<p>Industrial symbiosis (IS) offers a promising solution to mitigate climate change challenges. This paper aims to assess the carbon emission reduction potential (CERP) within industrial parks, focusing on the application of IS principles. The primary research objective is to develop a comprehensive methodology for evaluating CERP across different IS modes in industrial parks. To achieve this, this paper categorizes IS into three distinct modes based on industrial metabolism: waste reuse mode, energy cascade utilization mode, and infrastructure sharing mode. The paper then presents evaluation models that assess CERP by analyzing the material and energy flows associated with each mode. A case study in the Wuzhong Economic and Technological Development Zone is used to validate the proposed methodology. The results reveal that the waste reuse mode leads to a much higher CERP than the energy cascade utilization mode, with a carbon reduction of 381,779.5 tons and 10,622.8 tons, respectively. This paper highlights the importance of adopting a holistic strategy that combines multiple IS modes to maximize carbon emission reductions.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>