Implementation study of municipalities as regional development engines through industrial symbiosis

Industrial and urban symbiosis (IUS) has great potential for a more sustainable use of resources. IUS is a methodology for collaborating by creating new value from underutilised resources. There is often no structured way to use IUS as a competitive advantage when municipalities are attracting new companies or developing existing local industry. A municipality could be a facilitator here. The Paper Province (PP) cluster has worked with IUS for many years. Through the many international networks, PP has seen the need for good local facilitation to speed up the various IUS collaborations. Chalmers Industriteknik (CIT), with the support of institutions like Linköping University (LiU), has worked to provide more practical support to municipalities in local symbiosis development. Under the leadership of PP, CIT will support seven municipalities in getting started with their IUS efforts. They will gather at least 15 local companies with large resource streams and prioritise at least three resource streams for an upcoming innovation project.