ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses initial deliberations on a certification system for sustainable industrial zones, and moves on to exemplify some methods and instruments for developing sustainable industrial/commercial zones and delineates some case examples from Germany, which were developed in the course of two research projects addressing various industrial and commercial zones. In many different ways, the use of natural resources has already reached a level of over exploitation. The need to reduce this excessive use of natural resources has a large impact on the production as well as the consumption of manufactured products. An understanding of economic sustainability can be gleaned from welfare economics. Neoclassical welfare economics is focused on the maximization of the material well-being of the individual. Certification systems are one of several possible instruments to promote the implementation of sustainable industrial zones. In industrial zones, sustainability measures can be initiated and introduced by various actors.
