1. Looking forward, pushing back and peering sideways: analyzing the sustainability of industrial symbiosis
- Author
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Bansal, Pratima and McKnight, Brent
- Subjects
Terra Industries Inc. -- Management ,Ontario Power Generation Inc. -- Management ,Sustainable development ,Electric utilities ,Fertilizer industry ,Logistics ,Associations, institutions, etc. ,Business, general ,Business ,Company business management ,Management - Abstract
This paper compares and contrasts two different forms of interorganizational relationships that deal with the production and movement of waste: industrial symbiosis and supply chains. Industrial symbiosis reuses, recycles and reprocesses byproducts and intermediates within the system of organizations, whereas conventional supply chains reduce waste within manufacturing processes and reuse end-of-life products. Although both these models address waste, there is surprisingly little consideration of industrial symbiosis within supply chain research. Yet, industrial symbiosis has much to offer the study of sustainable development within supply chains. Industrial symbiosis emphasizes community, cooperation and coordination among firms, which serves to protect the environmental integrity, social equity and economic prosperity of the region--all hallmarks of sustainable development. However, such tight integration among a diverse set of organizations is difficult to jump start and difficult to maintain. In this paper, we also outline the challenges and offer some ideas on how to address these challenges. We ground our insights from interviews with firms in the Sarnia-Lambton region of Ontario, Canada. This region is home to over 130,000 people, and has a strong physical infrastructure and social structures that have facilitated symbiotic relationships among local businesses. Keywords: supply chain management; sustainability; social responsibility; environmental issues, INTRODUCTION Waste is 'raw material in the wrong place' (Boons 2008, p. 149--citing Talbot 1919 Millions From Waste) Garbage has earned a bad reputation and with good reason. Waste costs [...]
- Published
- 2009