Industrial ecology (IE) is the study of material and energy flows through industrial systems. The global industrial economy can be modelled as a network of industrial processes that extract resources from the Earth and transform those resources into products and services which can be bought and sold to meet the needs of humanity.
Industrial ecologists are often concerned with the impacts that industrial activities have on the environment, with use of the planet's supply of natural resources, and with problems of waste disposal. This field of research combines aspects of engineering, economics, sociology, toxicology and the natural sciences.
Industrial ecology is concerned with the shifting of industrial process from linear (open loop) systems, in which resource and capital investments move through the system to become waste, to a closed loop system where wastes can become inputs for new processes.
Much of the research focuses on the following areas:
Industrial ecologists are often concerned with the impacts that industrial activities have on the environment, with use of the planet's supply of natural resources, and with problems of waste disposal. This field of research combines aspects of engineering, economics, sociology, toxicology and the natural sciences.
Industrial ecology is concerned with the shifting of industrial process from linear (open loop) systems, in which resource and capital investments move through the system to become waste, to a closed loop system where wastes can become inputs for new processes.
Much of the research focuses on the following areas:
- Material and energy flow studies (industrial metabolism)
- Dematerialization and decarbonization
- Technological change and the environment
- Life-cycle planning, design and assessment
- Design for the environment (eco-design)
- Extended producer responsibility (product stewardship)
- Eco-industrial parks (industrial symbiosis)
- Product-oriented environmental policy
- Eco-efficiency