Abstract Industrial parks have been adopted as one way to promote industrial development in China since the early 1980s. However, most of current performance evaluation indicators highlight the maximization of industrial yield, leading to both ecological degradation and environmental pollution due to intensive industrial activities. Therefore, it is critical to develop appropriate evaluation indicators so that industrial parks can move toward sustainable development. This paper aims to fill such a research gap by developing innovative emergy indicators. Kaya formula and index decomposition analysis (IDA) were integrated together in order to quantify the key factors influencing the sustainability of an industrial park. Tianjin Economic Development area (TEDA), the largest industrial park in terms of its economic scale in China, was chosen as one case study area for testing the related methods. The results show that during the period of 2006–2010 the sustainability of TEDA experienced a declining trend. From the Kaya formula and IDA analysis, indicators on economic efficiency of process, economic return on investment, renewable empower density and nonrenewable empower density were calculated. Such research findings provide valuable policy insights to the industrial park managers so that they can prepare appropriate development strategies for achieving sustainable development of their industrial parks by considering the local realities.