From "Industrial Symbiosis" to "Sustainability Networks"

Abstract

Industrial recycling networks are very effective in minimizing impact on the environment by building up closed loops of material and energy use within the industrial system. These interorganizational recycling activities among various industries can be a starting point for “sustainability networks,” that is, systems of voluntary, but organized cooperation among different stakeholders with the common target of the sustainable development of society within a certain region. To work well, an overall vision of the sustainability network needs to be clearly defined and then translated into strategies and strategic objectives. These in turn need to be transformed into operational targets that can be measured by a comprehensive set of environmental, social and economic indicators. This procedure is quite similar to the balanced scorecard approach of Kaplan/Norton, which is considered as an appropriate management information system not only for industry but also for sustainability networks. As part of inter- and transdisciplinary research and educational projects at the University of Graz the concept of sustainability networks is being implemented for the first time in the Eisenerz region, an abandoned iron-ore mining area in Austria.