Industrial Ecology is the new, new thing in science and technology. A key future methodology for integrating culture, technology, the environment, and policy, the discipline is seen by many people as our best hope for transforming our presently highly unsustainable civilization into a sustainable one.
TU Delft is taking Industrial Ecology very seriously, indeed. It was the first university in Holland to offer Industrial Ecology as an elective course and next September TU Delft (in a joint-project with the Universities of Rotterdam and Leiden) will become one of the few universities in the world offering a full MSc degree program in this new field of study. The essence of Industrial Ecology is to develop socially stable industrial systems that function like ecological systems: no waste, total recycle, in harmony with nature. And, crucially, by designing systems that function like Nature, Industrial Ecology achieves sustainable development, using a Life Cycle Approach that integrates the engineering sciences with the social sciences and business. A new Industrial Ecology course begins next week. The three organizers and teachers of the course, Dr. Saul Lemkowitz (TU Delft) Dr. Ester van der Voet (Leiden University) and Igor Nikolic (TU Delft, TBM PhD student), explain why IE is an ideal concept and solution to sustainable development in the world.
What are the origins of Industrial Ecology?
(Lemkowitz): We’re facing more sustainability challenges nowadays. In 1950s & 60s, technology was largely focused on safety of production; the 1970s & 80s was characterized by environmental concerns, typically ‘end-of-pipe’ solutions. Industrial Ecology is a logical development, building on, but going much further than, safety and environment. In order to achieve sustainability, not just technology, but also culture, nature, and policy must be taken into account and integrated. Industrial Ecology does just that.
(Van Der Voet): Industrial Ecology emerged in the late 1980s, early 1990s. Its core concept is the analogy between processes in the biosphere and in the technosphere. By taking lessons from the biosphere, where all cycles are closed and waste from one process is the raw material for another, we can shift the technosphere into a more sustainable direction. From the start, Industrial Ecology was presented as ‘Industry’s answer to the environmental challenge’. This implied that industry really started taking environmental considerations seriously, and that Industrial Ecology didn’t take a stand against industry as the environmental movement did at that time, which of course is very important for its acceptance.
(Nikolic): Today, Industrial Ecology ideas are spreading to the Third World. Waste is expensive. It’s better to think before using/applying technology.
What makes it an important new field?
(Van Der Voet): There’s no so-called ‘perfect isolation’ of any social or technical problems, which means one cannot solve a technical or social problem solely through social or technical means. Industrial Ecology is integrative and trans-disciplinary: It takes the interactive relationship of ‘systems’ into account.
(Nikolic): If we compare the eco-system to human system, the former is more stable, adaptable. The later tends to focus on efficiency, and on more efficiency. However, we’re physically still a part of the eco-system, and there is much similarity between our industrial system and the eco-system. Industrial Ecology emphasizes a system thinking of our society.
Beyond the theory, where is Industrial Ecology actually being put into practice today?
(Van Der Voet): At technological parks, like Kalundborg in Denmark (http://www.symbiosis.dk). Kalundborg is an eco-industrial park that applies the concept of ‘Industrial Ecosystems’, or ‘Industrial Symbiosis’. Industrial Symbiosis means the various parts of the whole interact cooperatively to the benefit of the total organization, in this case, an industrial complex. A win-win situation thus. In practice this means that the energy and material wastes of one factory become the inputs to another factory, in the image of natural ecosystems.
Why should students be interested in pursuing an MSc degree in this field? (Lemkowitz): Technological solutions are essential for achieving sustainability. But by themselves they’re not sufficient. Since human society is an extremely ‘complex system’, achieving sustainable development is a very complex – and difficult – process! This process requires integrating technological solutions within the limits of natural systems (e.g. atmosphere, oceans) and cultural factors (e.g. economy and law). Obviously policy, both business and governmental, is necessary for efficient and effective implementation and control. No single engineering discipline offers such anintegrative approach. Industrial Ecology does. It also gives engineering students a sense that they’re doing something really positive and progressive with their engineering studies.
What’s the main motivation for offering this new course?
(Lemkowitz): When interpreted broadly, Industrial Ecology’s the only general methodology we have to achieve sustainability. I also firmly believe that university education should be ‘critical’. Therefore a third of the Industrial Ecology course is devoted to stimulating ‘critical thought’ % including discussing what ‘Industrial Ecology’ really means and whether it’s actually such a good idea! We challenge students to think deeply about what’s going on in the world, technology’s role therein, and to form their own standpoint, based on extensive knowledge and an examination of their own ethics.
Why does this new course use China as a test case, and why the focus on the automotive sector?
(Lemkowitz): It’s important to choose a topic in which Chinese students can present Chinese solutions. China’s fast becoming a world power, rapidly growing, industrializing. Half of the 20 students already enrolled in this course are Chinese. Automobile purchases and use in China are growing by 60% per year! Major cities, like Shanghai and Beijing, already have serious traffic problems. Considering the enormous future growth of automobiles in China, authorities there are looking for ways to control the situation on Chinese roads. TNO Automotive, part of TNO, Holland’s largest research institute, will also coach the course’s project and is extremely interested how the Chinese are seeking to control traffic problems and the role Dutch expertise could play in this.
What would be the resistance or challenges to introducing Industrial Ecology to industry, also in China?
(Lemkowitz): China’s growing very fast now. However, it has some problems. China wants to be a world power, and that comes through having a strong, advanced economy. When China buys from the West, China only buys the most advanced technology. Such technology is almost always very safe and clean. Deeper industrialization requires sustainable development, and Industrial Ecology is the best approach to achieving such development. The biggest resistance to Industrial Ecology is ignorance; the best stimulant is knowledge. Hence the critical importance of education.
An introductory information day for the new course ‘Introduction to Industrial Ecology’ (3 ECTS) will be held on 29 January at 15:30 in the Chemistry Building, room K.105, Julianalaan 136. More information on Blackboard and via s.m.lemkowitz@tnw.tudelft.nl
The regular news feature ‘News Below Sea Level’ will return next week.
TU Delft is taking Industrial Ecology very seriously, indeed. It was the first university in Holland to offer Industrial Ecology as an elective course and next September TU Delft (in a joint-project with the Universities of Rotterdam and Leiden) will become one of the few universities in the world offering a full MSc degree program in this new field of study. The essence of Industrial Ecology is to develop socially stable industrial systems that function like ecological systems: no waste, total recycle, in harmony with nature. And, crucially, by designing systems that function like Nature, Industrial Ecology achieves sustainable development, using a Life Cycle Approach that integrates the engineering sciences with the social sciences and business. A new Industrial Ecology course begins next week. The three organizers and teachers of the course, Dr. Saul Lemkowitz (TU Delft) Dr. Ester van der Voet (Leiden University) and Igor Nikolic (TU Delft, TBM PhD student), explain why IE is an ideal concept and solution to sustainable development in the world.
What are the origins of Industrial Ecology?
(Lemkowitz): We’re facing more sustainability challenges nowadays. In 1950s & 60s, technology was largely focused on safety of production; the 1970s & 80s was characterized by environmental concerns, typically ‘end-of-pipe’ solutions. Industrial Ecology is a logical development, building on, but going much further than, safety and environment. In order to achieve sustainability, not just technology, but also culture, nature, and policy must be taken into account and integrated. Industrial Ecology does just that.
(Van Der Voet): Industrial Ecology emerged in the late 1980s, early 1990s. Its core concept is the analogy between processes in the biosphere and in the technosphere. By taking lessons from the biosphere, where all cycles are closed and waste from one process is the raw material for another, we can shift the technosphere into a more sustainable direction. From the start, Industrial Ecology was presented as ‘Industry’s answer to the environmental challenge’. This implied that industry really started taking environmental considerations seriously, and that Industrial Ecology didn’t take a stand against industry as the environmental movement did at that time, which of course is very important for its acceptance.
(Nikolic): Today, Industrial Ecology ideas are spreading to the Third World. Waste is expensive. It’s better to think before using/applying technology.
What makes it an important new field?
(Van Der Voet): There’s no so-called ‘perfect isolation’ of any social or technical problems, which means one cannot solve a technical or social problem solely through social or technical means. Industrial Ecology is integrative and trans-disciplinary: It takes the interactive relationship of ‘systems’ into account.
(Nikolic): If we compare the eco-system to human system, the former is more stable, adaptable. The later tends to focus on efficiency, and on more efficiency. However, we’re physically still a part of the eco-system, and there is much similarity between our industrial system and the eco-system. Industrial Ecology emphasizes a system thinking of our society.
Beyond the theory, where is Industrial Ecology actually being put into practice today?
(Van Der Voet): At technological parks, like Kalundborg in Denmark (http://www.symbiosis.dk). Kalundborg is an eco-industrial park that applies the concept of ‘Industrial Ecosystems’, or ‘Industrial Symbiosis’. Industrial Symbiosis means the various parts of the whole interact cooperatively to the benefit of the total organization, in this case, an industrial complex. A win-win situation thus. In practice this means that the energy and material wastes of one factory become the inputs to another factory, in the image of natural ecosystems.
Why should students be interested in pursuing an MSc degree in this field? (Lemkowitz): Technological solutions are essential for achieving sustainability. But by themselves they’re not sufficient. Since human society is an extremely ‘complex system’, achieving sustainable development is a very complex – and difficult – process! This process requires integrating technological solutions within the limits of natural systems (e.g. atmosphere, oceans) and cultural factors (e.g. economy and law). Obviously policy, both business and governmental, is necessary for efficient and effective implementation and control. No single engineering discipline offers such anintegrative approach. Industrial Ecology does. It also gives engineering students a sense that they’re doing something really positive and progressive with their engineering studies.
What’s the main motivation for offering this new course?
(Lemkowitz): When interpreted broadly, Industrial Ecology’s the only general methodology we have to achieve sustainability. I also firmly believe that university education should be ‘critical’. Therefore a third of the Industrial Ecology course is devoted to stimulating ‘critical thought’ % including discussing what ‘Industrial Ecology’ really means and whether it’s actually such a good idea! We challenge students to think deeply about what’s going on in the world, technology’s role therein, and to form their own standpoint, based on extensive knowledge and an examination of their own ethics.
Why does this new course use China as a test case, and why the focus on the automotive sector?
(Lemkowitz): It’s important to choose a topic in which Chinese students can present Chinese solutions. China’s fast becoming a world power, rapidly growing, industrializing. Half of the 20 students already enrolled in this course are Chinese. Automobile purchases and use in China are growing by 60% per year! Major cities, like Shanghai and Beijing, already have serious traffic problems. Considering the enormous future growth of automobiles in China, authorities there are looking for ways to control the situation on Chinese roads. TNO Automotive, part of TNO, Holland’s largest research institute, will also coach the course’s project and is extremely interested how the Chinese are seeking to control traffic problems and the role Dutch expertise could play in this.
What would be the resistance or challenges to introducing Industrial Ecology to industry, also in China?
(Lemkowitz): China’s growing very fast now. However, it has some problems. China wants to be a world power, and that comes through having a strong, advanced economy. When China buys from the West, China only buys the most advanced technology. Such technology is almost always very safe and clean. Deeper industrialization requires sustainable development, and Industrial Ecology is the best approach to achieving such development. The biggest resistance to Industrial Ecology is ignorance; the best stimulant is knowledge. Hence the critical importance of education.
An introductory information day for the new course ‘Introduction to Industrial Ecology’ (3 ECTS) will be held on 29 January at 15:30 in the Chemistry Building, room K.105, Julianalaan 136. More information on Blackboard and via s.m.lemkowitz@tnw.tudelft.nl
The regular news feature ‘News Below Sea Level’ will return next week.
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