Contact person
Marie Karlberg
Projektledare
Contact Marie
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Center IUS - What is Symbiosis?
Industrial and urban symbiosis is a collaboration between independent sectors using each other's resources. Residuals and waste for one business, can be significant resources in another business.
The key to industrial symbiosis is to cooperate and seeing the potential of the resources in the local area outside the framework of one's own business. The participating organizations use each other's residual and waste of products. It can be energy, water or other materials, such as residual products and waste. The symbiosis can also involve cooperation on competence, technical equipment and infrastructure. In recent years, the symbiosis work has also included urban resources, which is why we now talk about industrial and urban symbiosis, IUS.
Why should organizations choose to work with industrial and urban symbiosis?
Industrial and urban symbiosis is one of several solutions to the challenge of global sustainability and a way to reach the climate goals. Industrial symbiosis can reduce the need for both raw materials and waste management and thereby close recycling loops – a fundamental element of the circular economy and a driving force for an innovative transition. It can also reduce emissions and lower energy consumption, while creating new revenue streams.
Circular strategy
Sweden's strategy for a circular economy and its action plan highlight the importance of companies changing their business models and specify measures that contribute to the establishment of new companies with circular business models and industrial symbiosis. Even the EU's "Circular Economy Action Plan" describes industrial symbiosis as an enabler for increased circularity within industry. Establishing networks for industrial symbiosis can contribute to environmental, economic and social sustainability.
- Contributes to the transformation of the business.
- A process for working strategically with sustainability and circularity, where we focus on the organization's opportunities to interact with its environment.
- Creates increased value from input raw materials by seeing opportunities beyond organizational boundaries.
- Creates value for the municipality/area in which you operate, through new jobs, new types of companies, increased entrepreneurship.
- Increased competitiveness.
- Increased resilience by creating local value chains and differentiated product portfolios.
- Reduces the amount of waste and can lower costs for both raw material purchases and waste disposal.
- New business opportunities can be developed in areas where there is or will be a lack of resources
