The method of environmental scarcity - sometimes called Swiss Ecopoints method - allows a comparative weighting and aggregation of various environmental interventions by use of so-called eco-factors. The method supplies these weighting factors for different emissions into air, water and top-soil/groundwater as well as for the use of energy resources. The eco-factors are based on the annual actual flows (current flows) and on the annual flow considered as critical (critical flows) in a defined area (country or region).
The eco-factors were originally developed for the area of Switzerland (see references below). There, current flows are taken from the newest available statistical data, while critical flows are deduced from the scientifically supported goals of the Swiss environmental policy, each as of publication date. Later, sets of eco-factors were also made available for other countries, such as Belgium and Japan.
The method has been developed top-down and is built on the assumption that a well established environmental policy framework (incl. the international treaties) may be used as reference framework for the optimization and improvement of individual products and processes. The various damages to human health and ecosystem quality are considered in the target setting process of the general environmental policy; this general environmental policy in turn is then the basis for the 'critical flows'. An implicit weighting takes place in accepting the various goals of the environmental policy. The ecopoints method contains common characterization/classification approaches (for climate change, ozone depletion, acidification). Other interventions are assessed individually (e.g. various heavy metals) or as a group (e.g. NM-VOC, or pesticides).
The method is meant for standard environmental assessments, e.g., with specific products or processes. In addition, it is often used as an element of environmental management systems (EMS) of companies, where the assessment of the company's environmental aspects (ISO 14001) is supported by such a weighting method.
The method was first published in Switzerland in 1990. A first amendment and update was made for 1997, which is the current version. A next version, based on 2004 data, will be available in 2006.
Key Contact: Arthur Braunschweig - email: abraunschweig@e2mc.com