Eric Masanet has been named program co-chair of the 6th International Conference of the International Society for Industrial Ecology, to be held at the University of California, Berkeley, from June 7 to 10, 2011.  The conference theme is "Science, Systems and Sustainability."

The International Society for Industrial Ecology promotes industrial ecology as a way of finding innovative solutions to complicated environmental problems, and facilitates communication among scientists, engineers, policymakers, managers, and advocates who are interested in how environmental concerns and economic activities can be better integrated. The mission of the ISIE is to promote the use of industrial ecology in research, education, policy, community development, and industrial practices.

The field of industrial ecology has adopted and developed rigorous tools for assessing the environmental impacts of products, processes, industrial sectors and economies at local, regional and global scales. These include methods of life cycle assessment, material and energy flow analysis, applied thermodynamics, risk assessment, economic input-output analysis, and resource economics. These methods serve: in the design of green products and processes, e.g., green buildings, eco-industrial parks; in assessing technological change, dematerialization and decarbonization; and in developing policy to encourage product stewardship and environmental protection.

The ISIE has a worldwide membership of about 400 scientists and engineers broadly concerned with the technical foundations of sustainable development. The membership, from academia, industry and government, has expertise in the technological development and societal progression towards industrial systems that are compatible with the functioning of natural ecosystems, e.g., efficient use of energy, material recycling, and non-polluting solutions. Many members of the society are advisors to national governments on matters of environmental technology and policy.

 http://isie2011.berkeley.edu/index.html