The interactions of the societal-industrial system with the environment form one of the most critical issues in today's world. The inadequacy of current environmental regulatory structures and of traditional ways of analyzing enviromnental issues, together with the continuing need to mitigate the environmental perturbations arising from this complex relationship, have led to the development of a new conceptual framework termed industrial ecology. Industrial ecology (IE), defined by Graedel and Allenby, is the means by which humanity can deliberately and rationally approach and maintain a desirable carrying capacity, given continued economic, cultural and technological evolution. The concept requires that an industrial system be viewed not in isolation from its surrounding systems, but in concert with them. IE is a systems view in which one seeks to optimize the total materials cycle from virgin material, to finished material, to component, to product, to obsolete product, and to ultimate disposal. Factors to be optimized include resources, energy, and capital. In the present paper, the concept of Industrial Ecology and its application through efficient and practical Design for Environment (DFE) methodologies and tools will be introduced to Korea. This paper will also emphasis on the industrial environment within which DFE methodologies must be used, including the fundamentals of industrial design activities, concurrent engineering, constraints on design choices and existing technological infrastructure.