Industrial Symbiosis at the Facility Scale

Industrial symbiosis (IS), as a subfield of industrial ecology, is concerned with cooperation among industrial firms in managing resources, particularly by-products, such that the waste of one firm becomes the input of another. This “closed-loop” pattern also lies at the heart of the concept of the circular economy (CE). Both concepts are typically considered at scales ranging from industrial parks to global supply chains, but rarely at the scale of a single facility housing multiple firms. Moreover, both concepts have requirements and implications that reach beyond the tracking and coordination of material flows. These additional requirements include the cultivation of new business models and political support, as well as engagement of local communities and cultures. Thus, both IS and the CE face the challenge of bridging the gap between the technical and sociocultural aspects of industrial development and adapting to the facility scale. We address this challenge by proposing a framework for the development of facility-scale industrial symbiosis (Facility-IS). Facility-IS accounts for the presence of symbiotic interfirm relationships—including, but not limited to, material and knowledge exchange—within a single physical facility. The conditions for planning, facilitating, and growing Facility-IS are outlined, as well as three approaches to implement such projects. Overall, this research forms a Facility-IS framework rooted in existing best practices for understanding the CE at the local scale, tracking business sustainability factors and assessing viable strategies that facilitate IS.