbus A380 :

“I can feel very comfortable on Michael's seat covers on the plane. But I'm still waiting for the detailed proposal to design the other 99.99 percent of the Airbus A380 according to his principles. "

Schmidt-Bleek believes that it is completely out of the question that the concept could be implemented on a large scale without harming nature.

Proponents of an eco-effective approach also criticized Cradle to Cradle, such as the business ethicist Rahim Taghizadegan:

“The promise is actually only that you could then waste without a guilty conscience. But that is also wrong. Food, for example, is a completely compostable product. Is it therefore right to throw away lots of opened food? "

Braungart's concept certifies its own analyzes and therefore does not comply with ISO standards 14040 and 14044 for life cycle assessments , which require a critical review by an independent expert.

The concept does not take into account the usage phase of a product, with many products or systems such as In the case of mobility, for example, however, this is the dominant factor for the size of their ecological footprint . The greatest impact on the environment has z. B. a car or an airplane during the usage phase. It is therefore crucial how light the means of transport are in order to use as little fuel as possible.

Some environmental groups criticize Braungart deliberately avoiding clarity about the terms he uses. He propagating an "intelligent waste" and compare it in any manner the waste within the meaning of biodiversity and propagation in nature with the waste in economic processes . He avoided dealing with criticism on a scientific level. This makes Braungart a “ neoliberal entertainer” who, with his theses and appearances, “ makes the idea of growth socially acceptable in green circles”.

The idea of seeing waste as recyclable materials goes back decades. In Germany it led to a reform of waste management ; In September 1994 the Bundestag passed the Recycling Management Act . High disposal costs (be it for landfill or for waste incineration ) make it attractive to recycle waste. How attractive recycling is also depends on the price of a raw material. Until about 2008 the prices of numerous raw materials rose significantly; many companies therefore increased their recycling activities.

See also

Web links

Footnotes

  1. Consistency in the Lexicon of Sustainability of the Aachen Foundation Kathy Beys ; As of August 18, 2015.
  2. Eco-effectiveness in The Environment Lexicon by Klaus Gebhardt; Status: unchanged since January 2009, last call in January 2020.
  3. ^ William McDonough & Michael Braungart (2002): Cradle to Cradle ( Memento of February 22, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (summary of the contents).
  4. Holger Fuss: Cleverness of the cherry tree. In: Berliner Zeitung . June 26, 2004, accessed June 15, 2015 .
  5. taz.de of March 7, 2009 / Peter Unfried: Der Umweltretter Michael Braungart
  6. Rahim Taghizadegan: Cradle-to-cradle - the next sow to be driven through the global village? In: Koisser, H. et al.: Cradle-to-cradle, the next industrial revolution - idea, criticism and interviews. Effective, 1 (2010), pp. 21-26. Download (PDF; 3 MB)
  7. Ernst Schmitter: Revolutionary with an Achilles heel. Michael Braungart's theses inspire many - but if you look closely, doubts arise. Der Rabe Ralf , April 14, 2010, pp. 18-19 , accessed on February 22, 2015 .
  8. Christoph Aebischer: The waste-free world of the substance-eating chemist. The bird of paradise Michael Braungart preaches a second industrial revolution. Berner Zeitung , December 9, 2012, accessed on February 22, 2016 .