Methodology and System of Total Quantity and Sustainability Management for Industrial Parks

Abstract

Although they create considerable economic benefits, industrial parks emit tremendous amounts of pollution and consume significant environmental resources. This investigation examines problems associated with managing an industrial park. It begins by defining an industrial park system and its sustainability. Next, using systems thinking, managing for results, driving-force-pressure-state-impact-response, and system dynamics, we develop a management framework and an indicator system. A framework with triple decision layers is established to link the management of an industrial park with its manufactories. Based on this framework, proposed indicators and their driving force–pressure–state–impact–response relationships are integrated into an optimization model to maximize sustainability, so that sustainability of an industrial park is assessed as total quantity management is performed. A prototype of a total quantity and sustainability management strategy for industrial parks is developed, based on a geographic information system, Visual Basic, and Microsoft Excel. Effectiveness of the proposed methodology and system is demonstrated in a case study of Jhongli Industrial Park in Taiwan. Analytical results demonstrate that management strategies for Jhongli Industrial Park as a whole and for its manufactories can be implemented simultaneously. Furthermore, the critical factor for trading environmental, social, and economic influences to optimize sustainability can be obtained by performing a sensitivity analysis. Analytical results indicate that the proposed methodology and total quantity sustainability management system can assist administrative organizations in developing practical strategies for managing total quantities of pollution discharge and resource use of an industrial park.