NISP has been operating in the UK since 2003, and is the world’s first National Industrial Symbiosis Programme. Recent changes in government spending have meant we have had to change the way NISP works. NISP today provides a platform to INSPIRE businesses to implement resource optimisation and efficiency practices, keeping materials and other resources in productive use for longer through ’industrial symbiosis.
The European Commission’s ’Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe’ states: ’A number of schemes show the benefits of increased information flows, and the payback from providing advice or bringing firms together in National Industrial Symbiosis Platforms: Based on the performance of the UK National Industrial Symbiosis Programme, improving the re-use of raw materials through greater ’industrial symbiosis’ across the EU could save €1.4bn a year and generate €1.6bn in sales.’
NISP is system level innovation with a strong policy focus: so its progress has depended on the policy environment in the UK and internationally. The timeline includes:
- 1999 - initial concept
- 2003 - UK government invited proposals for industrial symbiosis program with UK government investment: International Synergies won the contract with NISP proposal; introduced pilots in several UK regions.
- 2005 - rolled out across UK regions / Scotland / Wales. NISP hosted international symposium
- 2007 - EU accreditation through ETAP program
- 2008 - ’pathways’ report
- 2010 - OECD recognition & international joint ventures take off.
- 2010/11 - UK regional development agencies are closed.
Link to H2020 SI Priorities
Eco-solutions to reduce raw materials use
Eco-innovation and green economy transition
Alternative raw materials
Climate action eco-innovation policies
Climate change mitigation solutions
SI Type
System - NISP promotes industrial symbiosis as a system-wide concept, based on the inter-connections of industrial ecology, where one firm’s waste is another’s raw material input.
Service / Process - NISP is in some ways a ’service’ innovation: the facilitation function provides a ’service’ to link between firms and sectors who are producers / consumers of waste and raw materials.
Marketing - NISP is in other ways a marketing innovation, as it places ’outreach’ and ’engagement’ and ’awareness-raising’ with stakeholders at the centre of its process model.
Governance - NISP is also a facilitator of policy, including regulation and market instruments for eco-innovation, circular economy etc.
SI Objectives
reducing information market failure through networking and knowledge transfer between traditionally separate industries
increasing business profitability through reduced landfill costs and additional sales
creating new markets for existing waste products and expanding production
reducing negative environmental and climate change impacts and improving resource efficiency
SI Origin
NISP has been operating in the UK since 2005, and is the world’s first National Industrial Symbiosis Programme. The timeline includes:
- 1999 - initial concept
- 2003 - pilot program with UK government investment
- 2005 - international symposium
- 2007 - EU accreditation through ETAP program
- 2008 - ’pathways’ report
- 2010 - OECD recognition & international joint ventures take off.
- 2010/11 - UK regional development agencies are closed.
SI Factors of success
Technological - many industrial ecology innovations have resulted
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Economic - Between April 2005 and March 2010, NISP business members in the UK were able to:
- generate £176 million in additional sales
- cut costs by £156 million by reducing disposal, storage, transport and purchasing costs
- 10,000 jobs created or safeguarded
Environmental - Between April 2005 and March 2010, NISP business members in the UK were able to:
• divert over 7 million tonnes of industrial waste from landfill
• reduce carbon dioxide equivalent by over 6 million tonnes
• reduce water usage by industry by 9.6 million tonnes
• reduce over 363.000 tonnes of hazardous waste
• cut use of virgin materials by 9.7 million tonnes
Political - policy impact is hard to measure but the NISP concept has travelled far and wide:
- NISP has been written into the European Commission’s ’Roadmap for a Resource Efficient Europe’ as an example of industrial symbiosis best practice.
- European Resource Efficiency Platform recommended that all 27 EU Member States implement pan-European industrial symbiosis, either by scaling up existing examples, such as NISP, or investing in new ones.
- NISP is also cited as best practice in the ’European Waste Framework Directive’ and is a key policy recommendation for the European Commission’s ’Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe.’
Spatial / Urban - There were major reductions in waste to landfill & industrial emissions, which mainly affect urban areas.
Sources
Primary - lead organization website: interview with CEO of parent organization International Synergies
Secondary - many other stakeholders, sponsors, beneficiaries:
in particular there are many mainstream references to NISP through European policy: e.g.
•European Waste Framework Directive -Best Practice (2009)*
•Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe –exemplar (2011)*
•DG Enterprise: Sustainable Industry: Going for Growth & Resource Efficiency –exemplar (2011)*
•DG Regions: Connecting Smart and Sustainable Growth through Smart Specialisation –exemplar (2012)*
•DG Environment: Priority for industrial policy in (2013) recommendation
•DG Enterprise: Communique on Green Entrepreneurship (2013)
•Commissioner Potočniklaunches EUR-ISA (2013)
•Horizon 2020 (2014) includes industrial symbiosis to deliver circular economy
•European Resource Efficiency Platform key recommendation (2014)
•Eco-Innovation Library: Innovation Seeds (2014)
•DG Innovation and Research: Short guide to assessing environmental impacts of research and innovation policy (2014) *
