The eco-efficiency analysis, which belongs mainly to the general field of Environmental and Energy Management, has been developed by BASF, a world-wide operating chemical company with its head office in Ludwigshafen, Germany. It was certificated by the German MOT in 2002 according to international standards.

The eco-efficiency analysis itself is a method to compare items in both an economic and ecological point of view. These items can be either products or processes of the company applying this instrument. As a result of the analysis the most eco-efficient item can be chosen on the basis of the obtained data. That means this tool’s main purpose and aim is to point out and to assess economy and ecology concerning the corresponding energy item and therefore to harmonize these two different, but even so rather important areas with reference to the analysed object. Consequently economy and ecology represent both the central dimensions the eco-efficiency analysis is primarily based on. Thus the eco-efficiency analysis‘ results can be considered to be a two-dimensional way of energy benchmarking regarding the examined products and processes.

This abstract has been posted mainly to point out the eco-efficiency analysis as a sensible instrument of getting the different and for that reason not always matching disciplines of economy and ecology of a certain product or process in an appropriate connection with each other, so that the tool can offer a certain assistance in reaching a company’s decision regarding the analysed energy item in the economic as well as in the ecological way.