Industrial Symbiosis in the Kwinana Industrial Area (Western Australia)

The Kwinana Industrial Area of Western Australia has emerged as a world leading example of industrial symbiosis. This involves businesses in close proximity exchanging by-product material, water and energy. Utilisation of a previously discarded resource as an alternative input to another company can help improve both business and sustainability performance of the participating companies. For example, the exchange can reduce disposal costs and provide a cheaper input for the receiving company. The environmental benefits can include reduced collective resource consumption and waste generation, whilst the social benefits may include new employment opportunities and reduction of emission (e.g. water or traffic) to the local community. This article presents the integrated research programme undertaken at the Centre of Excellence in Cleaner Production, Curtin University of Technology which seeks to enhance the uptake of industrial symbiosis in Australian heavy industrial areas. The case of Kwinana is discussed with illustrative case studies of industrial symbiosis exchanges. International interest in the creation of industrial symbiosis continues to grow and the article concludes with a discussion on the emerging role of measurement and control technolo