Factor Four

'Factor four' is a simple yet radical concept which, it has been suggested, holds the key to sustainable development. It refers to a hypothetical fourfold increase in 'resource productivity', brought about by simultaneously doubling wealth and halving resource consumption.

The concept was introduced in 1998, in a book of the same name 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. This is illustrated with 50 examples of technologies that could be called upon to deliver the necessary improvement in resource efficiency, including ultra fuel-efficient cars, low-energy homes.

Source: http://www.bsdglobal.com/tools/principles_factor.asp

The 'sustainability' literature is often accused of being moralistic and lacking in commercial realism. This book, like The Ecology of Commerce, Natural Capitalism, The Natural Step Story and others offers realistic and practical ways of overcoming waste and using innovative engineering and materials to produce superior value with reduced environmental impact.