Dutch stakeholders discuss the benefits and challenges of Industrial Symbiosis at the CircLean Open Innovation Workshop in Rotterdam
Around 20 Dutch stakeholders gathered in Rotterdam and online on September 8th for an Open Innovation Workshop organised by Trinomics B.V. and Arctik with the support of International Synergies Limited and Technopolis.
The session started with an introductory presentation by Anestis Filopoulos, from the European Commission’s DG GROW. Then, the procedure to join the CirLean network and the CircLean toolkit was presented by Irati Artola, consultant at Trinomics and James Woodcock, International Manager at International Synergies Ltd.
The spotlight was then put on three industrial symbiosis initiatives implemented in the Netherlands. Wouter de Buck, representing Rewind, introduced Symbioses for Growth a collaboration platform that generates and stimulates IS cases. It currently holds data from 200+ companies and 425+ potential matches in its database. Joep van den Broeke, from KWR, presented a dutch case study from Ultimate water smart industrial symbiosis. Janneke Pors then presented the ambition of the Port of Rotterdam to become a more circular port hub – notably the port aims to reduce its CO2 footprint by 55% by 2030 and to be completely carbon neutral by 2050.
During the afternoon session, James Woodcock gave a presentation on facilitated industrial symbiosis programs across the world. A roundtable discussion followed in which the floor was shared by Anestis Filopoulos (European Commission, DG GROW) Wouter de Buck (Rewin), Joep van den Broeke (KWR), Janneke Pors (Port of Rotterdam) and James Woodcock (International Synergies Ltd).
Main barriers in advancing IS in the Netherlands identified during the session included :
- The diversity of ‘waste’
- Multi-sectoral collaboration is not a common practice today in the country
IS opportunities identified :
- Incorporating IS in climate policies
- Additional European Commission subsidies would be welcome to further stimulate IS intakes, especially in infrastructures that are particularly costly
Read the full report of the Netherlands Open Innovation Workshop which includes more discussion takeaways – to be found here.
Read about the other CircLean Open Innovation Workshops here:
- CircLean Open Innovation Worlshop in Slovenia
- CircLean Open Innovation Workshop in Finland
- CircLean Open Innovation Workshop in Hungary
- CircLean Open Innovation Workshop in Belgium
- CircLean Open Innovation Workshop in Spain
If you are interested in joining the CircLean network, don’t hesitate to contact us.