ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the potential for and environmental effects of property-independent consumption. The initial assumption was that through joint use new consumer patterns can develop so that customer requirements can be satisfied while placing less of a burden on the environment. The results of the comparison of environmental impact from eco-services and owned products are ambiguous. The eco-services project illustrates that there is definitely no evidence that services in general provide a better environmental performance than sale of products. In theory, eco-services can lead to competitive advantages because they make use of otherwise unused potential and reduce costs, thus contributing to a diversification of the market. These services are, however, in competition with mass production, where economies of scale lead to cheaper products. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the outlook for eco-services as well as at the framework conditions needed to develop eco-services.
