Industrial symbiosis platforms for synergy identification and their most important data points: a systematic review

Abstract

Background: Industrial symbiosis (IS) primarily involves interfirm utilization of industrial residual resources. An important factor determining the success of IS is the identification and matching of cooperation opportunities. Digital tools, including IS platforms, are considered facilitators of this process. This systematic literature review addresses the research question: ‘Which are the most important data points of an IS platform and how can they be used for the promotion of IS?’. Methods: The review is based on scientific publications from the following academic research databases: ScienceDirect, Scopus, SpringerLink, Wiley Online Library, AISel and IEEE (via Google Scholar), and grey literature obtained through a customized Google search technique, last performed on 9/3/2021. Records were included according to their scientific content, namely if the document: i) examined the identification of synergies utilizing ICT tools, ii) data requirements or platform related information were presented or iii) the impact of a digital tool in promoting IS was discussed. Exclusion criteria were: articles not written in English, not peer-reviewed, published before 2016 or document type other than scientific article, conference paper or EU project deliverable. Two independent reviewers performed title scanning and abstract reading of the documents to reduce the risk of bias. Results: The total number of records included after abstract and full text reading was 32. The main results of this review suggest that two significant types of data points are encountered in IS platforms; i) data required for synergy identification and ii) platform related information. Conclusions: A possible limitation of the study is a minor risk of bias due to one reviewer performing full text reading and synthesis of results; however, they reported to and consulted with the supervising reviewer. Overall, the results indicate that several types of data points are required for effective matching and successful promotion of IS through digital tools.

Promoting Sustainable Fruit and Vegetable Biowaste Management and Industrial Symbiosis through an Innovative Web Platform

“…The successful implementation of industrial symbiosis relies heavily on stakeholders' willingness to collaborate and share information. Consequently, stakeholders must have trust in the platform provider regarding matters of confidentiality [7]. Thus, the AgriPLaCE Synergies Tool is accessible only to registered users.…”

“…This exchange entails one company utilizing another company's residual flow as an input, resulting in mutual benefits and reduced environmental impact. Currently, industrial symbiosis encompasses various forms of intercompany cooperation, including resource exchange or sharing, underutilized resource utilization, utility sharing, infrastructure collaboration, and service cooperation [6,7].…”

“…Overall, while industrial symbiosis offers numerous benefits, several barriers can hinder its widespread adoption, depending on the specific context and stakeholders involved. Such barriers can be the lack of awareness and knowledge, regulatory and legal constraints, financial constraints, infrastructure limitations, and a lack of trust and data exchange between stakeholders [5][6][7]. Several tools have been created in recent years to overcome some of these obstacles.…”

“…Several recent studies [6,7,[17][18][19] have explored the development of web platforms that address the utilization of various waste types as valuable resources; however, none of these platforms specifically emphasize the matchmaking of synergies for biowaste utilization. Additionally, the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform (SAI Platform) [20] was established in 2002.…”

The role of trophic, mutualistic, and competitive interactions in an industrial symbiosis process implementation: an ecological network perspective

“…For both Europe and countries in America, the development of business models that consider industrial and environmental sustainability has attracted attention in an incremental way (Akrivou et al 2021 ). Proof of the above is the need to find balanced forms of demands for water, inputs, and the accumulation of waste that has been the object of study by industrial symbiosis.…”