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Allenby ( 1995 ) optimistically place the responsibility of sustainable development on
this technology term to encourage sustainable technological innovation by individual
companies and corporates. Given that developing countries such as China and India
are now emerging as leading technology hubs, technological innovation can contribute signifi cantly to our sustainable development. Several companies from developing
countries, members of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development
(WBCSD) , Global Reporting Initiative, Greening of Industry Network (GIN) and
Asia Pacifi c Roundtable for Cleaner Production (APRCP), are including sustainability and the triple bottom line in their growth strategies. Some of the IE-based technology solutions that these companies can adopt are explored in other chapters in this
book. They include (1) greening of the supply chain, (2) extending producer responsibility, (3) environmental certifi cation and (4) dematerializing the economy. Despite
the acceptance of these approaches, it would be naïve to entrust corporates entirely
with the responsibility for sustainable development. Although technology and corporates can play a signifi cant role, there is a defi nite need for the presence of overarching
policies and government funding to facilitate sustainable technology development.
3.2 Impact of Population and Affl uence
From the perspective of a developing country with the world’s highest population
density, it is apparent that the two other terms in the IPAT equation – GDP /person
(also called the Affl uence term) and Population – need to take on equal and sometimes even larger responsibility in shaping a sustainable future. The environmental
impact of the rich and affl uent and rural to urban migration in developing countries
can be very signifi cant. For example, in 1990 in India, the collective CO 2 emissions
of “new consumers” was found to be 15 times greater than that of the rest of the
population (Myers and Kent 2004 ). Analysing the environmental impact of a person’s lifestyle with respect to their personal (disposable) income would also be
extremely important for developing countries, to measure and limit the impacts of
increasing affl uence and population.
3.3 Policy Development and Funding
Learning from studies that have examined ways for IE to inform policy development, developing countries need to defragment environmental policies across supply chains and across artifi cially compartmentalized environmental areas. For
example, policies that focus on environmental protection of water more than land
can lead to treatment of waste water only to end up with hazardous sludge that will
continue to contaminate landfi lls and eventually leach into ground water. In addition, developing countries require an approach of not simply applying or adapting
11 Industrial Ecology in Developing Countries
Allenby ( 1995 ) optimistically place the responsibility of sustainable development on
this technology term to encourage sustainable technological innovation by individual
companies and corporates. Given that developing countries such as China and India
are now emerging as leading technology hubs, technological innovation can contribute signifi cantly to our sustainable development. Several companies from developing
countries, members of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development
(WBCSD) , Global Reporting Initiative, Greening of Industry Network (GIN) and
Asia Pacifi c Roundtable for Cleaner Production (APRCP), are including sustainability and the triple bottom line in their growth strategies. Some of the IE-based technology solutions that these companies can adopt are explored in other chapters in this
book. They include (1) greening of the supply chain, (2) extending producer responsibility, (3) environmental certifi cation and (4) dematerializing the economy. Despite
the acceptance of these approaches, it would be naïve to entrust corporates entirely
with the responsibility for sustainable development. Although technology and corporates can play a signifi cant role, there is a defi nite need for the presence of overarching
policies and government funding to facilitate sustainable technology development.
3.2 Impact of Population and Affl uence
From the perspective of a developing country with the world’s highest population
density, it is apparent that the two other terms in the IPAT equation – GDP /person
(also called the Affl uence term) and Population – need to take on equal and sometimes even larger responsibility in shaping a sustainable future. The environmental
impact of the rich and affl uent and rural to urban migration in developing countries
can be very signifi cant. For example, in 1990 in India, the collective CO 2 emissions
of “new consumers” was found to be 15 times greater than that of the rest of the
population (Myers and Kent 2004 ). Analysing the environmental impact of a person’s lifestyle with respect to their personal (disposable) income would also be
extremely important for developing countries, to measure and limit the impacts of
increasing affl uence and population.
3.3 Policy Development and Funding
Learning from studies that have examined ways for IE to inform policy development, developing countries need to defragment environmental policies across supply chains and across artifi cially compartmentalized environmental areas. For
example, policies that focus on environmental protection of water more than land
can lead to treatment of waste water only to end up with hazardous sludge that will
continue to contaminate landfi lls and eventually leach into ground water. In addition, developing countries require an approach of not simply applying or adapting
11 Industrial Ecology in Developing Countries