Industrial agglomeration and cooperation: evidence of circular bioeconomy from the Iberian cork industry

Francisco Manuel Parejo-Moruno, Antonio Miguel Linares-Luján, Carlos Manuel Faísca and José Francisco Rangel Preciado

Chapter 5 in Research Handbook of Innovation in the Circular Bioeconomy, 2025, pp 74-86 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: The transformation of cork into a wide range of industrial products serves as an excellent example of a circular bioeconomy. It holds valuable lessons that can influence other industrial sectors. However, given its concentration primarily in the Iberian Peninsula, the economic profitability and the environmental sustainability of the cork business often goes unnoticed beyond the boundaries of the southwestern Mediterranean regions. Drawing upon the theoretical framework of industrial ecosystems and leveraging specialized multidisciplinary literature on cork, this chapter argues that the creation of several local productive systems (LPS) was essential for achieving environmental and economic sustainability. This trend began in the mid-20th century when the cork industry gradually disappeared from countries that did not produce raw cork, such as the US or the UK. The closer physical proximity between raw materials and agglomerations of cork SMEs facilitated the reduction of transaction costs, strengthened successful business cooperation, and encouraged the reuse of industrial waste. Currently, the cork business stands as an indisputable paradigm of circular bioeconomy, enjoying significant success even amidst competition with synthetic products in segments like wine stoppers and insulation and coating within the construction sector.

Keywords: Circular Bioeconomy; Industrial ecosystems; Local Productive System; Rural development; Cork industry; Iberian Peninsula (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035307951
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