Sustainable development will not be possible without fundamental improvements in resource productivity and energy efficiency, the adaptation of material flows into natural cycles as well as a radical change in production and consumption patterns. In essence, what is required is not only an ecological approach to product design but also new marketing and consumption patterns for products that can satisfy our needs in a more environmentally sound way.In recent years there has been growing interest in the possibilities of eco-services to achieve some of these aims. Ecologically oriented leasing, renting, pooling and sharing, where the emphasis is placed on the sale of a product's use rather than on the product itself, offer great possibilities for innovation and environmental impact reduction. At the same time, there are opportunities to create new commercial enterprises, produce added value to production and distribution functions, and therefore create jobs. Up until now, however, there has been little research about the state of the art in eco-services, how new services can be developed, what the attitudes of consumers are to services rather than products and what the consequences of such a structural adjustment would be for firms. Eco-service Development addresses this lack of research, first by providing a comprehensive inventory and analysis of current eco-services in four European countries: Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Spain. It then systematically explores the options open to market participants, the potential for environmental impact reduction, potential barriers to eco-services (such as consumer and producer resistance) and, finally, with what political and legal instruments ecologically oriented services can best be promoted. The book analyzes eight consumer sectors - washing, cleaning, cooking, entertainment, gardening, do-it-yourself, mobility and leisure time - from the point of view of both supply and demand and highlights the optimization potential and development perspectives for commercial new use eco-service concepts. This book is the most comprehensive analysis yet published of how eco-services are being implemented and how they could best be encouraged and contains valuable lessons for policy-makers, interested businesses and all those in the academic community searching for ways to dematerialize the economy.

This book treats the topics of preventive innovations and their financing possibilities as an interrelated whole. It provides an in-depth description of cleaner technologies, highlights environmental management accounting and material flow costing as tools for preventive innovation development, and gives an overview of environmental development measures for industry. It aims to raise awareness within financing institutions on financing options of preventive cleaner technologies, a highly debated topic also with options to reduce climate change. The text is supplemented with numerous figures, tables and annexes.

Small and medium-sized enterprises can serve as promising cradles for challenging ideas and pioneering initiatives. That is exactly what is required in order to make progress towards sustainable levels and patterns of production and consumption. Of all the continents of the world, Europe is most likely to lead the way towards a more sustainable relation with the environment. Having been the cradle of the industrialized world as we know it today, Europe again will lead the way in the journey of discovery to sustainable industrial practice, that is, if suitable conditions exist, and engaged and motivated entrepeneurs take the challenge and the role of the pioneer. Essential to these conditions is a set of values regarding the availability and properties of resources, the functioning of products and the impact upon the environment, now and well into the future, in Europe as well as globally. Furthermore, imagination, infor mation and encouragement will be essential. This manual provides ideas, tools, examples and guidance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that wish to develop products with the environment and the future in mind. It addresses product development and design with consideration for the whole life cycle of the product. This cycle is a process ranging from the identification and formulation of a need at the early stage of product development to the disposal of the product, after repeated usage, at the end of its life. A particular focus has been given to principles and criteria in the design of complex products.