Industrial symbiosis platforms for synergy identification and their most important data points: a systematic review

Abstract

Background: Industrial symbiosis (IS) primarily involves interfirm utilization of industrial residual resources. An important factor determining the success of IS is the identification and matching of cooperation opportunities. Digital tools, including IS platforms, are considered facilitators of this process. This systematic literature review addresses the research question: ‘Which are the most important data points of an IS platform and how can they be used for the promotion of IS?’. Methods: The review is based on scientific publications from the following academic research databases: ScienceDirect, Scopus, SpringerLink, Wiley Online Library, AISel and IEEE (via Google Scholar), and grey literature obtained through a customized Google search technique, last performed on 9/3/2021. Records were included according to their scientific content, namely if the document: i) examined the identification of synergies utilizing ICT tools, ii) data requirements or platform related information were presented or iii) the impact of a digital tool in promoting IS was discussed. Exclusion criteria were: articles not written in English, not peer-reviewed, published before 2016 or document type other than scientific article, conference paper or EU project deliverable. Two independent reviewers performed title scanning and abstract reading of the documents to reduce the risk of bias. Results: The total number of records included after abstract and full text reading was 32. The main results of this review suggest that two significant types of data points are encountered in IS platforms; i) data required for synergy identification and ii) platform related information. Conclusions: A possible limitation of the study is a minor risk of bias due to one reviewer performing full text reading and synthesis of results; however, they reported to and consulted with the supervising reviewer. Overall, the results indicate that several types of data points are required for effective matching and successful promotion of IS through digital tools.