Humber and East Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (HEY LEP)

An industrial symbiosis study for Humber and East Yorkshire to identify strategic opportunities to support the development of a sustainable circular economy in the area, helping to reduce carbon emissions and progress towards net zero targets. 

It was delivered in partnership with the Yorkshire Circular Lab at the University of Leeds and commissioned by Hull City Council on behalf of the Humber and East Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (HEY LEP).

What was the aim of this project?

The study is provided by the North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub. The study will investigate the potential for developing a model for the strategic incubation of industrial symbiosis opportunities supporting the development of a sustainable circular economy approach within Hull and East Yorkshire. Both local authorities have declared a climate emergency and are working on strategies to achieve ambitious net zero ambitions.

The HEY area in combination with the wider Humber region represents the UK’s largest industrial emitter of CO2 and therefore makes it an ideal location to endorse and promote industrial symbiosis further reducing its carbon emissions.

What will this project support?

This project will support the government’s ambition for resource and energy efficiency to transition towards net-zero, as indicated in both the Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy (March 2021) and Net Zero Strategy (October 2021), both of which highlight that energy and resource efficiency achieved through industrial symbiosis and circular economy approaches will be vital in supporting the road to net-zero. The Yorkshire and the Humber region are proactively supporting circular economy with a framework strategy, incorporating industrial symbiosis as a key component.

Circular economy solutions aim to reduce resource use, make better use of materials and products, and waste less. Resource use is responsible for about 50% of our greenhouse gas emissions. Moving towards a more circular economy is therefore crucial for reaching net-zero targets. Industrial symbiosis forms a part of the transition towards a circular economy, by creating new opportunities to generate value for businesses and communities through the innovative use of wastes, by-products and other underutilised resources.

How will this project be run?

The project will draw upon recent research findings, such as the Transforming Foundation Industries Research and Innovation Hub (TransFIRe), the UK Manufacturing Symbiosis Network Plus (UK MSN+) and Europe’s DG Grow’s funded CircLean.

Industrial symbiosis previously had a prominent presence in the HEY region from 2005 to 2012 through the activities of the Yorkshire and Humber team of the National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP®). This project will take lessons from previous schemes to propose a programme with continuity at its heart.

This Feasibility and Options Appraisal study for industrial symbiosis is due to be completed by the end of March 2023.