278
automobiles, tires, electric and electronic products, lubricants and packaging. They
were focused on improving the environmental performance of products and services
through their life cycles, and, in particular, their end-of-life (EOL) disposal and
subsequent processing. This was particularly successful in Portugal due to the
excellent articulation between governmental authorities, academia and the private
sector. More recently, IST has contributed to assessing the benefi ts of EPR schemes
with the use of IE tools, as will be described in the third section.
Another signifi cant contribution of the IST team consisted in supporting the
development of an eco-industrial park to promote industrial symbiosis. In January
2004, the Portuguese government issued the Law Decree 3/2004, with the objective
of calling for a new approach to hazardous waste management. To prevent fragmented treatments and minimize movements and transfers, the Government called
for the creation of an integrated recovery, treatment and elimination center for hazardous wastes (CIRVER). As a result, two companies were to be established in the
municipality of Chamusca. Soon after, several companies approached the municipality with projects and requests to locate their business in the municipality.
IST was invited by the mayor to be a strategic advisor to establish and disseminate information about IE and IS principles to local agents and to analyze how IE
and IS could be better integrated into the municipality’s strategy. These efforts
resulted in the “Relvão Eco Industrial Park” (REIP) project, in 2006, under the
leadership of the municipal government. A middle-out approach was adopted (Costa
and Ferrão 2010 ), that supported the successive governmental, university and business interventions in the municipality of Chamusca. National government introduced the objectives and policy instruments, and businesses were free to provide
solutions to those challenges. Local government was able to infl uence the social
context, at the local level, by promoting a variety of events in which agents interacted (e.g. community, industry, university). By establishing an eco-industrial park
to anchor important waste management infrastructures, industries were attracted to
the region and synergies began to emerge. Local government and the university
monitored the process evolution and disseminated information to agents at all levels, in order to foster IS development.
As a result, between 2006 and 2009, a large number of synergies were established between companies installed in the eco-park and beyond it, and local jobs
increased from 50 to about 350 in 14 companies, attracting an investment of over
€19 million, to a region which was industrially undeveloped. The eco-park was
viewed as very successful model for combining environmental and economic development, or the green economy in practice.
All this work has resulted in various academic contributions covering different
aspects, set out in a number of scientifi c papers, including:
1. The contribution of industrial ecology principles to environmental policy and
business practices: Ferrão and Heitor ( 2000 ); Eherenfeld et al. ( 2002 ); Thore and
Ferrão ( 2002 ); Ferrão and Nhambiu ( 2006 ); Dijkema et al. ( 2006 ); Ferrão ( 2007 );
Costa and Ferrão ( 2010 ); Niza et al. ( 2014 ).
P. Ferrão et al.
automobiles, tires, electric and electronic products, lubricants and packaging. They
were focused on improving the environmental performance of products and services
through their life cycles, and, in particular, their end-of-life (EOL) disposal and
subsequent processing. This was particularly successful in Portugal due to the
excellent articulation between governmental authorities, academia and the private
sector. More recently, IST has contributed to assessing the benefi ts of EPR schemes
with the use of IE tools, as will be described in the third section.
Another signifi cant contribution of the IST team consisted in supporting the
development of an eco-industrial park to promote industrial symbiosis. In January
2004, the Portuguese government issued the Law Decree 3/2004, with the objective
of calling for a new approach to hazardous waste management. To prevent fragmented treatments and minimize movements and transfers, the Government called
for the creation of an integrated recovery, treatment and elimination center for hazardous wastes (CIRVER). As a result, two companies were to be established in the
municipality of Chamusca. Soon after, several companies approached the municipality with projects and requests to locate their business in the municipality.
IST was invited by the mayor to be a strategic advisor to establish and disseminate information about IE and IS principles to local agents and to analyze how IE
and IS could be better integrated into the municipality’s strategy. These efforts
resulted in the “Relvão Eco Industrial Park” (REIP) project, in 2006, under the
leadership of the municipal government. A middle-out approach was adopted (Costa
and Ferrão 2010 ), that supported the successive governmental, university and business interventions in the municipality of Chamusca. National government introduced the objectives and policy instruments, and businesses were free to provide
solutions to those challenges. Local government was able to infl uence the social
context, at the local level, by promoting a variety of events in which agents interacted (e.g. community, industry, university). By establishing an eco-industrial park
to anchor important waste management infrastructures, industries were attracted to
the region and synergies began to emerge. Local government and the university
monitored the process evolution and disseminated information to agents at all levels, in order to foster IS development.
As a result, between 2006 and 2009, a large number of synergies were established between companies installed in the eco-park and beyond it, and local jobs
increased from 50 to about 350 in 14 companies, attracting an investment of over
€19 million, to a region which was industrially undeveloped. The eco-park was
viewed as very successful model for combining environmental and economic development, or the green economy in practice.
All this work has resulted in various academic contributions covering different
aspects, set out in a number of scientifi c papers, including:
1. The contribution of industrial ecology principles to environmental policy and
business practices: Ferrão and Heitor ( 2000 ); Eherenfeld et al. ( 2002 ); Thore and
Ferrão ( 2002 ); Ferrão and Nhambiu ( 2006 ); Dijkema et al. ( 2006 ); Ferrão ( 2007 );
Costa and Ferrão ( 2010 ); Niza et al. ( 2014 ).
P. Ferrão et al.