Changing economies of scale - synergies between implementation of an ecological tax reform and development of industrial ecosystems

In this paper an investigation is presented into the long-term effects of an ecological tax reform. Exploring time frames of different length, the paper considers the reform's effects on manufacturing systems, especially on economies of scale. Industrial ecology, a framework for restructuring into industrial ecosystems, is one attempt at transforming the socio-economic system for sustainability. The paper points out the synergetic effects an ecological tax reform has with those restructuring efforts for sustainable industry and society. For that purpose, the economies of scale in the current linear production system and those found in the closed-loop circular structures of industrial ecosystems are compared, and the paper is concluded by a discussion of opportunity costs of implementation of an ecological tax reform and industrial ecological restructuring.