Sustainable Value Creation among Companies in the Manufacturing Sector

In this paper, we present empirical results of a study on the creation of Sustainable Value among European manufacturing companies. As sustainable development is a future oriented concept we assess the use of environmental resources in companies in the light of the EU15 performance targets for 2010. By using the Sustainable Value approach and based on publicly available company data we measure in monetary terms how individual companies perform vis-a-vis the 2010 performance targets already today. This shows the specific exposure and vulnerability of companies to more stringent policy regimes, and allows meaningful comparisons between both companies and sectors.

Value-oriented impact assessment: the economics of a new approach to impact assessment

Environmental Impact Assessment has gained a prominent position as a tool to evaluate the environmental effects of economic activities. However, all approaches proposed so far use a burden-oriented logic. They concentrate on the different environmental impacts in order to ascertain the overall environmental damage caused by economic activity. This paper argues that such a burden-oriented view is (a) hampered by a series of methodological shortcomings which hinders its widespread use in practice; and (b) is analytically incomplete. The paper proposes a value-oriented approach to impact assessment. For this purpose an economic analysis of the optimal use of environmental and social resources is conducted from both a burden-oriented and a value-oriented standpoint. The basic logic of a value-oriented impact assessment is explained, as well as the resulting economic conditions for an optimal use of resources. In addition, it is shown that value- and burden-oriented approaches are complementary to achieve optimality. Finally, the paper discusses the conditions under which the use of burden- or value-oriented impact assessments is appropriate, respectively.

Sustainable Value Added - ein neues Maß des Nachhaltigkeitsbeitrags von Unternehmen am Beispiel der Henkel KGaA

This article introduces a new approach to measure corporate contributions to sustainability called Sustainable Value Added. Existing approaches to measure sustainability are based on a comparative assessment of environmental and social burdens and can thus be characterised as burden-based approaches. However, these approaches suffer from severe limitations as a comparative assessment and aggregation of all relevant environmental and social burdens fails in practice. In contrast to these burden-based approaches Sustainable Value Added is value-based. It determines the value that is created by the reduced or increased use of different environmental and social resources. For this purpose the use of environmental and social resources is valued at their opportunity cost. Sustainable Value Added allows an integrated assessment of the economic, environmental, and social performance of a company and expresses the corporate contribution to sustainability in a single monetary indicator. This article explains the theoretical background of Sustainable Value Added, relates it to existing approaches to measure sustainability, and - using the example of Henkel KGaA - demonstrates its practical applicability.

Environmental Value Added - Ein neues Maß zur Messung der Öko-Effizienz. (Environmental Value Added. A new measure for the measurement of eco-efficiency)

To increase eco-efficiency environmental information needs to be integrated into corporate decision making. For decision makers the interpretation of eco-efficiency as a ratio can however be quite difficult in practice. One of the reasons for this is, that eco-efficiency as a ratio is measured in a unit, that is difficult to interpret. This article therefore suggests an alternative measure for eco-efficiency. The Environmental Value Added, the measure proposed in this paper, reflects the excess economic benefit, resulting from the difference between the eco-efficiency under consideration and a benchmark eco-efficiency. It is measured in a purely monetary unit and is thus easier to interpret and integrate than eco-efficiency as a ratio.

Environmental shareholder value. Economic success with corporate environmental management

The links between corporate environmental protection and economic success have been analysed vigorously in several theoretical and empirical studies. Most studies are based on the hypothesis that the amount of environmental protection is somehow - negatively or positively - correlated with the economic success of the company. We argue that the amount of corporate environmental protection per se neither spurs nor reduces shareholder value, which is maybe the most important measure of economic success at present. Moreover, the effect environmental protection exerts on shareholder value is determined by the manner in which corporate environmental management is practised. Referring to the value drivers of shareholder value, we discuss the characteristics necessary to increase shareholder value, or at least to contain any reduction as effectively as possible.