How do they match: Industrial Ecologists

  • Natural Resources Energy Specialist
  • Natural Resources Engineer

  • Apply principles and processes of natural ecosystems to develop models for efficient industrial systems. Use knowledge from the physical and social sciences to maximize effective use of natural resources in the production and use of goods and services. Examine societal issues and their relationship with both technical systems and the environment.

  • Apply new or existing research about natural ecosystems to understand economic and industrial systems in the context of the environment.
  • Build and maintain databases of information about energy alternatives, pollutants, natural environments, industrial processes, and other information related to ecological change.
  • Conduct applied research on the effects of industrial processes on the protection, restoration, inventory, monitoring, or reintroduction of species to the natural environment.
  • Conduct environmental sustainability assessments, using material flow analysis (MFA) or substance flow analysis (SFA) techniques.
  • Conduct scientific protection, mitigation, or restoration projects to prevent resource damage, maintain the integrity of critical habitats, and minimize the impact of human activities.
  • Examine local, regional, or global use and flow of materials or energy in industrial production processes.
  • Identify or compare the component parts or relationships between the parts of industrial, social, and natural systems.
  • Prepare plans to manage renewable resources.
  • Promote use of environmental management systems (EMS) to reduce waste or to improve environmentally sound use of natural resources.
  • Provide industrial managers with technical materials on environmental issues, regulatory guidelines, or compliance actions.
  • Redesign linear, or open-loop, systems into cyclical, or closed-loop, systems so that waste products become inputs for new processes, modeling natural ecosystems.
  • Review industrial practices, such as the methods and materials used in construction or production, to identify potential liabilities and environmental hazards.

  • Conduct research of processes in natural or industrial ecosystems.
  • Develop plans to manage natural or renewable resources.
  • Plan natural resources conservation or restoration programs.
  • Prepare information or documentation related to legal or regulatory matters.