Title: The synergistic role of embeddedness and capabilities in industrial symbiosis: illustration based upon 12 years of experiences in the Rotterdam Harbour and Industry Complex

Authors: Leo W. Baas, Don Huisingh

Addresses: Erasmus Centre for Sustainability and Management, Erasmus University, P.O. Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands. ' Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment, University of Tennessee, 311 Conference Center Building, Knoxville, TN 37996-4314, USA; Erasmus Centre for Sustainability and Management, Erasmus University, P.O. Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Abstract: Industrial Ecology (IE) is a known concept worldwide; however, its dissemination is not an easy process. Industrial routines are embedded in unsustainable practices that are difficult to change. The complexity and uncertainties of new concepts are often approached with ignorance and misperception. Nevertheless, the integration of economic, environmental and social dimensions in industrial activities is increasingly perceived as a necessary condition for a sustainable society. The paper reflects on the theories of embeddedness, capabilities and transformation to practical experiences of Industrial Symbiosis (IS) in the Rotterdam Harbour and Industry Complex (HIC).

Keywords: industrial ecology; social sciences; embeddedness; capabilities; transformation; Rotterdam Harbour and Industry Complex; Happy Shrimp Farm; HSF; waste heat; industrial symbiosis; The Netherlands; sustainable society.

DOI: 10.1504/PIE.2008.023408

Progress in Industrial Ecology, An International Journal, 2008 Vol.5 No.5/6, pp.399 - 421

Published online: 22 Feb 2009 *

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