Publication of the Eco-efficiency Handbook in 2004 Eco-efficiency Project in Japan

In Japan, some leading industries and companies have started to apply the eco-efficiency concept in their management, decision-making and/or communication tools with stakeholders. Although still experimental, the eco-efficiency increasingly gains recognition as effective concept at the sectoral /corporate level and at a product level. In this paper, we first describe how the eco-efficiency concept is practiced; especially at a product level for that there are multi-attribute evaluation items. Second, we present an overview of eco-efficiency related activities in Japan, such as eco-efficiency project (funded by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan. Finally, we introduce one of the project activities, an eco-efficiency handbook that was issued in 2004 and describe coordinating methodologies and steps in the development of eco-efficiency indicators.