Towards a Resilient and Resource-Efficient Local Food System Based on Industrial Symbiosis in Härnösand: A Swedish Case Study

Henrik Haller, Anna-Sara Fagerholm, Peter Carlsson, Wilhelm Skoglund, Paul van den Brink, Itai Danielski, Kristina Brink, Murat Mirata and Oskar Englund
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Henrik Haller: Department of Ecotechnology and Sustainable Building Engineering, Mid Sweden University, 85230 Sundsvall, Sweden
Anna-Sara Fagerholm: Department of Design, Mid Sweden University, 85230 Sundsvall, Sweden
Peter Carlsson: Department of Circular Economy, Chalmers Industrial Engineering, 41296 Göteborg, Sweden
Wilhelm Skoglund: Department of Economics, Geography, Law and Tourism, Mid Sweden University, 85230 Sundsvall, Sweden
Paul van den Brink: Department of Ecotechnology and Sustainable Building Engineering, Mid Sweden University, 85230 Sundsvall, Sweden
Itai Danielski: Department of Ecotechnology and Sustainable Building Engineering, Mid Sweden University, 85230 Sundsvall, Sweden
Kristina Brink: Department of Design, Mid Sweden University, 85230 Sundsvall, Sweden
Murat Mirata: Environmental Technology and Management, Department of Management and Engineering, Linköping University, 58183 Linköping, Sweden
Oskar Englund: Department of Ecotechnology and Sustainable Building Engineering, Mid Sweden University, 85230 Sundsvall, Sweden

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 4, 1-17

Abstract: The endeavour to align the goals of the Swedish food strategy with the national environmental quality objectives and the 17 global SDGs, presents an extraordinary challenge that calls for systemic innovation. Industrial symbiosis can potentially provide the means for increasing sustainable food production, using locally sub-exploited resources that can reduce the need for land, agrochemicals, transport and energy. This case study of the municipality of Härnösand, aims to assess opportunities and challenges for using waste flows and by-products for local food production, facilitated by industrial symbiosis. A potential symbiotic network was developed during three workshops with the main stakeholders in Härnösand. The potential of the COVID-19 pandemic to instigate policy changes, behavioural changes and formation of new alliances that may catalyse the transition towards food systems based on industrial symbiosis is discussed. The material flow inventory revealed that many underexploited resource flows were present in quantities that rendered them commercially interesting. Resources that can be used for innovative food production include, e.g., lignocellulosic residues, rock dust, and food processing waste. The internalised drive among local companies interested in industrial symbiosis and the emerging symbiotic relations, provide a fertile ground for the establishment of a local network that can process the sub-exploited material flows. Although there are multiple challenges for an industrial symbiosis network to form in Härnösand, this study shows that there is a significant potential to create added value from the region’s many resources while at the same time making the food system more sustainable and resilient, by expanding industrial symbiosis practices.

Keywords: economic recovery policy; COVID-19; sustainable development; sustainability transitions; food supply chain; industrial symbiosis; circular economy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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