Introducing SIA - Standards
Outline
Presently, in many parts of the world government institution and industry representatives are discussing standards for sustainable (eco-) industrial areas. While governments want to guide their national industrial development towards sustainability, park operators and company representatives regard the standardisation process as a good instrument to increase the efficiency of their production, to lower the costs and to enhance their reputation.
Guidelines and standards of sustainable industrial areas focus primarily on the management level of the park. They intend to guide the parks as a whole to become sustainable and are less dealing with the individual companies. The environmental friendliness or performance of companies in the park is assumed to be guided by the respective sector or company related guidelines or standards. Nevertheless, a sustainable framework on park level of course will initiate and promote positive changes on company level.