When first published in 1997, "Factor Four: Doubling Wealth, Halving Resource Use" by renowned economic and engineering experts Ernst von Weizsacker, Amory Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins, transformed how economists, policy makers, engineers, entrepreneurs and business leaders thought about innovation and wealth creation. Twelve years on, with climate change at the top of the world agenda and the new economic giants of China and India needing ever more resources, there is a unique historic opportunity to scale up resources efficiency and radically transform the global economy.
"Factor Five" is the book set to change all of this. Picking up where "Factor Four" left off, this new book examines the past 15 years of innovation in industry, technical innovation and policy. It shows how and where factor four gains have been made and how we can achieve greater factor five or 80 per cent + improvements in resource and energy productivity. The book tackles sustainable development and climate change, energy productivity, the built environment, transport and industry, material productivity including steel, concrete and timber, chemistry, engineering, water efficiency and sustainable agriculture. It also looks at innovation in regulation to increase resource productivity, pricing, carbon trading, eco-taxation and permits and the role of international institutions and trade.
Like its predecessor, this book is simply the most important work on the future of innovation, business, economics and policy and is top drawer reading for leaders across all sectors including business and industry, government, engineering and design and teaching.