Ecological balance / Ecology-oriented management economics

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By an ecological balance (English also LCA - Life Cycle Assessment) one understands a systematic analysis about products, materials and processes by ecological criteria. In the course of such one examines all environmentalrelevant withdrawals from the environment (e.g. ores, crude oil) as well as emissions into the environment (e.g. wastes, carbon dioxide emissions) and analyzes the associated environmental impact by the investigation object. The ecological balance belongs to the ecology-oriented planning instruments of the Controlling. The term of the balance is used with the ecological balance in the sense by a confrontation, it is not with the balance within the bookkeeping to be confounded.

Generally one differentiates between an ecological balance, which considers the environmental aspect of an individual product, a comparative ecological balance, as well as which pursues a confrontation of several products an holistic balance, which includes economic, technical and/or social aspects with.

With the standard ISO 14040 the term ecological balance is only exclusively applicable to product-related

Structure

An entire ecological balance according to the standards ISO 14040 to ISO 14043 covers:

a goal definition (ISO 14040),
a special balance (ISO 14041),
a Wirkungsbilanz (ISO 14042) and
an evaluation (ISO 14043).

In the goal definition first the life way of a product is defined beginning during the raw material extraction and ending with the appropriate disposal. In addition interrelations with other materials are considered as well as the borders of the investigation are specified. Next in the special balance quantitative statements about the evenly seized product life way are made. One collects information about resources consumption and emissions and confronts the inputs (input parameters) to the initial values (output parameters). Thus the special balance is the probably most important module within the ecological balance. The Wirkungsbilanz aggregated afterwards the ecological effects on the basis of scientifically based qualitative criteria as for example the relevance of different emissions with the greenhouse effect or with the formation of the ozone hole. The result of the Wirkungsbilanz 5-10 quantitative impact on the environment, the one product (e.g. contribution to the greenhouse effect, to the acid rain, to the ozone hole etc.) is caused.

To good the latter the summarized data can after ecological meaning evaluated in the balance sheet valuation, i.e. to be weighted against each other. This last step simplifies the representation of results, up to a value of point of a, is however also strongly subjective to be permitted (it is a poisonous emission more badly the greenhouse potential to be increased - this question can objectively hardly be answered).

From all these aspects it follows that an ecological balance possesses large potential to serve as decision making aid for producers and consumers. It is an expressive and often crucial instrument for the evaluation of the environmental compatibility of products.

Aggregation and appraisal procedure

Points of environmental impact
Concept of the effect indicators (CML method)
cumulated energy expenditure
MIPS
critical volumes
Sustainable Process index (MIRROR-IMAGE ONE)
Eco indicator 99: the entire environmental relevance of a product or a system in an individual number expresses, unit points [Pt]. Effect categories are normalized and weighted differently strongly. The smaller this number is the "more pollution free" is the product. This number should be regarded however critically (s.o. to be permitted "is it a poisonous emission more badly the greenhouse potential to be increased "). Resuming information to the EI-99, in English