Part 1: Industrial symbiosis
Put simply, industrial symbiosis challenges the business world to operate in the same way as the natural eco-system where everything has a place and function, and nothing goes to waste. Based on the experience of delivering NISP, a renewed definition for industrial symbiosis was accepted by the Journal of Industrial Ecology in 2012.:
Industrial symbiosis engages diverse organisations in a network to foster eco-innovation and long-term culture change. Creating and sharing knowledge through the network yields mutually profitable transactions for novel sourcing of required inputs, value-added destinations for non-product outputs, and improved business and technical processes.
Example of industrial symbiosis
After finding the website of the Ellen Macarthur foundation where symbiosis happens at Kalundborg I decided to take this as an example. Mainly because according to the Ellen Macarthur foundation: Kalundborg Symbiosis is the world’s first well-functioning example of industrial symbiosis and, within the academic discipline of industrial ecology, has become a textbook example of effective resource saving and cycling of materials in industrial production.
Industrial symbiosis can be defined as the exchange of materials or waste streams between companies, so that one company’s waste becomes another company’s raw materials. At Kalundborg Symbiosis, public and private companies buy and sell waste from each other in a closed cycle of industrial production. A variety of by products are traded, such as steam, ash, gas, heat, sludge, and others that can be physically transported from one company to another.
The incentive structure of Kalundborg Symbiosis is driven by resource scarcity, with increased costs of materials and energy for businesses being the primary basis for a shift in the method of production. Incentivisation is based on the individual project’s commercial value, and any exchange between companies are initially assessed and established on the basis of economic gain in a saving of resources or money. The environmental benefits of this relationship are apparent, and have become a key priority, but the primary motivation in establishing the symbiotic relationships in Kalundborg has economic benefit for participating businesses.
Kalundborg Symbiosis has developed gradually over time. From the earliest cooperation between Kalundborg Municipality and Statoil (then Esso) for the supply of water to the extension of Statoil’s production in 1961, to a real symbiotic relationship that was established in 1972. Since then, companies have continuously implemented symbiotic practicies, and today there are more than 30 exchanges of water, energy and other by-products between Kalundborg Municipality and eight other companies: Novo Nordisk, Novozymes, DONGEnergy, RGS90, Statoil, Gyproc, Kalundborg Supply and KaraNoveren. In addition, a number of agricultural companies have an interest in this type of industrial symbiosis, as purchasers of fertiliser products and waste heat.
Weaknesses
The implementation of this system is a big risk . A risk can be seen as a weakness and could end in a disaster for the system. The implementation is very hard because there need to be trust, understanding and belief in the project that is mutual between the stakeholders. many similar projects have faced the same difficulties and failed because they were not able to sustain a long term relationship.
Businesses, if not driven by sustainable strategic goals, don’t have enough incentive to buy in to this process. Often, even with the increased coordination time set aside, the intake of raw materials and the dumping of by-products is cheaper done individually than in coordination with each other. Much of this is because the “real costs” of their practices are not taken into account. The companies are not adequately paying for their environmental impact. If companies were required to internalize the costs of their carbon footprint, systems like these would seem much more appealing. Similarly, as long as fuel and raw materials remain cheap to use, Industrial Symbiosis will not be able to compete as efficiently as unilateral production. Fossil fuel prices are sure to increase with decreasing supply and increasing extraction costs. In this scenario, Industrial Symbiosis will become more competitive.
Resisting change
Reducing the amount of unhealthy food in the canteen
Unhealthy food in the canteen is a thing of the past. The world is becoming healthier and besides that the world wants and definitely needs to become more sustainable. If only the people who live on this planet would stand behind this idea. People who take their food from the canteen often choose snacks with unnatural sugars or with a huge amount of fat in it. Most people don’t think about the planet, they don’t realize the choice. They only want to have a meal that in their eyes tastes good and isn’t too expensive.
This is where the solution comes in. Realization. To make the people realize the big fat burger at lunch is bad and the choice could mean something for the world. A very small thing but what if everyone would change their needs of a unhealthy big burger to nice biological sandwich freshly made by the nice lady at the canteen. If you realize the good you would be doing with choosing the right food you eventually will feel better and even the sandwich will taste a lot better. It is the realization part that makes these people want to change their diet and their habits. And if the people themselves want to change they eventually will change and it will become more easy to overcome the different stages of changing.
To get to the point of realization few events can be held to increase awareness such as something like a healthy day a week where the canteen only serves healthy food. This helps increasing the habit potential of the healthy diet. Also the people are forced into a uncomfortable place when they only see the things they don’t ever take which will make the step easier when both healthy and unhealthy food is available.
After the realization part the company’s will realize too that the people who eat the unhealthy foods they provide, do not pick the unhealthy foods at the canteen anymore. These company’s and organizations will adapt else they wont survive in the business world. The company’s start to sell the foods that the people want because they still want to make profit and how can you make profit selling a product that no one wants.