Industrial ecology is a new and innovative strategy for a sustainable industry. Achieving a sustainable industry means meeting a firm's financial bottom line without compromising the state of its surrounding physical environment.
Industrial ecology focuses on the interaction of industrial systems and the ecological systems.
In the industrial setting, the process involves designing industrial systems to minimize waste and maximize cycling of materials and energy. As far as possible, production systems, instead of the conventional linear fashion, are closed. This is to prevent the loss of energy or useful materials. Industrial ecology seeks to optimize the total materials cycle from virgin materials to finished material product, and to ultimate disposal. Making IE Your Business Strategy A company can use industrial ecology as a corporate tool in discovering opportunities to advance its competitive advantage.