Evolution of 'designed' industrial symbiosis networks in the Ulsan Eco-industrial Park: 'research and development into business' as the enabling framework

Eco-Industrial Parks (EIPs) cultivate symbiotic relationships by developing waste and by-product networks among companies in a mutual and systematic manner. In the past, the development of self-organized symbioses has been demonstrated to be more successful and beneficial. However, in the absence of effective communication channels among companies, efforts to transform the conventional industrial complexes into EIPs need to stimulate the development of symbioses with a systematic design approach. To develop and implement such symbioses (described as 'designed' networks), the Ulsan EIP center devised a 'research and development into business' (R&DB) framework for the effective expansion of symbioses in the industrial complexes. Based on this framework, the Ulsan EIP center has so far facilitated forty symbioses, out of which thirteen networks are currently in operation, twenty are under negotiation and/or design, and seven are under feasibility investigation/evaluation. This paper might serve as an "out of experience" guideline for other worldwide EIP initiatives, wherein we demonstrate the viability of 'designed' symbiosis networks using policy instruments like national EIP programs, the presence of facilitators such as an EIP center, and an enabling framework such as the R&DB framework that are observed to be critical factors for retro-fitting the conventional industrial complexes into EIPs. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.