Industrial symbiosis and the policy instruments of sustainable consumption and production

Industrial symbioses (ISs) and eco-industrial parks (EIPs) are key concepts of industrial ecology (IE). The aim of ISs and EIPs is to minimise inefficient material and energy use by utilising local by-product and energy flows. Industrial symbioses tend to develop through spontaneous action of economic actors, for gaining of economic benefit, but these systems can be designed and promoted via policy instruments as well. A literature review showed that national programmes for eco-industrial parks can be found in different parts of the world. In the action programmes and other sustainable consumption and production (SCP) policy documents of the EU, on the other hand, industrial symbioses gain less recognition as a path to enhanced sustainable production. In this article, we consider this and also analyse how the evolution and environmental performance of an industrial symbiosis system centred on a Finnish pulp and paper mill have been affected by SCP policy instruments. With regard to the system forming the subject of the case study, and Finnish industrial systems in general, policy instruments have succeeded in reducing emissions but not in systematically encouraging operators toward symbiosis-like activities. All in all, few studies exist on the overall impact of policy instruments promoting design of eco-industrial parks. It is not self-evident that symbiosis-like production systems would be sustainable in every case, as the background assumptions for political promotion of EIPs suggest. We concluded that industrial symbioses should be analysed and developed on a life cycle basis, with documentation of the real environmental benefits due to efficient resource use and decreased emissions in comparison to standalone production. ISs can then bring eco-competitiveness to companies in relation to SCP tools, such as environmental permits, ecolabels, and future product regulation based on the Ecodesign Directive in Europe. Indirect encouragement of symbiosis through land-use regulation and planning, in such a way that material fluxes between companies are possible both in operations and in financial terms, may prove effective. The same holds for waste policies that encourage increased reuse of a company’s waste by other enterprises.     

Towards more sustainable management systems: through life cycle management and integration

The standards for management systems such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 are developing towards a higher degree of compatibility. At the same time, organisations increasingly integrate these systems. The paper discusses this development and presents different levels of integration. The aim is to suggest the next steps to take in order to improve an integration which promotes sustainable management. Product-oriented management and stakeholders are in focus and the standards for management systems and the need for a common integrated ISO standard are discussed. Finally, the need for changes in life style and needs is presented as crucial to the development of more sustainable management systems.     

The concept of sustainable islands: cleaner production, industrial ecology and the network paradigm as preconditions for regional sustainable development

This paper introduces a bottom-up approach towards sustainability which is called the Island approach. The basic assumption of ‘Islands of Sustainability’ is that development towards sustainability can be introduced starting from small sustainable regions. An Island is an area where sustainability is reached locally. Key points to create a sustainable region are communication activities, such as exchange of matter, energy, information, culture, capital and persons within the regional network and with the environment. One of the main theses is that sustainability is linked to the complexity of the regional network. The intensity, the speed and the comprehensive of internal and external interactions, as well as the connectedness of the regional network, have to be changed in order to reach local sustainability.Relations between different approaches such as the Cleaner Production approach, the Industrial Ecology approach and the Island approach are investigated. It is assumed that a combination of these approaches will lead to sustainability, which might not be the case with one approach in isolation. All concepts are based on the new Network Paradigm, which is a reduction of the holistic world view. Cooperation on different hierarchical levels, from the interfirm level up to the interregional level, becomes an important part of behaviour. Networks, such as information networks or matter-flow networks, are introduced and become most important with regard to sustainability.     

Applying ecosystem concepts to the planning of industrial areas: a case study of Singapore’s Jurong Island

The application of ecological concepts to the industrial setting has been touched upon by literature across several disciplines. Two emerging ecological planning approaches, landscape ecology and industrial ecology, are applied here to look at alternative ways of planning industrial parks. As an emerging field, landscape ecology provides different viewpoints from the traditional approach of natural conservation, which mainly focuses on the protection of nature. The approach of landscape ecology regards the environment as a land mosaic, a mixture of natural and urban environment, which concerns a manageable human-scale environment across one or two human generations. Industrial ecology, on the other hand, goes beyond the traditional “end of pipe” idea of pollution control and learns from the ecosystem concept. The current paper is an attempt to reconcile these two fields as an integrated approach to the planning of industrial areas. Using a case study of Singapore’s Jurong Island industrial park, two fundamental issues behind the idea of landscape ecology and industrial ecology are raised. If raw materials, energy and by-products are more easily replaced or reused by technology and management, then research on industrial ecology and related knowledge will be crucial for developing natural resource substitution by innovative technology and new ways of environmental management. Where it is difficult to substitute natural resources, the skills of planning and managing natural resources will take priority over other strategies. In this situation, the knowledge of landscape ecology needs to be applied to the prediction, design and evaluation of ecologically optimum resource uses, patterns and processes in the mixture of natural, urban and industrial environment. A new concept, “nurtured landscape”, is proposed for mediating between the natural ecosystem and the urban/industrial environment. The nurtured landscape provides a basis for the development of new ecological technology using landscape to ameliorate the polluting effects of the urban/industrial neighbourhood. The planning of Singapore’s Jurong Island industrial park provides a test of applying the principles of landscape ecology and industrial ecology to the possible transformation of an industrial area.     

A supply chain management approach for investigating the role of tour operators on sustainable tourism: the case of TUI

Increasing awareness and demands in sustainable tourism require firms to implement sustainable Supply Chain Management policies (SCM). Tour operators can significantly influence and promote sustainable tourism development due to their central distribution role and capability to direct tourists to destinations and suppliers. Despite the emerging role of SCM and sustainability, the applicability of SCM practices in tourism is not studied yet. This paper adapts and illustrates the value of using SCM concepts within tour operators' business for integrating sustainability into tourism supply chains. After reviewing the literature in SC management and collaboration, a model for implementing sustainable SCM is proposed and its applicability is shown by analysing the case of TUI. The implications of the model and the case study are discussed.     

Environmental impacts of cocoa production and processing in Ghana: life cycle assessment approach

Ghana is the world's second largest producer of cocoa beans. In addition to exporting raw cocoa beans, the country also processes some of its beans into finished and semi-finished cocoa products for both the local and international markets. This paper is aimed at providing a comprehensive picture of the environmental impacts associated with cocoa production and processing in Ghana by applying the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. The analysis considered the entire system required to produce and process 1 kg of cocoa bean. It included the extraction of raw materials (e.g. fossil fuels, minerals), the production of farming inputs (e.g. fertilizers and pesticides) and all agricultural operations in the field (e.g. tillage, fertilizer and pesticides application, harvest, etc.). Transportation of beans to processing factory and industrial processing of the beans into cocoa butter, liquor, cake and powder were also included. The study was conducted in accordance with the international ISO procedural framework for performing LCA in the ISO 14040–14043 series.The overall environmental impacts resulting from cocoa production and processing activities and improvement options towards the sustainability of the system studied are presented and discussed.     

Partitioning of resources in production: an empirical analysis

Industrial economies ingest materials, energy and information to produce goods and services and excrete wastes and emissions. Wastes can be minimized and the relative amounts of resources, which go into goods and services, as opposed to waste, are essential to clean production and to the sustainability of the production system. A regression model based on empirical data is presented that provides a partition coefficient expressing the ratio of energy (or material) resources invested in goods to energy going to waste. Partition coefficients are developed for five countries and are shown to be related to GDP, energy and material consumption and energy and waste intensities. Higher partition coefficients mean higher productivity and lower energy, waste and material intensities. In addition, energy use/capita and pollution/capita is lower. The price of energy to the industrial sector is related to the partition coefficient. The policy implications are that partitioning of resources to goods should be maximized and waste minimized for economic as well as environmental reasons.     

Mining life cycle modelling: a cradle-to-gate approach to environmental management in the minerals industry

It is common practise in mining Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies to use a predefined set of data to represent mining production systems. Besides this, very little is added to improve data quality, and essential mining process details which affect the ultimate environmental impacts is rarely taken into account. Some significant omissions include exploration and development work, mining method used, production, ore losses, location and the mining/processing method dependent factors that govern the nature of discharges to the environment. The mining system is often represented as a black-box, not lending itself to the interpretation of different processes used in minerals production. The generic data used are often inadequate for a mining LCA, and cannot be used as an accurate account of mining environmental burdens contributing to more complex systems “down-stream”, such as metals, building, chemical or food industries. Therefore, the main objective of the mining LCA model presented in this paper was to develop a tool that is able to represent the mining system in a comprehensive way. To attain this objective, the mining system was studied in more detail, as it is commonly practised during mine feasibility and design stages. It (LICYMIN) was developed as part of an international research project led by Imperial College London. The model integrates the mine production, processing, waste treatment and disposal, rehabilitation and aftercare stages of a mine's life within an LCA framework. The development work was carried out in collaboration with several industrial partners in Europe, including Bakonyi Bauxitbánya Kft. in Hungary. The model structure, database development and examples of field applications from industrial sites are presented.     

Applications of the industrial ecology concept in a research project: Technology and Climate Change (CLIMTECH) Research in Finland

This contribution to the Journal of Cleaner Production special issue ‘Applications of Industrial Ecology’ is based upon an extensive literature review, which produced four criteria to characterise research on the concept of industrial ecology (IE). The criteria are (1) material and energy flows, (2) systems improvement, (3) systems adaptation and (4) change management. The criteria were analysed against the six subject areas of the Technology and Climate Change (CLIMTECH) Research Programme in Finland to identify the applications of the concept of industrial ecology. The results of the analysis contribute (a) to the debate on the characteristics of the emerging concept of IE, (b) show IE characteristics of a large Finnish research project in the field of climate change mitigation and (c) invite scholars in the field to study the observed unclear and fuzzy role of the concept of IE in practical research project work. Responses to this article are encouraged for publication in the future issues of Journal of Cleaner Production.     

The relationship between economic and carbon footprint changes in EU: The achievements of the EU sustainable consumption and production policy implementation

The Sustainable Consumption and Production policy is a key objective in the renewed European Union (EU) Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS). EU countries implement the targets of Sustainable Consumption and Production policy at different a level. Nevertheless, SDS targets are concerned more with production than consumption side. In addition, analysis of the carbon footprint data, which was supplied by the Global Footprint Network, showed that in all EU countries consumption-based carbon footprint caught-up and exceeded the level of production-based carbon (except Denmark and Estonia) during 1993–2010 period. The significant absolute decoupling in terms of carbon footprint from production-based perspective was observed in Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Slovakia, Poland, United Kingdom and Germany, meanwhile from consumption-based perspective only in Denmark, Estonia and Germany. Moreover in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Croatia the consumption-based carbon footprint grew faster than economy in general. Results imply that EU should put more focus on consumption side in terms of Sustainable Consumption and Production policy and measures taken. A commitment to reduce the environmental impact from consumption-based perspective should be more addressed covering values and lifestyles.     

Eco-industrial park initiatives in the USA and the Netherlands: first lessons

Since the introduction of the industrial ecology concept by Frosch and Gallopoulos in 1989, and the apparent success of the Kalundborg Industrial Symbiosis project, attention to planned eco-industrial park (EIP) development projects has grown all over the world. This article includes data from six of these EIP development projects. Three of the projects discussed are located in the Netherlands and three in the US. This article compares the differences in project approach and results on a national level. The approach suggested is derived from the available EIP development literature.Initial research indicates that the Dutch EIP projects are more successful than their US counterparts. This difference in success can be, mostly, attributed to the fact that the US projects are initiated by local and regional governments that see the project as a way to improve the local/regional economy with access to substantial government funds. Because of this heavy government involvement, US companies are, in general, not interested in the project. The more successful Dutch projects, on the other hand, are mostly initiated by the companies themselves with financial and advisory support from the local and regional government.     

Indicators of sustainable production: framework and methodology

This paper presents a new tool for promoting business sustainability — indicators of sustainable production. It first introduces the concept of sustainable production as defined by the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production, University of Massachusetts Lowell. Indicators of sustainable production are discussed next, including their dimensions and desirable qualities. Based on the Lowell Center Indicator Framework, the authors suggest a new methodology of core and supplemental indicators for raising companies' awareness and measuring their progress toward sustainable production systems. Twenty-two core indicators are proposed and a detailed guidance for their application is included. An eight-step model provides a context for indicator implementation. The paper concludes with a summary of the strengths and weaknesses of the methodology as well as recommendations for testing the indicators.     

Towards the development of differential land taxation and its implications for sustainable land management

Despite the concerted efforts by the researchers, government and NGOs to arrest land degradation problems, most agricultural lands of developing countries are still suffering from massive degradation. This study introduces a new strategy, called differential land taxation (DLT), where rural lands are subject to different taxation rates. DLT is determined by rating the magnitude of accord or discord between the recommended and the implemented land management practices. To appraise DLT, opinion of stakeholders, drawn from sample localities of central Ethiopia, were assessed. Most respondents proved that DLT could bring about sustainable land management practices through encouraging conservation-minded peasants while systematically discouraging land abusers.     

Resource productivity enhancement as means for promoting cleaner production: analysis of co-incineration in cement plants through a life cycle approach

The objective of this paper is to assess the environmental effectiveness of a strategic measure aimed at resource productivity enhancement. The cement industry has been identified as a relevant sector for this global issue, since the related production process enables the use of waste in partial substitution of raw materials and in substitution of traditional fuels. The analysis of the cement production sector in Italy has been here performed, investigating the recovery of energy from waste through co-incineration. In terms of air emissions, the emission performances of cement kilns appear independent from the use of alternative fuels at the percentages usually employed. However, in order to measure the cleanliness of a production system, systematic analysis with global perspective is needed. For this aim, the principles of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) have been used for a case study analysis of an Italian active plant using an amount of recovered plastics as an alternative fuel resource. The improvement on the investigated process has been quantitatively measured as a way for cleaner production, first in terms of gross energy requirement, and then through an environmental performance comparison with a sector benchmark. The analysis has highlighted the benefits on the global environmental balance for the practice of co-incineration in the cement production process.     

Towards sustainability in urban water: a life cycle analysis of the urban water system of Alexandria City,Egypt

Urban water authorities and water planers in many countries are struggling to satisfy the growing urban water and sanitation demands, while at the same time achieving sustainability of the urban water system. This research focused on the assessment of the environmental impact of today's Alexandria's urban water system and on the identification of options to improve the sustainability of the system. Therefore, a life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was used. The urban water system was modelled using SimaPro software, and the impacts of various options on the system were analyzed based on the Eco-indicator 99 assessment method. The results show that the highest impact in today's system is generated by the disposal of primary treated wastewater (68% of the total impact) and by high-energy-consuming water treatment plants (18% of the total impact). The research assessed different scenarios for improving the environmental performance of the system and a paradigm shift (decentralization and separation at-source of different kinds of household wastewater) was found to be the preferred long-term scenario.     

Co-production of heat and power: an anchor tenant of a regional industrial ecosystem

The resource basis of industrial energy production is still, to a large extent, in non-renewable fossil fuels, the use of which creates emissions that the ecosystem has difficulty in tolerating. The goal of industrial ecology is to substitute the non-renewable stocks with renewable flows. In this paper, a regional industrial ecosystem that relies on a power plant as its key organisation, as an anchor tenant, is considered in the context of energy production and consumption. The co-production method of heat and electricity (CHP, co-production of heat and power) is implemented in the local power plant. This method uses the waste energy from electricity production for district heat and industrial heat/steam. The fuel basis in a CHP plant can include heterogeneous waste fuels. The method has been applied, to a large extent, in only three countries in the world; Denmark, The Netherlands and Finland. Examples of CHP-based industrial ecosystems from Finland are considered. CHP is reflected upon from the viewpoint of industrial ecosystem principles.     

The Nature of ecosystem management: postmodernism and plurality in the sustainable management of the boreal forest

Ecosystem management, by seeking to emulate natural disturbance, has been proposed by the ecological and forest management community as a means of maintaining the biodiversity and productivity of boreal forests, key components of sustainable forest management (SFM). However, it is argued that ecosystem management overlooks the paradox inherent in the concept of Nature, limiting the scope of the SFM debate by maintaining a binary opposition between Nature and Society, humans and the environment. Nature is paradoxical because humans are part of Nature, by the theory of evolution, while at the same time Nature is a social construction created by humans, and thus artificial. Recourse is made to postmodernism in order to examine the metaphysical and sociopolitical implications of the deconstruction of this paradox. Based on a review of the philosophy of Foucault and Derrida, the concept of Nature is demonstrated to be socially mediated, an entwinement of reason and power. In order to address metaphysical challenges of the Nature–Society dualism identified above, I refer to Habermas’s theory of communicative action and cite results from a case study in this regard. Results from this case study prompt a critical examination of the legitimacy of a discourse ethic about Nature, making use of the negative dialectics of Adorno. As a result, at the metaphysical level, a different role for ecologists and forest managers in public participation procedures is proposed, one whereby ecologists talk through Nature to the evolutionary agents to which it is intended to refer as a means of discussing whether specific management options will contribute to sustainable development. It is argued that at the sociopolitical level SFM will necessitate improved transparency and participation in forestry, criteria that can be attained through community-based ecosystem management. Both elements require a science more actively engaged with civil society.     

Application of a comparative multidimensional life cycle analysis in solid waste management policy: the case of soft drink containers

The paper describes the application of a multidimensional life cycle analysis (LCA) for packaging soft drinks in Israel. The suggested approach combines the conventional product LCA, vertical summation of all environmental burdens along the chain of production, use and disposal activities, and horizontal comparison of different products and disposal options, such as recycling, incineration or landfilling. The paper attempts to show that the most effective, as well as transparent, means of comparing packaging alternatives, is to place them on a commensurate basis, the most appropriate one being a monetary basis. Taking into account limitations and drawbacks of monetary valuation of non-market assets (namely, environmental assets), the study derived estimates of environmental benefits and damages associated with each alternative. The production of soft drinks containers in Israel, used here as an example for the above mentioned considerations, is based mainly on imported materials, since natural resources such as oil or bauxite do not exist in Israel. Locally, only direct production and pollution abatement costs are incorporated in the final bill, while global environmental burdens are excluded. Countries extracting and producing raw material for the packaging industry, in effect, grant an environmental subsidy to the final users, in this case — the Israeli user. The paper suggests that only by globalization of externalities and fully internalizing environmental costs into the price of the final product (the packaging material or the packaged product), an equitable full environmental accounting can be designed. This mechanism can be even accompanied by global trading in the relevant environmental credits. Decisions will, consequently, follow a sustainable path, in both importing and exporting countries.