Welcome to the latest edition of Symbiosis Stream! We are deeply encouraged by the positive feedback we have received and would like to extend our heartfelt thanks for your continued support. We trust that you will find this edition both informative and inspiring.
———————————————————————————————————————————— No. 3, August, 2024
Bootcamp 2024 – setting directions for 2030
Green Wave Rio
High level visits in fall 2024
Time for the annual strategy session is coming up: September 10, the Board of Directors, Advisory Board and all the associated members of Kalundborg Symbiosis will meet and discuss how the local partnership can stay relevant in the future. Not only for the involved companies, but also as a global inspiration to accelerate the circular economy of manufacturing industry. Advisory Board has put together a program, that contains inspiration, status on the work to secure a resilient water supply and a workshop, where you can influence the strategic direction of Kalundborg Symbiosis.
If you have not already received the program for the event, please contact Lisbeth Randers and remember also to update your calendar invite. See you all soon!
Rio de Janeiro is hosting the G20 summit of 2024, and the city is organizing a range of different side events, connected to the summit. Among these initiatives, is a 3-day session, called Green Wave Rio, that is focusing on sustainable growth. As a part of Kalundborg Symbiosis´ participation in the PRESI project, where we support the emerging industrial symbiosis in Santa Cruz (see the video in the last newsletter), we will be represented at Green Wave Rio in the end of October. The PRESI project allows a few companies to join us at the tour to Rio, so please let us know if you could have an interest in this. Also, it is beneficial for us to know if you have any other strategic interest in Rio or Brazil that we in any way might support while being there. Do not hesitate to reach out to us!
Kalundborg is increasingly in the global spotlight, inspiring decision-makers to explore our collaborative model more closely. This fall, we will host visits from the Danish Energy Agency, the Foreign Ministry of Denmark, Energinet.dk, a Danish Parliament committee, the Colombian Deputy Minister of Energy, the Danish Environmental Ministry, and business delegations from France, the US, and Japan, among others. We deeply appreciate your involvement in many of these visits, as your support is crucial in crafting meaningful programs for our guests. These high-level visits present a unique opportunity to address the current challenges facing industry.
Symbiosis chronicles: A journey through history
How Kalundborg Symbiosis was named and mapped for the first time
Although the idea of sharing by-products with each other was implemented in 1972, it wasn’t until 17 years later, in 1989, that the Kalundborg Symbiosis was mapped out by four high school students. They built a model out of cardboard and straws and described the industrial collaboration for the first time. Additionally, this was also the time when Kalundborg Symbiosis got its name.
Project on Sustainability
In October 1989, there was a thematic week at Kalundborg Gymnasium. Students from different grades were tasked with creating a project on the concept of sustainability. The thematic week was inspired by a UN report titled ‘Our Common Future – The Brundtland Commission Report on Environment and Development.’
The students were asked to work in groups. One of the groups decided to take a closer look at how Novo Nordisk, the Asnæs Power Station, and a few other companies were helping each other.
The four students built a model out of cardboard and straws and, for the first time, described the industrial collaboration that is now known as Kalundborg Symbiosis.
The project ended up being described in an article in Politiken. Later, the local industrial collaboration in Kalundborg was mentioned in international media.
The student group went on to win an IFV award, which was presented at the Planetarium in Copenhagen on December 19, 1989. Each student received a prize of 4,000 kroner, while the gymnasium was awarded 9,000 kroner.
Kalundborg Symbiosis got its name
As part of the thematic week, there were also plenary sessions, including a panel debate on the relationship between industry and the environment, with participation from local companies. The evening before the debate, Valdemar Christensen from the Asnæs Power Station was preparing at home when his wife, Inge, made an insightful analogy. She likened the industrial collaboration to a symbiotic relationship in biology, where different organisms support each other. The comparison was clear: the waste by-product of one organism becomes the raw material for another. This analogy led to the birth of the name “The Industrial Symbiosis – Kalundborg Symbiosis.
In the photo below, taken in 2012, from left to right, are Valdemar Christensen, Lisbeth Randers, Inge Christensen, and Jørgen Christensen.
