Eco-industrial development and economic development: industrial ecology or place promotion?

Since the Earth Summit of 1992 ‘sustainable development’ has influenced policies at all scales from local to international and interest has grown in industrial ecology as a means to deliver sustainable development. Eco-industrial parks are a local policy initiative attempting to apply the principles of industrial ecology. However, at the same time as responding to environmental concerns, local authorities are competing for inward investment. This study considers the potential use of eco-industrial parks by local authorities as a means of place promotion. We interviewed people associated with operational and planned North American eco-industrial parks to assess the developments with respect to the following: their goals; steps taken to ensure the development lives up to its goals; degree of institutional and public support and extent to which developers explicitly considered the marketability of eco-industrial development. In practice, eco-industrial ideals are often compromised; parks pursue disparate strategies to overcome differing obstacles to economic development. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.