Study 16: Eco-parks in France

The concepts of industrial and territorial ecology (ITE) and eco-parks are very similar, with the latter being more commonly used in scientific literature. Both are at the heart of the same drive to reduce the environmental impact of industrial activities whilst, at the same time, increasing their profitability. In France, ADEME runs a network to promote the concept of ITE, which is beginning to take firm root across the country. To date, 107 initiatives have been analysed in France, 18 of which have led to tangible synergies.

To organise these collaborative initiatives, which may lead to the creation of eco-parks, we identify various possible levels of collaboration within an industrial estate:

1. Information sharing
2. Sharing of services (analytics, security, IT, social services, etc.)
3. Waste management or recycling, and the creation of public utility networks.
4. The exchange of by-products or material streams

This review of the current state of the art examines the French context regarding eco-parks, detailing their initiation and governance processes, as well as the various methods of data collection and analysis that have enabled their development. It also presents an analysis of six French industrial parks classified at levels 3 and 4.