Industrial Ecology and Spaces of Innovation

Industrial Ecology and Spaces of Innovation

Ken Green & Sally Randles

Abstract

Industrial Ecology (IE) seeks to understand how we can minimise the ecological impacts of materials flows. It derives partly from a desire to see societies endogenise these impacts through new models of economic development and conceptualisations of societal 'progress'. When groups of firms/institutions operate collectively, this has the potential (it is argued) to produce new, radical forms of industrial/ manufacturing organisation. To date, social scientists in Innovation Studies have not engaged with the IE community, to see what can be gained from bringing in understandings about the innovation process. Yet there is clear scope for some fruitful debate between the IE and IS communities. The key idea we wish to introduce in this paper is how we can re-think the link between the flow of materials, a flow which IE is especially skilled at analyzing, with the social, economic, and organizational structures which cause physical flows to be and become 'clumped' (concentrated/dispersed) in particular ways. We can refer to this structuring of flows as instituted process exhibiting spatial and historical variety. We can also proceed to identify empirically the location(s) of actual innovative change within those structures. We can further identify potential sites for innovation, together with, importantly, constraints to change and reasons for resisting change.

The paper starts with a brief discussion of what IE is; it then summarizes the 'basics' of IS, at least as seen from the 'Manchester' perspective. Using an example of technological innovation and sustainability in a Food System, specifically on the frozen pea, it illustrates how the IE and IS perspectives might have something to offer each other. It finishes with some suggestions for the questions which are prompted by seeking to link IE and IS perspectives.

(Download paper - 532Kb pdf format)

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