Preliminary study on circular synergies between land, forest and sea u

Whether materials, energy or chemicals, virtually all production gives rise to some form of residual flows that need to be managed. Higher demands on circularity mean that more producers need to see the value and take care of residual flows in the best possible way. The project brings together industry, research institutes, and stakeholders in agriculture, forestry and marine management to explore opportunities to integrate and optimize our natural resources for a sustainable future.

The aim of this feasibility study is to

• Explore opportunities to collaborate in land, forest and marine industrial activities with a focus on bioresource circularity within the blue-green cycle. 
• Identify and initiate discussions with interested parties on both sides of the border in the local community, industry and academia, where access to residual streams and/or technology exists to further close the cycles and contribute to a lower environmental footprint. 
• Investigate conditions for cooperation and knowledge transfer with upper secondary school and vocational programs in bioeconomy 

Final report 

The feasibility study has provided a fruitful basis for understanding the residual flows and needs on both sides of the border in the blue-green cycle. There has been great interest among various stakeholders, from the agricultural side, the forestry industry, the aquaculture industry, as well as in teaching and academic institutions and green industry sites, which work with industrial symbiosis. The desire to collaborate further to learn from each other and find forms of cooperation between industrial sites is high, which shows that the circular is a highly topical subject where the endeavour to be part of the blue-green transition is strong in the regions. The project has illustrated that there is a clear synergistic added value of working across the border regions on nutrient flows and carbon flows, but also highlighted difficulties regarding differences in national / EU regulations for nutrient recycling of fish sludge, logistics for residual stream management and getting techno-economically sustainable value chains.