Implementing industrial ecology

Industrial ecology (IE), which arises from the perception that human economic activity is causing unacceptable changes in basic environmental support systems, is defined, and a systems description is given. As applied to manufacturing, the systems-oriented concept suggests that industrial design and manufacturing processes are not performed in isolation from their surroundings, but rather are influenced by them and, in turn, have influence on them. Applied IE is defined as the study of driving factors influencing the specification of flows of selected materials between economic processes. Examples of these flows and some of the associated perspectives and constraints, drawn from the manufacturing sector, are illustrated and discussed.<>