THE POTENTIAL IS 10,000 JOBS

Our job is to help you and others to promote and foster industrial symbioses.

OUR WORK + PROJECT PARTNERS = MORE SYMBIOSES

The calculation is simple. Raw material prices have risen more in the last 10 years than they have fallen in the previous 100. This reason alone is enough for it to make sense for our project partners and us to try to use resources better by fostering industrial symbioses and the circular economy.

And there are many more reasons, such as less impact on the climate, more robust companies and 10,000 Danish jobs.

VE PAVE THE WAY AND CREATES RESULTS

Symbiosis Center Denmark facilitates the process by paving the way for symbioses, and through our partnerships and projects we have created results in several areas. For example, we assisted in a resource check of more than 500 companies. This resulted in more than 170 symbiosis matches and formed the basis for establishing industrial symbioses. We were also involved in developing the model that ranks industrial parks and their opportunities for symbioses. And as the precursor of Symbiosis Center Denmark we created Denmark’s first center dedicated to fostering industrial symbioses. You can read more about this under our projects.

BNP INCREASE

NEW JOBS

MORE COMPETETIVENESS

Industrial symbiosis is part of the circular economy, which, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, can create 10,000 new jobs and an increase in GDP of up to 1.4% in Denmark alone. Moreover, industrial symbioses make growth possible without a corresponding increase in the use of resources or environmental/climate impact.

In industrial symbioses, one company’s residue becomes a resource in another company. This does not merely reduce resource consumption and production costs; it also strengthens competitiveness and is crucial for the maintenance and creation of new jobs. And there are more benefits. Often the symbioses make companies more resilient in the face of fluctuations in world markets.

WE COMBINE THE LOGIC OF NATURE AND THE LOGIC OF INDUSTY

In Symbiosis Center Denmark, we work to create sustainable value growth in companies and in society through green conversion. Our tool is industrial symbiosis – a mindset and a set of methods that combine the logic of natural ecosystems with industrial production and partnerships.

I naturen kender vi symbioser, hvor bier bestøver blomster til gensidig gevinst. Bierne får nektar, og blomsterne kan forplante sig. Og visse fugle finder føde ved at rense krokodillers tænder eller oksers hud til gavn for både store og små. Et lignende samarbejde foregår mellem parter i en industriel symbiose, når deltagerne her udveksler og udnytter overskydende materialer, energi eller vand.

AN ANSWER TO A SHARED CHALLENGE

Increasing raw material prices and turbulence in world markets are not the only shared challenges that industrial symbioses can counteract. When other global challenges, such as climate impact and lack of resources, require collaboration and shared solutions, one can understand why the UN, the EU and the OECD have also seen the light and are working with the fostering of industrial symbioses.

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

Our work at Symbiosis Center Denmark does not merely involve the promotion of symbioses in large, heavy industries. There is a great pent-up potential in small and medium-sized companies, where job creation occurs to a great degree. In particular, our Residue to Resource project is focused on realising direct, measurable benefits for small and medium-sized companies.