West Midlands Industrial Symbiosis Demonstrator

The WMCA's circular economy area includes the delivery of an industrial symbiosis programme as a priority action. Industrial symbiosis involves the direct re-use of one company's waste streams as another's raw materials, reprocessing of by-products or sharing underutilised power, water and/or steam. In 2022, the WMCA produced a business case for investment which outlined the benefits for the region in the delivery of an industrial symbiosis programme.

This contract requirement represents the next step for the WMCA for the delivery of a "demonstrator project" in the West Midlands. A "demonstrator project" refers to a trial or pilot used to establish the best way to deliver a programme and how the government may fund or expand it in the future. This project will seek to create a cross-sector network of businesses in the region who are engaging in the mutually beneficial exchange of waste products and resources. The successful supplier of this commission is expected to help deliver these aims via the following activities:

 Identifying and approaching businesses that could contribute to, and benefit from, the project.

 Organising, hosting, and facilitation of resource matching workshops between key stakeholders.

 Maintenance of an online tool to track realised synergies, including the types and volume of synergies realised and the businesses involved.

 Creation and maintenance of an innovation project portfolio, working with participating businesses to identify the current and future challenges that could be overcome through increased investment in research and innovation.

Following a competitive tender exercise undertaken using WMCAs Bravo Solutions e-portal and a thorough review of tender submissions, the proposal put forward by International Synergies Ltd (ISL) was the most economically advantageous, and therefore represented the best solution for the WMCA and the fulfilment of our requirement.