Industrial symbiosis
In nature there is no waste. All waste products from one organism are used by others. This interaction benefits everyone: it creates symbiosis. Industrial symbiosis imitates nature’s collaborative solutions.
Factories need energy, materials and infrastructure to produce useful products, but they also produce waste products. These are often viewed as rubbish that it is both expensive and environmentally damaging to dispose of. The most famous example of symbiosis is the Clownfish who finds shelter amid the sea anemone tentacles (image). And if we follow nature’s example, we find that what for one company is waste can be a useful resource for another.
If several factories are built close to each other, they can share infrastructure and take advantage of each other’s waste energy and materials. For instance, a bioethanol factory can be located next to a gas-fired power station and use the latter’s surplus heat for its production process, a mineral fertiliser factory can use the sulphur from an oil refinery, and so on. Together this means a more effective use of materials and energy.
In Kalundborg in Denmark, seven major companies have got together and established an industrial cluster, reducing their CO2 emissions by 240 000 tonnes a year. In addition, more than 500 000 tonnes of waste products are recycled and three million cubic metres of water are reused every year. As a result of all this, the companies have cut their production costs substantially.
If industrial symbiosis is so good, why does it not happen more often? One reason is that it requires several large companies to coordinate major, commercially sensitive decisions. In addition, it is not always easy to spot opportunities beyond one’s own factory gates. But with increased communication on the part of industry and some enabling and coordinating on the part of the authorities, there are good opportunities for more companies to develop more symbiotic relationships – to the benefit of the environment, the climate, and themselves.
