China’s high-speed economic development has secured its status as a global industrial powerhouse. While there are many socioeconomic benefits to rapid growth, the increased concentration of industrial activity has come at a very high cost to the environment: pollution, waste generation and ecosystem degradation, to name a few. China’s industrial parks account for over two-thirds of the nation’s energy consumption and GHG emissions. To alleviate the negative environmental impacts of its manufacturing sector, China has adopted the concept of an ‘ecological civilisation’—a system of development and governance based on the principles of environmental management, ecological restoration and green development.

China's ‘ecological civilisation’ consists of a set of initiatives based on enhanced sustainable production and consumption, superior environmental and ecological planning for both urban and rural regions, and an industrial ecology that champions a comprehensive circular economy with a zero-waste approach. Within this context, China initiated its eco-industrial parks (EIPs) programme in 2001. EIPs are strategically designed as a blueprint for industrial clustering and transformation based on clean production mandates, and circular economy and industrial ecology principles. By 2021, the number of established EIPs had reached 55, up from just one in 2008, while another 52 are now underway.

China has been successful in transforming its industrial sector due in large part to three major factors: governmental frameworks and technical guidance, manufacturing prowess and strategic blueprints, and local governance and academic synergy. In terms of governmental frameworks and technical guidance, sustainability was heralded as a priority at the national level, resulting in an array of policies, incentives and regulations that bolstered industrial clustering and transformation via eco-industrial parks and activities such as industrial symbiosis and remanufacturing. The environmental governance system was modernised to ensure that standardisations, monitoring and innovation incentives rendered operational harmony across industries.

The manufacturing prowess and strategic blueprints of China’s EIPs further lent themselves to the creation of a more circular industrial sector. The sheer scale of its manufacturing provided a unique platform where industries could naturally form symbiotic relationships. The parks' designs were inherently strategic, ensuring industrial clustering and transformation so that neighbouring industries could share resources, thereby reducing costs and logistics-related constraints, for example. Finally, local governments played a crucial role, adapting national guidelines to fit local contexts and providing requisite incentives. Meanwhile, local academic institutions and industries joined forces, honing technological and process innovations and fostering a relationship of ongoing research and development.

Looking at China's journey, it is important to note that while the nation blazed substantial trails in championing industrial sustainability, the path will never be obstacle-free. For example, concerns remain around total resource use and lacking social impact research. The number of EIPs in China is also limited compared to traditional industrial parks and zones and their type and size varies considerably. Nevertheless, EIPs reduce virgin resource use, emissions and waste generation compared to traditional industrial parks and zones. EIPs have also been proven to drive innovation, attract human and financial capital, produce technology spillovers and positively impact surrounding areas. Other Grow countries can extract valuable lessons from China's successful strategies and apply best practices within their own economies to chart their sustainable industrial trajectories.

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