Short Profile
The Institut für Industrielle Ökologie was founded in 1998 as a non-profit scientific association through the incorporation of the Research Institute for Chemistry and the Environment (FICU), which had been based at TU Wien since 1994. In doing so, the Institut für Industrielle Ökologie was able to build on the extensive groundwork laid by FICU. The current governance structure — comprising representatives from industry and public bodies on the one hand, and its location at the NÖ Landesakademie on the other — provides ideal conditions for the cross-disciplinary approach that characterises this field.
Facts and Figures
- Founded in 1998
- Extra-university research institute based in St. Pölten (NÖ Landesakademie)
- 6 members of staff
- Approx. 50 cooperation partners and public clients
- Member and active participant in various national and international working groups and committees
Research Areas
The core focus of the scientific work is the development of frameworks for a sustainable economy, considered from technical, ecological, and economic perspectives. A key emphasis is therefore placed on interdisciplinary collaboration across the relevant fields, as well as engagement with working groups and committees. In recent years, the institute has been able to make significant contributions to the topics mentioned above within Austria. In line with the requirements of the field of "Industrial Ecology", both scientific fundamentals and application-oriented problems are addressed in as balanced a manner as possible. This work is funded primarily through commissions from Austrian ministries and regional authorities, business representatives, and research contracts. Across all activities, the aim of acting as a mediator between industry and public bodies takes centre stage, contributing to consensus on current issues and future strategies through the development of objective decision-making frameworks. In this regard, the close connection between scientific foundations and application-oriented tasks is seen as the best guarantee of lasting independence and enduring recognition of the institution.
The institute's core areas of work within Industrial Ecology are listed below:
- Assessment of environmental impacts (e.g. of goods production) — climate, energy, emissions
- Sustainability of production — modelling of material and energy flows as a means of improving resource and energy efficiency, resource management, transition to renewable raw materials
- Sustainability of products and activities — sustainable procurement, product assessment methods, life cycle assessments, carbon footprint
- Evaluation of measures and monitoring of programmes — evaluation of environmental programmes, development of sustainability assessment methods, sustainability assessment for businesses and regions
Climate Research Focus
The Institut für Industrielle Ökologie (IIÖ) has been engaged with environmentally and climate-relevant aspects since its founding, meaning that the institute's staff have built up many years of expertise and experience in these areas. The main focus lies in the collection and development of emissions data at a wide range of levels (national, as well as operational and regional), as well as the development of measures and strategies for climate protection and, more broadly, a CO2-free society ("low carbon economy").
In recent years, the institute's staff have worked specifically on the following topics:
- "Climate Trade Balance" — modelling the climate impacts of consumption in Austria as a supplement to the national production-based inventory (ACRP project, funded by the Climate and Energy Fund)
- Industry measures for emissions reduction
- Carbon accounting of timber within climate assessment procedures
- Analysis of the existing market for energy services and further potential for implementing the Energy Efficiency Directive in Austria
- Assessment of climate-adverse subsidies in Salzburg
- Analysis of the BLI (Bundesländer-Luftschadstoff-Inventur) with regard to the effects of measures under the Lower Austrian Climate and Energy Programme
Further link: http://www.indoek.at/