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There is reasonably widespread appreciation of the need to orient ecologically industrial and economic activity. At the same time, there is an emerging reservoir of empirical information from applying industrial ecology in "eco-industrial parks" (EIPs). This paper argues that these developments offer a unique opportunity to incorporate industrial ecology principles into regional economic development decision-making frameworks in order to move closer to meeting sustainability objectives. Attaining sustainability at the local/regional level requires, among other factors, collective effort by industrial organizations toward common goals including resource conservation, production efficiency, economic viability, and social responsibility. There is a need to identify and/or develop practical management tools and institutional arrangements that nurture desirable organizational traits and discourage practices contrary to sustainable development in the local and global contexts. To this end. this paper attempts to bring together learning from a review of the literature on industrial ecology, "learning organizations and regions, and ecological economics in an attempt to bridge the current gaps between regional planning policy and the requirements of ecosystem integrity and sustainable industrial development.