Industrial symbiosis in the cement industry - Exploring the linkages to circular economy

Abstract

Policy makers, industries and academia acknowledge industrial symbiosis (IS) as a strategy for facilitating circular economy (CE) since it evolves around the notion of closed-loop resource circulation. Through IS companies exchange materials, energy, water and by-products, thus promoting cleaner production, improved resource efficiency and lower CO 2 emissions. There exist ample studies analyzing the benefits of IS partnerships for companies. Nevertheless, demonstrative cases on how the link between IS and CE occurs in practice seem to be limited. This study aims at filling that void by examining twelve IS partnerships at a large cement producer in Denmark and linking them to Ellen MacArthur’s “Circular economy systems diagram”. The study furthermore adds to the discussion of the impacts of CE on businesses, by exploring the influence that the established IS partnerships have on improving resource efficiency.