From Barriers to Solutions: Addressing the Meso-Level Implementation Gap in Industrial Symbiosis How Can Industrial Symbiosis Move Beyond Barriers to Successful Implementation?

Abstract

This study addresses the persistent implementation gap in Industrial Symbiosis (IS), a key operational strategy within the Circular Economy (CE) that reduces carbon dioxide emissions (CO₂) and resource consumption through cross-company resource exchanges. Despite its conceptual maturity and demonstrated economic and ecological benefits, the practical adoption of IS remains limited. Employing a Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework, the present research identifies and analyses barriers hindering IS implementation at the meso-level based on a three-level framework. The study also systematically reviews solution-oriented studies in the scientific discourse and assesses their contribution to overcoming the identified barriers, while outlining what is required to address the remaining gaps. The findings show that IS implementation is hindered by systemic constraints such as coordination failures, information and knowledge deficits and policy-related burdens, which are only partly addressed by the solution types proposed in the literature. The study therefore highlights the need for structured, engineering-oriented guidance that combines existing tools into a coherent implementation pathway to support successful IS adoption in practice.