Among the important contributions of industrial ecology (IE) is the conceptualization it makes possible of socioeconomic activities in a systems framework that is likened to ecological systems. While the application of this metaphor has been principally focused on industrial systems of resource extraction, manufacturing, or mechanical operation, its extension to other arenas of socioeconomic activity has similar potential to introduce measures of efficiency and sustainability in modern society. Of particular interest to this study is the application of the IE framework to what might best be called “institutional ecology,” specifically that of institutions of higher education.

In the United States, alone, there exist over 4,000 colleges and universities that represent an important sector of the nation’s economy. As in any sector, each institution has inputs and outputs of materials, energy, information, and people, and each has pronounced environmental impacts – which may or may not reflect those of their surrounding communities or the nation at large. In recent years, efforts to develop a “greening” of campuses have begun via implementation of diverse measures that target specific aspects of how colleges and universities function. Led by such organizations as National Wildlife Federation’s Campus Ecology program, Second Nature, and the Association of University Leaders for a Sustainable Future (ULSF), this movement has had notable successes. In tandem with these programs, Ball State University is often noted for its leadership by undertaking an integrated approach to its own “greening” that has adopted some aspects of industrial ecology (Eflin, Koester, and Vann, 2005), and by hosting five international Greening of the Campus conferences to promote such efforts in higher education worldwide; a sixth conference is scheduled for September, 2005.

The current project sought to build a model of the institutional ecology of one university campus to begin tracking the inputs, throughputs, and outputs of that system using a material flow analysis (MFA) approach in an effort to reduce the environmental footprint of the campus. The basis for this conceptual model is Ball State University, but the model may be adapted by other institutions of higher education.