40 – A facilitated Industrial Symbiosis implementation project on a large scale: the US experience in the Triangle J region

The Research Triangle Park, in the Triangle J Region, North Carolina (United States) is a large geographical region in which 182 companies have been connected by the means of symbiotic exchanges. Companies participating in the project were from a wide range of different sectors, including chemical, plastic, wood industries. The project that led to the creation of these exchanges was an initiative of the Triangle J Council of Government, putting together representatives from the six counties of the region.

The discovery process started in 1997, when a first inventory of main input and output flows of businesses located in the area was started. The result of such activity was an inventory of flows of companies from over 100 different sectors. The project team was then able to individuate potential exchanges and start matching companies. A final report was sent to involved companies, including details regarding potential cost savings and CO2 reduction.

The main precondition that allowed the project team to identify a wide range of potential new exchanges was the high diversity of businesses based in the geographical area (also a result of the vastness of the area considered).

Source: Chertow, M. R., 2000. “Industrial Symbiosis: Literature and Taxonomy”. Annual Review of Energy and the Environment 25:313-337.