Industrial ecosystem is a kind of Social-Economic-Natural Complex Ecosystem (SENCE). Development of industrial ecosystem is one of the most popular methods being implemented in the industrial world for sustainable development. Eco-industrial Park (EIP) provides a specific practice for the medium level of industrial ecosystem and serves as an effective mode to achieve sustainable development of economy, society and environment in China. In recent years, EIP has been developed very fast in China. Up to September, 2012, there are 45 national EIPs authorized by Ministry of Environmental Protection, Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Science and Technology. Most of these EIPs are national economic and technical development zone and national high-tech industrial development zone. These development zones are important carriers of Chinese urbanization process. Therefore, the dynamic processes of Chinese EIPs are quite different from other countries, where the functions of EIPs in China is not only industrial production, but a Social-Economic-Natural Complex function, and its final evaluation shape of EIPs will be eco-cities.
In this paper, we developed a special definition of complex eco-efficiency based on SENCE theory to measure the development status of Chinese EIPs. The accurate measurement of the complex eco-efficiency of EIP industrial eco-system in China will help to understand the overall operation conditionsand the importance of various factors on the improvement of the complex eco-efficiency, which is convenient for setting up feedback mechanism timely and promoting the comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development of EIPs. We first discussed the structure, functions and processes of complex industrial ecosystem briefly, then the development of evaluation indicator system in detail. An evaluation indicator system for complex eco-efficiency of EIP on a frame of structure-function-process was developed based on the theoretical review. The indicator system was divided into five layers and three sub-groups. There were totally 25 technological indicators among which 23 were quantitative, 2 were qualitative. 6 structural indicators, 15 functional indicators and 4 process indicators were included in three sub-groups. Zhengzhou national economic and technical development zone was selected for case study to explain how to collect data and information on EIP level and how to make a systematic assessment of these indicators. The focus of this paper was to explain that these indicators were easily accessible and useful.
In 2006, the Ministry of Environmental Protection issued a series of national standards for EIPs. Although they divided EIPs into sector-specific EIPs, sector-integrate EIPs and venous industry based EIPs, the indicators of these three types are similar. Except for economic development indictors, most of these indicators are related to environmental pollution control and environmental management. These indicators are useful on factory level of EIPs, but not useful when we take EIP as a whole ecosystem. In this paper, we tried to develop indicators which are more ecologically and systematically, based on our understanding of EIPs as a complex ecosystem and a special evolution process of eco-cities.