Resource Management Inspired by Symbiosis

Innovation: Industry

Kalundborg Symbiosis

1972

Image: Nathan Anderson / Unsplash / CC BY SA - Creative Commons Attribution + ShareAlike

Cooperate Within an Ecosystem

An ecosystem is a community of organisms (plants, animals, and microbes) interacting with one another and the nonliving components of their environment (such as air, water, and mineral soil). This interaction can be passive or active, and can cooperatively enhance the functioning of the ecosystem as a whole. For cooperation to contribute to maintaining communities within an ecosystem, it must be beneficial to at least some members of the community. Cooperation consists of symbiotic relationships, such as mutualism (in which two or more species in an ecosystem benefit) and commensalism (in which one species benefits and the effect on others is neutral). An example of a commensal relationship is that between bromeliad plants and trees: bromeliads live on trees without harming them. Bromeliads have mutualistic relationships with other species, including insects, frogs, and worms. The plants capture water in their base, forming a pond that these organisms join. The nutrients that these organisms excrete in their droppings nourish the bromeliad.

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Cycle Nutrients

In ecosystems, there is no such thing as waste. Instead, one organism’s waste can be considered as another organism’s resource, and the cycling of nutrients may be the most important form of recycling in living systems. But sometimes those nutrients are transformed by one organism into a form that isn’t readily used by other organisms. For example, lignin is a complex organic molecule found in the cell walls of plants. In a forest, it’s one of the hardest molecules to break down in woody vegetation. Therefore, ecosystems include organisms that are particularly well-adapted to break down different types of nutrients. In the case of lignin, some fungi and bacteria release lignin-modifying enzymes that can break down the lignin to form carbohydrates and other life-supporting chemicals.

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An industrial partnership where one company's by-products are used as resources for another company.

Benefits

Reduced CO2 emissions
Reduced waste
Reduced costs

Applications

City planning
Industry

UN Sustainable Development Goals Addressed

Goal 11: Sustainable Cities & Communities
Goal 12: Responsible Production & Consumption

The Challenge

Companies create waste in the form of energy, materials, and water that can oftentimes be recycled and reused, but are usually discarded. Engaging in partnerships to share waste resources can help to reduce waste and CO2 emissions, as well as overall costs.

Innovation Details

Various processing companies, a waste handling company, and the Municipality of Kalundborg participate in industrial , mutually using each other’s residual or by-products including energy, water, and materials.

A diagram of the energy, water, and materials transfer between members of the Kalundborg Symbiosis.

Biological Model

Symbiosis is an important concept in nature, where two or more organisms engage in a mutually beneficial relationship to the benefit of everyone involved. Symbiosis is an important part of what allows ecosystems to function and thrive.

See Related Strategy on Symbiosis

Biological Strategy

How the Clownfish and Sea Anemone Help Each Other

Clownfish

One provides shelter, the other provides fertilizer, and both are better off for it.

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