They sully their environment and wreck their economies. The report notes that Asia's environmental crisis is, for a large part, the result of failed policies and neglect. Economic growth is not directly to blame. The report concludes that the bleak environmental outlook is inevitable. The term industrial ecology has become very popular as an approach toward achieving zero industrial waste.
Industrial ecology is the study of industrial systems from the perspective of natural ecosystems.
Both Frosch and Schmidheiny were seeking ways to adopt life cycle management approaches to industrial management and thereby enhance competitiveness and reduce costs. If we get it right, our company and our supply chain will never have to take another drop of oil. He points to the treaty that emerged from the 1997 environmental summit in Kyoto, Japan, as a sign of a growing international consensus that the greenhouse effect and global warming are real and that the burning of oil and natural gas is largely responsible. The treaty won't bind the U.S. unless the Senate ratifies it. But the mere fact that the treaty exists signals a broad recognition of the problem.