Abstract

Eco-efficiency has been portrayed by various authors and institutions, as an effective way of reducing industry’s carbon footprint and safe-guard natural resources. It is a concept that has been simplified for practice as “doing more with less”. However, very few studies provide support for practitioners that wish to implement improvements in manufacturing that enhance environmental and economic performance. Using design research methodology (DRM), an improvement method was developed that intends to help practitioners in factories improve eco-efficiency by relying on system strengths. The method is based on a novel maturity framework for eco-efficiency (Litos and Evans, 2015). The method can be seen as consisting of two main modules/tools: a self- assessment process and a workshop process. The researcher demonstrates how the method was used in various case studies to help practitioners understand their eco-efficiency potential and implement better practices. The development of the main modules is discussed as well as insights from the application process in two case studies.