Determination of National Environmental Categories and Indicators for Eco Industrial Parks

The industrial developments simultaneously with the development of cities have led to environmental problems. In this context, Eco-Industrial Park (EIPs) not only prevents industrial environmental problems, but also contributes to the circular economy.The national assessment system for EIPs is based on 'Environmentally Equipped Industrial Zones' in Italy. A certification system for environmental indicators in China and local environmental indicator sets in the USA have been developed. These approaches consider local data but cannot be adapted to developing countries. Therefore, the role of EIPs in sustainable development and the lack of research on industrialization in Turkey makes it significant to develop an environmental assessment list and a method for EIPs on a national scale. In this study, environmental categories, subcategories, and indicators have been defined for both new industrial zones and existing industrial zones. The categories and indicators have been determined based on the indicator systems in China and Thailand, UNIDO's studies, the indicators of LEED-ND, BREEAM, and CASBEA-UD, as well as concepts of eco-industry and sustainable development. An EIP assessment list has been developed considering local conditions.A preliminary assessment of this list was made by an expert in urban planning, resulting in 9 categories, 26 subcategories, and 29 indicators.This study is thought to contribute to the transformation of existing industrial zones into EIPs and guide the sustainable design and implementation of new industrial areas.The developed checklist could help determine the current state of industrial zones in terms of sustainability and identify areas that need to be improved environmentally.