Analysis and Classification Applied to the Methods of Industrial Symbiosis Platform Evaluation

Abstract

The search for solutions that would help reduce the consumption of non-renewable resources and at the same time limit the emissions of greenhouse gases is a crucial factor for the sustainable economic growth. Industrial symbiosis proved to be that strong ally in the fight for the ecological, economic and social achievements – this bold statement is confirmed by the rapid rise in the number of academic publications on this topic, especially starting from the year 2007. In Europe and Asia, especially in China, the growth of industrial symbiosis has become more evident due to the state policy support. The industrial sector was obviously more active and involved in that trend, specifically because of the produced wastes and higher potential to recycle those waste products and by-products and integrate them into the production cycle. The most common examples come from the chemical, cement, paper and steel industries, as well as oil refineries. Reuse of production wastes from other industries does not always lead to beneficial results for the companies. These wastes are quite often of low quality in comparison with the initial materials for replacement. In cases when production technology is oversensitive towards low-quality materials, then the problems may arise at the stage of manufacture. In our article, we pay attention to the way the companies can manage wastes quality by integrating their suppliers of wastes into operational business processes of the buying company. Wastes quality control is an important capacity of industrial symbiosis, especially if the companies try to raise their efficiency in that area.