Quantifying the environmental performance of an industrial symbiosis network of biofuel producers

It is generally assumed that industrial symbiosis creates economic and environmental benefits for all firms involved, though few quantifications have been produced in the literature. The environmental performance of an industrial symbiosis network of biofuel producers on the island of Handelo, Sweden will be quantified using an approach from previous literature. This method allows the benefits provided by exchanges to be partitioned to firms taking part in the industrial symbiosis network, which may have implications for tax incentives, marketing, expansion and environmental awareness. The current industrial symbiosis network has been found to have benefits compared to reference scenarios produced. However, methodological choices, such as the choice of reference scenario and allocation methods may significantly influence the results of the environmental performance. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.