# Industrial ecology
## Links (Wikipedia order)
<!-- injected from _registry/childlinks/Industrial_ecology.json (2026-07-30T02:09:12Z) -->
`2000-watt_society` · `Acid_rain` · `Actinides_in_the_environment` · `Acute_radiation_syndrome` · `Advertising_mail` · `Agenda_21` · [[Agent-based_model]] · `Agent_Orange` · `Agricultural_pollution` · `Agricultural_wastewater_treatment` · [[Air_pollution]] · `Air_pollution_measurement` · `Air_quality_index` · `Air_travel` · `Air_well_(condenser)` · [[Alexander_Bogdanov]] · [[Allenna_Leonard]] · `Alternative_fuel` · `Aluminium_recycling` · [[Anatol_Rapoport]] · [[Anthony_Wilden]] · `Anthropization` · `Anthropocene` · `Anthropogenic_metabolism` · `Anti-consumerism` · `Appliance_recycling` · `Appropriate_technology` · `Area_source_pollution` · `Asbestos` · `Asnæs_Power_Station` · `Asphalt_concrete` · `Atmospheric_dispersion_modeling` · `Automotive_oil_recycling` · [[Barbara_J._Grosz]] · `Battery_recycling` · `Biodegradable_waste` · `Biodiversity` · `Biofuel` · `Biological_hazard` · `Biological_pollution` · [[Biological_system]] · `Biomass` · `Biomedical_waste` · `Bioremediation` · `Bioremediation_of_radioactive_waste` · `Bioretention` · `Biosecurity` · `Biosphere` · `Bioswale` · `Black_carbon` · `Blue_bag` · `Blue_box_recycling_system` · `Blue_roof` · `Bottle_cutting` · `Bottle_recycling` · `Brain_health_and_pollution` · `Bright_green_environmentalism` · `Brown_waste` · `Brundtland_Commission` · `By-product` · [[Béla_H._Bánáthy]] · `C._S._Holling` · [[C._West_Churchman]] · `Carbon-neutral_fuel` · `Carbon_emission_trading` · `Carbon_fee_and_dividend` · `Carbon_footprint` · `Carbon_leakage` · `Carbon_offsets_and_credits` · `Carbon_tax` · `Catchwater` · [[Charles_A._S._Hall]] · `Chemical_warfare` · `Chemical_waste` · `Chlorofluorocarbon` · `Circular_economy` · `Civic_agriculture` · [[Claude_Shannon]] · `Cleaner_production` · `Climate-smart_agriculture` · `Climate_change_mitigation` · `Climate_finance` · `Coal_mining` · `Cogeneration` · `Combustion` · `Community-supported_agriculture` · [[Complex_system]] · `Compost` · `Concrete_recycling` · `Conservation_biology` · `Constructed_wetland` · `Construction` · `Construction_waste` · `Container-deposit_legislation` · [[Control_theory]] · `Convention_on_Biological_Diversity` · [[Copper]] · `Corporate_environmental_responsibility` · `Corporate_social_responsibility` · `Corporate_sustainability` · `Cost–benefit_analysis` · `Cotton_recycling` · [[Coupled_human–environment_system]] · `Cradle-to-cradle_design` · `Cultural_sustainability` · `Cultured_meat` · [[Cybernetics]] · `DPSIR` · `Debris` · `Debt_Sustainability_Analysis` · `Deep_sea_mining` · `Degrowth` · `Dematerialization_(economics)` · `Dematerialization_(products)` · `Demographic_transition` · `Demolition` · `Dependency_ratio` · `Detention_basin` · `Dew_pond` · `Diesel_exhaust` · `Disinvestment` · [[Donella_Meadows]] · [[Doubling_time]] · `Downcycling` · `Drug_recycling` · `Dumpster_diving` · `Durable_good` · `Dust` · `EIO-LCA` · [[Earth]] · `Earth_Charter` · `Earth_Overshoot_Day` · `Earth_Summit` · `Earth_Summit_2002` · [[Earth_system_science]] · [[Earth_systems_engineering_and_management]] · `Eco-capitalism` · `Eco-cities` · `Eco-efficiency` · `Eco-industrial_development` · `Eco-industrial_park` · `Eco-innovation` · `Eco-investing` · `Eco-social_market_economy` · `Eco-socialism` · `Eco_commerce` · `Ecolabel` · `Ecological_design` · `Ecological_economics` · [[Ecological_footprint]] · `Ecological_light_pollution` · `Ecological_modernization` · `Economic_system` · `Economics` · `Economy` · `Ecoregion` · [[Ecosystem]] · `Ecotechnology` · `Ecovillage` · [[Edsger_W._Dijkstra]] · [[Edward_Norton_Lorenz]] · `Efficient_energy_use` · `Electrical_resistance_heating` · `Electromagnetic_radiation_and_health` · `Electronic_waste` · [[Emergence]] · `Emissions_trading` · `Endangered_species` · [[Energy]] · `Energy_accounting` · `Energy_conservation` · `Energy_development` · `Energy_flow_(ecology)` · `Energy_poverty_and_cooking` · `Energy_recycling` · [[Engineering]] · `Environmental_accounting` · `Environmental_design` · `Environmental_economics` · `Environmental_enterprise` · `Environmental_finance` · `Environmental_full-cost_accounting` · `Environmental_impact_assessment` · `Environmental_impact_design` · `Environmental_impact_of_pharmaceuticals_and_personal_care_products` · `Environmental_impact_of_war` · `Environmental_management_system` · `Environmental_monitoring` · `Environmental_planning` · `Environmental_pricing_reform` · `Environmental_racism` · `Environmental_radioactivity` · `Environmental_tax` · `Environmental_technology` · `Environmentalism` · [[Eric_Trist]] · `Ethanol_fuel` · `Ethical_banking` · `Ethical_consumerism` · `Eutrophication` · `Evolutionary_economics` · `Exergy` · `Exhaust_gas` · `Extended_producer_responsibility` · `Family_planning` · `Feed-in_tariff` · `Firewater_(fire_fighting)` · `Fiscal_environmentalism` · `Fiscal_sustainability` · `Fisheries_management` · `Fluorescent_lamp_recycling` · `Foam_food_container` · `Food_loss_and_waste` · `Food_miles` · `Forbes` · `Fossil_fuel_divestment` · `Fossil_fuel_phase-out` · [[Francisco_Varela]] · `Fred_Emery_(psychologist)` · `Free_public_transport` · `Freeganism` · `Freshwater_environmental_quality_parameters` · `Gale_(publisher)` · `Garbage` · `Garbology` · `Generational_accounting` · `Genetic_pollution` · `Geopark` · [[George_Dantzig]] · [[George_Klir]] · `Glass_recycling` · `Global_dimming` · `Global_distillation` · `Global_governance` · `Gold_mining` · `Green_Dot_(symbol)` · `Green_New_Deal` · `Green_accounting` · `Green_building` · `Green_chemistry` · `Green_consumption` · `Green_development` · `Green_economy` · `Green_growth` · `Green_industrial_policy` · `Green_infrastructure` · `Green_job` · `Green_marketing` · `Green_politics` · `Green_recovery` · `Green_roof` · `Green_trading` · `Green_vehicle` · `Green_waste` · `Greening` · [[Gregory_Bateson]] · `Groundwater_pollution` · `Gypsum` · `Gypsum_recycling` · `Hazardous_waste` · `Haze` · `Health_and_environmental_impact_of_the_coal_industry` · `Heavy_metals` · [[Heinz_von_Foerster]] · `Helix_of_sustainability` · `Herbicidal_warfare` · `Herbicide` · `High-performance_buildings` · `History_of_environmental_pollution` · `History_of_industrial_ecology` · `Holocene_extinction` · [[Howard_T._Odum]] · `Human_impact_on_the_environment` · `Humanistic_capitalism` · [[Humberto_Maturana]] · `Hydroelectricity` · `Hydropower` · `Hypoxia_(environmental)` · [[Ilya_Prigogine]] · `Impact_investing` · `Index_of_sustainability_articles` · `Indoor_air_quality` · `Industrial_metabolism` · `Industrial_symbiosis` · `Industrial_waste` · `Industrial_wastewater_treatment` · `Infiltration_basin` · `Information_pollution` · [[Information_system]] · `Input–output_model` · `Integrated_chain_management` · `Interchangeable_parts` · `Intergenerational_equity` · `Internal_combustion_engine` · `International_Society_for_Industrial_Ecology` · `Introduced_species` · `Invasive_species` · `Irrigation_tank` · [[James_Grier_Miller]] · [[James_J._Kay]] · [[Jay_Wright_Forrester]] · [[Jennifer_Wilby]] · [[John_Seddon]] · [[Josiah_Willard_Gibbs]] · `Joss_paper` · `Journal_of_Industrial_Ecology` · `Kalundborg` · `Kalundborg_Eco-industrial_Park` · [[Kathleen_Carley]] · [[Katia_Sycara]] · `Kenneth_E._Boulding` · `Kerbside_collection` · [[Kevin_Warwick]] · `Land_degradation` · `Land_recycling` · `Landfill` · `Lead_poisoning` · `Lead_smelting` · `Legacy_pollution` · `Life-cycle_assessment` · `Life-cycle_cost_analysis` · `Light_pollution` · [[Limiting_factor]] · `Lisbon_Principles` · `List_of_countries_by_air_pollution` · `List_of_countries_by_dependency_ratio` · `List_of_environmental_degrees` · `List_of_environmental_laws_by_country` · `List_of_international_environmental_agreements` · `List_of_most-polluted_cities_by_particulate_matter_concentration` · `List_of_pollution-related_diseases` · [[List_of_systems_sciences_organizations]] · `List_of_systems_scientists` · `Litter` · [[Living_systems]] · `Low-carbon_economy` · [[Ludwig_von_Bertalanffy]] · [[Lydia_Kavraki]] · `MET_Matrix` · [[Manfred_Clynes]] · [[Manuela_M._Veloso]] · `Manure_management` · [[Margaret_Boden]] · [[Margaret_Mead]] · `Marginal_abatement_cost` · `Marine_debris` · `Marine_energy` · `Marine_mammals_and_sonar` · `Marine_pollution` · [[Mary_Cartwright]] · `Material_flow` · `Material_flow_accounting` · `Material_flow_analysis` · `Materials_recovery_facility` · `Mercury_poisoning` · `Micro-sustainability` · `Micro_hydro` · `Microplastics` · `Midden` · [[Mihajlo_D._Mesarovic]] · `Mike_Jackson_(systems_scientist)` · `Mining` · `Mobile_phone_recycling` · [[Multi-agent_system]] · `Municipal_solid_waste` · [[Murray_Bowen]] · `Natural_Capitalism` · `Natural_building` · `Natural_capital` · `Natural_environment` · `Natural_resource` · `Natural_resource_economics` · `Natural_resource_management` · [[Negative_feedback]] · [[Nervous_system]] · `Net_metering` · [[Niklas_Luhmann]] · `Noise_control` · `Noise_pollution` · `Nonpoint_source_pollution` · [[Norbert_Wiener]] · `Nuclear_fallout` · `Nuclear_famine` · `Nuclear_fission_product` · `Nuclear_holocaust` · `Nuclear_winter` · `Nutrient_cycle` · `Nutrient_pollution` · `Ocean_acidification` · `Ocean_thermal_energy_conversion` · `Oil_spill` · `Open_burning_of_waste` · `Open_defecation` · `Organic_movement` · `Organigraph` · `Our_Common_Future` · `Outline_of_natural_science` · `Outline_of_sustainability` · `Overhead_power_line` · `Ozone` · `Ozone_depletion` · `PET_bottle_recycling` · `Packaging_waste` · `Paint` · `Paint_recycling` · `Pallet_crafts` · `Paper_recycling` · `Persistent_organic_pollutant` · `Personal_carbon_trading` · `Pesticide` · [[Peter_Senge]] · `Photovoltaic_system` · `Phytoremediation` · `Pico_hydro` · `Pit_latrine` · `Planetary_boundaries` · `Planetary_management` · `Plastic_pollution` · `Plastic_recycling` · `Plutonium_in_the_environment` · `Point_source_pollution` · `Political_economy` · `Pollutant` · `Pollutant_release_and_transfer_register` · `Polluter_pays_principle` · `Pollution` · `Pollution_from_nanomaterials` · `Pollution_haven_hypothesis` · `Population_ageing` · [[Positive_feedback]] · `Post-consumer_waste` · `Precautionary_principle` · `Precycling` · [[Principia_Cybernetica]] · `ProQuest` · `Product_(business)` · `Product_stewardship` · [[Qian_Xuesen]] · [[Radhika_Nagpal]] · `Radio_spectrum_pollution` · `Radioactive_contamination` · `Radioactive_waste` · `Radium_and_radon_in_the_environment` · `Rail_subsidies` · `Rail_transport` · `Rain_garden` · `Rainwater_harvesting` · `Rainwater_tank` · `Raw_material` · `Rebound_effect_(conservation)` · `Reclaimed_lumber` · `Reclaimed_water` · [[Recommender_system]] · `Reconciliation_ecology` · `Recycling` · `Recycling_bin` · `Recycling_by_material` · `Recycling_by_product` · `Recycling_codes` · `Recycling_in_Australia` · `Recycling_in_Brazil` · `Recycling_in_Canada` · `Recycling_in_Israel` · `Recycling_in_Japan` · `Recycling_in_Malaysia` · `Recycling_in_Mongolia` · `Recycling_in_Northern_Ireland` · `Recycling_in_Taiwan` · `Recycling_in_the_Netherlands` · `Recycling_in_the_Republic_of_Ireland` · `Recycling_in_the_United_Kingdom` · `Recycling_in_the_United_States` · `Recycling_rates_by_country` · `Recycling_symbol` · `Refill_(campaign)` · `Refrigerant_reclamation` · `Renewable_energy` · `Renewable_energy_commercialization` · `Renewable_energy_industry` · `Renovation` · `Repairability` · `Repurposing` · `Resource_recovery` · `Retention_basin` · `Reusable_packaging` · `Reuse` · `Reuse_of_bottles` · `Reuse_of_human_excreta` · `Reverse_vending_machine` · `Right_to_repair` · `Rio_Declaration_on_Environment_and_Development` · `Run-of-the-river_hydroelectricity` · `Russell_L._Ackoff` · `Ruzena_Bajcsy` · `Satellite` · `Scientific_American` · `Scientific_community` · `Scorched_earth` · `Scrap` · `Septic_tank` · `Service_(economics)` · `Service_economy` · `Sewage` · `Ship_disposal` · `Simple_living` · `Small_hydro` · `Smelting` · `Smog` · `Smoke` · `Social_accounting` · `Social_cost_of_carbon` · `Social_metabolism` · `Social_return_on_investment` · `Social_system` · `Socially_responsible_business` · `Socially_responsible_marketing` · `Sociology` · [[Sociotechnical_system]] · `Soil_contamination` · `Soil_guideline_value` · `Sonar` · `Soot` · `Space_debris` · `Space_sustainability` · [[Stafford_Beer]] · `Stakeholder_analysis` · `Steady-state_economy` · [[Stephanie_Forrest]] · `Sulfur_water` · `Surface_mining` · `Surface_runoff` · `Sustainability` · `Sustainability_accounting` · `Sustainability_advertising` · `Sustainability_and_environmental_management` · `Sustainability_and_systemic_change_resistance` · `Sustainability_brand` · `Sustainability_in_construction` · `Sustainability_marketing_myopia` · `Sustainability_measurement` · `Sustainability_metrics_and_indices` · `Sustainability_organization` · `Sustainability_reporting` · `Sustainability_science` · `Sustainability_standards_and_certification` · `Sustainability_studies` · `Sustainable_Development_Goals` · `Sustainable_advertising` · `Sustainable_agriculture` · `Sustainable_architecture` · `Sustainable_art` · `Sustainable_business` · `Sustainable_capitalism` · `Sustainable_city` · `Sustainable_community` · `Sustainable_consumer_behaviour` · `Sustainable_consumption` · `Sustainable_design` · `Sustainable_design_standards` · `Sustainable_development` · `Sustainable_diet` · `Sustainable_drainage_system` · `Sustainable_energy` · `Sustainable_fashion` · `Sustainable_finance` · `Sustainable_fishery` · `Sustainable_food_system` · `Sustainable_gardening` · `Sustainable_industries` · `Sustainable_landscape_architecture` · `Sustainable_livelihood` · `Sustainable_living` · `Sustainable_management` · `Sustainable_materials_management` · `Sustainable_packaging` · `Sustainable_population` · `Sustainable_procurement` · `Sustainable_refurbishment` · `Sustainable_sanitation` · `Sustainable_sourcing` · `Sustainable_tourism` · `Sustainable_transport` · `Sustainable_urban_infrastructure` · `Sustainable_yield` · [[System]] · [[System_dynamics]] · `Systemics` · `Systems_analysis` · `Systems_art` · [[Systems_biology]] · [[Systems_ecology]] · [[Systems_engineering]] · [[Systems_neuroscience]] · [[Systems_pharmacology]] · `Systems_philosophy` · `Systems_psychology` · [[Systems_science]] · [[Systems_theory]] · `Systems_theory_in_anthropology` · [[Systems_theory_in_archaeology]] · [[Systems_theory_in_political_science]] · [[Systems_thinking]] · `Tailings` · [[Talcott_Parsons]] · `Technology` · `Textile_recycling` · `Thermal_pollution` · `Thermal_treatment` · `Thermoeconomics` · `Tidal_power` · `Tidal_stream_generator` · `Timber_recycling` · `Tire_recycling` · `Toxic_waste` · `Toxicology` · `Trade` · `Traffic_sign` · `Tragedy_of_the_commons` · `Tree_box_filter` · `Turbidity` · [[Twelve_leverage_points]] · `Unexploded_ordnance` · `United_Nations_Conference_on_Sustainable_Development` · `United_Nations_Conference_on_the_Human_Environment` · `United_Nations_Millennium_Declaration` · `Upcycling` · `Uranium_in_the_environment` · `Uranium_mining` · `Urban_ecology` · [[Urban_metabolism]] · `Urban_runoff` · `Urbanization` · `Used_good` · `Value_of_Earth` · `Vandalism` · `Vehicle_recycling` · `Victor_Aladjev` · `Visual_pollution` · `Volatile_organic_compound` · `Volcanic_ash` · `War_and_environmental_law` · `Waste` · `Waste-to-energy` · `Waste_collection` · `Waste_heat` · `Waste_hierarchy` · `Waste_input-output_model` · `Waste_management` · `Waste_management_in_Switzerland` · `Waste_management_law` · `Waste_minimisation` · `Waste_picker` · `Waste_sorting` · `Waste_treatment` · `Waste_valorization` · `Water-sensitive_urban_design` · `Water_conservation` · `Water_footprint` · `Water_heat_recycling` · `Water_pollution` · `Water_quality` · `Water_recycling_shower` · `Water_scarcity` · `Water_security` · `Water_stagnation` · `Wildfire` · `Wishcycling` · `World-systems_theory` · `World_Conference_on_Cultural_Policies_and_Sustainable_Development` · `World_population` · `Yellow_grease` · `Zero_waste` · `Zoran_Rant`
## From the Real GENERATIVE library
*Industrial ecology — placed from the Real G.E.N.E.R.A.T.I.V.E. course library (Engineering room). Source: Wikimedia Commons (via Wikipedia article media). [Details & license](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cash_template.svg).*
> Industrial ecology (IE) is the study of material and energy flows through industrial systems. The global industrial economy can be modelled as a network of industrial processes that extract resources from the Earth and transform those resources into by-products, products and services which can be bought and sold to meet the needs of humanity. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_ecology))
<!-- REAL-GENERATIVE-MEDIA:END -->
> Summary stub · part of Systems Thinking · [Wikipedia source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_ecology)
## Summary
Industrial ecology (IE) is the study of material and [[Energy|energy]] flows through industrial systems. The global industrial economy can be modelled as a network of industrial processes that extract resources from the [[Earth]] and transform those resources into by-products, products and services which can be bought and sold to meet the needs of humanity. Industrial ecology seeks to quantify the material flows and document the industrial processes that make modern [[Society|society]] function. Industrial ecologists are often concerned with the impacts that industrial activities have on the environment, with use of the planet's supply of natural resources, and with problems of waste disposal. Industrial ecology is a young but growing multidisciplinary field of research which combines aspects of [[Engineering|engineering]], economics, sociology, toxicology and the natural sciences.
## Key points
- Industrial ecology (IE) is the study of material and energy flows through industrial systems.
- The global industrial economy can be modelled as a network of industrial processes that extract resources from the Earth and transform those resources into by-products, products and services which can be bought and sold to meet the needs of humanity.
- Industrial ecology seeks to quantify the material flows and document the industrial processes that make modern society function.
- Industrial ecologists are often concerned with the impacts that industrial activities have on the environment, with use of the planet's supply of natural resources, and with problems of waste disposal.
- Industrial ecology is a young but growing multidisciplinary field of research which combines aspects of engineering, economics, sociology, toxicology and the natural sciences.
## Relation to Systems Thinking
Industrial ecology sits within the Systems Thinking cluster of related concepts. Its principles contribute to understanding [[Feedback|feedback]], [[Emergence|emergence]], and dynamic behavior in complex adaptive systems.
## Sources
- [Industrial ecology — Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_ecology)
Back to Systems Thinking
---
<!-- SEMIOTIC-PROFILE:START -->
## Semiotic profile
> *The semiotic universals this article invokes, machine-derived from the crossref — **unverified** (born so). Populated 2026-07-06 for the Systems room.*
**Universals (8):** 🟡 system (9) · 🟢 flow (4) · 🟢 energy (3) · 🟡 society (3) · 🟢 emergence (2) · 🟢 feedback (2) · 🟡 modern (2) · 🟡 science (2)
**Enter by sign:** Systems Semiotic Gateway · Alphabetum · Icon Registry · ← Systems Portal
<!-- SEMIOTIC-PROFILE:END -->
<!-- REAL-GENERATIVE-MEDIA:START -->
## Wikipedia : Wikitube
**Strict pair:** [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_ecology) : [Wikitube](https://en.wikitube.io/wiki/Industrial_ecology)
## Previous hub tags
Tree parents: [[Agent-based_model]] · [[Cybernetics]] · [[Systems_theory]].
Legacy hubs: none.
---
*Sources: 1 legacy note. Minted wave 1, 2026-07-30 (v1.6 order).*