Industrial Symbiosis as a Neglected Opportunity in Industrial Decarbonisation Pathways: Qualitative Insights From the Australian Manufacturing Sector

ABSTRACT

Industrial symbiosis (IS) represents a key strategy for industrial decarbonisation (ID) by converting one industry's waste into valuable inputs for another, reducing emissions and resource extraction. Scientific studies have explored the concept, implementation approaches and theoretical foundations of IS. However, evidence demonstrating how IS delivers measurable carbon reduction outcomes at the industrial manufacturing operational level remains limited. Addressing this critical gap, the present study examines material flow exchange (MFE) as a core IS strategy, with particular attention to the motivations driving its adoption, its contribution to ID and the barriers constraining its decarbonisation potential at the firm level. These insights are derived from semi‐structured interviews conducted with experts from Australian manufacturing firms actively engaged in MFE practices in manufacturing. The findings point to a marked ‘decarbonisation void’: IS initiatives are primarily driven by economic rationality and cost‐savings. While marketing and reputational gains serve as secondary factors, genuine environmental concerns tend to remain peripheral to the decision‐making process, missing the recognition of IS as a valuable pathway for ID. Further implementation is constrained by structural barriers, including outdated regulatory landscapes, immature downstream markets for by‐products and a general reluctance to adopt secondary materials. This indicates a strategic decoupling between MFE and formal decarbonisation frameworks at the operational level.