What is an Eco-Industrial Park?

Definition

An eco-industrial park (EIP) is an industrial park in which businesses cooperate with each other and with the local community in an attempt to reduce waste and pollution, efficiently share resources (such as information, materials, water, energy, infrastructure, and natural resources), and help achieve sustainable development,

  

An EIP may also be planned, designed, and built in such a way that it makes it easier for businesses to co-operate, and that results in a more financially sound, environmentally friendly project for the developer.

  

The Eco-industrial Park Handbook states that "An Eco-Industrial Park is a community of manufacturing and service businesses located together on a common property. Members seek enhanced environmental, economic, and social performance through collaboration in managing environmental and resource issues."

The World Bank Group, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and German Development Cooperation (GIZ) GmbH launched the first joint international framework on eco-industrial parks (EIPs).

Around 250 self-classified EIPs exist globally; about a third of them in non-OECD countries, and those numbers are growing.

Eco-industrial parks such as Ulsan Mipo and Onsan in South Korea show they can spark economic growth while reducing environmental and social impacts.

Importance of Eco-industrial Parks

Industrial parks cluster industrial businesses in a dedicated location to achieve efficiencies and take advantage of collaborative opportunities. But concentrating economic activity in one area runs the risk of also concentrating negative environmental and social impacts, such as pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and poor labor standards.

The EIP framework describes the minimum expectations for eco-industrial centers across four categories:

• Park management performance
• Environmental performance
• Social performance
• Economic performance

Local communities embracing the concept of Eco-industrial park are looking for some additional benefits for all the interested parties, both public and private: higher economic efficiency, generation of additional revenues through positive regulations at the community level, the creation of jobs, solving the conflict between economy and environment, diminishing the demand on the county infrastructure, decreasing the effects of pollution, using energy from regenerating sources and replacement materials. 

Communities and enterprises creating Eco-industrial parks will have common grounds for industrial development, which is much more competitive, more efficient and much cleaner than traditional industrial parks.