Posted in: Our Projects

27.07.09

ISL boasts the fastest growing business opportunity programme in the UK as its flagship project - the National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP).

The company's greatest success story to date, NISP is a business led initiative which applies the principles of Industrial Ecology through Industrial Symbiosis and uses business opportunity as the catalyst for resource efficiency.

The only national Industrial Symbiosis initiative in the World, ISL has been instrumental in NISP's success, helping to grow its membership base to more than 8000 companies in just over two years to include businesses from every industrial and commercial sector including Shell UK, Lafarge Cement (2007 Winner of the Business in the Community Eco-Efficiency Award), BIP Ltd, John Pointons, UK Coal, Biffa and KP Foods.

The programme is making a considerable contribution towards reducing the environmental impacts of business in the UK, reducing CO2 emissions by more than two million tonnes, and is on target to deliver 5% of the UK’s Kyoto commitment by 2011.

Funded by Defra's Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (BREW) programme, NISP demonstrates that the principles of industrial ecology, in this case through industrial symbiosis, can significantly reduce industrial and commercial waste and lessen the adverse environmental impacts of business.

The programme is organised through 12 regional industrial symbiosis (IS) practices covering the whole of the UK. Each centre has a team of expertly trained IS practitioners with combined industry, environmental, risk management and academic expertise.

How does it work?
Membership of NISP is free regardless of size, turnover or sector.
The programme uses its unique network of commercial and industrial members to develop mutually beneficial relationships across all sectors so that residual wastes and resources such as energy or water or other materials can be re-used, recycled or recovered by others in a more efficient manner.

Since April 2005, NISP has

• Diverted over 2.2 million tonnes of waste from landfill
• Reduced CO2 emissions by over 2.1 million tonnes
• Made over £81 million in cost savings for industry
• Generated £104 million in additional sales for industry
• Attracted £68 million in private investment in reprocessing and recycling
• Avoided the use of 4.8 million tonnes of virgin materials
• Reduced the use of potable water by industry by over 2.5 million tonnes
• Eliminated over 311,000 tonnes of hazardous waste
• Created 490 jobs and saved 768 others
• Seen the redevelopment of numerous brownfield sites
• Provided 'additionality' in many areas including logistics and asset utilisation

*These figures have been independently verified and relate to actual achievements made during the period stated.  The benefit stream will of course continue for many years.

Industry plays a key role in the way. Each of the regional IS practices has a Programme Advisory Group which consists of key industry representatives from the respective regional areas.

To find out more about NISP visit the website, http://www.nisp.org.uk