{"id":30227,"date":"2026-10-01T14:13:01","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T07:13:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vncpc.org\/?p=30227"},"modified":"2026-10-01T14:15:44","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T07:15:44","slug":"industrial-symbiosis-from-underutilized-resources-to-opportunities-for-developing-circular-projects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vncpc.org\/en\/industrial-symbiosis-from-underutilized-resources-to-opportunities-for-developing-circular-projects\/","title":{"rendered":"Industrial Symbiosis: From underutilized resources to opportunities for developing circular projects"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>A by-product, water source or energy source that is not efficiently utilized by one business can become an input for another. Industrial symbiosis not only creates opportunities to use resources more efficiently, but is also one of the groups of projects meeting circularity criteria under the new regulations. So, where can businesses start, and what opportunities are available to access relevant support policies?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>New regulations on green projects and circular projects<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">From 01\/11\/2026, Decision No. 46\/2026\/QD-TTg will take effect, providing guidance on the identification of green projects, projects meeting circularity criteria, and the application of the environmental, social and governance framework.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to Article 3 of the Decision, a green project is a project that falls within an eligible project type, has defined objectives, and meets the corresponding requirements set out in Appendix I.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, a project meeting circularity criteria must fall into one of four groups:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li><strong><em>Circular design and production<\/em>:<\/strong> applying solutions in product design, production or service provision to improve the efficient use of resources, raw materials, materials and energy.<\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Circular use<\/em>:<\/strong> reusing, repairing, renovating, upgrading, refurbishing, repurposing, remanufacturing, leasing or sharing products, equipment and materials to extend their useful life.<\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Resource recovery<\/em>:<\/strong> collecting and recycling by-products and waste, as well as applying other measures to reduce waste generation.<\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Industrial symbiosis and circular linkages<\/em>:<\/strong> applying circular measures across sectors and within industrial parks, industrial clusters, urban areas or concentrated residential areas to improve the efficient use of raw materials, materials, energy and resources; extend product lifecycles; and reduce waste generation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>What does industrial symbiosis mean in simple terms?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Simply put, one business may have a resource that is not fully utilized, while another business may have a need for that resource.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img data-dominant-color=\"99ac9d\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #99ac9d;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-30220 size-large not-transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/vncpc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/cong-sinh-cong-nghiep-6bedb0-1030x515.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"1030\" height=\"515\" srcset=\"https:\/\/vncpc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/cong-sinh-cong-nghiep-6bedb0-1030x515.webp 1030w, https:\/\/vncpc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/cong-sinh-cong-nghiep-6bedb0-300x150.webp 300w, https:\/\/vncpc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/cong-sinh-cong-nghiep-6bedb0-768x384.webp 768w, https:\/\/vncpc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/cong-sinh-cong-nghiep-6bedb0-1536x768.webp 1536w, https:\/\/vncpc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/cong-sinh-cong-nghiep-6bedb0-1500x750.webp 1500w, https:\/\/vncpc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/cong-sinh-cong-nghiep-6bedb0-705x353.webp 705w, https:\/\/vncpc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/cong-sinh-cong-nghiep-6bedb0.webp 1774w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>An industrial symbiosis opportunity needs to be assessed in terms of usability, technology, costs, and environmental and legal requirements.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Such resources may include raw materials, by-products, water, energy or other resources.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">For example, a by-product from one business could potentially be used as an input by another. Businesses within the same industrial park or industrial cluster can also explore opportunities to share certain resources or services where appropriate.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, having a supplier and a potential user does not necessarily mean that an opportunity can be implemented immediately. Industrial symbiosis opportunities need to be assessed in terms of usability, technology, costs, and environmental and legal requirements.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Importantly, this approach encourages businesses to look at resources not only within the boundaries of their own facilities, but also in connection with surrounding businesses.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Where can businesses start?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Businesses do not necessarily need to start with a large-scale project. They can begin by reviewing: What resources are currently being used? Which resources are being wasted or underutilized? Could other businesses make use of these resources?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Based on this review, businesses can identify opportunities for resource efficiency, reuse, resource recovery or industrial symbiosis, and then assess them against the relevant criteria under Decision No. 46\/2026\/QD-TTg.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>What opportunities are available for businesses?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Having a project that meets green or circularity criteria is not only environmentally significant. Decision No. 46\/2026\/QD-TTg provides a basis for identifying and assessing projects against specific criteria, thereby supporting businesses in demonstrating the green and circular nature of their projects when accessing relevant support policies.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, being identified as a project meeting circularity criteria does not mean that a business is automatically entitled to financial support or preferential financing. Businesses still need to meet the specific conditions of each relevant policy, programme or financial institution.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>From individual businesses to the entire industrial park<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">For industrial parks and industrial clusters, industrial symbiosis offers a broader approach: instead of each business addressing resource and waste challenges independently, businesses can work together to identify opportunities to use the resources available across the area more efficiently.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This is also an important approach in the transition towards eco-industrial parks.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">With experience in Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production (RECP), circular economy and eco-industrial park development, VNCPC can support businesses in reviewing their current practices, identifying resource efficiency opportunities and exploring potential industrial symbiosis opportunities.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><strong>VNCPC<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A by-product, water source or energy source that is not efficiently utilized by one business can become an input for another. Industrial symbiosis not only creates opportunities to use resources more efficiently, but is also one of the groups of projects meeting circularity criteria under the new regulations. So, where can businesses start, and what [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":30222,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[2153,1255,2152,2154,1226,2151,1758,2156,1878,2155],"class_list":["post-30227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-production-and-sustainable-consumption-news","tag-circular-design-and-production","tag-circular-economy","tag-circular-projects","tag-circular-use","tag-eco-industrial-park","tag-green-projects","tag-industrial-symbiosis","tag-industrial-symbiosis-and-circular-linkages","tag-resourceefficientandcleanerproductionrecp","tag-resource-recovery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vncpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vncpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vncpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vncpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vncpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30227"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vncpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30227\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30232,"href":"https:\/\/vncpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30227\/revisions\/30232"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vncpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vncpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vncpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vncpc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}