Loading…

Evaluating the applicability of the Chinese eco-industrial park standard in two industrial zones

Eco-industrial park projects have become increasingly popular in China. Because of their rapid proliferation and the lack of accepted and common characteristics, the performance of these projects has been difficult to evaluate. In 2006, the former State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA)...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of sustainable development and world ecology 2008-12, Vol.15 (6), p.543-552
Main Authors: Geng, Yong, Zhang, Pan, Côté, Raymond P., Qi, Yu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Eco-industrial park projects have become increasingly popular in China. Because of their rapid proliferation and the lack of accepted and common characteristics, the performance of these projects has been difficult to evaluate. In 2006, the former State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) of China became the first national organization to establish a national standard for eco-industrial parks. This paper aims to explore the applicability and feasibility of the selected indicators. First, it presents the details of this new standard. Second, the feasibility of the new standard is explored by applying the indicators to two industrial zones in China. The benefits and challenges faced in applying the indicators are then discussed in relation to the literature. The analysis demonstrates that the new indicators have a fairly narrow focus on eco-efficiency, rather than a broad objective of ecologically sustainable industrial development. Nevertheless, the Chinese standard is a useful beginning. In future, the authors suggest that this set of indicators be revised to add ecological dimensions that will help promote more sustainable development of industrial parks.
ISSN:1350-4509
1745-2627
DOI:10.1080/13504500809469850