Industrial Ecology Methods within Engagement Processes for Industrial Resource Management

Sammanfattning: The global use of resources such as materials, energy, and water has surpassed sustainable levels by many accounts.  The research presented here was explicitly normative in its aim to improve the understanding of, and make sustainable change toward highly systemic issues of resource management.  The core methods chosen to work toward this aim were bottom up action research procedures (including stakeholder engagement processes) and industrial ecology analysis tools.  These methods were employed and tested in pragmatic combination through two of the author’s case study projects. The first case study, performed between 2009 and 2012, employed a multi-stakeholder process aimed at improving the cycling of construction and demolition waste in the Stockholm region.  The second case study produced a strategic tool (Looplocal) built for facilitating more efficient regional industrial resource networks. While the highly participative aim of the cases required a larger contribution of resources than that of more closed studies, it is arguable that the efficacy of approaching the project aims is improved through their employment.