Pictured above: Didier Herbert

Malcolm Harbour, Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the West Midlands, has welcomed Birmingham based International Synergies plans to showcase the benefits of industrial ecology to Europe's politicians and businesses.

The company has expanded its operations, opening an office in the key political district of Brussels last week, adding to its offices in Kings Norton, Edinburgh and Belfast.  

International Synergies devises and manages industrial symbiosis programmes around the world as well as training in-country partners to establish and develop their own programmes.

Established in 2003, the company is recognized as the world leader in applied industrial symbiosis, mainly as a result of its success in developing and managing the National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP) here in the UK, which originated as a pilot scheme in the West Midlands' region in 2003. 

In addition to managing NISP, International Synergies is also responsible for the development of programmes in China, Mexico, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, Turkey, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia.

"International Synergies has been pioneering new solutions for efficient and effective exploitation of industrial wastes for some years," commented Malcolm Harbour, MEP.

"I am delighted the company is now setting up an office in Brussels. As a leading
 environmental solutions provider in Birmingham, they will be well placed to create opportunities for their highly innovative ideas across the European Single Market.

"The EU 2020 Strategy for sustainable growth and job creation puts a great emphasis on exploiting environmental technologies. A Brussels' base will give International Synergies the chance to meet policy makers and talk about the success of their visionary ideas."

The Brussels office opening last week coincided with the release of the EU 2020 flagship initiative: A resource-efficient Europe in which International Synergies' NISP programme is highlighted as one of only six 'concrete' actions already being taken by member states in Europe.

Peter Laybourn, Chief Executive of International Synergies explains the move to Brussels: "Our vision is to strive to lead the world in innovative industrial ecology solutions for a low carbon sustainable economy.

"Through NISP and our other programmes we have compelling evidence to support the positive link between industrial symbiosis and sustainable, low carbon economic growth.  Only very recently the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) acknowledged industrial symbiosis as an excellent example of 'radical and systemic innovation' that is 'vital for future green growth'.

"Such high level recognition from the OECD, whose mission is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well being of people around the world, supports the view that there is a great opportunity to improve upon our achievements and make a wider and more substantial contribution in Europe."

Since its launch in 2005, International Synergies' NISP has enabled businesses to generate £880 million in addition sales and created and safeguarded more than 8770 private sector jobs.  It has also enabled businesses across the UK to reduce its collective carbon emissions by more than 30 million tonnes and was recently awarded the 'best carbon reduction project' at the edie.net Awards for Environmental Excellence. This win sees the company automatically submitted into the European Business Awards for the Environment in 2012. 

International Synergies' Brussels team includes Jan Urlings - European Commercial Director, Xenia Tsitiridou - Director European Affairs and Ryan Titley - European Account Manager.  Following a three-year successful collaboration with West Midlands European Service, the team aims to build on its existing expertise in EU affairs in order to support the expansion of the company's innovative model and methodology across Europe.

Didier Herbert, Head of the Sustainable Industrial Policy unit in the Directorate General for Enterprises and Industry of the European Commission officially opened the Avenue d'Auderghem 22-28 offices at a formal launch on Thursday 27th January.