‘Habitat’ Suitability Index Mapping for Industrial Symbiosis Planning

By ‘working with the willing’, the National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP) has successfully facilitated industrial symbiosis throughout the United Kingdom and, in the process, delivered significant economic and environmental benefits for both Programme members and the country as a whole. One of the keys to NISP's success is that, unlike failed attempts to plan and construct eco‐industrial systems from scratch, the Programme works largely with existing companies who have already settled in, developed, and successfully operate within a given locale. This article argues that existing and mature industrial systems provide the best prospects for identifying opportunities for, and ultimately facilitating, industrial symbiosis. Due to levels of diversification and operational fundamental niches that, in the fullness of time, develop within all industrial systems, industrially mature areas are deemed to be industrial symbiosis ‘conducive environments’. Building on the conservation biology concept of a habitat suitability index, the article presents a methodology for comparing a potential site for eco‐industrial development to a known baseline industrial ‘habitat’ already identified as being highly conducive to industrial symbiosis. The suitability index methodology is further developed and applied to a multi‐criteria evaluation geographic information system to produce a ‘habitat’ suitability map that allows practitioners to quickly identify potential industrial symbiosis hotspots (the methodology is illustrated for England). The article concludes by providing options for the development of symbiosis suitability indices and how they can be used to support the facilitation of industrial symbiosis and regional resource efficiency.     

“Uncovering” Industrial Symbiosis

Since 1989, efforts to understand the nature of interfirm resource sharing in the form of industrial symbiosis and to replicate in a deliberate way what was largely self‐organizing in Kalundborg, Denmark have followed many paths, some with much success and some with very little. This article provides a historical view of the motivations and means for pursuing industrial symbiosis—defined to include physical exchanges of materials, energy, water, and by‐products among diversified clusters of firms. It finds that “uncovering” existing symbioses has led to more sustainable industrial development than attempts to design and build eco‐industrial parks incorporating physical exchanges. By examining 15 proposed projects brought to national and international attention by the U.S. President's Council on Sustainable Development beginning in the early 1990s, and contrasting these with another 12 projects observed to share more elements of self‐organization, recommendations are offered to stimulate the identification and uncovering of already existing “kernels” of symbiosis. In addition, policies and practices are suggested to identify early‐stage precursors of potentially larger symbioses that can be nurtured and developed further. The article concludes that environmentally and economically desirable symbiotic exchanges are all around us and now we must shift our gaze to find and foster them.     

国内外产业共生网络研究比较述评

产业共生网络是指基于物质及能量交换以及知识及基础设施共享而形成的在不同产业主体之间的合作共赢网络,是产业转型升级的重要保障。作为产业共生的运作方式,产业共生网络的研究国外从20世纪90年代开始从概念到实例就展开了一系列探讨,国内自2002年也开始在网络结构等方面开展相关研究。尤其在2008年以后,产业共生网络的研究方向不断拓宽,研究成果丰富多样。为明晰国内外产业共生网络研究的发展态势,促进产业共生网络理论体系的发展并使其得到有效应用。本文从共生网络内涵、结构、功能及评价、演化、管理调控等方面比较分析了国内外产业共生网络的研究进展,并对产业共生网络的发展前景做了展望。未来产业共生网络研究在不同尺度的比较及推演、数据信息平台的搭建以及产业共生网络演化模拟及管理调控的耦合等方面需重点关注。     

Analyzing the Environmental Benefits of Industrial Symbiosis

Studies of industrial symbiosis (IS) focus on the physical flows of materials and energy in local industrial systems. In an ideal IS, waste material and energy are shared or exchanged among the actors of the system, thereby reducing the consumption of virgin material and energy inputs, and likewise the generation of waste and emissions. In this study, the environmental impacts of an industrial ecosystem centered around a pulp and paper mill and operating as an IS are analyzed using life cycle assessment (LCA). The system is compared with two hypothetical reference systems in which the actors would operate in isolation. Moreover, the system is analyzed further in order to identify possibilities for additional links between the actors. The results show that of the total life cycle impacts of the system, upstream processes made the greatest overall contribution to the results. Comparison with stand‐alone production shows that in the case studied, the industrial symbiosis results in modest improvements, 5% to 20% in most impact categories, in the overall environmental impacts of the system. Most of the benefits occur upstream through heat and electricity production for the local town. All in all it is recommended that when the environmental impacts of industrial symbiosis are assessed, the impacts occurring upstream should also be studied, not only the impacts within the ecosystem.     

生命周期方法在产业共生系统环境效益评价中的应用——研究进展及问题分析

近年来,产业共生作为产业生态学最具特征的领域引起了相关研究者的广泛关注。当前的研究逐渐从产业共生系统的定性描述分析转向定量的系统评价上。传统的产业共生系统环境效益评价仅仅关注共生系统本身,而忽视了占环境影响20%—50%的上、下游过程及替代过程的环境影响,为了得到客观的、系统的环境影响评价,将生命周期分析方法引入产业共生效益评价显得尤为重要。首先回顾了生命周期分析方法在产业共生研究中的发展过程,接着评述了3种生命周期分析方法在产业生态研究中的优劣势。并重点分析了将生命周期思想引入产业共生效益评价方法存在的功能单位设定问题及系统边界的选择问题。最后,呼吁为避免隐形污染的转移,必须尽快将生命周期分析的方法和管理理念引入我国生态工业园设计、规划、评价和管理的全过程中。     

Framework for Applying a Complex Adaptive System Approach to Model the Operation of Eco‐Industrial Parks

Models of eco‐industrial parks (EIPs) might help us transform our production systems by fostering the emergence of sustainable EIPs since such models have the potential to support the decision‐making processes of cooperative companies that participate and to decrease operational uncertainties. In this article, a conceptual framework for modeling the operation of EIPs is presented. The framework is underpinned by complex adaptive systems theory, industrial ecology, and an analysis of the experiences of existing EIPs. The proposed framework draws on the observed strengths of two types of industrial symbiosis models—planned eco‐industrial parks (PEIPs) and EIPs that developed through self‐organizing symbiosis (SOS)—as well as their observed weaknesses and the features of complex adaptive systems. From this analysis, five key properties to be modeled are deduced: functionality, reliability, life span, theoretical knowledge, and adaptability. It is proposed that the properties of functionality and theoretical knowledge are determined by the goals of the EIP and its member companies, while the property of adaptability is determined by the understanding that the companies in an EIP have of the environment surrounding the EIP, while the properties of reliability and life span are determined by the internal and external relationships of the companies that make up an EIP.     

Industrial Waste Reuse and By‐product Synergy Optimization

By‐product synergy is a growing practice worldwide. It consists in the maximization of resources utilization with the replacement of raw materials by by‐products as inputs for industrial processes. In order to support decision making in such strategic projects, appropriate tools must be developed. This article presents the results of a research project, which includes the development of a multiobjective mathematical programming model for the optimization of by‐product flows, synergy configurations, and investment decisions in eco‐industrial networks. This model is evaluated using data related to the Kalundborg industrial symbiosis (IS) in order to illustrate its utilization, as well as to assess, in a retrospective manner, the behavior of the companies involved with respect to both economic and environmental benefits of synergies. The experiments also illustrate the influence of the municipality on synergy implementation and how a scenario‐based approach can be used to anticipate raw material price increase. The results are generally coherent with the actual timing of synergy initializations. Further, the considerable effect of water price on the length of investments’ payback period illustrates the impact of policies and regulations on IS.     

Industrial symbiosis in the forestry sector: A case study in southern Brazil

Industrial symbiosis (IS) is an important concept in the field of industrial ecology that has disseminated worldwide as a practice to decrease the ecological impact of industrial processes through the exchange of by‐products and waste between units in a system. The forestry industry is the main economic activity in the region of Lages in southern Brazil. IS relationships have expanded with the use of waste material from wood processing and strengthened cooperation between companies in different sectors. The aims of this article were to: a) quantify the level of IS in the system, b) identify the benefits of IS for participants, and c) explain why the network further developed IS to the formation of an industrial ecosystem. A questionnaire was administered during visits to 24 forestry companies in order to analyze their products and processes, commercial relations, positive impacts, and local insertion. The industrial symbiosis indicator (ISI) was determined using waste stream data from the system to represent the level of symbiosis among the companies in this region. The results show that the companies participate in a symbiotic network, mainly involving the exchange of chips, bark, sawdust and shavings. In most cases, these exchanges occur between nearby companies, constituting an extensive industrial ecosystem.     

Using an Industrial Waste Account to Facilitate National Level Industrial Symbioses by Uncovering the Waste Exchange Potential

The identification of potential by‐product exchanges is important for fostering industrial symbiosis. To discover these potential exchanges, this article extends the analysis of local industrial symbiosis to a national scale. A waste input‐output table, which is a material flow accounting tool, was compiled and used as a database to examine the existing exchanges of by‐products. The supplies and demands of industrial wastes or by‐products were compared to highlight their potential use for promoting higher exchange flows. The analysis of the linkages indicated that the majority of each of the by‐products were reused by the few industries that had the technology and operational capacity for reuse. This finding is useful for determining which industries are good candidates for promoting further industrial symbiosis (IS). Based on a nation‐wide analysis that considered the industrial characteristics of Taiwan comprehensively, 23 types of major by‐products with greater reuse flows and 216 potential exchange patterns were identified between the industries. In addition, three types of eco‐industrial networks were characterized as follows according to their dominant types: (1) fossil fuel, metal, and mineral‐dominated; (2) agricultural and synthetic material‐dominated; and (3) information and communications technology (ICT) and chemical industry‐dominated eco‐industrial networks. This analysis highlights the resource exchange potentials and provides information to new firms for networking with existing businesses.     

Scaling‐Up of Industrial Symbiosis in the Korean National Eco‐Industrial Park Program: Examining Its Evolution over the 10 Years between 2005–2014

In 2005, South Korea initiated the 15‐year National Eco‐Industrial Park Development Program in three stages to gradually transform aged industrial complexes into eco‐industrial parks (EIPs) by promoting industrial symbiosis (IS). Building upon the pilot experiences from the first 5 years, the second phase of the program focused on the scaling‐up of IS at a broader regional level. Key scaling‐up strategies included the expansion of target areas by connecting multiple industrial complexes, the standardization of processes and dissemination of learning, and the development of large‐scale projects that could contribute to the regional development. In this study, we examined the evolution of IS over the last 10 years between 2005 and 2014, primarily to understand the characteristics and impact of these scaling‐up strategies. Our findings showed that the scale of IS in the second phase had increased in various aspects in comparison to that in the first phase. The number of operating projects had increased from 52 to 159, the number of participating firms increased from 90 to 596, and the average distance of IS increased from 40 to 48 kilometers. The size of economic and environmental benefits also increased along with an increase in the private investment and government research funding. We further analyzed the role of the regional EIP centers as facilitators, how their activities influenced the scaling‐up of IS, and discussed the characteristics of the Korea's approach to IS.     

Modeling and Optimization of a Coal‐Chemical Eco‐industrial System in China

China is coal dependent, and this situation will persist for a long time. Because more and more attention has been paid to energy security, the coal‐chemical industry has become a hot topic and has developed quickly. To improve efficiency and reduce emissions, industrial symbiosis (IS) can be introduced when establishing a coal‐chemical eco‐industrial system to achieve harmonious development between nature, industry, and society. In order to learn the influence of IS on the current industrial system, a model of coal‐chemical eco‐industrial systems was built. Using scenario optimization and linear programming, the behaviors and optimal industrial structures of the system under different scenario settings were compared, and industrial ecological analysis was performed. By comparative analysis, results showed that the greatest proportional decrease in the use of coal for coking was 15% compared with actual data for 2005. The resource‐productivity and eco‐productivity were 828 yuan/ton and 2.51, which are much higher than the values of 548 yuan/ton and 1.23 in 2005. The symbiosis index and the link density were found to be 0.675 and 1.67, compared with 0.588 and 0.94 in 2005. Research results showed that the coal‐chemical eco‐industrial system achieved a high value‐added utilization of coal and an updated product profile. Such systems will constitute the main direction and the inevitable trend of China's coal utilization in the future, which will reduce the harm to the environment from increased coal use and benefit the energy industry, the economy, and society.     

The Impact of Scale,Recycling Boundary,and Type of Waste on Symbiosis and Recycling

Innovative waste recycling through industrial processes such as industrial and urban symbiosis has long been practiced and recently received much attention in the field of industrial ecology, with researchers making efforts to identify key contributing factors to successful industrial symbiosis. By analyzing 88 sample recycling projects in 23 eco‐towns in Japan, this article focuses on the factors of project scale, recycling boundary, and types of waste in relationship to environmental benefits and operational performance. The results showed that larger eco‐towns achieved more savings of virgin materials and higher stability in operation. Large‐scale projects tended to locate closer to the users of recycled products than did small‐scale projects. For treating similar types of waste, projects producing recycled products for special users (e.g., feedstock to a blast furnace for iron production) tended to locate closer to the users than those not producing for special users. The type of waste had a strong effect on the savings of virgin materials and recycling boundaries, while local factors had significant impacts on operational performance. The results also showed that agglomeration did not significantly contribute to the environmental benefits or operational performance of eco‐town projects. Another finding was that national agencies were helpful for facilitating cross‐prefecture transportation and long‐distance transaction of wastes. Implications of the findings are also discussed.     

Exploring Space,Exploiting Opportunities

Industrial ecology (IE) has recognized the relevance of space in various areas of the field. In particular, industrial symbiosis has argued for proximity and the colocation of firms to reduce emissions and costs from transport. But, space is also relevant for industrial ecosystems more widely. These spatial principles have rarely been spelled out analytically and this article does so. From economic geography, we now have frameworks and analytical tools to undertake this kind of analysis. Using the example of ports and their hinterland, we argue for spatial analyses in IE.     

Industrial Symbiosis in Kalundborg, Denmark: A Quantitative Assessment of Economic and Environmental Aspects

As a subdiscipline of industrial ecology, industrial symbiosis is concerned with resource optimization among colocated companies. The industrial symbiosis complex in Kalundborg, Denmark is the seminal example of industrial symbiosis in the industrial ecology literature. In spite of this, there has been no in-depth quantitative analysis enabling more comprehensive understanding of economic and environmental performances connected to this case. In this article some of the central industrial symbiotic exchanges, involving water and steam, in Kalundborg are analyzed, using detailed economic and environmental data. It is found that both substantial and minor environmental benefits accrue from these industrial symbiosis exchanges and that economic motivation often is connected to upstream or downstream operational performance and not directly associated with the value of the exchanged byproduct or waste itself. It is concluded that industrial symbiosis, as viewed from a company perspective, has to be understood both in terms of individual economic and environmental performance, and as a more collective approach to industrial sustainability.     

Applying Industrial Symbiosis to Smallholder Farms

The study of industrial symbiosis (IS) has largely focused on the exchange of energy and materials among industrial processes in an effort to increase value and reduce environmental impact. Agricultural systems, particularly those located in developing countries, can benefit from the principles of IS. Relatively few studies have analyzed the potential benefits of integrated material and energy flows in smallholder farming, even though these systems are considered essential to the world's food supply and poverty reduction. Although the concepts can be applied to virtually any system, the study of industrial symbiosis has traditionally focused on industrialized systems in developed countries. The research presented here applies the principles of IS to smallholder farms using optimization techniques to maximize farm output while minimizing wastes. Our research links IS to the growing field of integrated farming research (IFR), which seeks to create new technologies that increase the production of farms by viewing the farm as a system. Bridging these fields enriches the potential for robust research outcomes in both areas and fills a current knowledge gap. IS benefits from exploring new applications and increasing its penetration into the developing world. IFR benefits from established IS tools to create alternate pathways for increased output based on symbiotic relationships. A small farming system in Liberia, West Africa, is used as a case study. System integration of individual unit processes shows increased productivity and decreased waste. The results of this analysis indicate that there are unrealized opportunities for IS in developing countries, and integration of IS techniques into smallholder farming operations has the potential for impacting sustainable development.     

Methodological Aspects of Applying Life Cycle Assessment to Industrial Symbioses

In view of recent studies of the historical development and current status of industrial symbiosis (IS), life cycle assessment (LCA) is proposed as a general framework for quantifying the environmental performance of by‐product exchange. Recent guidelines for LCA (International Reference Life Cycle Data System [ILCD] guidelines) are applied to answer the main research questions in the IS literature reviewed. A typology of five main research questions is proposed: (1) analysis, (2) improvement, and (3) expansion of existing systems; (4) design of new eco‐industrial parks, and (5) restructuring of circular economies. The LCA guidelines were found useful in framing the question and choosing an appropriate reference case for comparison. The selection of a correct reference case reduces the risk of overestimating the benefits of by‐product exchange. In the analysis of existing systems, environmentally extended input‐output analysis (EEIOA) can be used to streamline the analysis and provide an industry average baseline for comparison. However, when large‐scale changes are applied to the system, more sophisticated tools are necessary for assessment of the consequences, from market analysis to general equilibrium modeling and future scenario work. Such a rigorous application of systems analysis was not found in the current IS literature, but would benefit the field substantially, especially when the environmental impact of large‐scale economic changes is analyzed.     

The Ecosystem: Model or Metaphor?

Industrial ecology offers an original way of looking at economic activities. The approach is based on an analogy between certain objects studied by the science of ecology (ecosystems, metabolisms, symbiosis, biocenosis, etc.) and industrial systems. However, this analogical relationship raises difficulties due to the various interpretations to which it is open. Although there is agreement regarding its heuristic function, the analogy can nevertheless be understood either as a model or as a metaphor. The present article first attempts to show how models differ from metaphors. It then sets out to justify the epistemological relevance of this distinction for industrial ecology research. The reflection should thus contribute to clarifying the debate on the (supposed or desired) role of analogy in the field of industrial ecology and heighten the interest this field of investigation represents for implementing sustainable development.     

Synergy Management Services Companies: A New Business Model for Industrial Park Operators

The concept of industrial symbiosis (IS) was introduced decades ago and its environmental and economic benefits are well established, but the broad acceptance of IS still faces significant barriers. This article provides a new approach to capture synergies within industrial parks by suggesting a new business model. Building on findings from a survey conducted by the authors and on literature, we first identify potential barriers to low‐carbon synergistic projects. Economic concerns of technically feasible synergies and financial issues turn out to be the largest barriers, because of long payback periods and fluctuating raw material and by‐product market prices. Existing business models do not offer easy ways to overcome or relax these barriers. We therefore introduce the concept of a synergy management services company (SMSCO), a synergy contractor and third‐party financing model, to overcome these barriers. This model shifts the financial risk of the synergistic project from collaborating firms to the SMSCO. We posit that this attribute of the SMSCO model makes it attractive for industrial park operators who seek long‐term solutions to secure future viability of their park.     

Progress Toward a Circular Economy in China

Eco‐industrial initiatives, which close industrial loops by turning wastes at one point in a value chain into inputs at another point, are attracting growing interest as a solution to the problem of sustainability of industrial systems. Although Germany and Japan have made important advances in building recycling incentives into their industrial systems and sought competitive advantage from doing so, China is arguably taking the issue even further (in principle) through its pursuit of a circular economy, now enshrined in law as an official national development goal. In this article, we review a number of the eco‐industrial initiatives taken in China and compare them using a common graphical representation with comparable initiatives taken in the West and elsewhere in East Asia. Our aim is to demonstrate some common themes across the case studies, such as the transformation from the former linear economy to a circular economy and the evolutionary processes in which dynamic linkages are gradually established over time. We discuss the drivers of these eco‐industrial initiatives as well as the inhibitors, setting the initiatives in an evolutionary framework and introducing a notion of Pareto eco‐efficiency to evaluate them. We make the argument that China might be capturing latecomer advantages through its systematic promotion of eco‐industrial initiatives within a circular economy framework.     

Revealing the Environmental Advantages of Industrial Symbiosis in Wood‐Based Bioeconomy Networks: An Assessment From a Life Cycle Perspective

The German government has recently initiated funding schemes that incentivize strategies for wood‐based bioeconomy regions. Regional wood and chemical industries have been encouraged to act symbiotically, that is, share pilot plant facilities, couple processes where feasible, and cascade woody feedstock throughout their process networks. However, during the planning stages of these bioeconomy regions, options need to be assessed for sustainably integrating processes and energy integration between the various industries that produce bio‐based polymers and engineered wood products. The aim of this paper is to identify the environmental sustainability of industrial symbiosis for producing high‐value‐added, bio‐based products in the wood‐based bioeconomy region of Central Germany. An analysis was conducted of three possible future scenarios with varying degrees of symbiosis in the bioeconomy network. A life cycle assessment (LCA) approach was used to compare these three scenarios to a traditional fossil‐based production system. Eleven environmental impact categories were considered. The results show that, in most cases, the bioeconomy network outperformed the fossil‐based production system, mitigating environmental impacts by 25% to 130%.