Development of Eco-Efficient Industrial Parks in China: A review

The report examines China's effort to transition its industrial sector—responsible for 70% of energy consumption and 72% of carbon emissions—through three primary pilot programs: the Eco-Industrial Park (EIP) Demonstration Program, the Circular Transformation of Industrial Parks (CTIP), and the Low-Carbon Industrial Park Program. While these programs overlap in their goals to reduce pollution and resource scarcity, they differ in governance and metrics. The EIP program uses a rigid set of threshold values, whereas the CTIP program allows zones to set their own targets and provides direct national financing, averaging RMB 182 million per zone. The Low-Carbon Industrial Park Program, launched in 2013, specifically targets greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The report concludes that while these voluntary schemes help build technical capacity and attract investment, they often lack comprehensive life-cycle assessments and clear guidance for participating firms.

• China's industrial sector is a critical target for climate policy, as it accounts for approximately 70% of national energy consumption and 72% of carbon emissions.
• The EIP Demonstration Program, managed by a group including the MEP, MoST, and MofCOM, focuses on improving existing parks through industrial symbiosis and clean production; as of the report date, 94 zones were National Trial EIPs and 31 had achieved full accreditation as National Demonstration EIPs.
• The Circular Transformation of Industrial Parks (CTIP) program, led by the NDRC and MoF, provides significant direct national financing, with an estimated average subsidy of RMB 182 million per zone, representing about 8.5% of project investment.
• The Low-Carbon Industrial Park Program, launched in September 2013 by MIIT and NDRC, is distinguished from other schemes by its specific management of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data, including both intensity and total emissions.
• There is a lack of standardization across programs; the EIP program uses fixed threshold values for sector-integrated parks, while the CTIP program allows zones to submit their own values, leading to wide variations in targets, such as energy intensity targets being three times higher in Rizhao than in the Tianjin Economic Development Area.
• Despite the proliferation of these programs, which cover about 13% of China's 1,568 industrial zones, they do not provide a comprehensive low-carbon evaluation as they omit full life-cycle impacts, including product usage and disposal.
• Industrial zones face significant barriers to eco-efficient transformation, specifically a lack of technical capacity and limited technological development.

APA

Thieriot, H., & Sawyer, D. (2015). Development of Eco-Efficient Industrial Parks in China: A review. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/development-eco-efficient-industrial-parks-china-review-en.pdf

Chicago

Thieriot, Hubert, and Dave Sawyer. Development of Eco-Efficient Industrial Parks in China: A review. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2015. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/development-eco-efficient-industrial-parks-china-review-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Thieriot |first1=Hubert |last2=Sawyer |first2=Dave |title=Development of Eco-Efficient Industrial Parks in China: A review |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=March 2015 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/development-eco-efficient-industrial-parks-china-review-en.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{thieriot2015development, author = {Thieriot, Hubert and Sawyer, Dave}, title = {{Development of Eco-Efficient Industrial Parks in China: A review}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2015}, month = mar, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/development-eco-efficient-industrial-parks-china-review-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }