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The purpose of this paper is to review and update Devens eco-industrial park sustainability indicators and benchmark progress made since 2000 in the seven key areas of its sustainability vision.

The authors examined publicly available data for Devens, Massachusetts, and obtained additional data from Devens Enterprise Commission and a survey of 29 local organizations.

Of the 43 indicators adopted by Devens eco-industrial park in 2012, 29 demonstrate progress, seven show lack of progress, six point to a potential progress, and for one no information was available in 2000 to evaluate progress. Most progress has been made in the areas of transportation, business and economic sustainability, governance and natural resources.

For some proposed indicators no data were available to evaluate progress (e.g. waste generation, recycling, compositing, and landfill diversion) yet these are among the key measures for an eco-industrial park.

Proposed framework, indicators and lessons learned are of value for researchers and practitioners at other eco-industrial parks (EIPs) interested in benchmarking progress toward sustainable local development.

The case provides insights on integrating sustainability in local economic development.

The study is paving the way toward development of a standardized set of sustainability indicators for EIPs in the USA.

The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) proposed the development of eco-industrial parks (EIP) related to the 9th, 12th, and 13th of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) for ensuring green industrial practice to deal with climate change. The first approach to EIP is choosing a suitable site, however, it is not a simple task, because it involves spatial factors and is always impaired by uncertainties that require more than one decision module. There is a fewer study in objectively assessing the criteria for the selection of suitable sites for EIP development to contribute to the SDG initiative. This study provides an integrated process for assessing a consistent weight of criteria for EIP site selection. Nine steps were used in the fuzzy-analytical hierarchy process namely criterion identification, hierarchical structure construction, triangular fuzzy number matrix, geometric ratio, fuzzy relative weight, defuzzification, normalisation, sensitivity analysis (SA) and weight ranking. When tested using spatial and non-spatial criteria for EIP site selection, results show transportation infrastructure (13%), raw materials (12%), water bodies (12%), climate (10%), labour (9%), land use (9%), markets (9%), governmental policies (8%), existing industries (7%), urban settlement (6%), and restricted areas (5%). The SA verified that any evaluation error of 2% or 5% on the criteria weight is insignificant, but for 10% error, results can be distorted. The study has developed a consistent, simple approach integrating hierarchical and uncertainty modules for choosing EIP locations, and it is proposed as a guide for selecting suitable greenfield or brownfield EIP sites for sustainable industrial practices.

Green supply chain management (GSCM) and the circular economy (CE) overlap but also differ. The purpose of this paper is to clarify linkages between these two concepts. It identifies mutual theory applications used to study GSCM and CE.

A systematic literature review is conducted to identify theories from GSCM and CE studies. A critical analysis explores the theories that can provide mutual applications between GSCM and CE fields. Propositions are developed.

In all, 12 theories are applied in both GSCM and CE studies. Several theories are only applied in GSCM studies, but can help to advance CE study. These theories include complexity, transaction cost economics, agency, and information theories. Each of the eight theories only applied to CE can potentially advance GSCM study.

The findings contribute to further theory development for both GSCM and CE study. A methodological review can advance theoretical development and cross-pollination in both fields.

This work is the first study to explicitly explore linkages of GSCM and CE from a theoretical perspective.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the developing circular economy (CE) policy within China and its relationship to China's information technology (IT) and IT products industry. It provides a framework to understand the role CE plays in sustainability at many levels within China.

This paper provides a review of the literature and practice in China various information sources including Chinese publications are used to further develop the framework and provide exemplary activities fitting within this framework.

If The CE program for IT, is to work, these needs to be co‐operation at multiple levels of analysis. A proposed governmental policy can greatly influence sustainability in the IT industry.

This review is based on various sources which may become dated as the CE and regulatory policy that influence IT advance. Understanding the historical perspective and potential future directions can help researchers identify important areas of investigation for future development in this field.

Practically, the framework can help policy makers understand how to structure a previously unstructured and broad policy. Managers at various organizational levels can become more clear on their organizational's IT role in a CE‐like program.

This is the first comprehensive paper that seeks to integrate IT sustainability issues in China. It is one of the first to utilize the CE policy implications on any functional, industrial, and technological group.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the operational performance of industrial park infrastructures in Germany to find first indications for cost saving potentials.

Between 2006 and 2007, six chemical parks and chemical related industrial parks in Germany participated in a benchmarking study with focus on operation and maintenance of buildings, communication infrastructures and traffic infrastructures. Based on data analysis in combination with workshops, numerous key performance indicators were defined and calculated.

To compare the different complexities of the analysed infrastructures, the most important key performance indicators were adjusted using correction factors defined and verified during the workshops. This made a discussion based on comparable and comprehensible figures possible which increased the acceptance and applicability of the benchmarking methodology. The benchmarking results showed large differences in performance levels, indicating that there are significant cost saving potentials in some industrial parks.

The comparability may remain limited due to the partly insufficient availability of data from the participants. Other limitations are due to the small number of investigated industrial parks and the focus of the benchmarking study on Germany.

The developed benchmark and best practice methodology is well suited to evaluate best practice in the field of industrial park infrastructures. It is important for industrial parks to understand the individual performance level and to adapt best practice in all areas.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the most recurrent variables characterizing the collaborative relationships of industrial symbiosis (IS) (hereinafter also referred to as “anatomic” variables) established in the attempt to adopt circular economy (CE) by collecting evidence from a rich empirical set of implementation cases in Italy.

The current literature on IS was reviewed, and a content analysis was performed to identify and define the “anatomic” variables affecting its adoption in the circular economy. We followed a multiple-case study methodology investigating 50 cases of IS in Italy and performed a content analysis of the “anatomic” variables characterizing each case.

This research proposes the “anatomic” variables (i.e. industrial sectors involved, public actors involvement, governmental support, facilitator involvement and geographical proximity) explaining the cases of IS in the circular economy. Each “anatomic” variable is discussed at length based on the empirical evidence collected, with a particular reference to the impact on the different development strategies (i.e. “bottom-up” and “top-down”) in the cases observed.

Current literature on IS focuses on a sub-set of variables characterizing collaboration in IS. This research builds on extant literature to define a new framework of five purposeful “anatomic” variables defining IS in the circular economy. Moreover, we also collect and discuss a broad variety of empirical evidence in what is a still under-investigated context (i.e. Italy).

This study aims to examine two innovation zones in China, including the Suzhou Industrial Park and Tianjin Eco-city, to gain a comprehensive understanding of city locations attributes and its relationship to inward foreign direct investment (FDI) from multinational enterprises (MNEs) in innovation zones embedded in nonhub cities in China.

This research incorporates two site visits and in-depth interviews with 39 personnel working with innovation zones. Thematic analysis is used to analyze interview data and documents.

The results highlight that cities can use innovation zones as a strategy to build high scale knowledge community precincts to connect MNEs and other global actors. As an important institutional feature of city locations, innovation zones increase within-city connectivity and connect cities in global networks resulting in cross-city connectivity to attract FDI from MNEs. From a dynamic knowledge community perspective, this research also compares active and passive approaches toward building knowledge communities and identifies several elements of knowledge communities within innovation zones in China.

The research results could be further explored in other institutional and economic contexts, to understand the interplay of city locations, FDI and innovation zones, and the dynamics of building knowledge communities.

This research has several implications for policymakers and administrators who work with municipal economic development and the development and enhancement of innovation zones. It offers recommendations for MNEs to consider where to make foreign investments and the advantages innovation zones may offer to support FDI.

This research contributes to the literature related to economic development and how nonhub cities can attract FDI and join global networks. It offers empirical insights drawn from two successful innovation zones located in nonhub cities in China.

The purpose of this paper is to describe green technological trajectories in eco‐industrial parks and reveal the effect of the selected environment on the trajectories in China, by means of case studies of the Lubei Group and the Guitang Group.

The paper opted for content analysis from various sources, including annual reports of listed companies, newspapers, web sites and academic articles. It adopts contrast analysis, in order to show the different technological evolution trend and the diversified dynamics of the selected environment.

The study provides the empirical insights about how green technology evolves and affects the evolution of the eco‐industrial park. The green technology development of the Lubei Group forms self‐reinforcing mechanism through learning process, economies of scale in production and network externalities, while that of the Guitang Group is under way. Additionally, the paper discusses how the selected environment affects the green technology, referring to the six factors constituting the selected environment: environmental regulation, financial support, knowledge accumulation, market environment, organizational culture and resource endowment.

The paper analyzes the evolution process, drivers and operational risks of eco‐industrial parks in the perspective of green technological trajectories. Some practical suggestions, such as eco‐industrial parks should put the focus on environmental intellectual property protection, green core competencies construction and green technology transfer strategies are proposed. What is more, the Lubei Group is a large, state‐owned enterprise and the Guitang Group used to be. The contrast analysis tends to disclose the context‐embedded knowledge of eco‐industrial parks development in an emerging market.

The purpose of this paper is to examine China's approach to circular economy (CE) and investigate how the foreign concept of CE has been turned into a national strategy for implementation in production, circulation and consumption. This study aims to highlight the Chinese characteristics in the implementation of CE from central to local levels including the “trial and test” by pilot schemes and the role of local governments in CE transformation of industrial parks and in building CE cities. Based on what has been achieved, this paper aims to identify the gaps to be filled in the next stage of CE implementation.

This paper engages in critical analysis of state policies, plans, laws and regulations and case studies of Suzhou New District and Shanghai city in the building CE-oriented industrial park and CE city, respectively.

China has taken a top-down approach to CE characterised by strong government involvement in both policy and plan making and implementation at local levels. The government’s financial investment and administrative assistance proved to be crucial in the early stage of CE implementation to close the loop at industrial parks and in cities. In comparison, participation by enterprises and individuals is still weak and limited, which should be the focus of the next stage of CE implementation.

There is an absence of legal literature that studies circular economy in China. This paper fills the gap by examining the development of CE law and policy as well as CE implementation at local levels from industrial parks to cities.