Resource productivity - Misplaced Pages

Resource productivity is the quantity of good or service (outcome) that is obtained through the expenditure of unit resource. This can be expressed in monetary terms as the monetary yield per unit resource.

For example, when applied to crop irrigation it is the yield of crop obtained through use of a given volume of irrigation water, the “crop per drop”, which could also be expressed as monetary return from product per use of unit irrigation water.

Resource productivity and resource intensity are key concepts used in sustainability measurement as they attempt to decouple the direct connection between resource use and environmental degradation. Their strength is that they can be used as a metric for both economic and environmental cost. Although these concepts are two sides of the same coin, in practice they involve very different approaches and can be viewed as reflecting, on the one hand, the efficiency of resource production as outcome per unit of resource use (resource productivity) and, on the other hand, the efficiency of resource consumption as resource use per unit outcome (resource intensity). The sustainability objective is to maximize resource productivity while minimizing resource intensity. Scientific and political debates on resource productivity are regularly held at, among others, the World Resources Forum conferences.

References

Karlson Hargroves and Michael H. Smith, 2005: The Natural Advantage of Nations: Business Opportunities, Innovation and Governance in the 21st Century. Earthscan, London. ISBN 9781844073405
Hawken, P., Lovins, A. and Lovins, L.H. 1999. Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution. Earthscan, London.
Weizsäcker, E, and Jesinghaus, J. 1992. Ecological Tax Reform, Chapter 2: Increasing the Productivity of Natural Resources and Energy. Zed, London.

v t e Sustainability
Outline Index
Principles	Anthropocene Environmentalism Global governance Human impact on the environment Planetary boundaries Development
Consumption	Anthropization Anti-consumerism Circular economy Durable good Earth Overshoot Day Ecological footprint Ethical Green consumption Micro-sustainability Over-consumption Product stewardship Simple living Social return on investment Steady-state economy Sustainability Advertising Brand Marketing myopia Sustainable Consumer behaviour Market Systemic change resistance Tragedy of the commons
World population	Demographic transition Family planning Control Sustainable population
Technology	Appropriate Environmental technology Natural building Sustainable architecture Sustainable design Sustainable industries Sustainable packaging
Biodiversity	Biosecurity Biosphere Conservation biology Endangered species Holocene extinction Invasive species
Energy	Carbon footprint Renewable energy Sustainable energy
Food	Civic agriculture Climate-smart agriculture Community-supported agriculture Cultured meat Sustainable agriculture Sustainable diet Sustainable fishery
Water	Air well (condenser) Bioretention Bioswale Blue roof Catchwater Constructed wetland Detention basin Dew pond Footprint Hydroelectricity Hydropower Infiltration basin Irrigation tank Marine energy Micro hydro Ocean thermal energy conversion Pico hydro Rain garden Rainwater harvesting Rainwater tank Reclaimed water Retention basin Run-of-the-river hydroelectricity Scarcity Security Small hydro Sustainable drainage system Tidal power Tidal stream generator Tree box filter Water conservation Water heat recycling Water recycling shower Water-sensitive urban design
Accountability	Corporate environmental responsibility Corporate social responsibility Environmental accounting Environmental full-cost accounting Environmental planning Sustainability Accounting Measurement Metrics and indices Reporting Standards and certification Sustainable yield
Applications	Advertising Art Business City Climate finance Community Disinvestment Eco-capitalism Eco-cities Eco-investing Eco-socialism Ecovillage Environmental finance Green economy Construction Fashion Finance Gardening Geopark Green Development Infrastructure Marketing Green roof Greening Impact investing Landscape Livelihood Living Market Organic movement Organizations Procurement Refurbishment Socially responsible business Socially responsible marketing Sanitation Sourcing Space Sustainability organization Tourism Transport Urban drainage systems Urban infrastructure
Sustainable management	Environmental Fisheries Forest Humanistic capitalism Landscape Materials Natural resource Planetary Recycling Waste
Agreements and conferences	UN Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm 1972) Brundtlandt Commission Report (1983) Our Common Future (1987) Earth Summit (1992) Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (1992) Agenda 21 (1992) Convention on Biological Diversity (1992) Lisbon Principles (1997) Earth Charter (2000) UN Millennium Declaration (2000) Earth Summit 2002 (Rio+10, Johannesburg) UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20, 2012) Sustainable Development Goals (2015)
Category Lists Science Studies Degrees

This article about energy economics is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

Categories:

See also

References