Obetta, Chukwuebuka Jude, Liu, Zheng ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7240-3501, Shi, Yongjiang and Yang, Bo (2025) Toward successful industrial symbiosis implementation: an exploratory study on the UK sugar industry. Journal of Cleaner Production, 525:146552. ISSN 0959-6526 (Print), 1879-1786 (Online) (doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2025.146552)

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Abstract

To minimize the detrimental effect of finite resources on the environment while realizing the maximum economic benefits of industrial production, industrial symbiosis (IS) has become a new strategic approach for an industrial ecosystem where underutilized resources from one company become the inputs for another. However, IS, while designed to optimize resource flows, can often fail and lead to sizable operational costs which hinder growth and competitiveness. This paper examines the key factors and motivations for companies to engage in IS activities. Our findings, based on case studies of the UK sugar industry, focusing on two leading producers and six IS projects, identify a set of five key stages for establishing an IS relationship and fostering the widespread of IS: identifying, analyzing, system reconfiguration, functional networking, and market entry. We discuss a range of practical and theoretical implications, shedding more light on the underlying mechanism that guides decision-making processes for achieving higher level of productivity circularity and efficiency.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This work is supported by the Greenwich Research and Innovation Knowledge Exchange for Impact Fund (University of Greenwich).
Uncontrolled Keywords:	industrial symbiosis, sustainable supply chain, waste management, sugar industry, case study
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Greenwich Business School > Networks and Urban Systems Centre (NUSC) Greenwich Business School > School of Business, Operations and Strategy Greenwich Business School
Last Modified:	09 Sep 2025 14:31
URI:	https://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/51010

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