Safeguard subjects : The Conflict Between Operationalization and Ethical Justification

Beltrani, Guido

In: The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 1997, vol. 2, no. 1, p. 45-51

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    Summary
    In the available literature on ecobalances, relatively little attention has until now been devoted to the discussion of the ultimate objectives of ecocontrolling, i.e. to the determination of those elements of nature which deserve highest protection. The goal of this paper is to elaborate and to provide grounds for a target-system of ecocontrol-ling based upon existing concepts in the environmental ethics. The immediate connection between ethical considerations and the target-system of ecocontrolling arises from the fact that the ethical notion of ‘intrinsic value' (applied on elements of nature), and the concept of ‘safeguard subject' used in literature on ecocontrolling and ecobalances appear congruent. Principally, it would be desirable that the safeguard subjects consist only of natural elements with an intrinsic value — within the chosen approach of environmental ethics. However, in order to reach an optimal operationalization, it appears unavoidable to put elements of nature with an intrinsic value and those elements that do not possess such a value (but which operationalize elements with an intrinsic value) together in the list of the safeguard subjects. Relying on the theoretical and practical analysis, a list of safeguard subjects similar that from Gonsoli et al. is proposed. The ethical frame allows for a new insight, the idea that there is a hierarchy between the different safeguard subjects, and that a limited influence on a safeguard subject of lower rank docs not have to be considered an impairment of the corresponding safeguard subject