The goal of being twice as productive with half the resources (materials and energy), leading to a factor 4 improvement in efficiency (2x2=4).
Alternatively, practices which are just as productive with 1/4 of the resources or 4 times as effective with the same resources also count.
The concept was introduced in the 1998 book, Factor 4, written by L. Hunter Lovins and Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute, and Ernst von Weizsäcker, founder of the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment & Energy. The book explains how relatively easy it is for businesses to achieve these results with existing technologies. It has many examples of real-world projects that save money and reduce pollution simultaneously.
Another way of phrasing the Factor 4 efficiency gain is that it reduces energy and materials usage by 75%.
It relates to eco-efficiency (doing more with less) as originally defined by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Factor 10 / Factor X means doubling living stan...
Any system that taxes socially undesirable activities and products, and uses the money to support more desirable ones. For example, transportation taxes for gasoline or tolls often...
Anything that costs less to dispose of than it’s commercial worth. In many cases, these materials are the same being handled by manufacturers in the production of goods but because...