Taking into account social aspects for the development of industrial ecology on a territory

Industrial ecology appears to be a significant means of reducing carbon dioxide emissions from industry. However, beyond flow management, eco-industrial parks can also contribute to a socio-economic transition on a regional scale. Usually, multi-criteria optimization models use economic and environmental criteria in the decision-making process. This article looks at the integration of social criteria in these models, and more broadly at the issues involved in measuring the social impact of an eco-industrial park. The aim of this article is to take a different approach to social indicators, by highlighting the key success factors of an eco-industrial park, such as cooperation within a collective but also between the different scales making up the system. This work is based on bibliographical research and semi-structured interviews with stakeholders in the field. What's more, the process of developing social indicators, particularly participatory ones, seems to be a strong catalyst in the construction of relationships and their dynamics. Finally, the metric of social indicators also has its limitations, which should be considered if we are to be able to address the various issues in a systemic way and potentially envisage other ways of taking into account the social aspect of an eco-industrial park.