EcoWater - Technology options in truck manufacturing: assessing whole-system eco-efficiency

Eco-innovation has been generally directed at energy input-substitutes, end-of-pipe emissions control, component recycling, etc. Some companies have made investments reducing resource burdens within the production process. Such eco-innovations aim to combine economic advantage with lower resource burdens. These improvements have been often assessed (and compared) as an eco-efficiency ratio within a production unit. Looking further, the FP7 EcoWater project has analyzed eco-efficiency on a whole-system level, i.e. among heterogeneous actors across the water value chain (i.e. the water use system including process-water users, water providers and wastewater treatment companies). The results presented here come from one of the eight EcoWater case studies, Automotive industry. This report is only available in English.