Development of a Factor X (Eco-efficiency) tool - study of how to calculate "Product Function"

Abstract

Research on "Factor X (Eco-efficiency)" has been conducted by many institutes and companies. The "Factor X Tool 2001" shown in table 1 is the tool that was introduced to Matsushita Electric Group as a criterion of a "Green" product/service in 2002. This Factor X Tool was independently developed and published in 2001 for the first time. Since then, many case studies have been published. It was also introduced to Mitsubishi Electric Corporation and Hitachi Group in 2003. Thus the concept of the Factor X (Eco-efficiency)" has already become very popular. However, when it comes to the numerator, evaluation methods have yet to be standardized due to difficulties in their measurement. What's more, there are only very limited examples of actual calculations. Even skeptical views and opinions exist. This paper discusses existing criticism and propose a method for calculating the product function by using TV sets as an example.