IS engages an Industrial Ecosystem of diverse industrial organisations and society in a network to foster eco-innovation for mutual benefit based on Natural Ecosystem principles.  This type of symbiosis could be much more than mere by-product exchanges between industries co-located or geographically close to each other.  It is the result of developed relationships between the partners of different industries involved, which allow sharing of information, risks, and benefits. Because of this process, outcomes such as ‘reputation’, ‘licence to operate’, ‘market opportunities’, ‘innovation’ emerge as intangibles in addition to quantifiable economic and environmental benefits.  Some of these intangible social benefits essentially lead to economic benefits (in other terms, economic sustainability).  IS is viewed as a framework to achieve CE and decarbonisation in Europe, and Environmental Wisdom is helping to achieve this in Australia.

There are several major schools of thought around CE, they are the Industrial ecology of Reid Lifset and Thomas Graedel; and Biomimicry by Janine Benyus; Natural Capitalism by Amory and Hunter Lovins and Paul Hawken and the Blue economy systems approach by Gunter Pauli.  Others are, Performance economy, by Walter Stahel; “An industrial system that is restorative or regenerative by intention and design”, by Ellen Mac Arthur Foundation.  One thing is sure, if society is to move towards CE, we all need to do our bit to reduce our reliance on the world’s finite resources.  At Environmental Wisdom we are helping our clients to be CE champions!