Irene Paoletti, EU Project Manager for Energy Efficiency in Industrial Processes (EEIP), explains how city-industrial symbiosis connects cities and industry to share resources, reduce energy use and emissions, and build resilient and competitive regional partnerships that support Europe’s sustainable energy transition.
The EU’s industry is decarbonising and at the same time becoming more resilient and competitive to meet the EU’s long-term climate and energy goals. However, the role of industrial symbiosis is often overlooked in industrial and energy policies and remains underutilized.
By effectively linking industry and cities, city-industrial symbiosis provides a powerful pathway to reduce energy demand, strengthen resilience, and realize system-wide efficiency gains.
Symbiotic relationships drive Europe’s energy transition
No one said the EU’s climate and energy transition would be easy, but it is not. Still, this transition opens up many opportunities to explore long-term and far-reaching social benefits. One chance remains. To actually bring industry and community together and help develop a symbiotic relationship in sustainability.
Urban industrial symbiosis transforms locality into partnership. This allows for structured exchanges in which excess heat, by-products, or services of one actor become inputs for another. The concept of circularity becomes a shared experience.
Energy efficiency remains the most cost-effective energy resource in the European Union, but there are still major missed opportunities at the interface of industry and cities. Urban-industrial symbiosis addresses this gap by creating local energy loops that reduce primary energy demand and emissions across multiple sectors at once.
Benefits of shared experiences
These systems are not static. Early projects demonstrate feasibility and added value. Follow-up efforts will benefit from data sharing, clearer business practices, and established governance arrangements. What begins as a single exchange can develop into a virtuous cycle of continuous efficiency improvements, facilitated by peer learning and replication. This partnership will be a long-term win-win.
Just as communities become more resilient when neighbors work together, neighborhoods become stronger when cities and industries work together. Symbiotic systems planned at the district or city scale can stabilize regional energy supplies, reduce the impact on volatile energy prices, and enhance security of supply.
For industry, this translates into lower operating costs, reduced risk, and increased predictability. For cities, it delivers more robust energy systems and local value creation. These common interests strengthen participation and make urban industrial symbiosis not only an environmental solution but also a competitiveness strategy in line with the European Union’s objectives.
From good intentions to investable systems
Experience shows that urban industrial symbiosis does not develop automatically. While technical solutions are essential, organizational and institutional factors are often decisive. These include access to data, legal clarity, trust between partners, and the development of robust business models, especially when exchanges involve organizations of different sizes.
Therefore, a dedicated coordinating organization or a neutral third-party champion is required for the initiative to be successful. Similar to trusted community figures in neighborhood energy transitions, these facilitators can help coordinate interests, manage interactions, and ensure long-term continuity. Their role is critical to moving beyond isolated pilots to stable, investable systems that can support industrial planning, infrastructure development and long-term energy efficiency improvements.
make cooperation contagious
Fortunately, there are several EU-funded projects related to industrial symbiosis that can highlight its benefits, explain how to implement it and persuade companies and local governments to take action. These projects demonstrate feasibility and impact.
The next step is to take these lessons and mainstream them into the market. This means integrating governance models, energy efficiency norms and standards into policy frameworks, infrastructure planning and investment decisions.
make the unknown known
Urban industrial symbiosis is complex, bringing together many actors in symbiotic and sustainability-oriented relationships. Because these parties often link business and government, they know little about each other. In many cases, civil society does as well. This is proven to be effective, building true community bonds and working towards shared long-term sustainability goals.
Importantly, there are many long-term benefits. EU-funded projects such as REDOL offer a degree of credibility through their impressive track record of experience in different countries and in different contexts. EU industry understands that this is an important turning point in change to address new regional and global market conditions. Industrial symbiosis plays an important role in getting to know the unknown better. What matters is that we are all learning.
This opinion editorial was produced in collaboration with European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW), the largest annual event dedicated to renewable energy and efficient energy use in Europe. #EUSW2026 is in its 20th year, once again bringing together a community of people interested in building a safe and clean energy future for generations to come.
Check out current calls and join.
Useful links
CEN EC for S (2018) CEN Workshop Agreement CWA 17354: Industrial Symbiosis: Core Elements and Implementation Approaches WG2 Workshop & Conference, Industrial Symbiosis from a Business Perspective https://www.h4c-community.eu
About the author
Irene Paoletti is a project manager with a background in business economics and social innovation, specializing in integrating technology, sustainability, and market-driven solutions. Her expertise lies in translating complex technical challenges into actionable, impact-driven strategies that enhance industrial competitiveness while delivering environmental and social value.
Disclaimer: This article is contributed by our partners. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
Neither the European Commission nor its representatives accept responsibility for the use of the information in the article. The opinions expressed are those of the authors only and should not be considered to represent the official views of the European Commission.
Source link
