Page 66 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

5 LCA and Sustainability 49

Fig. 5.2 Global development in a selection of a socio-economic indicators and b pressures and
impacts on the environment from 1750 to 2010 (Steffen et al. 2015b). Reprinted by Permission of
SAGE Publications, Ltd.

in a liberal democracy as found in most affluent societies today. The “A” in the
IPAT equation above is therefore expected to increase over time.
What is left is the development of technology, which can allow us to regulate the
environmental impact per consumed unit (the ‘T’ factor in the IPAT equation). To
increase the output or functionality while keeping a constant environmental impact
corresponds to increasing what is often termed eco-efficiency. According to the
World Business Council of Sustainable Development “eco-efficiency is achieved by
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” (WBCSD 2000). By increasing the
eco-efficiency of existing products and technologies, the idea is thus that we will be
able to consume the same, or more, while at the same time lowering the overall