A Simulation Tool for Industrial Ecology: Creating a Board Game

This article presents a board game that was developed for use as a simulation tool in teaching the basic concepts of industrial ecology (IE). The game, with the automobile industry as its theme, includes realistic numbers and displays a variety of IE principles. The objectives of the simulation, however, transcend the automobile industry and apply to other manufacturing industries. They include: pollution prevention, design for environment (in several forms, including design for disassembly), environmental management, and life-cycle assessment. The game has already been played by engineering and business professors, graduate students in environmental engineering, government representatives, and industry executives. A statistical analysis performed on pre- and post-game questionnaires indicates that the game is an effective teaching tool.