Industrial parks for people and planet: Assessing their contribution to sustainable regional development

Abstract

International companies sometimes trigger the creation of industrial parks to address their need to have their suppliers located nearby, to lower transportation costs and risks, to reduce stock inventories, and to promote cheaper handling/loading or packaging costs, among others. Examples of such setups are found in the automotive sector, for example, one based in Rosslyn in the northern part of Pretoria, South Africa 3 , or the supplier park "Frisia" in Emden, Germany 4 . It is expected that IPs have to satisfy not only the expectations of local stakeholders but also those further down or up the supply chain and value chain of the companies located in the park. Examples can be the provider companies Tier 2 or 3 5 .From an external viewpoint, industrial parks and clusters can benefit the zones of influence of their supply chain partners if companies enforce sustainable supply chain policies. IPs can influence their local industrial ecosystem by attracting companies or developing companies in the region to be their providers of services, materials, or products. Direct economic benefits for the region can be expected, with indirect positive impacts in education for the workforce, improved health care, and social amenities, among others. From an internal viewpoint, industrial parks offer various opportunities, including the possibility to: create industrial symbiosis 6 practices (consumption of materials and energy) to improve the environmental balance within industrial ecosystems; pool efforts to train people; create a common job board; and share social infrastructure, e.g., hospitals, recreational and childcare centers.