Abstract Industrial parks have played a key role in promoting economic development around the world. However, rapid industrial park development has resulted in many challenges, including resource depletion, environmental emissions and increasing pressure for industries to respond to climate change. Under such circumstance, a solution to optimize resource utilization and reduce environmental impact is needed. One effective approach is to adopt an eco-industrial development strategy that not only contributes to economic profit and resource conservation, but also to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions mitigation and environmental service. Such integrated benefits are often termed as co-benefits. However, at present, how to account for such co-benefits at the scale of an eco-industrial park (EIP) is still at an early stage. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the co-benefits resulting from eco-industrial development and demonstrate how an emergy accounting-based approach can be applied. A case study involving the Dalian Economic and Technological Development Zone (DETDZ) was completed to verify the applicability of this approach. The results indicate that co-benefits go far beyond simple direct economic benefits. The policy implications of such strategies and the application beyond industrial development such as urban symbiosis are discussed within the context of the DETDZ demonstrating how multiple objectives can be achieved.