Introduction
Eco-industrial development is one of the ways in which industrial ecology contributes to the integration of economic growth and environmental protection. Some of the examples of eco-industrial development are:
• Green Twinning (single material and/or energy exchange)
• Greenfield Eco-industrial Development (geographically confined space)
• Brownfield Eco-industrial Development (geographically confined space)
• Eco-industrial Network (no strict requirement of geographical proximity)
• Virtual Eco-industrial Network (networks spread in large areas e.g. regional network)
• Networked Eco-industrial System (macro level developments with links across regions)
"This classification omits any industrial sector-wide approaches and appreciates the diversity of the industrial system which is a key feature of industrial symbiosis. It is aimed to include initiatives that focus on achieving utility sharing and symbiosis among diverse sectors of industry". Industrial symbiosis does not limit itself to sectoral boundaries and / or geographical restrictions. It is the diversity and the openness of industrial symbiosis that makes it a unique approach to eco-industrial development.
Industrial symbiosis engages traditionally separate industries in a collective approach to competitive advantage involving physical exchange of materials, energy, water, and/or by-products. The keys to industrial symbiosis are collaboration and the synergistic possibilities offered by geographic proximity”. The sharing of information is even more critical with the emergence of virtual globes such as Google Earth. These tools can greatly simplify the geographical analysis involved in determining potential IS opportunities.
Industrial symbiosis systems collectively optimize material and energy use at efficiencies beyond those achievable by any individual process alone. IS systems such as the web of materials and energy exchanges among companies in Kalundborg, Denmark have spontaneously evolved from a series of micro innovations over a long time scale; however, the engineered design and implementation of such systems from a macro planner’s perspective, on a relatively short time scale, proves challenging. Nevertheless there are examples of industrial symbiosis being approached as national / regional initiatives with some significant success particularly in Europe.
Often, access to information on available by-products is non-existent. These by-products are considered waste and typically not traded or listed on any type of exchange.
Read more about this topic: Industrial Symbiosis
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