Collaboration to Make Industrial Symbiosis Easier
A new joint initiative by the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth (Tillväxtverket) and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket) aims to make it easier for companies to develop industrial symbiosis. By simplifying collaboration, resource sharing, and the management of residual flows, the agencies want to support a greener and more competitive industry.
Industrial symbiosis involves companies or other organizations working together and using each other’s residual flows—such as energy, water, or materials—as resources. This helps reduce climate impact, boosts circularity, and strengthens competitiveness.
“We want to develop and test a joint government model that can promote different forms of industrial symbiosis. The idea is to simplify processes and remove barriers by better coordinating different actors, so we can fully tap into the potential of resource reuse,” says Anna Löfgren Wilteus from the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth.
The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency focuses on simplifying regulations and creating conditions for efficient permit processes.
“We need to make use of the smart solutions that already exist. Through industrial symbiosis, we can use resources wisely, increase circularity, and reduce environmental and climate impact,” says Emma Hundertmark from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.
As a first step, both agencies participated in the SNIUS annual conference in Umeå, where collaboration between research, industry, municipalities, and authorities was highlighted as crucial for developing industrial symbiosis. Next, they will identify concrete examples and test new approaches to make it easier for companies to start and run symbiosis initiatives, aiming to strengthen Sweden’s competitiveness in the green transition.