Ecoefficiency (measures to minimize environmental impact through the reduction or elimination of waste from production processes) has become a goal for companies worldwide, with many realizing significant cost savings from such innovations. Peter Senge and Goran Carstedt see this development as laudable but suggest that simply adopting ecoefficiency innovations could actually worsen environmental stresses in the future. Such innovations reduce production waste but do not alter the number of products manufactured nor the waste generated from their use and discard; indeed, most companies invest in ecoefficiency improvements in order to increase profits and growth. Moreover, there is no guarantee that increased economic growth from ecoefficiency will come in similarly ecoefficient ways, since in today's global markets, greater profits may be turned into investment capital that could easily be reinvested in old-style eco-inefficient industries. Even a vastly more ecoefficient industrial system could, were it to grow much larger, generate more total waste and destroy more habitat and species than would a smaller, less ecoefficient economy. Senge and Carstedt argue that to preserve the global environment and sustain economic growth, businesses must develop a new systemic approach that reduces total material use and total accumulated waste. Focusing exclusively on ecoefficiency, which offers a compelling business case according to established thinking, may distract companies from pursuing radically different products and business models.
The passage mentions which of the following as a possible consequence of companies' realization of greater profits through ecoefficiency?
The companies may be able to sell a greater number of products by lowering prices.
The companies may be better able to attract investment capital in the global market.
The profits may be reinvested to increase economic growth through ecoefficiency.
The profits may be used as investment capital for industries that are not ecoefficient.
The profits may encourage companies to make further innovations in reducing production waste.
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答案是 D。这是因为文章中表明,尽管采用生态效率的创新可能会在当前的情况下带来成本节约,但这些创新不会改变所生产的产品数量或是使用和废弃产品时产生的废弃物,而且许多公司投资于生态效率的改进是为了提高利润和增长。此外,通过生态效率获得更多的经济增长并不一定会采用同样的生态效率的方式,因为在如今的全球市场中,更多的利润可以转化为投资资本,这些资本可以很容易地再投资到老式的低生态效率的行业上。
细节题1:原文同意替换,用profits定位