The use of eco-efficiency indicators by environmental frontrunner companies

Abstract

Eco-efficiency is considered as a relevant practice for corporate sustainability as this concept addresses both environmental and economic issues. Similarly, eco-efficient indicators are seen as useful instrument for corporate environmental management. The literature has studied the use of eco-efficient indicators by companies from different sectors of activity but the analysis of the use of eco-efficient indicators by environmental frontrunner companies from diverse sectors of activity has been overlooked. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to contribute to the literature analysing the use of eco-efficient indicators by environmental frontrunner companies. For that purpose the case of companies registered against the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is analysed, as the adoption of this scheme is associated to environmental frontrunner companies in both practitioner and scholarly literatures. Based on a content analysis of third-party verified environmental statements of 387 EMASregistered Spanish organizations, a general lack of use of eco-efficient indicators was found. More specifically, the results show that only close to 39% of the 10,337 analysed indicators were calculated with minimum ecoefficiency criteria to measure corporate environmental performance. Implications for managers, public policy makers as well as other stakeholders are discussed.