Preliminary assessment of industrial ecology potential in South East Queensland

It is becoming increasingly evident for business and industry that integrating the principles of sustainable development into their policies and practices is essential to stay competitive and successful in the coming years. Industrial Ecology is one of the mechanisms available for business and industry to adopt and apply the principles of sustainable development. In its simplest forms, IE suggests that one industry's byproduct can be the raw material for another industry. This way, industries can achieve greater material efficiency and collaborating with other industries can create new businesses. The diversity of industries within an IE network helps the group for wider options and hence larger profitability. In this regard, greater economic viability can be achieved if the industries operate in the close proximity of each other to save transportation costs. The main objective of this study was to examine the concepts of industrial ecology and waste exchange and their potential applications to industrial parks in South East Queensland. To achieve the objectives of the study, a survey of businesses and industries in three key industrial estates in the region; Carole Park, Gateway Ports and Narangba, was conducted and the data were analysed in this thesis. The three estates provided a good sample of industries in this region. The survey results were analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively to provide an overall view of the potential for Industrial Ecology in Southeast Queensland. The study also involved obtaining information from various industries and government organizations through semistructured interviews. These interviews were used to develop an updated and more informed assessment of the current status with regards to IE in Southeast Queensland. Twenty-four out of 81 industries in the Carole Park Industrial Estate participated in the survey. Metal related industries constituted 44% of total participating companies, forming the largest group in the Carole Park estate. From 60 industries in the Gateway Ports industrial estate, 19 firms participated in the survey. Chemical related industries constituted 27% of total participating companies, forming the largest group in the Gateway Ports. The metal manufacturing industries were the second largest group, constituting 21 % of the total. The survey forms were sent to 43 industries in the Narangba estate, and responses were received from twenty-seven of them. Petroleum and chemical manufacturing industries together with metal related industries fonned the largest industry groups in the Narangba estate. The most common reason for not participating in the survey by the industries in the three estates was lack of time. The results revealed that most of the surveyed businesses and industries in the three estates were interested in the industrial ecology concept, but were uncertain about its practicality and economic viability. Most companies favoured minimizing waste by efficiency in material use for improving environmental performance. But economical or tax incentive were the most popular options for improving environmental performance amongst industries. Legislative requirement, productivity, and economical advantages/disadvantages were the most important factors influencing environmental management policies and practices. Evidence of manufacturing and distribution networks were found in the three estates, but there were concerns over industrial ecology networks being economically disadvantageous for individual companies in terms of the potential loss to their competitiveness and the quality of their products and services. Most companies considered the cost and economical issues as limiting factors for implementing environmental performance changes. The results also revealed that to enhance the opportunity for IE to succeed, participating industrial estates needed to be large enough and to contain a diverse range of businesses and industries to warrant viable exchanges