Industry Meets Environment in New International Society

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Industry Meets Environment in New International Society

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, Feb. 14 -/E-Wire/-- A community of researchers, policy makers, industrial strategists, and environmental advocates today announced the launch of the International Society of Industrial Ecology (the Society). The new field of industrial ecology applies ecological concepts to the organization and operation of industry.

The Society will encourage communication among scientists, engineers, policymakers, managers and others who are interested in how environmental and economic concerns can be better integrated. "Industrial ecology," said Brad Allenby, AT&T; Environment, Health and Safety Vice President, "is a powerful way to integrate economic and environmental performance."

Not only has AT&T; supported the establishment of the Society, but also awards six AT&T; Industrial Ecology Faculty Fellowships annually to researchers at colleges and universities. The institutions receiving the 2000 AT&T; Industrial Ecology Faculty Fellowships are the Carnegie Mellon University, Florida A&M-Florida; State University College of Engineering, University of Alaska Anchorage, University of California at Berkeley, University of Michigan, and the University of Southern California. The winning researchers receive $25,000 and are designated "AT&T; Faculty Fellows in Industrial Ecology."

The AT&T; Foundation invests globally in projects that address a range of public concerns. Emphasis is placed on programs that serve needs of people in communities where AT&T; has a significant business presence; initiatives that use technology in innovative ways; and programs that AT&T; employees are actively involved with as contributors and/or volunteers. Support is focused on the following program areas: Education, Civic & Community Service, and Arts & Culture. Application guidelines and/or biennial reports may be requested by contacting the Foundation at 32 Avenue of the Americas, 24th Floor, New York, New York 10013. Additional information is available at website http://www.att.com/foundation.

In continuing support of the field, Yale University's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies has volunteered to provide the Society with its preliminary headquarters. John Ehrenfeld, Visiting Fellow at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and emeritus director of the MIT Technology, Business and Environment Program, will serve as the Society's executive director. An international group of environmental leaders will serve as the steering committee [listed below].

Industrial ecology looks to nature for clues on how to create more integrated and efficient industrial processes. The tools of industrial ecology include eco-design, eco-industrial parks, material and energy flow studies, life cycle assessment (LCA) and organizational design.

One pioneering example of industrial ecology is the industrial district of Kalundborg, Denmark where firms have joined together to reduce environmental impacts by exchanging energy, water, and materials. In Kalundborg, the byproducts of one company become valuable resources for another.

"The extensive re-use of wastes in Kalundborg illustrates one of the basic principles of industrial ecology," says Reid Lifset, editor-in-chief of the Journal of Industrial Ecology and Yale University research scholar.

Industrial ecology is a young field that has grown exponentially. Since an inaugural conference convened by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 1991, the field has been the focus of numerous international conferences â in Scandinavia, France, India, Austria, the US, and Japan â and numerous research projects. Industrial ecology is also central to several academic programs including the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies' graduate program in industrial environmental management and the undergraduate degree program in industrial ecology at the Norwegian University Science of Science and Technology. In February, the Society will open its doors to membership. Benefits include a subscription to the Journal of Industrial Ecology (an international, multi-disciplinary peer-reviewed quarterly), a newsletter dedicated to providing current news and information about the field, discounts on international conferences, and access to electronic information about the field. Abstracts are now being accepted for papers to be presented at the upcoming inaugural meeting for the society, "The Science and Culture of Industrial Ecology" which will be held in the Netherlands from November 12-14.

Membership applications and information on submitting abstracts for the November conference can be found on the International Society for Industrial Ecology website: www.yale.edu/is4ie.

For more information, contact the International Society for Industrial Ecology office at 203/436-4835 or [REDACTED-EMAIL].

Steering Committee, International Society for Industrial Ecology David Allen, University of Texas, Austin, Tex. (USA) Braden Allenby, AT&T;, Basking Ridge, N.J. (USA) Helge BrattebÃ¸, National University of Science & Technology, Trondheim (Norway) Stefan Bringezu, Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Energy & the Environment, Wuppertal (Germany) Faye Duchin, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N.Y. (USA)

Marina Fischer-Kowalski, University of Vienna, Vienna (Austria) Tom Graedel, Yale University, New Haven, Conn. (USA) Barbara Karn, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C. (USA) Rene Kleijn, Leiden University, Leiden (The Netherlands) Reid Lifset, Yale University, New Haven, Conn. (USA) Yuichi Moriguchi, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba (Japan) Robert Pfahl, Motorola, Inc, Schaumburg, Ill (USA) Greg Pitts, Ecolibrium, Austin, Tex. (USA) Tadatomo Suga, University of Tokyo, Tokyo (Japan)

AT&T; Environment, Health & Safety

Cynthia Neale,(908) 221-7249, [REDACTED-EMAIL]

http://www.att.com/foundation

http://www.yale.edu/is4ie

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