Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Therefore the goal to be pursued is a limited use of inputs (virgin resources and
materials), a limited amount of waste discharged from the system and, above all, a
collaboration between the various components of the industrial ecosystem through the
exchange of energy and materials, Figure 4. This model goes beyond the principle of “product
stewardship”, as it also takes into account the whole process, along with its waste, and it
requires business cooperation, both vertical and horizontal.
There are therefore two possible approaches:
1. the creation of
symbiotic
production processes with regard to material flow (energy, heat,
water, waste, emissions, people, goods…), whose aims of efficiency and effectiveness in
the use of materials and energy are the basis of business cooperation;
2. the planning of services and infrastructures within the industrial parks applying the
principles of environmental sustainability and closed-loop natural cycles.
Consequently, the main requirements for service sharing and for a successful industrial
symbiosis are the following:
•
complementary needs as far as material/energy are concerned;
•
physical proximity in order to implement cascade systems of energy and water
supply and to cut transport costs;
•
presence of a homogeneous service demand in order to obtain economies of scale;
•
importance of personal relationships between the various enterprises, also by means
of associations.
Industrial parks are important tools of economic and social qualification of an area but, at
the same time, they are potential sources of pressure on the environment and on surrounding
communities.
1.3. Ecologically Equipped Industrial Areas
The notion of industrial park as an
eco-friendly place
(as well as an area of economic and
urban development) has evolved in time and has led Italy to the construction of the so-called
Ecologically Equipped Industrial Areas (in the year 1998). The Italian production system,
organised into chains and districts, is characterised by a great flexibility and by the tendency
to networking.
But as regards the environmental field, the Italian business sector, whose main feature is
a high concentration of small and medium-sized enterprises, encounters a lot of difficulties in
implementing preventive measures, due to a lack of culture in such issues.
Joint environmental management, dialogue with local authorities and business
participation in the process are key elements in the enhancement of a new territorial
governance framing and supporting a sustainable environmental policy on industrial areas.
The Ecologically equipped industrial area may be regarded as a forum for environmental
dialogue where all the stakeholders involved in its constitution, development and activities
