The increasing pressure on natural resources and the climate has been noted by businesses and governments worldwide, who now face the difficult task of integrating paths of environmental sustainability and economic growth. One promising approach to sustainable development, reducing the pressure on natural resources and solving waste problems is circular economy. From different ways of implementing circular economy, this study focuses on the productization of industrial side streams, which carry a great deal of underutilized potential. In this article, the productization of pulp and paper industry side stream, fiber sludge, for commercial use as a dust-binding agent is studied via a descriptive, in-depth case study. Apart from inconsistent quality, fluctuating supply, cost of storage and logistics, what makes industrial side stream utilization challenging is the lack of knowledge that stakeholders have about side streams and their utilization and the lack of new value chain development for their commercial use. Therefore, it is essential for all parties involved to have a clearer vision of what is being sold for what purposes, through productization. This study found that the productization of side streams follows the same steps as the productization of any other traditional product, and the productized side streams can be added to the company’s product portfolio as by-products.

Data center industry is growing rapidly due to the expanding internet traffic and the upcoming IoT revolution. Data centers consume vast amounts of energy globally and are also a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. There is a need to improve energy efficiency and sustainability of data center operations. The energy consumed by data centers is mostly converted to heat and this study focuses on utilizing that waste heat according to the principles of circular economy in the context of Northern Ostrobothnia, Finland. The overall regional business potential of data center waste heat utilization is evaluated and the best options of utilizing waste heat in case data center are sought. The study found that the most viable option would be utilizing waste heat locally to heat facilities or in industrial processes. Another potential option is to connect data center into a district heating system where waste heat can be fed.

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