The European process industry is one of the main pillars of Europe’s economy. But as of today, this industry is energy and resource intensive, with significant carbon emissions and a high dependence on resource availability. This not only puts a strain on our planet’s resources but also contributes to climate change.
A systemic approach is needed to address this – not only by implementing circular systems at the factory level but also at the industry level. We need to view manufacturing processes as part of a larger picture, taking into consideration waste treatment and management, energy use and materials sourcing.
Consideration of all stakeholder needs is required to scale-up industrial symbiosis in Europe. We have identified key challenges to a large development of the practice, at the levels of industrial sites, regions and European institutions:
• Lack of awareness of industrial symbiosis and its benefits at site level
• Lack of guidelines to carry out assessments of internal equipment, human and immaterial site resources
• Availability of networking opportunities to match with other sites and sectors
• Absence of assessment tools to validate the viability of potential partnerships
SCALER (SCALing European Resources with industrial symbiosis) aims to increase the uptake of industrial symbiosis across Europe. Under the European Union’s Horizon2020 initiative, the project will develop a set of best practices, tools, and guidelines, helping businesses and industrial sites work together to ensure sustainable resource use.
Our vision is to successfully scale up the delivery of value embedded in European physical resources (materials, water, and energy) through the efficient and quick implementation of industrial symbiosis across the whole European territory. By achieving industrial symbiosis, European industrial companies will become more resource efficient and therefore more competitive. Territories will be revitalised with industrial links. Communities will be involved in the transformation of the European industrial system.
The basis of industrial symbiosis is to move away from traditional take-make-dispose production and consumption flows, building partnerships between industries to turn waste into new materials and resources.
Sharing resources between industrial sites saves raw material and energy consumption, reducing pollution and diverting waste from landfill. It creates new business opportunities and jobs from residues and by-products and contributes to closing the loop for industrial resources.
Industrial symbiosis offers a great opportunity for companies to work together in finding cost-effective, sustainable solutions to dispose of their waste. This not only has a positive impact on industry revenue but leads the way to transitioning cities and regions towards more sustainable and eco-friendly industrial practices.
