The Industrial Symbiosis Research Symposium at Yale: Advancing the Study of Industry and Environment

Industrial symbiosis (IS), a sub-field of industrial ecology, is principally concerned with the cooperative management of resource flows through networks of businesses as a means of approaching ecologically sustainable industrial activity. Isolated researchers in a broad range of disciplines have investigated industrial symbiosis from a variety of starting points without a common agenda. The Industrial Symbiosis Research Symposium was held in January 2004 at Yale University, bringing together more than 30 experts from 15 countries to discuss critical questions and issues in this emerging area.The purpose of the Symposium was to give researchers an opportunity to share their knowledge and experience on the state of research, to determine areas of possible cross-fertilization among disciplines, and to establish research priorities. The Industrial Symbiosis Research Symposium at Yale: Advancing the Study of Industry and Environment is a report on the first global research conference in this area

Best Practices in Cleaner Production: Promotion and Implementation for Smaller Enterprises

This report reviews of a set of international programs promoting Cleaner Production (CP) to aid MIF and similar donor agencies in structuring cluster programs with SMEs in Latin America aimed at promoting resource efficiency while improving economic and environmental performance

Best Practices in Cleaner Production: Promotion and Implementation for Smaller Enterprises (Appendix 1-Case Summaries)

This annex contains specific examples of cleaner production (CP) strategies for smaller enterprises including regional overviews of Latin America, Asia and Europe. It contains best practices from: Multinational Umbrella Programs such as Asian Development Bank, Nordic Environmental Finance Corporation (NEFCO), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) &United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), United States ¿ Asia Environmental Partnership (USAEP), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), World Bank; and Country-Specific Programs such as United States Environmental Protection AgencySmall Businesses & Cleaner Production, National Pollution Prevention Roundtable (NPPR), The CNP+L of Mexico, Individual experiences in Latin-America, Australian Cleaner Production Experiences, Indonesia¿s Cleaner Production Award Model, Cleaner Production in Sri Lankan SMEs, Taiwan¿s Cleaner Production Programs, Cleaner Production in Thailand

Green Supply Chain Formation Through By-Product Synergies

Many firms across the world are discovering and benefiting from the ability to identify, recover, and reuse industrial by-products from other firms in traditionally unrelated industries. We examine how the formation of a by-product synergy between two firms, in different industries, and its environmental impact, are influenced by factors such as the by-product trading price, the fixed costs of synergy formation (e.g., innovation cost), and the distinct characteristics of the two markets in which potential partners operate. We show that an incentive compatible region, which ensures a profit increase for both firms, can be characterized by an interior region of the by-product trading price, and the incentive compatible region may enlarge or shrink with the firms share of the fixed cost. Second, we find that when the firms are willing to share the synergy formation cost, higher volatility of either market could better incentivize the formation of the by-product synergy. Third, we find conditions when there exists a set of prices that are both incentive compatible and environmentally efficient

The need to adapt sustainability audits to atypical business models

While a growing number of businesses aspire toward sustainability, doing so requires new business models that aim to achieve triple bottom line benefits (economic, environmental, and social), while utilizing appropriate technologies and new knowledge platforms for doing business. “Third Places,” defined as places of public gathering outside of work or home, have emerged as powerful platforms for business model innovation, in the form of incubators, co-working spaces, and innovation hubs. Third Places enable a diverse group of actors, including entrepreneurs, employees, and investors to informally interact and develop innovative ways of doing business. Third Places tend to be structurally more complex than traditional production facilities as they have multiple firms interacting in formal and informal ways. In this commentary, we discuss the challenges of measuring the sustainability performance of Third Places using conventional sustainability audit tools

Best Practices in Cleaner Production: Promotion and Implementation for Smaller Enterprises (Appendix 1-Case Summaries)

This annex contains specific examples of cleaner production (CP) strategies for smaller enterprises including regional overviews of Latin America, Asia and Europe. It contains best practices from: Multinational Umbrella Programs such as Asian Development Bank, Nordic Environmental Finance Corporation (NEFCO), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) &United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), United States ¿ Asia Environmental Partnership (USAEP), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), World Bank; and Country-Specific Programs such as United States Environmental Protection AgencySmall Businesses & Cleaner Production, National Pollution Prevention Roundtable (NPPR), The CNP+L of Mexico, Individual experiences in Latin-America, Australian Cleaner Production Experiences, Indonesia¿s Cleaner Production Award Model, Cleaner Production in Sri Lankan SMEs, Taiwan¿s Cleaner Production Programs, Cleaner Production in Thailand

The need to adapt emerging sustainability audits to atypical business models

While a growing number of businesses aspire toward sustainability, doing so requires new business models that aim to achieve triple bottom line benefits (economic, environmental, and social), while utilizing appropriate technologies and new knowledge platforms for doing business. “Third Places,” defined as places of public gathering outside of work or home, have emerged as powerful platforms for business model innovation, in the form of incubators, co-working spaces, and innovation hubs. Third Places enable a diverse group of actors, including entrepreneurs, employees, and investors to informally interact and develop innovative ways of doing business. Third Places tend to be structurally more complex than traditional production facilities as they have multiple firms interacting in formal and informal ways. In this commentary, we discuss the challenges of measuring the sustainability performance of Third Places using conventional sustainability audit tools