Industrial ecology: engineered representation of sustainability |
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Authors: | Michael von Hauff Peter A Wilderer |
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Institution: | (1) Institute of Economic Policy and Environmental Economics, University of Kaiserslautern, Gottlieb Daimler Strasse, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany;(2) Institute of Advanced Studies on Sustainability, European Academy of Sciences and Arts, Amalienstr. 75, 80799 Munich, Germany |
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Abstract: | Industrial ecology is a relatively new field of research and academic study and is well established in North America and in
several Asian countries. However, it has not yet received the attention it deserves in some other important parts of the industrialized
world, including Germany. This paper may contribute to a better appreciation of industrial ecology as a tool in the process
of sustainable development of economies, social systems, and of aquatic and terrestrial biotopes under the pressure of rapidly
changing conditions triggered by global warming and urban growth. For this reason, methods are needed to quantify the successful
application of industrial ecology measures. The “Integrated Sustainability Triangle” is introduced as a promising new possibility
of quantification and monitoring. It enables justification of the contributions industrial ecology can make to sustainable
development. The aggregation of individual economic contributions is assumed to create an overall impetus to the entire industrial
sector including the sector of environmental engineering. Thus, the potential of industrial ecology is discussed from the
macro-economic and the engineering perspective using the concept of sustainable development as a guiding principle. But the
authors come to the conclusion that finding solutions to the pressing problems of our time requires more than collaboration
of economy and engineering. It requires joint efforts of the whole spectrum of scientific disciplines in close collaboration
with industrial and political stakeholders. |
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Keywords: | Sustainable development Sustainability science Industrial ecology Cycle of materials Recovery Reuse |
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