Where's the Profit in lndustrial Ecology?

Abstract

A ecology is the idea that it is possible to make industrial systems-companies, product cycles, service systems-more like natural ecosystems. The legitimacy of the metaphor depends on a number of different factors. For example, we need to know that technological opportunities exist within the industrial system for increased recycling, improved material efficiency, or the ''cascading" of materials from one use to another. Fortunately, there is now plenty of evidence that this sort of opportunity is in fact abundant. Equally, however, industrial ecology requires what sociologists would call a "theory of agency." That is, it needs to have some idea who the actors in the industrial ecology are, and what motivates their actions. Without such a theory, we will be at a loss to determine which actors should take which steps, and whether the incentives are in place to encourage them to act appropriately. Indeed, the whole success of the industrial ecology metaphor depends crucially on its assumptions about agency.