On the implementation of a circular economy: The role of institutional capacity-building through industrial symbiosis

This paper explores the role of institutional capacity-building through industrial symbiosis in the development of a circular economy. Actors directly or indirectly involved within the National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP) in the UK, including companies, government agencies, industrial symbiosis promoters, academia, the media and NGOs, were interviewed. Content analysis was used to make inferences from the interviews. Our results indicate that institutional capacity is created through interactions between a favorable institutional field and the identification of business opportunities by actors. It was found that NISP increased its institutional capacity to develop industrial symbiosis by increasing knowledge and relational resources and by promoting its capacity for mobilization. We identified the forces that are driving the shift from the current and traditional linear material and energy flows to a circular economy. Overall the study indicates that the UK government is playing a vital role in building and maintaining an industrial symbiosis coordination network, but that ultimately other actors and driving forces will be necessary if the cyclical flow of materials and energy and systemic thinking are to be achieved.