IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/eaae08/44141.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Assessing farm sustainability with value oriented methods

Author

Listed:
  • Van Passel, Steven

Abstract

Agricultural policy makers aim to combine strong economic performance with a sustainable use of natural resources. An important step is to move from trying to define sustainability towards developing concrete tools for measuring and promoting achievements in sustainability. Hence, sustainability assessment is inevitably based on strong simplifications both of the theoretical paradigm and of the characteristics of systems of concern. The most known approaches to assess sustainability performance are burden orientated : they assess the costs or potential harm of resource use. These burden-oriented approaches focus on the level of environmental impacts caused by an economic activity compared to another set of environmental impacts, while value-oriented impact assessment analyses how much value has been created with this set of environmental impacts as compared with the use of these resources by other companies. In this paper, an outline of the possibilities and limitations of value-oriented methods to assess farm sustainability will be discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Van Passel, Steven, 2008. "Assessing farm sustainability with value oriented methods," 2008 International Congress, August 26-29, 2008, Ghent, Belgium 44141, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:eaae08:44141
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.44141
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/44141/files/230.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.44141?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Unknown, 2008. "Institute of Agricultural Economics," Economics of Agriculture, Institute of Agricultural Economics, vol. 55(3).
    2. Lomborg,Bjørn, 2001. "The Skeptical Environmentalist," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521010689, October.
    3. Frank Figge & Tobias Hahn, 2004. "Value-oriented impact assessment: the economics of a new approach to impact assessment," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(6), pages 921-941.
    4. Bebbington, Jan & Brown, Judy & Frame, Bob, 2007. "Accounting technologies and sustainability assessment models," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(2-3), pages 224-236, March.
    5. Daly, Herman E, 1974. "The Economics of the Steady State," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 64(2), pages 15-21, May.
    6. Lawn, Philip A., 2001. "Scale, prices, and biophysical assessments," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 369-382, September.
    7. Pretty, J. N. & Brett, C. & Gee, D. & Hine, R. E. & Mason, C. F. & Morison, J. I. L. & Raven, H. & Rayment, M. D. & van der Bijl, G., 2000. "An assessment of the total external costs of UK agriculture," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 113-136, August.
    8. Hueting, Roefie & Reijnders, Lucas, 2004. "Broad sustainability contra sustainability: the proper construction of sustainability indicators," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(3-4), pages 249-260, October.
    9. Figge, Frank & Hahn, Tobias, 2004. "Sustainable Value Added--measuring corporate contributions to sustainability beyond eco-efficiency," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(2), pages 173-187, February.
    10. Raimund Bleischwitz & Peter Hennicke (ed.), 2004. "Eco-Efficiency, Regulation and Sustainable Business," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 3341.
    11. Wackernagel, Mathis & Onisto, Larry & Bello, Patricia & Callejas Linares, Alejandro & Susana Lopez Falfan, Ina & Mendez Garcia, Jesus & Isabel Suarez Guerrero, Ana & Guadalupe Suarez Guerrero, Ma., 1999. "National natural capital accounting with the ecological footprint concept," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 375-390, June.
    12. Van Passel, Steven & Nevens, Frank & Mathijs, Erik & Van Huylenbroeck, Guido, 2007. "Measuring farm sustainability and explaining differences in sustainable efficiency," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(1), pages 149-161, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Figge, Frank & Hahn, Tobias & Barkemeyer, Ralf, 2014. "The If, How and Where of assessing sustainable resource use," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 274-283.
    2. Van Passel, Steven & Nevens, Frank & Mathijs, Erik & Van Huylenbroeck, Guido, 2007. "Measuring farm sustainability and explaining differences in sustainable efficiency," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(1), pages 149-161, April.
    3. Ang, Frederic & Van Passel, Steven & Mathijs, Erik, 2011. "An aggregate resource efficiency perspective on sustainability: A Sustainable Value application to the EU-15 countries," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 99-110.
    4. Merante, Paolo & Van Passel, Steven & Pacini, Cesare, 2015. "Using agro-environmental models to design a sustainable benchmark for the sustainable value method," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 1-13.
    5. Daniel Gaitán-Cremaschi & Frits K. Van Evert & Don M. Jansen & Miranda P. M. Meuwissen & Alfons G. J. M. Oude Lansink, 2018. "Assessing the Sustainability Performance of Coffee Farms in Vietnam: A Social Profit Inefficiency Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-23, November.
    6. Moretti, Michele & De Boni, Annalisa & Roma, Rocco & Fracchiolla, Mariano & Van Passel, Steven, 2016. "Integrated assessment of agro-ecological systems: The case study of the “Alta Murgia” National park in Italy," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 144-155.
    7. Frank Figge, 2005. "Value‐based environmental management. From environmental shareholder value to environmental option value," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 12(1), pages 19-30, March.
    8. Comte, Adrien & Sylvie Campagne, C. & Lange, Sabine & Bruzón, Adrián García & Hein, Lars & Santos-Martín, Fernando & Levrel, Harold, 2022. "Ecosystem accounting: Past scientific developments and future challenges," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    9. Gray, Rob, 2010. "Is accounting for sustainability actually accounting for sustainability...and how would we know? An exploration of narratives of organisations and the planet," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 47-62, January.
    10. Moretti, Michele & Vanschoenwinkel, Janka & Van Passel, Steven, 2021. "Accounting for externalities in cross-sectional economic models of climate change impacts," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    11. Figge, Frank & Hahn, Tobias, 2012. "Is green and profitable sustainable? Assessing the trade-off between economic and environmental aspects," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(1), pages 92-102.
    12. Argiles, Josep M. & Brown, Nestor Duch, 2011. "A comparison of the economic and environmental performances of conventional and organic farming: evidence from financial statements," Agricultural Economics Review, Greek Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 11(1), pages 1-18, January.
    13. Paolo Cupo & Rinalda Alberta Di Cerbo, 2016. "The determinants of ranking in sustainable efficiency of Italian farms," RIVISTA DI STUDI SULLA SOSTENIBILITA', FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2016(2), pages 141-159.
    14. Ferng, Jiun-Jiun, 2007. "Biophysical assessments in evaluating industrial development: An experience from Taiwan freshwater aquaculture," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(2-3), pages 427-434, August.
    15. Grzelak Aleksander, 2019. "Accumulation of assets in farms covered by the FADN farm accountancy system in Poland – the economic and eco-efficiency context," Management, Sciendo, vol. 23(2), pages 281-294, December.
    16. Ferng, Jiun-Jiun, 2014. "Nested open systems: An important concept for applying ecological footprint analysis to sustainable development assessment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 105-111.
    17. Hubeau, Marianne & Mondelaers, Koen & Coteur, Ine & Marchand, Fleur L. & Lauwers, Ludwig, 2014. "Chain Governance Systems and Sustainable Capital Use – A Conceptual Approach," 2014 International European Forum, February 17-21, 2014, Innsbruck-Igls, Austria 199340, International European Forum on System Dynamics and Innovation in Food Networks.
    18. Hou, Lingling & Hoag, Dana & Keske, Catherine M.H. & Lu, Changhe, 2014. "Sustainable value of degraded soils in China's Loess Plateau: An updated approach," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 20-27.
    19. Kuosmanen, Timo & Kuosmanen, Natalia, 2009. "How not to measure sustainable value (and how one might)," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 235-243, December.
    20. Gerdessen, Johanna C. & Pascucci, Stefano, 2013. "Data Envelopment Analysis of sustainability indicators of European agricultural systems at regional level," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 78-90.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Farm Management;

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:eaae08:44141. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/eaaeeea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.