-
Conduct scientific protection, mitigation, or restoration projects to prevent resource damage, maintain the integrity of critical habitats, and minimize the impact of human activities.
-
Review industrial practices, such as the methods and materials used in construction or production, to identify potential liabilities and environmental hazards.
-
Carry out environmental assessments in accordance with applicable standards, regulations, or laws.
-
Monitor the environmental impact of development activities, pollution, or land degradation.
-
Examine societal issues and their relationship with both technical systems and the environment.
-
Examine local, regional, or global use and flow of materials or energy in industrial production processes.
-
Research sources of pollution to determine environmental impact or to develop methods of pollution abatement or control.
-
Prepare plans to manage renewable resources.
-
Identify sustainable alternatives to industrial or waste-management practices.
-
Forecast future status or condition of ecosystems, based on changing industrial practices or environmental conditions.
-
Conduct analyses to determine the maximum amount of work that can be accomplished for a given amount of energy in a system, such as industrial production systems and waste treatment systems.
-
Conduct applied research on the effects of industrial processes on the protection, restoration, inventory, monitoring, or reintroduction of species to the natural environment.
-
Investigate the adaptability of various animal and plant species to changed environmental conditions.
-
Evaluate the effectiveness of industrial ecology programs, using statistical analysis and applications.
-
Provide industrial managers with technical materials on environmental issues, regulatory guidelines, or compliance actions.
-
Develop alternative energy investment scenarios to compare economic and environmental costs and benefits.
-
Build and maintain databases of information about energy alternatives, pollutants, natural environments, industrial processes, and other information related to ecological change.
-
Identify or compare the component parts or relationships between the parts of industrial, social, and natural systems.
-
Conduct environmental sustainability assessments, using material flow analysis (MFA) or substance flow analysis (SFA) techniques.
-
Apply new or existing research about natural ecosystems to understand economic and industrial systems in the context of the environment.
-
Create complex and dynamic mathematical models of population, community, or ecological systems.
-
Plan or conduct field research on topics such as industrial production, industrial ecology, population ecology, and environmental production or sustainability.
-
Investigate the impact of changed land management or land use practices on ecosystems.
-
Plan or conduct studies of the ecological implications of historic or projected changes in industrial processes or development.
-
Develop or test protocols to monitor ecosystem components and ecological processes.
-
Promote use of environmental management systems (EMS) to reduce waste or to improve environmentally sound use of natural resources.
-
Review research literature to maintain knowledge on topics related to industrial ecology, such as physical science, technology, economy, and public policy.
-
Analyze changes designed to improve the environmental performance of complex systems and avoid unintended negative consequences.
-
Perform analyses to determine how human behavior can affect, and be affected by, changes in the environment.
-
Redesign linear, or open-loop, systems into cyclical, or closed-loop, systems so that waste products become inputs for new processes, modeling natural ecosystems.
-
Prepare technical and research reports, such as environmental impact reports, and communicate the results to individuals in industry, government, or the general public.
-
Identify or develop strategies or methods to minimize the environmental impact of industrial production processes.
-
Perform environmentally extended input-output (EE I-O) analyses.
-
Investigate accidents affecting the environment to assess ecological impact.
-
Identify environmental impacts caused by products, systems, or projects.
-
Translate the theories of industrial ecology into eco-industrial practices.
-
Recommend methods to protect the environment or minimize environmental damage from industrial production practices.
-
Research environmental effects of land and water use to determine methods of improving environmental conditions or increasing outputs, such as crop yields.