Javier Ribal

Measuring and Improving Eco‐efficiency Using Data Envelopment Analysis

The concept of eco-efficiency can be defined with the “product value/environmental influence” ratio. Different models have been proposed to measure eco-efficiency. The main difference among them is the weighting system used to aggregate the environmental results. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) permits this aggregation without requiring a subjective judgment about the weights. In this study, we applied a DEA model to Spanish Mahon-Menorca cheese production to determine the most eco-efficient production techniques. To this end, 16 scenarios of Mahon-Menorca cheese production were built regarding technical (degree of automation) and cleaner production criteria. The environmental impacts were assessed by means of life cycle assessment. We carried out an economic assessment by determining the economic value added and the net income for each scenario. The results are referred to as 1 kilogram (kg) cheese ripened over 105 days. Through DEA, an eco-efficiency ratio between 0 and 1 was obtained. Three scenarios were found to be eco-efficient, with a high degree of automation (enclosed vat and molding and demolding machines) and accelerated cheese ripening. We used Monte Carlo simulation to carry out a sensitivity analysis to compare the influence of price changes on the eco-efficiency ratio. The results emphasize the consistency and stability of the eco-efficient scenarios.

Measuring and Improving Eco-efficiency Using Data Envelopment Analysis A Case Study of Mah´ on-Menorca Cheese

The concept of eco-efficiency can be defined with the “product value/environmental influence” ratio. Different models have been proposed to measure eco-efficiency. The main difference among them is the weighting system used to aggregate the environmental results. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) permits this aggregation without requiring a subjective judgment about the weights. In this study, we applied a DEA model to Spanish Mahon-Menorca cheese production to determine the most eco-efficient production techniques. To this end, 16 scenarios of Mahon-Menorca cheese production were built regarding technical (degree of automation) and cleaner production criteria. The environmental impacts were assessed by means of life cycle assessment. We carried out an economic assessment by determining the economic value added and the net income for each scenario. The results are referred to as 1 kilogram (kg) cheese ripened over 105 days. Through DEA, an eco-efficiency ratio between 0 and 1 was obtained. Three scenarios were found to be eco-efficient, with a high degree of automation (enclosed vat and molding and demolding machines) and accelerated cheese ripening. We used Monte Carlo simulation to carry out a sensitivity analysis to compare the influence of price changes on the eco-efficiency ratio. The results emphasize the consistency and stability of the eco-efficient scenarios.

Influence of Management Practices on Economic and Environmental Performance of Crops. A Case Study in Spanish Horticulture

This article assesses the effect of management practices on the environmental and economic performance of tigernut production. Tigernut is a horticultural crop grown in a very limited and homogeneous area. Results show that the environmental variability among farms was greater than variability in costs. A selection of practices can reduce impacts per kilogram tigernut by factors 252.5 (abiotic depletion), 33 (aquatic ecotoxicity), or 6 (global warming) and costs by factors of between 2 and 3. The analysis shows a positive relationship between economic and environmental performance. Results highlight how proper management leads to both relatively low environmental impacts and costs.

Uncertainty analysis in the financial assessment of an integrated management system for restaurant and catering waste in Spain

PurposeThe goal of this study is to analyze the economic performance of an alternative system for waste management proposed by the European Integral-b project. Its aim is to treat both used cooking oil (UCO) and solid organic waste (SOW) from the hospitality sector by biodiesel production and anaerobic digestion, respectively. A cogeneration engine adapted to use glycerol as a fuel is implemented. These results complement others from a previous life cycle assessment (LCA).MethodsThe system proposed (scenario A) is compared to a system consisting of average waste management options (scenario B) by means of life cycle costing (LCC). The functional unit (FU) is the amount of UCO and SOW from hospitality produced per person and year in Spain. The profits generated by the FU under the two scenarios are calculated from a financial point of view. It is assumed that co-products from both scenarios translate into revenues for waste managers. Scenario analysis assesses different rates for the electricity output, subject to market regulations, and different levels of UCO availability. Monte Carlo simulations are carried out to analyze parameter and price uncertainty.Results and discussionThe profits in all the scenarios are negative, and those of scenario A are lower than those of scenario B under all the scenario formulations. Scenario A generates greater income than scenario B but also higher expenses, mainly due to SOW collection. The new electricity rates are detrimental for the financial performance of the Integral-b since the overall profits mostly depend on the sale of electricity. Readier UCO availability benefits both scenarios to a similar extent. The uncertainty analysis reinforces the comparative results, although there is some likelihood scenario A will generate greater profits. The sensitivity analysis allows for the key parameters to be identified in order to optimize the process further. Possible trade-offs between the LCC and LCA results have been evaluated.ConclusionsResults from the financial analysis show that the Integral-b process delivers greater losses as compared to a reference scenario. Both generate net costs, meaning that stakeholders have to finance the functions provided. Uncertainty in the electricity regulations constitutes an obstacle for such projects as these to be implemented. As in LCA, the definition of the system boundaries and FU is critical in LCC.

Application of the continuing value model to small and medium-sized Spanish enterprises

Abstract By far, the most widely used enterprise valuation method in business practice is the discounted cash-flow method. Thus, the residual value or continuing value accounts for a significant percentage of the enterprise’s value and will depend on the length of the time horizon. In 2006, Jennergren developed a continuing value model based on one of the methods most commonly used for calculating this value, the Gordon model. The Jennergren model extends the analysis of this model and aims to have it implemented more strictly, taking into account two main parameters, capital expenditures and tax savings due to the depreciation of productive assets. In this study the Jennergren model has been applied to small and medium-sized Spanish enterprises with turnover ranging from 2 to 50 million euros over the period 2005–2008. These enterprises have also been differentiated by industry, using the Spanish NCAE classification (National Classification of Economic Activities). The information used was taken from the SABI (Iberian Balance Sheet Analysis System) database. The resulting economic lives of the productive assets of each industry were compared to the useful lives shown in the Spanish Corporation Tax Law Amortisation and Depreciation tables. It was found that most estimates are within the range established by law. In those cases where this assumption is not met, it is usually due to accelerated depreciation over the limits strictly permitted under law.

Truncated distributions of valuation multiples: an application to European food firms

Company valuation is increasingly used in company management for various purposes. However, in Spain, information that is useful for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is non-existent. In order to broaden this information, a mass model for valuation of companies is proposed to enable valuation multiples to be obtained. This model has been applied to SMEs in the food sector in Spain. However, the asymmetry of the distributions obtained causes an upwards bias of the mean multiples and makes it difficult to establish statistically significant differences between the distributions. To solve this problem, an algorithm to eliminate outliers has been designed which enables the most probable range of values to be obtained for each multiple. The multiples obtained are compared with the multiples for European food companies listed on the stock market, revealing statistically significant differences.

Aproximación a la itegración de la huella de carbono y aspectos nutricionales para un consumo sostenible de alimentos

We gratefully acknowledge the financia! support from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion (CTM2010-18118).

The impact of the economic crisis on the cost of capital. Evidences from Spain

The economic crisis has caused an upheaval in the financial markets which had affected all the parameters involved in fixing the cost of capital. This study aims to determine how these changes in markets have influenced the WACC of two different Spanish industries. On the one hand a stable and steady industry as the food industry with a low income elasticity of demand. On the other hand the homebuilding industry, this industry had a huge growth before the crisis, almost a bubble, and has suffered the aftermath in a very marked way. The evolution of the cost of capital in the 1998-2013 period shows that the cost of capital of the food sector is very stable whatever the model used whereas the cost of capital of the homebuilding industry suffered a sharp decline. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4995/ICBM.2015.1346