He concedes there is some way to go before plastic PV catches up with silicon's superior efficiency and durability, but even that might not be an issue, he says.

CNN: Solar power enters the plastic age

The superior beauty and efficiency of Paris often come at the price of dynamism.

ECONOMIST: The French community in London

"While demonstrating superior industry performance and operational efficiency, the New Sustainability Champions innovate to overcome the real constraints that they face, " said Knut Haanaes, a BCG partner.

BBC: 'Most environmentally aware' firms highlighted

However, when, just a few days later, Gordon Brown set out the (questionable) arguments that underpin his belief that there is no model for delivering health care with equity and efficiency that is superior to the National Health Service, he was heard with something close to awe.

ECONOMIST: Bagehot

The combination of the new NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN graphics in MAINGEAR desktops offers a superior combination of power, performance, efficiency, control, and acoustics that PC gamers need for premium PC gaming.

ENGADGET: Maingear fits 3-way GTX Titan graphics into (un-priced) gaming PC

Through radical resource efficiency, sustainable buildings are less harmful to the environment, more profitable for the owner and deliver demonstrably superior services to occupants.

FORBES: The Towering Heights of Green Building