Page 136 - Design for Environment A Guide to Sustainable Product Development

Performance Indicators and Metrics 115

and commitment among the workforce. One of the most effective
means of assuring progress toward sustainability goals is to incorpo-
rate sustainability KPIs into the executive compensation scheme.
Finally, it is helpful for companies to work collaboratively with
NGOs and interested parties to establish national or even worldwide
standards for environmental performance measurement and im -
provement. The collaboration between the World Business Council
for Sustainable Development and the World Resource Institute on
developing a greenhouse gas emissions inventory protocol is an excel-
lent example of such an effort (see Chapter 9). In the United States, the
Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has developed guidelines for
environmental performance measurement and worked with member
utility companies to help implement them [8]. Another noteworthy
example is the chemical industry, discussed in Chapter 13, which has
®
established a Responsible Care program in several countries as a
focal point for environmental, health and safety performance improve-
ment and stakeholder communication [9].
In the long run, as sustainability becomes integrated into a com-
pany’s operations, the distinction between environmental goals and
business goals should vanish. Rather than utilizing separate KPIs
that reflect environmental progress, companies can develop business
value-driven KPIs such as eco-efficiency, that incorporate sustain-
ability principles. With increasing awareness of sustainability among
both the financial community and the general public, adopting clear
indicators of economic and environmental value should eventually
lead to a clear advantage in the marketplace.

References
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Company Performance,” WBCSD, June 2000.
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