The European process industry is one of the main pillars of Europe’s economy. But as of today, this industry is energy and resource intensive, with significant carbon emissions and a high dependence on resource availability. This not only puts a strain on our planet’s resources, but also contributes climate change.
A systemic approach is needed to address this – not only by implementing circular systems at factory level, but at industry level. We need to view manufacturing processes as part of a larger picture, taking into consideration waste treatment and management, energy use and materials sourcing.
Consideration of all stakeholder needs is required to scale up industrial symbiosis in Europe. We have identified key challenges to a large development of the practice, at the levels of industrial sites, regions and European institutions:
- Lack of awareness of industrial symbiosis and its benefits at site level
- Lack of guidelines to carry out assessments of internal equipment, human and immaterial site resources
- Availability of networking opportunities to match with other sites and sectors
- Absence of assessment tools to validate the viability of potential partnerships
SCALER will address these challenges through a series of tools and guides made available to stakeholders, helping them move forward in their transition to industrial symbiosis. Click here to review upcoming reports.