ECeWert

ECeWert is a composite sustainability metric used to compare the environmental efficiency of products, services, or processes relative to their economic value. The term is commonly encountered in German-language discussions and is often translated as Environmental Cost Value, reflecting its aim to combine environmental impact with monetary consideration into a single index.

Origin and use: The concept emerged in academic debates on integrating lifecycle assessment with cost considerations in the 2010s. It is not a standardized regulation but a framework used in some corporate sustainability reports and theoretical analyses to aid decision-making in procurement, product design, and policy evaluation.

Calculation and interpretation: ECeWert typically combines an environmental impact score, derived from methods such as life cycle assessment, with an economic value such as price or life-cycle cost. A common formulation is ECeWert = EnvironmentalImpact / EconomicValue, with both terms normalized to a common scale (for example 0–100) to enable comparison. Lower values indicate more favorable environmental efficiency per monetary unit, whereas higher values suggest higher environmental burden per unit of value.

Advantages and criticisms: Proponents argue that ECeWert supports integrated assessment by aligning environmental and economic considerations. Critics note that results depend heavily on data quality, choice of impact indicators, and normalization methods, and that combining disparate concepts risks masking trade-offs such as toxicity versus resource use.

Relation to other metrics: ECeWert complements lifecycle assessment, ecological footprint, and cost-benefit analyses but is not universally adopted or standardized. It is mainly used as an exploratory tool in sustainability reporting and academic work.