Progress in Industrial Ecology, An International Journal 

About: Progress in Industrial Ecology, An International Journal is an academic journal published by Inderscience Publishers. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Sustainability & Industrial ecology. It has an ISSN identifier of 1476-8917. Over the lifetime, 296 publications have been published receiving 2936 citations. The journal is also known as: PIE.

The ontologies of industrial ecology

Abstract: Industrial ecology is one of a number of new fields of study, such as 'green chemistry' or 'ecological economics', that have deliberately reached across different disciplines in both name and substance This raises a number of issues for the practitioner, including difficult questions of boundary and field content (when is something 'industrial ecology' and when is it a part of another dialogue?) Such issues are challenging enough But industrial ecology raises even more complex questions, in particular the possibility that in some senses, industrial ecology is one of the first post-modern fields of study, in that, unlike most more traditional disciplines, it embodies not a single ontology, but a set of complex and, in some ways, mutually exclusive ontologies How such multi-ontological fields can be conceptualised, and represented coherently through traditional institutional forms such as journals and societies, is not yet clear, but it is highly likely that the industrial ecology community as a whole will need to learn to do so

The constructs of sustainable supply chain management - a content analysis based on published case studies

Abstract: The intersection of supply chain management and sustainability is still a rather young research field emerging as growing topic only recently. This paper outlines findings of a content analysis assessing systematically all case studies in the field of sustainable supply chain management, published from 1994 to 2007 in English-speaking peer-reviewed journals, and thus, mapping and evaluating the scope of current SCM topics reflected in these case papers. The analysis confirms previous research that highlights pressures from governments, customers and stakeholders as triggers of sustainable supply chain management and the neglect of the social dimension of sustainability within supply chain management. Improving supplier performance or, at least, assuring minimum performance standards can be generally regarded important objectives of supply chain strategies. Communication is an outstanding characteristic both for traditional and sustainable supply chain management; though far-reaching supply chain integration is still rather limited.

Theory of industrial ecology

Abstract: The central question of the theory of industrial ecology (IE) is: Whether IE is/will be a form of descriptive or prescriptive science? Some debate the same (more or less) question by asking whether IE is objective or normative? This author argues that in the case of the physical flows of matter and energy the description of the ecosystem flows can produce an important prescription for the industrial ecosystem overall goal and vision of ecological sustainability. However, the ecosystem cannot tell us what to do in practice and we cannot prescribe concrete solutions or practical measures for industrial ecosystems based on ecosystem description. In the case of the structural and organisational characteristics and properties of industrial ecosystems, it is very difficult (or impossible) to derive anything prescriptive for industrial ecosystems from ecosystem description. Responses to this contribution are encouraged for publication in future issues of Progress in Industrial Ecology: An International Journal (PIE).

Dietary choices and greenhouse gas emissions – assessment of impact of vegetarian and organic options at national scale

Abstract: This study quantifies the sources of agricultural GHG emissions and explores the impact of diet on GHG emissions in Finland. The emissions associated with production of basic food items were quantified for four diet options. For current average food consumption, emissions from soil represent 62% of the total. The emissions due to enteric fermentation contribute 24%, and energy consumption and fertiliser manufacture both about 8%. Regarding GHG emissions, environmental performance of the extensive organic production is poor. A strict vegan diet would nearly halve the agricultural GHG emissions, but reduction of the total emissions would be about 8%. Reducing the GHG emissions through food consumption would require large-scale changes among the entire population. Instead of stressing the impact of individual citizens' diet choices, more attention should be paid to social learning. Attention should be paid to the overall sustainability of food supply, not only to the GHG emissions.

Eco-industrial parks: toward industrial symbiosis and utility sharing in practice

Abstract: The creation of eco-industrial parks has been adopted as an official national policy in the Netherlands. Many local projects have been supported by the national government, both financially and with expert advice. The policy is targeted at both infrastructure projects and at achieving symbiosis and utility sharing. Yet only a limited number of local projects are actually designed to bring about symbiosis and utility sharing. In this paper, we analyse eight cases of eco-industrial parks. The central question is what factors determine the degree of success in achieving symbiosis and/or utility sharing in eco-industrial parks. Business and location-specific features and the way in which the actual decision-making process is organised appear to be crucial factors. This finding implies that there is a need to bridge the tools and instruments of industrial ecology that focus on the physical flows of matter and energy to approaches and tools that concentrate on decision-making, business strategies, organisational characteristics and corporate environmental management.