Table of Contents.
The Concept of Eco-cost.
The idea behind eco-costs is to determine the preventive cost of an environmental burden. It is based on the idea of “marginal prevention costs,” which looks at the expenses associated with reducing environmental burdens like pollution and resource depletion to levels that are sustainable. Eco-cost, in its simplest form, is the cost necessary to lessen a burden on the environment. For instance, it would cost about $113 (116 euros) to establish an offshore wind farm to offset 1000 kg of CO2 emissions. This approach would result in a 70% reduction in overall emissions when compared to 2008. This suggests that 1000 kg of CO2 has an environmental cost of $113 (116 euros).
This idea of estimating the cost of preventive measures that would offer a sustainable balance to environmental hazards might be extended to other environmental issues, including fossil fuels, eco-toxicity, deforestation, and so forth. The main purpose of eco-cost is to determine a product’s or service’s sustainability in comparison to alternatives of the same sort. The marginal preventive cost of the toxic emissions induced by these goods and services is taken into consideration to arrive at an accurate cost.
Eco-costs are hidden obligations that have a direct impact on the sustainability of finished goods and services. They can be thought of as virtual costs because they do not reflect the actual cost of production processes. Nevertheless, eco-costs are important because they can easily be incorporated into future governmental regulations. The best course of action for companies and organizations would be to cut the environmental cost of their goods and services to the absolute lowest. It also provides a convenient benchmark for companies looking to become more sustainable in the long term.
Categorization of Eco-Cost Models.
To provide a financial valuation for various categories of applications, some of which are listed below, these marginal preventative costs can be determined by classifying factors into groups with relative environmental effects. Some of these categories are:
Model of eco-costs and social eco-costs. Source: https://www.ecocostsvalue.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/eco-costs_2022.png
Eco-costs of resource scarcity.
The concept behind this category of eco-costing focuses on the marginal preventive cost of material scarcity due to the unsustainable method by which they are produced. A prominent example would be metal mining, which focuses on the reuse of existing materials while limiting the supply of newer materials (circular economy). Because mining is an environmentally unsustainable activity, this eco-cost concept focuses on recycling and the potential shortages that could develop if no new resources are extracted. The eco-cost of resources also applies to the scarcity of water, metals, rare earth minerals, and so on.
Eco-cost of energy.
Eco-costing energy resources is essentially predicated on the idea that non-renewable energy sources will be phased out and replaced with renewable energy sources. A common example is the marginal preventative cost of switching from fossil fuels to more sustainable energy sources like solar or wind energy.
Eco-cost of Land Use.
The environment is being degraded as a result of urbanization and industrial growth. Therefore, the eco-cost of land use is based on the necessity of accounting for this environmental deterioration as a result of rising population and economic growth. The eco-cost system emphasizes the effects of changing land use by referencing degradation but measuring it in price per square meter (often denominated in Euro per m2). It has to do with the cost of mitigating or making up for the damaging environmental effects of land change or degradation.
Therefore, among other things, the loss of biodiversity, scenic beauty, food, and CO2 sequestration are important considerations for this assessment. For instance, the eco-cost of rich biodiversity and soil in Peru is worth 6 euros per m2, which is among the highest in the world.
Social Eco-cost.
Social eco-costs are another area in which eco-costs are relevant, in addition to products, services, and their direct impact on the environment. Social eco-cost is the monetization of outside socio-economic elements that have an impact on workers. The minimal salary that is permissible, child labor or forced labor, extreme poverty, excessive hours worked, workplace safety and health are a few of the criteria that are taken into consideration. As a result, the s-eco-cost of a product is calculated by comparing the amount of time needed to create it to the working conditions expressed in (price/hour).
The eco-cost of Emissions.
Another component of eco-cost estimations is the marginal preventive costs of hazardous environmental emissions due to acidification, eco-toxicity, fine dust, summer haze, and other emissions that may result in health situations such as cancer and so on. For example, the calculated eco-cost for 1000 kg of CO2 is 116 euros, while the eco-cost of acidification is 8.75 euros per kg of SO2, and so on. Various toxic emissions have been calculated as eco-costs, largely based on the data collected in Europe but adaptable worldwide.
Bottom line.
Eco-cost quantifies the economic impact of diverse products, services, and manufacturing and production processes. These costs are frequently not reflected in the finished products, despite the fact that their unsustainable repercussions are evident on the planet in the form of toxic emissions, climate change, and potential resource scarcity. Eco-costs provide much-needed insight into the amount required to achieve full product sustainability. A significant use of this concept is that, with sufficient research, eco-cost models for one location can be produced and adapted globally, primarily because they consider preventive and damage-based components. Companies and individuals must be ecologically conscious of the impact they are accountable for and seek to reduce the environmental cost of their operations.
Reference: Sustainability Impact Metrics, Delft University of Technology, https://www.ecocostsvalue.com/eco-costs/
