Progress in Industrial Ecology, An International Journal (PIE)

ISSN (Online): 1478-8764 - ISSN (Print): 1476-8917
The Excellence in Research for Australia journal ranking - A list
Guest Editor: Zoe Wong
July, 2013
Guest Editorial
Seeking industrial synergies in the French Chemical Valley territory: A methodological approach for decision support, Cyrille Harpet, Emilie Gully, Christophe Blavot, Jeanne Bonnet and Jacques Mehu.
Dr Zoe Wong is now working at USQ: zoe.wong@usq.edu.au
Other emails: drzoewong@gmail.com or zykwong@gmail.com
July, 2013
Guest Editorial
Sustainable Development - The Role of Environmental Management in Industrial Ecology
Sustainable development has
evolved into one of the most important strategic issues facing
organisations worldwide. Incorporating principles of sustainable
development within organisational policies and processes is a
critical issue in addressing global environmental problems.
During the period 2009 to 2014,
the compound annual growth rate in business spending on
sustainability projects will be approximately 19% across all OECD
countries. The ongoing industrialisation and urbanisation of both the
developed and developing world, and the environmental, social and
economic impacts resulting, have led to a greater awareness of the
need to re-engineer organisational policies, processes and systems in
order to facilitate sustainable development.
The
central focus of this special issue is upon interdisciplinary
research in the area of sustainability, particularly on the role of
environmental management from an industrial ecology perspective. We
encourage readers to explore this diverse collection of articles
addressing sustainable development within industrial ecology.
This special issue
comprises the following six stimulating scholarly articles in the
area.
Table of Contents
Carbon management strategies – a quest for corporate competitiveness
TimoBusch and Julia Schwarzkopf, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology(ETH) Zurich, Switzerland
TimoBusch and Julia Schwarzkopf, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology(ETH) Zurich, Switzerland
An Overview of the Role of Informatics-based Systems in Furthering an Integrated Paddock to Plate Food Supply System
RobertSteele, The University of Sydney, Australia
RobertSteele, The University of Sydney, Australia
Building sustainability knowledge for product development and design –Experiences from four manufacturing firms
Silje HeleneAschehoug, Casper Boks, Knut Einar Aasland, NorwegianUniversity of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway
Silje HeleneAschehoug, Casper Boks, Knut Einar Aasland, NorwegianUniversity of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway
An Exploratory Study for Long-term integration of eco-design at SMEs: the environmental Trojan Horse strategy
Tatiana Reyes,University of Technology of Troyes, France
Tatiana Reyes,University of Technology of Troyes, France
Dominique Millet, Supméca, Higher Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Paris, France
Seeking industrial synergies in the French Chemical Valley territory: A methodological approach for decision support
CyrilleHarpet, EHESP, France
Emilie Gully, Industrial Ecology Council, France
ChristopheBlavot, Jeanne Bonnet, Jacques Mehu, INSA Lyon, France
A Multiple Stakeholder Life Cycle Sustainability Approach to Cigarette Butt Waste
NasrinKhalili, Illinois Institute of Technology, USA
NasrinKhalili, Illinois Institute of Technology, USA
DavidEhlrich, Illinois Institute of Technology, Stuart School of Business,USA
KhaldounDia-Eddine, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland
Carbon
management strategies – a quest for corporate competitiveness,
Timo Busch and Julia Schwarzkopf.
This multiple case study
investigates global car manufacturer's application of carbon
management strategies. The article discusses two key differences
between carbon management and general environmental management
strategies: the option of compensation and the demand for life-cycle
efforts by stakeholders. An interesting finding shows that the global
car manufacturers are using similar strategies to achieve carbon
reductions rather then adopt carbon compensation. The research team
concludes that carbon compensation may not yet be fully exploited and
is thus an option to consider when seeking competitive advantage in
the automotive industry.
An
Overview of the Role of Informatics-based Systems in Furthering an
Integrated Paddock to Plate Food Supply System,
Robert
Steele.
This article describes the
application of emerging technologies to improve functionality and
efficiency in the food supply-chain system (from production to
consumption). The integration of the food supply chain, nutritional
and dietary information, food consumption and technological
applications have the potential for significant impact upon the
efficiency of the food supply-chain, diet and health across society,
statistics gathering and the environmental, materials and energy
optimization within the food supply-chain. The researcher describes
“Nutrition Informatics” which can provide a path towards a large
scale change in the sustainability of food supply and consumption,
food waste management as well as health and life impacts.
Building
sustainability knowledge for product development and design –
Experiences from four manufacturing firms, Silje
Helene
Aschehoug, Casper Boks and Knut Einar Aasland.
This
study suggests that access to and use of information may increase
knowledge about sustainability issues as well as firm's abilities to
develop sustainable products, and thus enhance competitiveness by
adding value to products beyond functionality, quality, and cost.
This case study research was conducted in the Norwegian furniture and
automotive supplier industries. The aim of this article is to
identify the categories of sustainability information which firms
find most important and relevant to product development. A framework
is proposed to identify factors influencing accessibility of such
information and support compiling sustainability information, for
decision support and generating knowledge that may inspire entirely
new product meanings.
An exploratory study for long-term integration of eco-design at SEMs: the environmental Trojan Horse strategy, by
Tatiana
Reyes and Dominique Millet.
This
article proposes a new solution, “Environmental Trojan Horse” for
the implementation and integration of eco-design. The authors suggest
that the environmental Trojan Horse strategy favors the propagation
of eco-design knowledge at different company levels. It also allows
the company to progress along a trajectory of integration. The
research team has experimented in an SME manufacturing systems for
electrical power distribution for 5 years. The tool has been measured
through three indicators: tool relevance, the degree of propagation
of the tool, and the evolution of the environmental perception in the
organization.
Seeking industrial synergies in the French Chemical Valley territory: A methodological approach for decision support, Cyrille Harpet, Emilie Gully, Christophe Blavot, Jeanne Bonnet and Jacques Mehu.
The
aim of the article is to create and strengthen synergies between
willing industrial entrepreneurs by testing various decision support
tools. The research analysed the Chemical Valley in France that has
been a source of environmental concerns. The proposed methodology in
industrial ecology consists of identifying the various flows,
defining collective action strategies, then comparing synergy
scenarios using a multi-criteria analysis.
A
Multiple Stakeholder Life Cycle Sustainability Approach to Cigarette
Butt Waste, Nasrin
Khalili, David Ehrlich and Khaldoun Dia-Eddine.
One aspect of environmental
management is to provide the tools and techniques, such as pollution
prevention and cleaner production, and life cycle analysis models and
methods for sustainable development. The aim of this article is to
deploy and evaluate various environmental strategies from different
stakeholder perspectives. This article mainly focuses on industrial
ecology aspects and proposes a model for assessing environmental
strategies to meet multi-criteria objectives and measurements.
I thank the authors for their
innovative and insightful research contributions. I also thank the
editorial team and reviewers for their support and contributions in
putting together this special issue.
Zoe Y.K. Wong, Ph.D
Editor
More details and full papers: http://eprints.usq.edu.au/24411/1/Wong_PIE_v8n1_PV.pdf
Dr Zoe Wong is now working at USQ: zoe.wong@usq.edu.au
Other emails: drzoewong@gmail.com or zykwong@gmail.com