Exploring Private Facilitation Strategies for Industrial Symbiosis: a Case Study from the Swedish Food Industry

Abstract: The concept of industrial symbiosis (IS) provides practical solutions for resource efficiency and low-carbon development. The IS represents a collective, multi-industrial approach for companies to improve their economic and environmental performance through the sharing of heat, electricity, water, by-products, information, and reuse of waste. The main challenges to IS emergence include a long duration and a complexity of the projects. Effective facilitation can accelerate the IS development process. Despite the recognition of diverse facilitation actors and roles, a contribution of private consulting firms to the emergence and development of IS remains unexplored. This study contributes to an understanding of IS facilitation by exploring possible roles and strategies of private facilitators. The research design included a grounded theory approach and a single case study from the Swedish food industry. In result, first, possible strategic steps for a private consulting firm to engage in an IS project were described. Second, the results demonstrate that private IS facilitators are valued for expert knowledge and experience in a specific innovation area, project management skills and a willingness to take a financial risk. Third, five main facilitation functions of private consulting firms were identified: project management, diagnostic function, direct transfer of expert knowledge, experience sharing, and providing contacts of service companies. Finally, facilitation actions of private firms were described and allocated to phases of IS systems emergence. A clear understanding of facilitation roles and cooperation options can foster the emergence and implementation of IS projects and enhance resource efficiency and low-carbon development, in Sweden and globally.