National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP) is a free innovative business opportunity programme delivering triple bottom line, environmental, economic and social benefits across the UK. As a holistic program, NISP impacts across the entire resource hierarchy, delivering industrial CO₂ reductions by adoption of industrial symbiotic approaches to business. NISP has rapidly established itself as a leading agency for resource efficiency across all forms (i.e. energy, water, virgin minerals and waste materials).

The industrial symbiosis (IS) approach, a component of the much wider field of Industrial Ecology, facilitates the identification of sustainable business opportunities by working across traditional industry and sector boundaries.

NISP is the only IS initiative in the world on a national scale and is delivered across the entire UK through a network of 12 regionally based offices in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In addition to this, NISP has been launched in China and Mexico, where similar results are expected.

With power production and resource consumption being the single largest contributor to global climate change NISP’s approach to industrial innovation has attracted international attention. The UK approach has been praised by the United States and NISP recently assisted the setting up of an IS programme in the State of Illinois. NISP is cited as an exemplar programme by the European Commission for potential replication in Europe and beyond.

As well as reducing over 1.30 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions in its 18 months since its was launched in April 2005, NISP also made a significant impact on the UK economy; engaging industry across the UK the programme generated more than £65 million in additional industry sales, saving businesses up to £145 million and being instrumental in securing private investment in reprocessing and recycling facilities to the tune of £32.1 million. NISP also diverted more than 1.6 million tonnes of waste from landfill, saved over 1.8 million tonnes of virgin materials and reduced industrial water use by over 387,000 tonnes. ^[1] NISP brings together companies and organisations of all sectors and sizes, generating cost reductions and new sales, as well as creating significant environmental benefits such as reduced greenhouse gases. This encourages economic activity which generates further social benefits with the creation of new businesses and jobs, and stimulates process improvements by industry through innovation and new technologies, the use of sustainable fuels and fuel substitution, and greater production and logistic efficiency. Such innovation will, in turn, also create opportunities for UK businesses to penetrate global environmental technology markets.

By being business led and commercially focused, NISP is helping its members drive through long-term business cultural change that support them in reducing their carbon footprint.

The programme is part funded through the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (BREW) programme, which uses money derived from increases in Landfill Tax to encourage, support and help businesses improve their resource efficiency.^[2]

[edit] See also

• Energy use and conservation in the United Kingdom
• Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
• The Carbon Trust
• Department of Trade and Industry
• Environment Agency
• Envirowise
• Waste & Resources Action Plan

[edit] References

1. ^ "About NISP - Approach & Achievements".
2. ^ "About NISP - Funding".

[edit] External links

• NISP

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