Edurne Miravete
Sustainability Communications & Reporting Lead, Irish Manufacturing Reserch
Sustainability integrates economic, social and environmental aspects for balance. Explore innovative projects driving industry synergies and a greener future together.
The concept of sustainability is a systems-level approach, relying on the integration of economic, social and environmental aspects for a long-term system balance. Individuals and companies cannot achieve sustainability in isolation. It is, fundamentally, a collective endeavour with the holistic ecosystem that surrounds their operations.
SDG partnerships for sustainability
At the heart of sustainable development is the principle of partnership. The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development outlines 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets aimed at fostering peace, prosperity and sustainability. SDG 17 captures the significance of ‘Partnerships for the Goals,’ where collaboration truly shines, demonstrating its potency in driving meaningful change.
As a research organisation dedicating one of its pillars to advancing sustainability in manufacturing, our journey at Irish Manufacturing Research has been fruitful. Working hand in hand with Irish industries, ranging from multinational corporations to small and medium enterprises, as well as academia and government bodies, we have brought these stakeholders together and witnessed the transformative power of public-private partnerships firsthand.
Collaborative sustainability projects
By embracing collaboration, we pave the way for a more sustainable future. Working together, we assist partners in understanding concepts like energy efficiency methods and the True Cost of Water while initiatives like the Green Book provide guidance on Renewable Energy Systems in Ireland. Projects like CIRCULÉIRE, with over 50 participating companies, demonstrate how collective efforts steer manufacturing toward a circular economy and, therefore, sustainability.
By exchanging waste streams, it demonstrates
how one industry’s by-products can
become another’s valuable resource.
Pioneering industry synergies
Partners, on the other hand, benefit from innovative thinking and knowledge sharing. We extend assistance in navigating challenges, including those related to funding, by providing guidance on the right path.
Through collaborative projects, partners embark on pioneering journeys, sharing their unique experiences, learning from peers, understanding the challenges faced by pioneers and fostering synergies across industries.
Industrial symbiosis application
Projects like SymbioBeer showcase the tangible outcomes of collaboration, particularly in Industrial Symbiosis (IS). By exchanging waste streams, it demonstrates how one industry’s by-products can become another’s valuable resource.
In this case, waste bread was repurposed as a substitute for malted grain, creating a new beer variant. The remnants from beer production were then used to create a new type of bread, closing the production loop.
Unity for sustainable progress
The success of these and other projects highlights the importance of innovative thinking and fostering synergies across industries. It serves as a testament to what can be achieved when stakeholders come together, united by a shared goal of sustainability, benefiting current and future generations.