Industrial Ecology

                                                        ISO 14001 is not sufficient

                                                   for achieving sustainable production

                                                                  because

                                         it does not specify environmental performance targets.

                                                                   Instead,

                                                             it sets the goals of

                                           continual improvement and regulatory compliance.

                                                              In other words,

                                        the standards do not ensure environmental performance

                                                                     but

                                                        gives a consistent baseline.

                                                             Industrial ecology

                                                                 is based on

                                                          the principles of holism.

                                        It provides a framework requiring systematical approach

                                                          to environmental issues.

                                                               In other words,

                                               it observes the flow of energy and materials

                                                        through industrial systems:

                                           firms industries or an industrial society as a whole,

                                                                   thereby

                                               leading industrial systems to sustainability.

                                                                For example,

                                             Simens in Germany applied a holistic approach

                                                  and emphasised reduction of materials,

                                                       reducing energy consumption,

                                                         labeling material contents,

                                                        and disassembly and reuse:

                                             1.new computer housings are no longer painted

                                                                    since

                                                 paint renders the plastic non-recyclable;

                                         2.assemblers do not rivet fans into housings any more,

                                                                   instead

                                                  they use clips for easier disassemble;

                                                                     and

                                        3.new computer's plastic components are each identified

                                                           by type and additives.

                                                       The most celebrated example

                                                        of an Industrial Ecosystem

                                             in a multi-plant setting in Kalundburg, Denmark.

                                                                    Here,

                                                                  there are

                                                             five core partners:

                                              a power station, refinery, plasterboard plant,

                                      bio-technical plant, and municipal water and heating system.

                                                      Over the last two decades

                                         these partners have exchanged a number of materials,

                                                   with the benefit to the environment

                                               being reduced emissions and waste residues.

                                                                Interestingly,

                                                      this web of reuse and recycling

                                                              was not designed

                                                                     but evolved.

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