L'essor de l'écologie industrielle. Une avancée vers le développement durable

Having first defined and recalled the (recent) origins of this concept, Cyril Adoue and Arnaud Ansart demonstrate the value of industrial ecology, backed up with examples. Taking as their starting point some concrete examples of European, American and Asian eco-industrial arrangements, the authors show how a symbiotic relationship can be created among firms in the same region, with the waste from one industry being used as productive inputs for others. In order to achieve such synergies, they argue, the key factor is an analysis of “industrial metabolism” based on the principle of keeping materials within the system concerned. This is a great help in decision-making to promote truly sustainability. The authors stress that industrial ecology can, however, be much more than just a matter of basic -if still all too rare- industrial symbiosis, by extending to other aspects, such as minimizing dispersed emissions, the “dematerialization” of some economic activities, the use of non-carbon energy sources, improved eco-efficiency, etc. Finally, although they are well aware of what a tiny part industrial ecology plays in modern economic systems, Cyril Adoue and Arnaud Ansart emphasize the crucial role that it might well acquire in the future, if the powers-that-be were to decide to promote the necessary legislative and economic incentives -in other words, if they were to move on from grand statements of intent to real action in favour of sustainability.