The Regional Development Agency of the Ljubljana Urban Region (RRA LUR), partner of the SYMBI project, financially supported by Interreg Europe, in cooperation with the Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has carried out its first education and training session on industrial symbiosis as enabler towards smoother transition to circular economy. The first workshop was organized within the frame of SYMBI pilot action, which aim is to empower regional stakeholders to understand and implement the concept of industrial symbiosis. The goal of this concept is to introduce new production and business models in order to increase the competitiveness of companies, resource efficiency, boost the innovation potential, reduce the production costs, greenhouse gas emissions and thus mitigate the environmental pressures and impact.
The specific objective of this first set of training was to get an insight of what industrial symbiosis is, how to approach the companies, initiate the trust-building process, improve necessary communication skills and how to make a mapping of relevant companies' streams, logistics, input and output resources etc.
This module equipped the trainees with the necessary knowledge about how industrial symbiosis exploits business and productions opportunities, optimizes companies' processes and maximizes their potentials. The role of appropriate communication has an important stake in this process, since it allows trainees to get an overview of what companies' strategy, vision and needs are. And vice versa, companies get a reliable partner in bridging between companies (and other relevant institutions). Once having a regional map of companies, their streams, resource and waste flows, logistical and organizational schemes, trainees have a leverage to make symbiotic relations.
The next step in this training and learning process is the field work, where trainees will have to get in touch with companies, apply their knowledge and thus start exploring the industrial symbiosis on terrain. The next training and learning session will be held in March 2020.
