A framework to support multiple perspectives in eco-efficiency decisions

Increasingly, it is recognised that human activity is causing our environment to degrade, and that there is a very real danger of doing irreversible damage to natural systems of which we have only a partial understanding. Neither living in, nor doing business in a future world with a degraded environment is desirable, and individuals and businesses alike are increasingly seeking ways to operate on a more sustainable basis. Sustainability was defined by WCED as "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" but how can this aspiration be translated into specific decisions and actions? This paper describes some of the difficulties that must be overcome in the creation of a decision-support framework for eco-efficiency decisions, in order to ensure that we are targeting the right problems.