Carrying capacity estimates for assessing environmental performance and sustainability

Commercial and industrial activities are being found to have significant effects on natural ecological systems, increasing the importance of evaluating these activities in relation to the earth\´s "carrying capacity". Several types of environmental impact commonly associated with business activities have been selected for evaluation. These include global warming, stratospheric ozone depletion, acidification, eutrophication, photochemical ozone formation, resource depletion, human toxicity, and eco-toxicity. For each type of impact, numerous sources of information have been used to estimate the carrying capacity at the scale appropriate for the impact. Various scientific models also have been employed. The carrying capacity estimates are a primary input to the sustainability target method (STM), an environmental performance metric that relates carrying capacity to individual products and services. The STM is a basis for using carrying capacity along with product impact and value to provide a practical sustainability target for businesses