Commitment 02Read more
Energy Transition and the Circular Economy
Innovative and sustainable solutions for energy and industry in city-port regions
Giving priority to circular economy projects as part of new partnerships between the city, port, businesses and civil society, and by supporting the development of port activities aimed at promoting exchanges and/or recycling of materials and energy.
How can the port city ecosystem collaborate and find synergies to establish a sustainable circular economy?
The fight against climate change requires innovative solutions to improve the energy performance of ports and cities. Industrial ecology is a development approach based on cooperation between social and economic stakeholders with pooled resources. This approach is based on the principles of sustainable development, which aim to combat pollution and minimise the use of resources and energy. It is an approach particularly suited to port territories, where these new synergies can be created between local businesses and the city. This approach has been implemented for over 50 years in Kalundborg, where the Symbiosis project has been a model of the circular economy.
This good practice also includes objective 2.1 (Promoting dialogue and cooperation between socio-economic stakeholders to identify potential synergies and encourage better management of natural resources) of the AIVP’s 2030 Agenda.
The Kalundborg Symbiosis is a collaboration between companies to share surplus energy, water, and materials circularly. Although the idea was initially proposed in 1961, active waste material exchange between the two companies started in 1972. The idea was to connect pipes to trade gas excess, and the companies themselves took the initiative to develop the network early on. The proximity of several industries led to the installation of water and energy exchange pipes. One factor that enabled the network's development was that the companies were not competitors, which helped build mutual trust. Therefore, trust became the spine of the network's growth.
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