Chertow M. R., Ashton W. S. and Espinosa J. C. Industrial symbiosis in Puerto Rico: environmentally related agglomeration economies, Regional Studies. Industrial symbiosis, a sub-field of industrial ecology, examines the flow of water, energy, materials, and by-products across firms in geographic proximity. Environmentally related co-location benefits often result that have not been a focus of traditional agglomeration economies, but extend the basic theory. This paper conceptualizes the relationship between agglomeration economies and industrial symbiosis, finding that many negative environmental externalities can be reduced while increasing production efficiency. Four industrial regions of Puerto Rico, all with agglomeration economies, but only two with significant industrial symbiosis, highlight the contribution of symbiosis and how it can influence both static and dynamic agglomeration economies. Chertow M. R., Ashton W. S. et Espinosa J. C. Symbiose industrielle à Porto Rico: économie d'urbanisation liée à l'environnement, Regional Studies. La symbiose industrielle, sous domaine de l'écologie industrielle, examine les flux d'eau, d'énergie, de matériaux et de sous-produits entre entreprises voisines. Les avantages de la co-occupation présentent souvent des résultats qui n'ont pas été au cœur des économies d'urbanisation classiques mais qui prolongent cette théorie de base. Cet article conceptualise les relations entre les résultats de l'économie d'urbanisation et ceux de la symbiose industrielle selon lesquels de nombreux effets externes environnementaux négatifs peuvent être réduits tout en augmentant la productivité. Quatre régions industrielles de Porto Rico, toutes dans des économies d'urbanisation mais dont deux seulement avec une symbiose industrielle significative, mettent en lumière la contribution de la symbiose et comment elle peut avoir une influence sur des économies d'urbanisation statiques et dynamiques. Écologie industrielle Symbiose industrielle Économie d'urbanisation Environneme nt Développement durable Porto Rico Chertow M. R., Ashton W. S. und Espinosa J. C. Industriesymbiose in Puerto Rico: umweltbezogene Agglomerationswirtschaften, Regional Studies. Im Bereich der Industriesymbiose – einem Untergebiet der Industrieökologie – werden die Ströme von Wasser, Energie, Materialien und Nebenprodukten zwischen Firmen innerhalb eines geografischen Bereichs untersucht. Ein häufiges Resultat sind umweltbezogene gemeinsame Standortvorteile, die bisher nicht im Mittelpunkt der traditionellen Agglomerationswirtschaften standen, sondern die Grundtheorie erweitern. In diesem Beitrag wird die Beziehung zwischen Agglomerationswirtschaften und Industriesymbiose konzeptualisiert, wobei festgestellt wird, dass sich zahlreiche negative Umweltexternalitäten bei gleichzeitiger Erhöhung der Produktionseffizienz reduzieren lassen. Anhand von vier Industrieregionen in Puerto Rico – alle mit Agglomerationswirtschaften, aber nur zwei mit signifikanter Industriesymbiose – wird der Beitrag der Symbiose hervorgehoben,...

SummaryIndustrial symbiosis (IS) has been used to describe the physical exchange and shared management of input and output materials by geographically proximate firms. Firms that engage in IS are said to belong to an industrial ecosystem. Symbiosis has been found to be motivated by economic considerations, such as lowering costs for waste disposal, as well as by environmental ones, such as accessing limited water supplies. Communication and trust among managers are thought to play important roles in exchanges; however, empirical studies have not been previously conducted. This study used social network analysis (SNA) to identify the prevalence of industrial symbiosis linkages in Barceloneta, Puerto Rico. The study quantified patterns in various relationships among firms and managers, including formal relations through supply chains, and informal ones through interpersonal interactions. SNA and statistical methods were used to explore how these ties correlate with observed industrial symbiosis activities. IS linkages were found to be less prevalent than product sales among firms and were concentrated among pharmaceutical firms at the core of the regional network. Trust among managers and position in the social hierarchy were found to be correlated with IS but not supply chain links. SNA was useful for examining the organization of different relationships in the industrial ecosystem, but contextual information is still needed to add meaning to its findings.

Summary Like many economic exchanges, industrial symbiosis (IS) is thought to be influenced by social relationships and shared norms among actors in a network. While many implicit references to social characteristics exist throughout the literature, there have been few explicit attempts to operationalize and measure the concepts. The “short mental distance,”“trust,”“openness,” and “communication” recorded among managers in Kalundborg, Denmark, set a precedent for examining and encouraging social interactions among key personnel in the dozens of eco‐industrial networks around the world. In this article we explore the relationships among various aspects of social embeddedness, social capital, and IS. We develop a conceptual framework and an approach using quantitative and qualitative methods to identify and measure these social characteristics, including social network structure, communication, and similarities in norms and conceptions of waste, and apply them in an industrial network in Nanjangud, South India. The findings suggest that there is a fairly high level of shared norms about dealing with waste—the “short mental distance”—in this network, but by‐product transactions are only weakly correlated with the structure and content of communication among managers. Replication of this approach can increase the understanding and comparability of the role of social characteristics in eco‐industrial activities around the world.

A framework has been developed to assess the structure, function, and evolution of a regional industrial ecosystem that integrates insights from industrial ecology and economic geography dimensions with complex systems theory. The framework highlights the multilayered landscape of natural ecosystem functions, economic transactions, policy contexts, and social interactions in which interfirm collaboration evolves. Its application to a single case study on the island of Puerto Rico revealed changes in the system's institutional context, its resource flows, and the composition of its industrial community. It illustrated that external forces and interactions among actors at multiple levels can cause permanent changes-but not necessarily system collapse-as policy choices and interfirm cooperation can be used to organize resources in ways that retain system functionality.

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Industrial symbiosis (IS), as a subfield of industrial ecology, is concerned with cooperation among industrial firms in managing resources, particularly by-products, such that the waste of one firm becomes the input of another. This "closed-loop" pattern also lies at the heart of the concept of the circular economy (CE). Both concepts are typically considered at scales ranging from industrial parks to global supply chains, but rarely at the scale of a single facility housing multiple firms. Moreover, both concepts have requirements and implications that reach beyond the tracking and coordination of material flows. These additional requirements include the cultivation of new business models and political support, as well as engagement of local communities and cultures. Thus, both IS and the CE face the challenge of bridging the gap between the technical and sociocultural aspects of industrial development and adapting to the facility scale. We address this challenge by proposing a framework for the development of facility-scale industrial symbiosis (Facility-IS). Facility-IS accounts for the presence of symbiotic interfirm relationships-including, but not limited to, material and knowledge exchange-within a single physical facility. The conditions for planning, facilitating, and growing Facility-IS are outlined, as well as three approaches to implement such projects. Overall, this research forms a Facility-IS framework rooted in existing best practices for understanding the CE at the local scale, tracking business sustainability factors and assessing viable strategies that facilitate IS. Keywords:buildings circular economy industrial ecology industrial symbiosis small and medium enterprises (SME) urban ecosystem Supporting information is linked to this article on the JIE website Conflict of interest statement: John Mulrow was previously employed by Plant Chicago, a not-for-profit organization featured in the Facility-IS Projects section. The other authors have no conflict to declare.

A growing interest in the circular economy concept has pushed the discourse in various management-related disciplines beyond established boundaries, with calls to better address how such a model may be developed in a world of global value chains. Still, the conventional linear economy model continues to dominate business, society, and research. While the concept of better connecting physical output and input flows at multiple production or consumption levels is becoming more accepted, it remains unclear how to make this happen while ensuring that sustainability targets are met or exceeded. Multiple scientific communities contribute different perspectives to this discourse, with promising opportunities for research. Circular economy and sustainability from business and economics perspectives are multifaceted. The existing body of knowledge needs to be advanced to assist private individuals, business managers, investors, or policymakers in making informed decisions. In this article for the inaugural issue, we provide a snapshot of the discourses among those who have studied the circular economy and its related topics. We outline conceptual inroads and potential research questions to encourage further circular economy and sustainability research and discourse from business or economics perspectives as well as from the broader transdisciplinary angle. We propose three research pathways: (1) connecting output with input needs in a global circular economy; (2) beyond today’s business logic for a global circular economy; and (3) inclusion of the Global South in North-dominated circular economies. For each, we propose concepts, theories, or methodological approaches and offer various perspectives from the micro, macro, and meso levels.