Exploring the Scope of Industrial Symbiosis: Implications for Practitioners

Industrial Symbiosis can help improve the overall efficiency of the industrial system. The positive impact of implementing symbiotic exchanges between companies would benefit their host region through increased job creation and reduced environmental stress, whilst the entities engaged could benefit from a combination of additional revenue streams and reduced costs. However, in spite of the potential benefits of IS, there remains an implementation gap, with practitioners failing to fully exploit the possibilities of IS. The objective of this article is to provide a review of the current state of IS research in order to unlock current gaps of knowledge and practice, and identify research opportunities which will help close the implementation gap. The final aim is to explore and understand the areas practitioners willing to engage with IS need to consider in order to operationalize IS in their network.