Greater Houston Region By-Product Synergy Project

What it is
Under the leadership of the U. S. Business Council for Sustainable Development (US BCSD), By-Product Synergy (BPS) is the matching of under-valued waste or by-product streams from one facility with potential users at another facility to create new revenues or savings with potential social and environmental benefits. The resulting collaborative network creates new revenues, cost savings, energy conservation, reductions in the need for virgin-source materials, and reductions in waste and pollution, including climate-changing emissions. These are quantifiable benefits to the environment, economy and communities.
Examples of By-Product Synergies
With raw materials prices escalating as rapidly as they are, by-product synergy is a practical survival strategy for the years to come. In the US, manufacturers devalue millions of dollars of inventory each year—even the leanest manufacturing process does not eliminate the problems of yield loss or occasional off-specification product. Instead of total loss and disposal of these resources, by-product synergy solutions can identify new uses and can naturally lead to business savings in the six figure range or more. GoalsThe Greater Houston By-Product Synergy project supports a variety of important goals for the region and for industry including:
Why is it Needed?The BPS process breaks down the barriers to cross-industry communication, as well as the barriers between government and industry and between small and large companies, by fostering dialogue and working across groups to identify supply chain localization and waste minimization opportunities. Recognizing these advantages, and building on the success of BPS projects in other areas, the US BCSD has initiated a BPS project in the greater Houston region for 2009. How it WorksGreater Houston BPS:Involves establishing a forum where companies, regulators and local governments explore reuse, recovery, remanufacturing, and recycling opportunities through collected information and facilitated interactions. Participants sign agreements that spell out deliverables, confidentiality issues and intellectual property rights. Greater Houston BPS US BCSD Role:
Greater Houston BPS Helps Participants:
Keys to Success
The design of the Greater Houston BPS project is based upon the US BCSD process design which has been used to develop by-product synergy networks in several U.S. metropolitan areas. The United Kingdom’s National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP) will also share its by-product synergy experience and case studies to accelerate our progress. US BCSD coordinated projects are on-going or beginning in Chicago, Mobile, Kansas City, Puget Sound Region, Ohio, Central Texas, New Orleans, and New England. 12 Month Membership Includes:
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The Center for Resilience at the Ohio State University has produced a short video outlining the concept and values of the US BCSD’s by-product synergy process
US BCSD Fall Member Meeting
October 12th
Indianapolis, IN
www.usbcsd.org/events2.asp
Sixth Working Meeting
Tuesday, October 26th
Shell - Woodcreek Campus
Project Participants
- Baker Hughes
- Cemex
- Cherry Demolition
- ConocoPhillips
- Cook Composites and Polymers
- Dixie Chemical
- Dow Chemical
- Emergent
- Houston Fire Department
- Houston Public Library
- LyondellBasell
- Shell Oil
- Texas Molecular
- Texmark CXI
- Thompson & Knight
- Veolia
- Waste Management
- West Central Environmental
- WorleyParsons
Funders
Partnerships
- By-Product Synergy FAQs (2009.09.08)
- By-Product Synergy Two-Pager (2009.09.08)
- By-Product Synergy Four-pager (2009.09.08)
Kieran Sikdar, Project Manager
US BCSD
4425 South Mopac
Building 2, Suite 202
Austin, Texas 78735
T: 614-747-0661
F: 512-892-6443
sikdar@usbcsd.org
USBCSD.org