INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY (IE)

Sri Suhartini, STP. M.Env.Mgt. PhD

 Introduction
Main Goal is to achieve Sustainability

HOW??

Nature shows us a way: Natural Ecosystems are sustainable.

IDEA: to imitate nature and strive to make the industrial systems work in
the manner of natural systems.

BIOMIMICRY (imitation / copying of nature)

This is the objective of Industrial Ecology, to render our industrial

systems sustainable by making them obey the laws of nature
 Introduction
Nature consists of a number of systems called “spheres”:
– The atmosphere (air and what is in it)
– The hydrosphere (water in its liquid form)
– The lithosphere (land, rocks and below)
– The biosphere (all the living organisms).

To this, we now add the anthroposphere, the human system, which

includes:
– The built environment (buildings, roads, and other infrastructure)
– Agriculture (also called the Primary Sector)
– The manufacturing industry (also called the Secondary Sector)
– The service industry (also called the Tertiary Sector)
– Energy production infrastructure (power plants).
 Introduction
This anthroposphere includes:

• Materials (raw materials, processed materials, products, solid waste) Each bound by
a conservation
principle
• Energy consumption (fossil fuels, nuclear, renewable forms of energy)

unlimited supply
• Information (knowledge, inventions, communications, etc.) 
and growing
 Introduction

How goods are

produced

consumption

How goods are

consumed
 Introduction

Reduce

consumption

Change the
nature

Environmental Problems
 Alternative modes of production

• a new paradigm for capitalist production that

– Minimizes environmental impacts from extraction, production and

disposal

– While retaining the essential driving mechanism of capitalism, i.e.,

profit
 THE BASIS OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY

The Four Laws of Ecology (Barry Commoner, 1971, 33-48)

1. Everything is connected to everything else.
2. Everything must go somewhere.
3. Nature knows best.
4. There is no such thing as a free lunch.

The equivalent of Commoner's "laws" for sustainability in industry are:

Eco-Industrial Principles and Industrial Ecology

1. Industry is an interrelated system of extraction, production, distribution, consumption
and disposal.
2. Industrial production must be subject to "life-cycle analysis" so as to identify
materials pathways (Industrial Metabolism).
3. The natural world is a source of models of efficiency and of renewable energy and
resources.
4. Finite resources must be returned, recycled, reclaimed and/or reused in order to
close materials cycles and minimize energy consumption. (“Technical nutrients”
according to William McDonough)
Implications of Sustainability for Industrial Ecology
1. Not using renewable resources faster than they are replenished.
2. Not using non-renewable, non-abundant resources faster than substitutes can
be found.
3. Not releasing waste faster than the planet can assimilate them.
4. Not significantly depleting the diversity of life on the planet.

“The fundamental task of Industrial Ecology is to … match the inputs and

outputs of the man-made world to the constraints of the biosphere.”
(Ernest Lowe, “Industrial Ecology – An organizing framework for environmental
management,
Total Quality Environmental Management, 73-85, Autumn 1993)

“The economy is a subsystem of the biosphere, not the other way around.”
(David W. Orr, “Shelf Life”, Conservation Biology, Volume 23, No. 2, 2009, quoting
Herman Daly )
 Definition IE
• Industrial ecology is rooted in systems analysis and is a higher level systems
approach to framing the interaction between industrial systems and natural
systems.
• Definitions include the following:
 a systems view of the interactions between industrial and ecological
systems the study of material and energy flows and transformations
 a multidisciplinary approach
 an orientation toward the future
 a change from linear (open) processes to cyclical (closed) processes, so the
waste from one industry is used as an input for another
 an effort to reduce the industrial systems’ environmental impacts on
ecological systems
 an emphasis on harmoniously integrating industrial activity into ecological
systems
 the idea of making industrial systems emulate more efficient and
sustainable natural systems
 the identification and comparison of industrial and natural systems
hierarchies, which indicate areas of potential study and action
 Another Definition
• A system that "would maximize the economical use
of waste materials and of products at the ends of
their lives as inputs to other processes and
industries."
-Frosch, 1992

• Essentially mimics natural systems

 Examples of
Why IE? IE

Saving resources
Recycling
Be efficient when possible

Fewer resources consumed

 lower operational costs

Less waste/trash
 lower disposal costs
 Example of IE
• ‘Out of Box’ plans
• Using renewable resources
• Wastes as resources
– Waste to energy, waste to resource, no waste, zero waste
concept)
• Efficient production
• Long-lasting design of systems
 Industrial Ecology

• an industrial ecosystem
– mimics the material efficiency of natural ecosystems
– Via the optimal circulation of materials and energy

– Substituting virgin materials with used materials and

products (i.e., wastes) during production processes
• Extraction is minimized
• Waste is minimized
• Material use is maximized

– Closing the loop on materials/products =minimizing the damage to the

environment
Industrial Ecology Operates at Three Levels

Industrial Ecology

Firm Level Across Firms Regional/Global

design for environment Industrial symbiosis energy budgets and cycles

pollution prevention material cycling materials and energy flows
eco-efficiency life cycle analysis industrial metabolism
"green" accounting industrial sector initiatives

From: Chertow, 2004

 Domains of Industrial Ecology
 Technical
 Engineering perspective with technological innovation

 Business System and Networks

 Shared services, transportation, and facilities

 Community-Business Interactions
 Symbiotic networks
 3 Es: Economy, Environment, Equity
Source: Mary Schlarb. Eco-Industrial Development: A Strategy for Building Sustainable Communities, 2001
 Options Table
Approach Effect on Technology
Radical Ecology Return to low-tech
Status quo Ad hoc adoption of mandates
Deep Ecology Appropriate technology, low-
tech where possible
Industrial Reliance on technological
Ecology evolution within constraints,
high-tech welcomed
Implications
Unmanaged population
crash and disruption
Unmanaged population
crash and disruption
Lower population,
substantial adjustments
to life-style
Moderately higher
population, substantial
adjustments to life-style
 Trends in Technology
Dematerialization
 Less material for same or better service
Substitution
 Use more environmentally suitable materials
Decarbonization
 Move away from release of fossil carbon
Computerization
 Improved management and control
Conventional Design of Production in
Industry
Green Design of Production in
Industry
 Green Options for Existing Processes

• Eliminate or replace product (life cycle assessment)

• Eliminate or minimize hazardous substance use (mass
balance)
• Minimize energy use (audits)
• Dematerialization (Minimize weight and/or volume, Combine
various functions into one product, Make fewer different
styles, Minimize/take back packaging, Moore’s Law: the
speed of a chip doubles every 2 years)
• Increase efficiency and economic life
• Redesign for reuse, remanufacture, or easy repair
• Reflect environmental cost in the price of the product
Industry (not government) must be the agent of
change
INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY
Agrofood production chain. Step A – Agricultural manure management
 Implications for Industrial Ecology
Implementation of industrial ecology and
migration toward sustainable development will
involve significant and difficult change:
– Cultural
– Religious
– Political
– Social