capturing value
ESSAY BY
with
BEN JOHNSTON
Eco-industrial parks are co-located businesses whose operational needs present opportunities for shared benefits. Citing industrial symbiosis in several global studies, author Ben Johnston makes a case for “clustered” industries that share resources and repurpose their waste products in order to both enhance operational efficiency and reduce pollution. Ultimately, he offers a business model through which outside investors could unearth value from these symbiotic arrangements.
B
usiness and nature share many of the same goals. Both entities are concerned with survival and evolution as they work to manage future environments. But while both seek efficiency, nature is a step ahead. Natural ecosystems recycle matter so resourcefully that it never leaves the system. Closed-loop ecosystems, from forests to oceans to deserts, use natural inputs continuously and production is self-sustaining.
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THE CALL FOR CORPORATE ACTION
The balanced ecosystem has allowed nature, and in turn mankind, to exist on Earth for millions of years. Businesses, in the interest of being self-sufficient, could learn to replicate this efficiency in their own “ecosystems.” By adopting the principles of nature, businesses could sharply reduce costs while protecting the environment. The process of “industrial symbiosis” models nature within manufacturing. The Yale Center for Industrial Ecology explains
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