Managing and facilitating eco-industrial development of an industrial park: A case study of Dalian DD Port, China

Traditional industrial development which follows an "end-of-pipe" approach to treating pollution has proved to be one of the causes to environmental problems. An alternative to traditional industrial development is eco-industrial development (EID), which tries to integrate the circular dynamics from natural ecological systems into industrial systems and encourages businesses to co-operate with each other and with the local community to efficiently share resources for achieving industrial sustainability. Through field research conducted in Dalian DD Port, China, this study explores the situation of EID in a Chinese industrial park, leading to the relations between EID and achieving competitive advantage for an industrial park, and to the development of policy recommendations for managing and facilitating eco-industrial development in China's industrial parks. The objectives of the study are to investigate the situation of eco-industrial development in DD Port; investigate the perceptions of stakeholders on eco-industrial development; investigate the relationship between eco-industrial development and achieving competitive advantage for DD Port; identify the barriers for eco-industrial development in DD Port; and develop policy recommendations for achieving industrial sustainability in DD Port.; The study employs the theories of both industrial ecology and participatory planning. Conclusions are presented by discussing the links between concepts in the literature and findings from the case study and future research directions are outlined. At the end of the thesis, the researcher raises a series of recommendations on how to effectively remove the barriers for EID and efficiently achieve industrial sustainability at Chinese industrial parks. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...