Industrial symbiosis

An economy in transition needs solutions. The affirming shift towards a lower carbon economy today presents major challenges, in particular to industry since the balance between competitiveness and responsibility is at risk. It urges for efficiencies, of resources, enery, waste; to close loops; to ponder activities that cross borders and cluster efforts. Hence economies of scope and scale are reinforced, chaining and pooling products, facilities, services. The challenge is indeed to see business clustering as a driver of opportunities, to seize and exploit any form of industrial symbiosis. Long before it had a name, the sharing economy first saw the light. It grew organically, starting from a wish, a need or a duty to collaborate. B2B (1 to 1) as well as network (1 to M) deals originated from the technical or spatial proximity of down- or upstream business potential, creating economic wins, in a conventional legal framework. Adding the sustainability principle to this LEST concept, however, requires a strong social and environmental dimension; a win for society, built on corporate responsibility. Such win-win situations focus eg on reuse of waste streams, optimisation of processes and resources, energy efficiency and recovery, new technologies to reduce footprints, involvement of localities, etc. District heating networks, using industrial waste heat to supply local communities or feed neigbouring companies at a business park, are typical examples of industrial symbiosis with society or industry as a privileged partner. Whether as eco-industrial park, business improvement district or multi-stakeholder cooperative, the symbiosis thus created needs a strong management structure and full partnership agreement in order to be succesful; to value the concepts of coopetition and co-option , to counter free rider behaviour, to seek competitive advantage while taking responsible care. In this talk the drivers and pittfalls of cluster activities are discussed, based on 15 years of experience in applied multidisciplinary research. The presented examples of business clustering set off this session on industrial symbiosis