Industrial symbiosis is the association of multiple firms whose waste becomes raw materials to benefit one of the other firms. These firms exist within an industrial ecosystem, which is comprised of two sections including eco-industrial parks and eco-industrial networks. When looking at the case studies of industrial symbiosis in Greece specifically, almost all of the cases at the industrial park’s spatial scale have been recorded. A more thorough look into the studies to try to zero in on the number of cases that were actively participating in industrial symbiosis and where the waste exchange was most common. Of the total cases, a very small number of them were identified at the industrial park scale. This is thought to be lower because of the decreased number of industrial parks present in the country coupled with the business and industrial industries usually not present in IPs. Still, the number of industrial parks lessens in Greece when looking at the businesses present. A little more than half of them are open and operating as the rest are under construction, haven’t been set up, or have other barriers to business. Looking at the small number of partnerships, it is clear that many can still be made with firms that are fully functional and are able to enter an agreement that can be beneficial to both sides. A large barrier to partnerships is the spacial allocation of the eco-industrial networks, distinguishing between whether the area is an industrial park or is local on the scale can be met with overlap. In fact, when looking at a distribution of spatial scales from case studies, local was six times the number of IP cases. As many times they are grouped together IP and local combined counted for the highest number of case studies in comparison to regional, national, and global. An interpretation of this provided the fact that certain types of waste are transported through the smallest spacial scales while others are saved for the larger regions. The spatial scale and all that it encompasses are very important to look out for and consider when studying industrial symbiosis. Barriers to partnerships of firms are factors as to why there are a low number of relationships between companies that could be beneficial. New developments with eco-industrial networks need to be explored as well as a deeper dive into the specific conditions that surround the industrial park’s spatial scale.

Eco-innovation details a product that encourages a lower utilization of natural resources and works to eliminate the release of dangerous materials into the environment. When looking at Greece specifically, the country needs to have an emphasis on its environmental policies due to the many islands it encompasses. Especially because much of their economy is credited due to the high levels of tourism it experiences every year. Both renewable energy such as the large amount of windmills seen on the islands and energy efficiency help the eco-innovation within Greece. Looking at the eco-innovation index, Greece is around seven places lower than the EU average most notably due to its eco-innovation outputs, resource efficiency, and socio-economic outputs. The country has difficulties increasing its eco-innovation due to struggles in the economy, negative technological trade balance, low educational performance, administrative barriers, low funding, and mixed public attitudes. Greece has clear next steps to take to tackle all of their low-performing areas that lower the eco-innovation. Focusing in on their strengths can help to strengthen their economy which can assist in creating plans and initiatives for improvement. Some ways that Greece grows in eco-innovation are due to its growing capital in renewable energies, increase in tourism industries, and innovations regarding food and agriculture. Greece has increased its eco-innovation in many fields due to small transitions. As energy efficiency is named a strong field for them, solar energy has benefitted this due to the installation of photovoltaics that covered a large amount of the total energy consumption. Greece truly became a pioneer in this field as this installation ended up bringing them to rank second in the world in electricity generation. There is still more improvement being made as research in various energy advances is being studied in many universities and funded projects are being carried out. Eco-innovation is all about new products being made to help the environment and research studies coupled with possible breakthroughs will be beneficial to growing the overall advances of Greece. Even the government is assisting to bring up one of the country’s lowest scoring indexes which are in the digital economy and society. The initiative in this field, powered by the Greek government, is digitization with a leading mission to convert Greece into ‘digital by default’ by 2023. Higher powers with more funding are a great way to quickly assist a problem area by setting clear plans within a specific timeframe. More initiatives similar to this will help to transition Greece to a higher level of eco-innovation.

Although the island is picturesque at first glance, many practices of sustainability could be altered. One of the problems they face is their disposal of waste. As there are very few vehicles on Hydra, the two garbage trucks definitely stick out. They are known to set fire to the waste they carry, which we’ve learned throughout the class is harmful to both human health and the environment. Going along with poor disposal, they also dump wastewater into the sea affecting marine life as well. Hydra’s economy is powered by tourism, however, they don’t bring in a lot of tourists in comparison to some of the larger islands of Greece. Reading about the struggles of Hydra is very shocking to me as when the class visited from the surface, it seemed like the island would actually be more sustainable than others. I remember immediately stepping off the ferry, I thought I walked into a different century. It was a smaller island with sea taxis carting tourists around. There were also donkeys everywhere and many were loaded up with pieces of luggage to cart around. Even when we sat down for a quick refreshment, I noticed a tiny boat and a man took a large bag which I discovered to be the island’s mail, and loaded it into a wooden pull cart. Along with packages, he carted all of them and the mail off instead of having an automated vehicle take it. Between hand-pulled carts and donkeys, I assumed they were cutting down on gas and emissions this way. I even saw a few windmills while walking across the island and combined with the low emissions thought sustainability was very important to them. The valuable part however is that changes are being made to lessen the problems Hydra faces and move to a more sustainable future for the island. Initiatives to explore and improve include the island’s water supply, power and energy, waste management, land use, education and employment, and transport. Pointing out these issues is only the first step but it is a step in the first direction, to the improvement of the island and a better environment for all. This means that there are many more steps to be made but there is hope for a better future. There was also mention of initiatives across Europe which is good to see more change and upward environmental trends across the board.

A circular economy is a method of production and consumption with the idea of ‘closing the loop’ within the supply chain. Currently, we operate using a linear economy that is wasteful of resources and harmful to the environment as products are processed through the chain and immediately discarded at the end of their life cycle. This discarding step either goes to incineration which is extremely dangerous for human health or a landfill which only worsens the environment around us. A solution to this introduces a circular system by looping the system around. It aims to prolong the life of a material by finding an alternate use or function at the end of the cycle rather than discarding it. The product ultimately gets repurposed and shared with another function within the supply chain. This principle is led by three main ideas including designing out waste, keeping the materials in use, and regenerating living systems. The driving idea behind this is that nothing gets lost, materials are simply transformed to serve a different purpose. By throwing away nothing, many issues that arise with the current linear economy are eliminated. The release of greenhouse gases and the increase in pollution are also eliminated by transforming the materials, which makes for renewable resources that better benefit the environment. What our current environment does only continues a domino effect and makes the world worse for future generations. Decreasing waste and allowing for the regeneration of materials can only help look out for the future of the world around us and many generations to come. Products we value take a long time to produce and perfect so ensuring that their life cycle doesn’t just end abruptly, but is able to be repurposed in meaningful ways and can gain another life somewhere else in the cycle is transformative. This doesn’t just benefit the environment but can also free up resources for essential needs such as housing, clean water, and good nutrition for our families. It reduces our carbon footprint and ensures there is still an environment for us to exist in. The economy is then able to circulate, businesses are able to operate, and with renewable resources, we still have a home and air to breathe. Although every system comes with certain barriers and challenges. shifting to a circular economy by closing the loop has real benefits which can instantly be reaped by creating small changes gradually to extend and regenerate the life of products and materials.

During the week in our Green Supply Chain Management class, we got the lovely opportunity to hear from the Office of Sustainability and the US Embassy. Both talks were fascinating and allowed me to learn more about some of the topics we’ve been studying in different ways.

The first person was a woman from the college we’ve been affiliated with, ACG and she talked a lot about sustainability and more specifically, what the college is doing to be more sustainable. She talked about the importance of reusable products and was even kind enough to give everyone their own set of reusable silverware and straws. It was interesting to hear what their school does in Greece and compare it to the sustainability practices I’ve seen around campus in Charleston.

The second talk that we got to hear was from the US Embassy. I hadn’t heard much about what they do specifically and the different jobs you can hold within it. I really enjoyed hearing about all the different things they do there from helping out with lost passports, proofing certain logos for different countries, and consulting with government officials regarding cultural issues. The speakers were very engaging and made sure to keep all of us very interested which they definitely succeeded at. One of the women talked about her experience within the embassy and how much she has to move. She remains in one country for about four years and then has the opportunity to explore another one. The Embassy helps a lot by covering children’s schooling, family housing, and many other expenses. It sounded like a great way to travel while doing meaningful work, they are able to fully immerse themselves in another culture while bridging an important gap between the relations of that country and the United States. After studying abroad in a country I had never been to and learning about the culture for three weeks it is definitely an alluring idea to have the option to travel for work. I had no idea all the work that the Embassy does and what the roles of the Embassy officials entail and it was so great to hear all about it from the speakers. Both the US Embassy and the ACG Office of Sustainability speakers gave very insightful talks and allowed me to learn more about their specific fields, it also helped me to gain more perspective on the classes and concepts taken during the trip.

The past few days have grown my knowledge considerably in the supply chain and sustainability sectors. One of the most shocking things I’ve learned is how harmful certain activities are to the environment around us. Many companies are compromising our future due to incineration creating toxins that hurt both the planet and our health. Even the disposal of many products are being dumped in landfills, polluting the water and air. Recycling is a helpful activity but in the scope of things, it’s not enough to fix everything. As a whole getting rid of single-use items, ending fossil fuels, and striving for a zero-waste future is a priority. The idea of a closed loop system or a ‘crade-to-cradle’ approach eliminates waste all together and takes it a step further from ‘cradle-to-grave’ which simply focuses on eliminating less waste. Cradle-to-cradle is when waste is created by is designed to move to a new process, instead of discarding the waste is it used for something else. A cradle-to-cradle approach is effective because it drives economic growth, improves competitiveness, lowers costs, and increases resource efficiency all while promoting zero waste. Industrial symbiosis also focuses on sustainability while having a mutually beneficial exchange of waste and byproducts between three or more parties. One firms waste therefore become a useful product is another companies supply chain. Sustainability of a whole is all about meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. There are things constantly moving through the system and there is few regard to what happens to all of it after use and the disposal process. It is a materials economy and a linear system on a finite planet. A linear system is difficult to do in the long term. The system as a whole is very difficult to manage which is why what happens after the products get used is so often disregarded. Sustainability is quite easy to incorporate into our everyday lives to make for a better planet and environment for all. Some of the most common ways to do this is by utilizing reusable products as opposed to single use products that use an excessive amount of plastic. Drinking out of reusable water bottles, metal straws, taking tubberware of food, and reusable food bags instead of plastic can be extremely helpful to the environment and making our current situation different for future generations.