Systems engineering for sustainable growth through creation of an eco-industrial park

Understanding eco-industrial park formation requires a multidisciplinary viewpoint that includes systems thinking, industrial ecology, organizational dynamics, logistics, and supply chain theory. The most often referenced eco-industrial park found in Kalundborg, Denmark, serves as an ideal, and is typified by tight interdependency between industrial partners, green logistics, and closed-loop supply chains. But the planet is in crisis and can not afford to wait 30 years for more of these parks to emerge. Systems engineering has been found to be effective when bringing together stakeholders from diverse backgrounds and experts from multidisciplinary engineering and technical backgrounds to coordinate the creation of complex systems. This presentation summarizes the attributes of eco-industrial parks from a multidisciplinary perspective, and proposes a systems engineering framework, iFACE, for the formation of eco-industrial parks. The framework has been applied in an initiative in the industrial region around Verdal. Verdal is a small community in Norway, with a deep culturally significant tradition. The town has reinvented itself to keep abreast of changing times; moving from an agriculturally based economy to industrial region. The changes have been mostly evolutionary and unscripted until 1999 when a downturn in the business of the largest employer threatened everyone’s welfare. Today, Verdal is one of the most stable and admirable communities in Norway. To remain that way, they are embarking on a new initiative using systems engineering methods to ensure sustainable growth. Progress has been made in mapping the industrial network and analysing the foundation for sustainable growth in the industrial park and the neighbouring communities. Efforts to create an eco-industrial park within the close of the decade will be described.