Abstract

BRAVO AMARANTE, Edelvy et al. The emergy as an indicator of ecological economy to measure sustainability. Universidad y Sociedad [online]. 2018, vol.10, n.5, pp. 78-84.  Epub Dec 02, 2018. ISSN 2218-3620.

The need to accounting and interpreting the effects of the flows of matter and energy in ecosystems, has involved the search for new methods of environmental assessment, which allow the integration of different forms of energy and their interaction with the environment. Thus, the emergetic method, or energy accounting uses the thermodynamic basis of all forms of energy, resources and human services, and converts them into equivalents of a form of energy: the solar emergy. The emergy, is defined as the useful energy of a certain type that has been used directly or indirectly in the transformations, necessary to generate a product or service. It takes into account, and in fact measures, the quality of different forms of energy such as: sunlight, water, fossil fuels, and minerals. The recognition of these differences are the theoretical bases of the emergetic methodology which find in the thermodynamics, the general theory of system and the ecology of systems, their conceptual bases. This paper explains the concepts, methodologies and indicators most commonly used to determine the sustainability of products, processes and services based on the emerging method, highlighting their advantages and disadvantages, as well as examples of their application.

Keywords : Emergy; environmental economy; ecological economy; sustainability indexes.

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