6
National Academy of Engineering attempted to encapsulate what the concept was
all about:
Industrial ecology is the study of the fl ows of materials and energy in industrial and consumer activities, of the effects of those fl ows on the environment, and of the infl uences of
economic, political, regulatory, and social factors on the fl ow, use, and transformation of
resources. (White 1994 )
This defi nition remains, 20 years later, as a reasonably good synopsis of the fi eld.
However, an alternative and more expansive defi nition was provided a year later:
Industrial ecology is the means by which humanity can deliberately and rationally approach
and maintain sustainability, given continued economic, cultural, and technological evolution. The concept requires that an industrial system be viewed not in isolation from its surrounding systems, but in concert with them. It is a systems view in which one seeks to
optimize the total materials cycle from virgin material, to fi nished material, to component,
to product, to obsolete product, and to ultimate disposal. Factors to be optimized include
resources, energy, and capital. (Graedel and Allenby 1995 : 9)
This second defi nition extends the fi eld outward from a solely industrial focus to
a more societal one and introduces the issue of sustainability. In the twenty-fi rst
century, this enhanced concept has strongly infl uenced the way industrial ecology is
practiced. In fact, a recent “sound bite” defi nition of industrial ecology, “Industrial
ecology is the science behind sustainability,” (Makov 2014 ) almost bypasses the
industrial focus in the interest of a planetary focus.
Regardless of which defi nition a particular individual may prefer, a few key
words appear to indicate the scope and focus of the fi eld: industry, environment,
resources, life cycle, loop closing, metabolism, systems, and sustainability.
3 Building the Tools of the Trade , 1990–2000
3.1 Life-Cycle Assessment
Life-cycle assessment (LCA) is the methodology that seeks to identify the environmental impacts of a product or process at each stage of its life cycle. Analytical
efforts to quantify emissions and resource loss on a life-cycle basis date from the
1970s (e.g., Bousted 1972 ; Hunt and Welch 1972 ), but LCA’s rapid growth and its
close relationship with industrial ecology began about 1990, especially in Sweden
( Steen and Ryding, 1992 ), and it fi rst became codifi ed in a 1993 handbook (Heijungs
et al. 1992 ). Klöpffer ( 2006 ) has reviewed the key role of the Society for
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) in the early development of
LCA. In Europe, a spur for the development of a standard methodology came from
the adoption of LCA as the basis for product labeling (Clift et al. 1994 ). While the
need for further development of the methodology was widely recognized (e.g.,
Field et al. 1993 ), adoption of LCA as an industrial ecology tool became increasingly widespread, both in industry and government (Harsch et al. 1996 ; Matsuno
et al. 1998 ; Itsubo et al. 2000 ).
T.E. Graedel and R.J. Lifset
National Academy of Engineering attempted to encapsulate what the concept was
all about:
Industrial ecology is the study of the fl ows of materials and energy in industrial and consumer activities, of the effects of those fl ows on the environment, and of the infl uences of
economic, political, regulatory, and social factors on the fl ow, use, and transformation of
resources. (White 1994 )
This defi nition remains, 20 years later, as a reasonably good synopsis of the fi eld.
However, an alternative and more expansive defi nition was provided a year later:
Industrial ecology is the means by which humanity can deliberately and rationally approach
and maintain sustainability, given continued economic, cultural, and technological evolution. The concept requires that an industrial system be viewed not in isolation from its surrounding systems, but in concert with them. It is a systems view in which one seeks to
optimize the total materials cycle from virgin material, to fi nished material, to component,
to product, to obsolete product, and to ultimate disposal. Factors to be optimized include
resources, energy, and capital. (Graedel and Allenby 1995 : 9)
This second defi nition extends the fi eld outward from a solely industrial focus to
a more societal one and introduces the issue of sustainability. In the twenty-fi rst
century, this enhanced concept has strongly infl uenced the way industrial ecology is
practiced. In fact, a recent “sound bite” defi nition of industrial ecology, “Industrial
ecology is the science behind sustainability,” (Makov 2014 ) almost bypasses the
industrial focus in the interest of a planetary focus.
Regardless of which defi nition a particular individual may prefer, a few key
words appear to indicate the scope and focus of the fi eld: industry, environment,
resources, life cycle, loop closing, metabolism, systems, and sustainability.
3 Building the Tools of the Trade , 1990–2000
3.1 Life-Cycle Assessment
Life-cycle assessment (LCA) is the methodology that seeks to identify the environmental impacts of a product or process at each stage of its life cycle. Analytical
efforts to quantify emissions and resource loss on a life-cycle basis date from the
1970s (e.g., Bousted 1972 ; Hunt and Welch 1972 ), but LCA’s rapid growth and its
close relationship with industrial ecology began about 1990, especially in Sweden
( Steen and Ryding, 1992 ), and it fi rst became codifi ed in a 1993 handbook (Heijungs
et al. 1992 ). Klöpffer ( 2006 ) has reviewed the key role of the Society for
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) in the early development of
LCA. In Europe, a spur for the development of a standard methodology came from
the adoption of LCA as the basis for product labeling (Clift et al. 1994 ). While the
need for further development of the methodology was widely recognized (e.g.,
Field et al. 1993 ), adoption of LCA as an industrial ecology tool became increasingly widespread, both in industry and government (Harsch et al. 1996 ; Matsuno
et al. 1998 ; Itsubo et al. 2000 ).
T.E. Graedel and R.J. Lifset