The role of benchmark technology in sustainable value analysis
Avainsanat:
data envelopment analysis, eco-efficiency, opportunity cost, performance measurement, regression analysis, stochastic frontier analysis, sustainabilityAbstrakti
Sustainable Value Analysis (SVA) [F. Figge, T. Hahn, Ecol. Econ. 48(2004) 173-187] is a method for
measuring sustainability performance consistent with the constant capital rule and strong
sustainability. SVA compares eco-efficiency of a firm relative to some benchmark. The choice of the
benchmark implies some assumptions regarding the underlying production technology. This paper
presents a rigorous examination of the role of benchmark technology in SVA. We show that Figge and
Hahn’s formula for calculating sustainable value implies a peculiar linear benchmark technology. We
present a generalized formulation of sustainable value that is not restricted to any particular functional
form and allows for estimating benchmark technology from empirical data. Our generalized SVA
formulation reveals a direct link between SVA and frontier approaches to environmental performance
measurement and facilitates statistical hypotheses testing concerning the benchmark.