Industrial Symbiosis Unveiled as Potential Catalyst for Manufacturing’s Future in West Yorkshire

In a study commissioned jointly by West Yorkshire Combined Authority and the Yorkshire Circular Lab, and undertaken by University of Leeds postgraduate research student Isaac Lassey, the potential of industrial symbiosis as a transformative force for industries in West Yorkshire has been highlighted.

The study's findings underscore how industrial symbiosis – whereby industrial ‘waste’ and by-products are given value as another industry’s inputs – could be key to bolstering future industrial resilience, curbing environmental impact, and carving out fresh business and market opportunities for the manufacturing sector.

Based on factors ranging from material diversity to the impact potential of their reuse, the study pinpointed West Yorkshire’s manufacturing industry as a sector that stands to gain considerable benefits from industrial symbiosis. The instigation of an industrial symbiosis network within West Yorkshire manufacturing is supported by the region’s diverse and established industrial landscape as well as the developed transport and logistical infrastructure that would aid the facilitation of waste-to-resource exchange.

The study assessed synergies between organisations participating in the study that can be harnessed through collaboration. The results presented a promising avenue for generating substantial economic, social, and environmental benefits for the industries involved.

Assessing the regional impact of these benefits by drawing on evidence of industrial symbiosis outcomes in other areas of the UK, the study found a promising future indication to the potential impact industrial symbiosis could hold for West Yorkshire. As the study observes, West Yorkshire is positioned at a juncture where the transformative potential of industrial symbiosis could positively reshape its industrial future.

In its concluding remarks, the study encourages precaution to be taken with its indicative projections. However, the study provides a platform for future research into the facilitation of industrial symbiosis in West Yorkshire and the realisation of its many societal benefits.