Abstract
Industrial symbiosis (IS) is a collaborative approach among firms involving physical exchanges of materials, energy, and wastes, which creates economic advantages for firms and environmental benefits for the society. In this paper, we adopt an ecosystem approach to conceptualize the network of firms involved in IS relationships (ISN), in terms of organisms (firms), functions (waste exchange), and services (environmental benefits), and provide new insight on how to assess and compute IS performance indicators. In particular, we designed five classes of indicators aimed at assessing 1) the impact of services provided by ISNs on the environment, 2) the performance of the ISN services, 3) how the single functions contribute to ISN services, 4) the performance of the ISN functions, and 5) how the single firms contribute to ISN functions. A numerical example is also discussed showing how to compute them and the information they provide. The proposed indicators are useful to develop proper strategies to increase the efficiency of the system in exploiting the IS synergies, to improve the symbiotic exchanges carried out in ISNs, and to identify firms contributing most to IS benefits. Hence, they may assist managers of ISNs and policymakers in decision-making aspects, an urgent need of the literature.
Highlights
Industrial symbiosis (IS) is a subfield of industrial ecology that en gages separate industries in a collective approach to competitive advantage, involving physical exchanges of materials, energy, and ser vices (Chertow, 2000; Lombardi and Laybourn, 2012)
Which are the environmental benefits provided by an industrial symbiosis networks (ISNs)? Can they be enhanced? Are the symbiotic ex changes fully exploited? How they can be improved? Which are the most important firms providing the highest contribution to the symbiotic exchange?
By focusing on environmental services pro vided by ISNs and by designing an integrated set of indicators addressing all the questions, based on an ecosystem approach
Summary
Industrial symbiosis (IS) is a subfield of industrial ecology that en gages separate industries in a collective approach to competitive advantage, involving physical exchanges of materials, energy, and ser vices (Chertow, 2000; Lombardi and Laybourn, 2012). Several studies indicate that IS can be a useful approach for companies to reduce their CO2 emissions (Hashimoto et al, 2010; Liu et al, 2017; Sun et al, 2017), which is in line with the goals of the Paris agreement (Mathy et al, 2018; Nieto et al, 2018) For these reasons, the European Commission has strongly recommended companies to implement IS (European Commission, 2015, 2011) and policymakers of many countries have introduced the IS practice in their environmental agenda (Costa et al, 2010; Husgafvel et al, 2013; Ministero dell’Ambiente e della Tutela del Territorio e del Mare and Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico, 2017; Mirata, 2004; Van Berkel et al, 2009)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
