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Collaborative Networks
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Waste to Profit Network Discovers Opportunities for Innovation
One of the proven pathways to innovation is the creation of open, collaborative networks that enable companies to develop and test new ideas in a pre-competitive setting. By enlisting the active support and involvement of public sector leaders, these networks can also point the way to new policies that spur innovation. Over the past year, 27 Chicago area companies have been working with each other and with city and state leaders to prove this principle in the Chicago Waste to Profit Network.
Launched by Mayor Richard M. Daley in October 2006 under the leadership of the City of Chicago Department of the Environment, the Waste to Profit Network is built on the premise that business opportunities can be created when one company’s waste becomes a useful input for another company’s manufacturing process. Known as by-product synergy, the process creates business opportunities and reduces harmful environmental impact. As the pilot year of Chicago’s Waste to Profit Network draws to a close, it is yielding tangible results for the regional economy.
To date, companies in the network have implemented more than 20 innovations ranging from increased recycling of materials to process waste reduction and by-product synergy. For example, a glass manufacturer was seeking a cost effective way to dispose of specially treated glass that was broken during production. Through the Waste to Profit Network, the company met a countertop manufacturer that is using the glass in a new line of recycled countertops. The business benefits include cost savings for the glass company and a growth opportunity for the countertop manufacturer. The environmental benefit lies in diverting the broken glass from the waste stream. (Every pound of recycled glass saves enough energy to power a 60-watt bulb for one hour.)
The City of Chicago’s involvement in the Network has led to a decision by the City to purchase parking lot curb stops from a company that manufactures the curb stops from recycled plastic. The plastic, in turn, is being supplied by other Network members, including the City of Chicago, a paint manufacturer and a pharmaceutical company.
As the Waste to Profit Network identifies and implements by-product synergies, the economic impact will be captured both in terms of bottom-line savings and top-line growth.
Waste to Profit Network Companies
• Abbott
• Acme Refining
• Akzo Nobel
• Baxter International
• Christy Webber
• Cloverhill Bakery
• Computers for Schools
• Cook Composites & Polymers
• Curb Appeal
• East Balt Commissary
• Endres Services
• Engineered Glass Products
• General Iron
• Goose Island Brewery
• Kimball International
• Kraft Foods
• Lafarge
• M1 Energy
• Midwest Generation
• Mittal Steel
• Naylor Pipe
• S&C Electric
• Sara Lee
• Schulze Burch
• Sherwin Williams
• Smurfit Stone Container
• USG
2007 Results Seen from the Waste to Profit Network
- 22,000 Tons of solid waste have been diverted from landfill.
- 45,000 Tons of co2 reduced.
- 20 jobs created or retained.
- $4.5 million in cost savings and new revenue creation.
To learn more about the Waste to Profit Network, download their monthly newsletter.
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