The INSET “Industrial Symbiosis for Enterprises and Training” project presents the final version of its Policy Brief, the document that translates the INSET’s analytical, training and implementation results into concrete guidance for policymakers.
Validated by 31 stakeholders across five countries, the brief draws on an analysis of IS ecosystems in five partner countries (France, Italy, Lithuania, Slovenia and Spain) and a review of the European regulatory and policy framework. These are complemented by knowledge generated in previous steps of the project, and by feedback collected through the stakeholder consultation.
Both analyses point to the same conclusion: the obstacles to wider uptake of Industrial Symbiosis are not primarily technological but systemic. They stem from the interaction of regulatory uncertainty, fragmented governance, limited institutional capacity, underdeveloped facilitation structures, weak data interoperability, and financial instruments that are not always suited to collaborative projects involving several SMEs and sectors.
The document sets out the priorities that are key to the challenge of making greater use of industrial symbiosis as a means of optimising the use of resources incorporated into local production processes
- PEOPLE – Make IS professions visible and recognised
Skilled facilitation is one of the most consistent enabling conditions for IS, yet planning and facilitation are not yet clearly recognised occupational profiles. The Brief proposes integrating relevant competences and profiles, such as the Industrial Symbiosis Planner and Industrial Symbiosis Project Manager, into existing national occupational classifications, qualifications frameworks and vocational education systems, then supporting their consolidation at European level through the ESCO classification.
• RULES – Use the Circular Economy Act to improve legal certainty
IS exchanges often depend on the legal classification of production residues, by-products and recovered materials, which is interpreted differently across Member States and sometimes across regions. The Brief encourages governments to use the preparation of their positions on the Circular Economy Act to advocate for clearer EU-level criteria for priority material streams, better coordination between competent authorities and practical guidance for companies, without weakening environmental safeguards.
• DATA –Make IS measurable and visible
IS exchanges are not systematically identified in European and national statistical frameworks, and there is no common, interoperable framework for data collection. The proposal is a proportionate monitoring approach that builds on existing systems rather than creating new reporting burdens, with common data fields such as type and quantity of material, legal status, quality specifications, continuity of supply, location, environmental benefits and participating sectors.
• MONEY – Adapt finance to the scale and collaborative nature of SME projects.
Many IS networks stall at the early feasibility stage: the studies needed are too small for major EU instruments, while SME support schemes rarely allow joint applications. The Brief recommends adapting existing programmes, such as innovation vouchers, feasibility support and circular economy calls, to accept applications from groups of companies and to fund facilitation, matchmaking, technical validation, legal advice, environmental assessment and business-model development.
Each priority for action is accompanied by a number of specific recommendations, which guide the discussion and influence how to proceed with each priority in order to move from theory to practice. Each of the eleven recommendations identifies the authority or organisation expected to act, the policy or implementation instrument through which action can be taken, and an indicative timeframe. A distinctive feature of the approach is that it does not depend on creating a new institution or a new EU funding programme. Instead, it focuses on adapting and coordinating existing occupational, regulatory, statistical and financial instruments.
The following feedback emerged from the stakeholder consultation, which concluded in September 2026:
31 responses from national, regional and industry stakeholders in the five partner countries, exceeding the minimum target of 30;
82% of the maximum possible mean score on the key validation indicator, concerning the Brief’s expected contribution to IS policy promotion in the respondent’s region, above the 80% threshold set in the validation methodology;
the document was assessed as clear, relevant and useful, and no recommendation was contested or rejected.
The feedback did not call for substantial revision, so the messages and recommendations are confirmed as formulated. Stakeholders’ suggestions, notably on implementation roadmaps, country-specific adaptation, pilot actions, toolkits for local authorities and wider accessibility, will feed into the project’s dissemination, exploitation and policy-dialogue activities.
Taken together, the four messages aim to build a shared agenda among stakeholders in the partner countries, around a limited number of practical and implementable measures to strengthen professional capacity, legal certainty, data visibility and access to finance. The ultimate goal is to support the shift from isolated initiatives towards more coordinated, recognised and scalable Industrial Symbiosis ecosystems in Europe.
The final Policy Brief is available to inform national and European discussions on the Circular Economy Act and related policy processes.
