Eco-efficiency Score Research Articles

Does carinata, an oilseed crop for sustainable aviation fuel, improve the eco-efficiency of crop rotations in South Georgia, United States?

In 2019, the aviation sector emitted about five percent of the total energy-related carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions in the United States. The replacement of conventional aviation fuel with drop-in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) derived from various biomass-based feedstocks is vital to reduce the overall CO2e emissions of the aviation sector. The SAF derived from Brassica carinata (carinata), an oilseed winter crop, could help the aviation sector mitigate CO2e emissions. Therefore, it is vital to develop a framework for assessing the eco-effectiveness of carinata in crop rotations by combining economic and environmental benefits. We identified 292 crop rotations (over a four-year rotation period with and without carinata) in South Georgia, a major agricultural region of the United States. We conducted a comprehensive life cycle assessment to determine the total carbon emissions of selected crop rotations. We combined the carbon emissions and profitability information using data envelopment analysis (DEA) to estimate the eco-efficiency score of each crop rotation. The results indicate that crop rotations with carinata emit less CO2e than crop rotations without it, especially when carinata replaces winter wheat. Carinata's profitability (net present value of $2996/acre) is highest in a “corn-corn-soybean” rotation at a contract price of $441 per metric ton. Finally, “cotton-carinata-cotton-fallow-soybean-fallow-cotton-carinata” is the most eco-efficient rotation at the same contract price. Overall, carinata increases eco-efficiency at the farm level and, thereby, has the potential to promote the bioeconomy in South Georgia and beyond.

Does food quality certification improve eco-efficiency? Empirical evidence from Chinese vegetable production

This study examines the impact of food quality certification on farms’ eco-efficiency in China, recognizing that the certification acts as a catalyst for encouraging more sustainable practices. The data was collected from 1855 vegetable growers in Shandong and Hebei provinces. Following a two-step approach, stochastic frontier analysis is applied to estimate eco-efficiency scores of smallholder farms, and a multinomial endogenous switching regression model is used to estimate the implication of certification schemes on eco-efficiency, while accounting for selectivity bias due to both observed and unobserved factors acting as a confounder. The empirical results suggest that hazard-free certification increases the eco-efficiency score for vegetable farms by 2.7%, followed by green certification by 4.6% and organic certification by 16.3%, respectively. Meanwhile, we find that the farmer’s certification adoption decision is significantly associated with farm size, farming experience, off-farm income, extension service, and social capital, which should be taken into account as policy recommendations to sustain and improve the positive effects of certification in regard to both economic and environmental aspects.

Measuring Eco-Efficiency of the Global Shipping Sector Based on an Energy and Environmental Approach: A Dynamic Slack-Based Measure Non-Oriented Model

The compatibility of shipping with environmental protection is a subject that the international community is becoming increasingly concerned about, considering the threat of climate change. The current study aims to assess the worldwide shipping sector’s eco-efficiency performance for the first time using the Dynamic Slack-Based assess non-oriented Data Envelopment Analysis methodology, while the visualization of the results has been made with the geographic information system of ArcGIS. The findings show that the most vibrant shipping sectors in the world, such as the Marshall Islands, present the lowest eco-efficiency levels due to the nations’ roles as tax havens for shipowners. Furthermore, traditional maritime economies such as the Chinese one show a great growth in the eco-efficiency score due to the strategies of the shipping companies that are headquartered in the region to invest and adopt Environmental, Social, and Governance principles, which help them to achieve high scores in eco-efficiency. Finally, nations with small fleets have the greatest eco-efficiency score, as local governments have engaged in sustainable activities and initiatives over the previous four to five years to enable their marine industry to thrive and dominate the market.

Measuring dynamic and static eco-efficiency in Norwegian dairy farms: a parametric approach

Eco-efficiency is gaining popularity to measure the agricultural system's economic and environmental performance. The dynamic eco-efficiency of the agricultural system is assessed in this study using a parametric frontier framework that considers the inter-temporal nature of production decisions and methane emissions. We also estimated the static eco-efficiency model for comparison. The empirical analysis is based on 30 years of unbalanced panel data from 692 dairy farms (1991–2020). The generalized method of moment estimation is used to compute dynamic models. Both dynamic and static models show that dairy farms in the study area used available technology inefficiently, which means that some farmers produced lower outputs per input than the best-performing farmers. According to the dynamic eco-efficiency score, dairy farms only generate 94% of the maximum viable output for the input used. If all dairy farms became eco-efficient, an average dairy farm could raise its output by about 6% using the existing technology. According to the projected scores, farmers might improve their eco-efficiency by 10% on average without using more inputs in a static condition. Policymakers should encourage dairy farms to share information with the best-performing dairy farms on how to improve production while considering environmental concerns.

Eco-Efficiency of Forestry Companies Around the World: A Data Envelopment Analysis

Objective: to evaluate and compare the economic, environmental, and eco-efficiency of companies operating in the forestry sector and fill the gap in relation to the lack of information about the theme. Theoretical framework: increased awareness of society around the traditional productive model and its impact on the environment demands that companies associate business competitiveness with environmental responsibility. Therefore, the disclosure of information and the analysis of it using methods such as the eco-efficiency approach are important to monitor the performance of companies. Methods: the Data Envelopment Analysis method was used with three proposed models: economic (desirable output); environmental with undesirable variables; and eco-efficiency model with desirable and undesirable variables. Results and conclusions: results show that the years 2009-2010 and 2016-2017 were more favorable to technical efficiency, while ecological efficiency was higher from 2010 to 2012. Meanwhile, the highest average eco-efficiency score was registered in 2013. In the 11 years analyzed, Portugal, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, and Spain stood out as the most eco-efficient countries. Research implications: the eco-efficiency approach demonstrated and discussed in this research can be used to monitor forestry companies’ performance taking into account their productivity and environmental impact reduction. Originality/value: this study presents a comprehensive evaluation of silviculture companies worldwide using the technical, environmental, and eco-efficiency models. Analyses are based on financial and environmental data of 82 publicly listed companies from 23 countries, including developed and developing economies and cover the period of 11 years (2009 to 2019).

Targeting Environmental and Technical Parameters through Eco-Efficiency Criteria for Iberian Pig Farms in the dehesa Ecosystem

Eco-efficiency could be defined as the simultaneous ability to achieve acceptable economic results with the least possible environmental degradation. Its analysis in crop and livestock production systems has become a hot topic among politicians and scientists. Pig pasture production systems are in high commercial demand because they are associated with high quality and environmentally friendly products. This work aimed to assess the eco-efficiency of pig farms and subsequently explore the determinants of inefficiency in the dehesa ecosystem in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Farmers from 35 randomly selected farms were interviewed to obtain farm-level data. The eco-efficiency level was calculated through a joined data envelopment analysis (DEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) approach. Subsequently, a truncated Tobit model was applied to determine factors associated with inefficiency. The results of the research revealed that Iberian pig farms are highly eco-efficient. The estimated average eco-efficiency score is 0.919 and ranges from 0.479 to 1, suggesting that the average farm could increase its value by about 8.1%. This means that the aggregate environmental pressures could be reduced by approximately this proportion (8%) while maintaining the same input level. The determinants related to social and demographic characteristics that positively affected eco-efficiency were the number of children, while years of farm activity and educational level had a negative effect. On the other hand, farm’s characteristics and the type of management, the percentage of own surface area, the percentage of livestock use, and the high proportion of pigs fattened in montanera, positively affected the eco-efficiency level.

The eco-efficiency of municipalities in the recycling of solid waste: A stochastic semi-parametric envelopment of data approach.

Eco-efficiency assessment of municipal solid waste (MSW) suppliers is a useful tool in the transition to a circular economy. Furthermore, it provides evidence of the economic and environmental performance of municipalities that can be used for decision-making and/or elaboration of regulatory policies. In this study, eco-efficiency scores were computed for a sample of 140 Chilean municipalities in the provision of MSW services. In doing so, the stochastic semi-parametric envelopment of data method was applied. It is a novel technique which overcomes the limitations of parametric (stochastic frontier analysis) and non-parametric (data envelopment analysis) methods previously employed to evaluate the eco-efficiency of MSW services. The average eco-efficiency of the 140 assessed municipalities was 0.332 which indicates that they could save 66.8% of their operational costs and recycling the same amount of waste. Moreover, 61.4% of the evaluated municipalities presented an eco-efficiency score which was lower than 0.4, whereas the other municipalities (38.6% of the sample) exhibited an eco-efficiency which raged between 0.4 and 0.80. Hence, none of the municipalities assessed was identified as eco-efficient which, implies that there is room for all municipalities to reduce operational costs in the management of MSW. Population density, tourism and location of the municipality were identified as factors influencing the eco-efficiency of the municipalities in MSW management.

Monetary valuation of unsorted waste: A shadow price approach

Improving the management of municipal solid waste (MSW) is fundamental to promote circular economy and sustainability. Unsorted waste involves negative environmental impacts which often are ignored in economic feasibility studies due to its difficult valuation. In this study the shadow price of unsorted waste using the directional distance function was estimated. This methodological approach also allowed us to compute eco-efficiency scores of a set of municipalities in the provision of MSW services. The empirical application focused on a sample of 119 Chilean municipalities. The results showed that the average shadow price of unsorted waste was 297.66 €/ton which means that the environmental cost of left waste as unsorted was 297.66 € per ton. A regression tree model illustrated that population density, tourism intensity and the generation of waste per capita significantly influenced the shadow price of unsorted waste. Moreover, it was illustrated that Chilean municipalities were very inefficient in the management of MSW since the average eco-efficiency score was 0.272. The findings from this study reveal that additional and alternative policies should be adopted to improve the management of MSW and increase its recycling rate.

Efficiency Evaluation of Chinese Provincial Industrial System Based on Network DEA Method

The operation process of the Chinese provincial industrial system consists of four stages, namely the production (P) stage, wastewater treatment (WWT) stage, solid waste treatment (SWT) stage, and sulfur dioxide treatment (SDT) stage. Based on this structure, a four-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) model is developed to evaluate the eco-efficiency, production efficiency, wastewater treatment efficiency, solid waste treatment efficiency, and sulfur dioxide treatment efficiency of provincial industrial systems in China, considering the undesirable output and variable returns to scale (VRS). Based on the objective data from 2011 to 2015, the following conclusions are drawn: Firstly, the eco-efficiency of the Chinese provincial industrial system has not been significantly improved during the study period, and the average eco-efficiency score is low, only 0.3805. Secondly, the reasons for the low eco-efficiency of the industrial system are different in the Eastern, Central, Western, and Northeastern regions. Thirdly, compared with the P stage, industrial WWT stage, and SWT stage, the efficiency of SDT stage is still relatively weak.

Eco-efficiency measurement as an approach to improve the sustainable development of municipalities: A case study in the Midwest of Brazil

Global challenges related to energy consumption, water scarcity, deforestation, and environmental pollution have a direct impact on municipalities in Brazil and other countries around the world. Thus, the present study aims to evaluate eco-efficiency and its determinants in 41 Brazilian municipalities between 2014 and 2016 in the area covered by the Araguaia River Valley, in the Midwest of Brazil, Goiás state region. The Araguaia River Valley is considered of economic and especially environmental importance. It is located in one of the main Brazilian river basins, adjacent to states comprising the Legal Amazon, one of the world's most important biomes. To measure the eco-efficiency rate, we applied Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) via the model of output-oriented variable returns to scale (VRS). Variables used as input include Energy Consumption, Water Consumption, Number of Inhabitants, Fleet of Vehicles, Territorial Area, Deforested Area, and output is the ratio between GDP per capita and Deforested Area. In the second stage, we used Tobit regression with eco-efficiency rate as the dependent variable. For the analyzed period, results show low mean eco-efficiency in the VRS model, with values of 0.45 (2014) and 0.48 (2016). Results indicate that the municipalities of Castelândia in 2014, and Santo Antônio da Barra in 2016, achieved a sustainable balance between environmental and economic variables, contributing to conservation. That suggests that these municipal areas be a benchmark for the others and to local and national public managers, as well as the effective DEA technology applicability in calculating eco-efficiency. In contrast to these two cases, the Mineiros municipality (Araguaia River headwater area) obtained a very low eco-efficiency score. This is extremely concerning since this is an important and sensitive area in this region. In the second stage of the research, the Tobit model indicates that Deforested Area in 2014 and 2016 was significant and negatively correlated with the dependent variable, while Water Consumption (2016) was positively correlated with eco-efficiency. However, the robustness test shows the significant and negative correlation between Water Consumption and eco-efficiency in both years, additionally, the test confirms the results for the Deforested Area variable. These results are important to support policymakers and public managers in the development of more sustainable and eco-efficient municipalities worldwide.

The Cost of Reducing Municipal Unsorted Solid Waste: Evidence from Municipalities in Chile

The management of municipal solid waste sector is crucial for a sustainable circular economy. Waste utilities are expected to provide high quality solid waste services at an affordable price. The efficient management of solid waste requires its assessment from an economic and environmental perspective, i.e., eco-efficiency assessment. Although the reduction of unsorted waste incurs an economic cost, its positive externalities are huge for the well-being of society, the environment, and people. Our study quantifies the marginal cost of reducing any unsorted waste using stochastic frontier analysis techniques which allow us to estimate the eco-efficiency of the waste sector. Our empirical approach focuses on the municipal solid waste collection and recycling services provided by several waste utilities in Chile. The results indicate that substantial eco-inefficiency in the sector exists, since the average eco-efficiency score is roughly 0.5 which means that the municipalities could approximately halve their operational costs and unsorted waste to produce the same level of output. The average marginal cost of reducing unsorted waste is 32.28 Chilean pesos per ton, although notable differences are revealed among the waste utilities evaluated. The results provided by this study are of great interest to stakeholders to promote sustainable management solutions and resource efficient solid waste services.

How eco‐efficient are electric vehicles across Europe? A regionalized life cycle assessment‐based eco‐efficiency analysis

AbstractSustainable transportation is at the hearth of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is directly linked to many SDGs including SDG3 (good health and well‐being), SDG11 (sustainable cities and societies), SDG 7 (clean energy), SDG13 (climate), and SDG 12 (sustainable production and consumption). European countries have been promoting a widespread adoption of electric vehicles to achieve SDGs through resilient, technology‐driven, and human‐centric mobility. However, potential environmental benefits of electric vehicles depend on various regional factors such as the fuel efficiency and source of electricity generation. At the same time, the economic benefits of mobility to the economy are an important factor for evaluating the relative performance of electric vehicles. To this end, this research paper presents the first empirical analysis of the regionalized eco‐efficiency assessment of electric vehicles across Europe. We developed an integrated regionalized eco‐efficiency performance score, by employing life cycle assessment and principal component analysis techniques to assess the eco‐efficiency performance of electric vehicles in Europe. Considering the energy mix for electricity generation, three environmental indicators (carbon footprint, water consumption, and energy use) and one economic (contribution to national gross domestic product) indicator were used to compute the eco‐efficiency scores for 28 European countries. The eco‐efficiency scores for each corresponding country were calculated, compared, and clustered in as high, medium, and low eco‐efficiency score countries. The clvalid package of R software's archive network is used to determine the optimal number of clusters for the EES dataset. The results of the comparative study show that Denmark, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Spain have a competitive advantage in eco‐efficiency performance compared to the other European countries. The regionalized distribution of the eco‐efficiency performance shows that the countries with the highest ecoefficiency score are located on the west side of Europe. Researches and policymakers can benefit from the applied methodology as well as the results to provide country‐specific investment policies to achieve higher benefits towards a transition to electric mobility in Europe.

A mixed model-based Johnson's relative weights for eco-efficiency assessment: The case for global food consumption

Eco-efficiency composite indicators are widely accepted as the ratio of environmental impact to created economic value. These indicators are realistic measures for assessing sustainability performance considering the economy and environment. The weights reflect the importance of indicators to the aggregated environmental impacts. Estimating the relative weight of indicators is highly subjective, and therefore the search for a single unique weighting method has been going on for years. The regression-based weights are one of the most recent trends in sustainability modeling. Since these methods are designed initially to investigate the impact of multiple variables on a response variable rather than to estimate weights, some drawbacks are associated with their potential to provide proper weights. This paper presents a novel weighting approach integrating linear mixed-effect models with Johnson's relative weights to address these drawbacks and provide meaningful relative weights for eco-efficiency composite indicators. The proposed approach's operational and computational procedures are illustrated using a real example, and the eco-efficiency of food consumption of 38 countries is estimated for the period between 1990 and 2012 using a consumption-based sustainability accounting method. The findings have shown that energy use and GHG indicators are the most critical contributor to global food consumption's environmental impacts. The country-based eco-efficiency performance in this work has shown that China, India, and Russia are located in the low eco-efficiency score class. The Spatio-temporal analysis downgraded the geographical location's significance on the trends of eco-efficiency behavior in time and space. On the other hand, it revealed the different types of emerging hot spots over the world.

Evaluation of economies of scale in eco-efficiency of municipal waste management: an empirical approach for Chile.

In the circular economy context, improving the eco-efficiency of the management of municipal solid waste (MSW) occupies a prominent role. The aim of this study was to evaluate the eco-efficiency of MSW services provided by a sample of 142 Chilean municipalities using data envelopment analysis (DEA), a method that integrates both economic and environmental variables into a single performance index. This study also investigated whether the MSW facilities are affected by economies of scale. In a second stage of analysis, the effects of some exogenous variables on the eco-efficiency of MSW services were explored. The results demonstrated that 92.3% of the municipalities evaluated were not eco-efficient and presented notable room for improvement as the average eco-efficiency score was 0.58. In addition, 40.4% of the municipalities presented negative economies of scale; i.e. their operational size was not optimum and joint organization of MSW management systems should be promoted. Finally, the population served, population density, tourism and waste generated per capita were shown to have a significant impact on the eco-efficiency of MSW services. The results of this study will be beneficial for policymakers to formulate effective public policies to make the provision of MSW services more cost- and environmentally effective.

Evaluating the Eco-Efficiency of Wastewater Treatment Plants: Comparison of Optimistic and Pessimistic Approaches

The assessment of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) performance has gained the interest of water utilities and water regulators. Eco-efficiency has been identified as a powerful indicator, as it integrates economic and environmental variables into a single index. Most previous studies have employed traditional data envelopment analysis (DEA) for the evaluation of WWTP eco-efficiency. However, DEA allows the selection of input and output weights for individual WWTPs for the calculation of eco-efficiency scores. To overcome this limitation, we employed the double-frontier and common set of weights methods to evaluate the eco-efficiency of a sample of 30 WWTPs in Spain. The WWTPs were ranked based on eco-efficiency scores derived under several scenarios including best- and worst-case scenarios; this approach to performance assessment is reliable and robust. Twenty-six of the 30 WWTPs were not classified as eco-efficient, even under the most favorable scenario, indicating that these facilities have substantial room for the reduction of costs and greenhouse gas emissions. The ranking of WWTPs varied according to the scenario used for evaluation, which has notable consequences when eco-efficiency scores are used for regulatory purposes. The findings of this study are relevant for water regulators and water utilities, as they demonstrate the importance of weight allocation for eco-efficiency score estimation.

How does farmers' field schooling impact eco-efficiency? Empirical evidence from paddy farmers in Bangladesh

PurposeRecent studies suggest extensive use of environmental resources in agrofarming degrades ecosystem significantly. In this backdrop, this study aims at assessing ecoefficiency of paddy farming. Because ecoefficiency links up between economic performances and environmental resources supporting the provision of goods and services for the society, this study further investigates the effectiveness of attending Farmers' Field School (FFS), an agroenvironmental program, in conserving environmental resources through improving farm-level ecoefficiency.Design/methodology/approachIn a dataset of 200 randomly selected paddy farmers from three districts of the southwestern Bangladesh, data envelopment analysis (DEA) is applied to compute both radial and pressure-specific (nutrient balance, energy balance, irrigation and pesticide lethal risk) ecoefficiency scores. Furthermore, propensity score matching (PSM) technique is applied to examine the impact of FFS program on farm-level ecoefficiency.FindingsThe DEA results suggest that paddy farmers are highly eco-inefficient. The computed radial eco-efficiency score is 0.40 implying farmers could reduce around 60% of environmental pressure equiproportionally even by maintaining the same level of value addition. In addition, the PSM results suggest farmers' participation in FFS program led to around 22.5% higher radial ecoefficiency and 7–25% higher environmental pressure-specific eco-efficiencies. Furthermore, simulation exercises reveal that FFS participation in interaction with farm size would lead to around 32–40% reduction of all environmental pressures.Practical implicationsPromoting FFS programs among paddy farmers could be an effective policy option to improve eco-efficiency through environment-friendly farming paradigm.Originality/valueThis study is probably the maiden effort that has examined the impact of attending the FFS program on ecoefficiency improvement in Bangladesh. This study contributes to both the concern literature by adding useful information and the policymakers by providing new insights about the reduction of environmental resource usage with maintaining the same value addition from agrofarming.

Life Cycle Costing and Eco-Efficiency Assessment of Fuel Production by Coprocessing Biomass in Crude Oil Refineries

Biobased liquid fuels are becoming an attractive alternative to replace, totally or partially, fossil ones in the medium term, mainly in aviation and long-distance transportation. In this regard, coprocessing biomass-derived feedstocks in conventional oil refineries might facilitate the transition from the current fossil-based transport to a biobased one. This article addresses the economic and environmental feasibility of such a coprocessing strategy. The biomass-based feedstocks considered include bio-oil and char from the fast pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass, which are coprocessed in fluid catalytic cracking (FCC), hydrocracking, and/or cogasification units. The assessment was based on the standardized concept of eco-efficiency, which relates the environmental and economic performances of a system following a life-cycle approach. Data from a complete simulation of the refinery process, from raw materials to products, were used to perform a life cycle costing and eco-efficiency assessment of alternative configurations of the coprocessing strategy, which were benchmarked against the conventional fossil refinery system. Among other relevant results, the eco-efficiency related to the system’s carbon footprint was found to improve when considering coprocessing in the hydrocracking unit, while coprocessing in FCC generally worsens the eco-efficiency score. Overall, it is concluded that coprocessing biomass-based feedstock in conventional crude oil refineries could be an eco-efficient energy solution, which requires a careful choice of the units where biofeedstock is fed.

Electromembrane approach to substantially improve the ecoefficiency of deacidified cranberry juice production: Physicochemical properties, life cycle assessment and ecoefficiency score

With the expected increase of the food industry activities in response to population growth, this sector must control its impacts on the environment by finding more sustainable technologies. Here, two methods for producing deacidified cranberry juice, electrodialysis with bipolar membranes (EDBM) and salt precipitation, were assessed. The aim of this work was to compare the physicochemical characteristics of cranberry juices deacidified using both methods and to quantify and compare their environmental impacts and ecoefficiency scores. The physicochemical analyses showed that both deacidified juices did not have the same composition, since the relevant compounds in cranberry juice were preserved by deacidification with EDBM. The life cycle assessment (LCA) results demonstrated that EDBM, with and without reuse of the recovery solution, was slightly less damaging than salt precipitation for all the four damage categories. Furthermore, EDBM was up to 20.6% more ecoefficient than salt precipitation for the overall value calculation.

Capacidades ecoeficientes e as interferências no desempenho social: um estudo das unidades federativas do brasil

O propósito deste estudo é contribuir com as discussões socioambientais no âmbito da gestão governamental, adentrando na relação entre ecoeficiência e desempenho social. O estudo consistiu em um perfil descritivo, com uma abordagem quantitativa cujo processo ocorreu em dois momentos: para estabelecer os scores de ecoeficiência, foi empregada a técnica não paramétrica FDH com o modelo orientado para insumos e na sequência foi utilizada a correlação linear de Pearson, buscando encontrar possível associação entre os constructos investigados. Os resultados evidenciam algumas regiões benchmarking de ecoeficiência, além de apresentar correlação linear negativa moderada, sugerindo que a desigualdade social tende a diminuir à medida que o score de ecoeficiência aumenta. Espera-se que tais resultados norteiem, quanto ao apelo prático, às políticas públicas no que tange à eficiência econômica e ambiental. Não obstante, são designadas contribuições para a comunidade científica quanto ao preenchimento da lacuna de literatura na área em questão.

Robust eco-efficiency assessment of hydrogen from biomass gasification as an alternative to conventional hydrogen: A life-cycle study with and without external costs

Hydrogen is a key product for the decarbonisation of the energy sector. Nevertheless, because of the high number of technical options available for hydrogen production, their suitability needs to be thoroughly evaluated from a life-cycle perspective. The standardised concept of eco-efficiency is suitable for this purpose since it relates, with a life-cycle perspective, the environmental performance of a product system to its value. Hence, this work benchmarks the eco-efficiency performance of renewable hydrogen produced through biomass gasification against conventional hydrogen from the steam reforming of natural gas. For the eco-efficiency assessment, the harmonised environmental indicators of global warming, acidification and cumulative non-renewable energy demand were individually used, while the product system value was based on the levelised cost of hydrogen with/without internalisation of the external socio-environmental costs associated with climate change and human health. On the one hand, when the environmental and economic performances are separately considered, hydrogen from biomass gasification performs significantly better than hydrogen from steam methane reforming under environmental aspects (e.g., greenhouse gas emissions saving of 98%), whereas the opposite conclusion was found from an economic standpoint (levelised cost of 3.59 € and 2.17 € per kilogramme of renewable and fossil hydrogen, respectively). On the other hand, when combining life-cycle environmental and economic indicators under the umbrella of the eco-efficiency assessment, it is concluded that the renewable hydrogen option outperforms the conventional one, which is further remarked when implementing socio-environmental externalities. In this regard, a relative eco-efficiency score above 14 was estimated for the renewable hydrogen option when benchmarked against conventional hydrogen.