Eco-Efficiency and Industrial Ecology
Preventive environmental management strategies and practices have expanded quite rapidly since the 1980s under a range of different terms, including for example Eco-Efficiency, sustainable engineering, Pollution Prevention and Industrial Ecology.
The figure presents a mud-map of these concepts. At Curtin, research with regard to preventive industrial environmental management strategies and practices is captured in the research field of Eco-Efficiency and Industrial Ecology. It covers three focal areas: Eco-Efficiency/sustainable engineering, Industrial Ecology and Industrial Symbiosis and Life Cycle Assessment and Management.
Handbook on Environmental Technology Management. Edward Elgar Publications, Cheltenham, UK.
Sustainable Engineering and Eco-Efficiency
Sustainable Engineering and Eco-efficiency are guiding posts for the business journey to sustainable development. sustainable engineering is about preventing waste and emissions, including the loss of energy, rather than dealing with them once they have been generated. Eco-Efficiency is about better products that have a lower ecological impact, are competitive and better meet customer needs.
sustainable engineering deals with the efficient use of materials, energy, water and other natural resources when we conduct business, regardless of whether the business is in processing, manufacturing, service, transport, mining or agriculture. More precisely, it is generally defined as "the continuous application of an integrated preventive environmental strategy to processes, products, and services to increase eco-efficiency and reduce risks to humans and the environment".
S aims at making more efficient use of natural resources (raw materials, energy and water) and reducing the generation of wastes and emissions at the source. This can be achieved in various ways.
A division in five prevention practices is most common:
1. Good housekeeping refers to changes in operational procedures and management in order to eliminate waste and emission generation. Examples are spill prevention, improved instruction of workers and training.
2. Product modifications change the product characteristics, such as shape and material composition. The lifetime of the new product is, for instance, extended, the product is easier to repair, or the manufacturing of the product is less polluting.
3. Input substitution refers to the use of less polluting raw and adjunct materials and the use of process auxiliaries (such as lubricants and coolants) with a longer service lifetime.
4. Technology modifications include for instance improved process automation, process optimisation, equipment redesign and process substitution.
5. On-site recycling refers to the useful application of waste materials or pollutants at the company where these have been generated. This could take place through re-use as raw material, recovery of materials or useful application.
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development coined the term Eco-Efficiency for business to get involved in sustainable development. Eco-Efficiency is "reached by the delivery of competitively priced goods and services that satisfy human needs and bring quality of life, while progressively reducing ecological impacts and resource intensity throughout the life cycle, to a level at least in line with the earth's carrying capacity".
The WBCSD identified seven components of Eco-Efficiency:
- Reduce material intensity of goods and services
- Reduce energy intensity of goods and services
- Reduce toxic dispersion
- Enhance material recyclability
- Maximise sustainable use of renewable resources
- Extend product durability
- Increase the service intensity of goods and services
Implementation of these seven Eco-Efficiency components will most often call for practical changes that fall under either of the five generic prevention practices under the Sustainable Engineering umbrella (as above) and, vice versa, implementation of either of these five generic prevention practices will generally also achieve at least one, if not several, of the seven Eco-Efficiency components.
Eco-Efficiency and Sustainable Engineering are truly complementary concepts, with Eco-Efficiency focusing on the strategic side of business ("value creation") and Sustainable Engineering on the operational side of business ("production"). Curtin's research therefore focused on Eco-Efficiency and Sustainable Engineering. Building on the collective strengths of these concepts, research efforts focus on development and application of sector-specific tools and metrics, currently for example for the minerals processing, energy and agribusiness sectors.
Industrial Ecology and Industrial Symbiosis
Industrial Ecology is both industrial and ecological. It is industrial in that it focuses on product design and manufacturing processes. Industrial is therefore viewed as the primary agent for environmental management and innovation, as it possesses the technological expertise, management capability and financial and other resources necessary for the successful execution of environmentally informed design of products and processes. Industrial Ecology is ecological in at least two senses. Firstly it looks to non-human natural systems as models for industrial systems. Mature ecosystems are extremely efficient in recycling resources and therefore promoted as exemplary models for effective recycling in industry and society. Secondly, Industrial Ecology places industry - or technological activity - in the context of the larger ecosystems that support it. This focuses Industrial Ecology on examining the sources of resources used in industrial activity and the sinks that absorb and detoxify the wastes discarded by society.
Within the broad field of Industrial Ecology, Curtin's research is primarily focused on Industrial Symbiosis, which is commonly understood as achieving regional - and to a lesser extend supply chain - synergies that involve the exchange of by-products, waste water and/or waste heat. It is a collective approach to environmental management and resource efficiency among industries in close geographic proximity, in Australia for example in Kwinana (Western Australia) and Gladstone (Queensland). Curtin's research involves both practical support for identifying and screening regional synergy projects in - heavy - industrial areas, as well as supportive research into engineering tools and technologies and enabling mechanisms for regional synergy development.
Another subset of Industrial Ecology concerns materials flow analysis, which studies the flows of materials and substances through industrial society. Curtin's staff contributed to material flow studies of selected metals in Australia and overseas.
Life Cycle Assessment and Management
Life Cycle Assessment is the internationally preferred tool for assessing the environmental impacts of products and services. It tracks and summarises all material, energy and other resource uses and waste discharges in all stages of the production and use of a product or service (from raw materials extraction, via processing, manufacturing and use, to ultimate disposal). Curtin has extensive skills and expertise in development and application of Life Cycle Assessment, which have been utilised for the first Australian large scale research project on Life Cycle Assessment for the grains industry. Curtin's particular research interest pertains to using Life Cycle Assessment for decision-making in environmental and sustainability management and the design of products and processes (or Life Cycle Management). This includes research interest with regard to for example design for environment, extended producer responsibility and resource and product stewardship.
