New initiative will help Oregon communities turn industrial byproducts into economic opportunities.
Business Oregon is launching the Industrial Symbiosis Technical Assistance Pilot Program to help a small pilot group of communities in Oregon identify opportunities to reduce costs, strengthen local businesses, and advance new economic development projects through industrial symbiosis.
Industrial symbiosis brings businesses together to identify ways that materials, energy, and byproducts from one operation can become useful resources for another. Rather than looking at each business in isolation, this approach considers how companies within a region can share resources and create connections across industries.
“Industrial symbiosis is about finding economic opportunity in places we may not have seen before,” said Business Oregon Director Sophorn Cheang. “By helping businesses find new value in materials that might otherwise go to waste, we can lower costs, encourage innovation, and create new opportunities for growth. This pilot will help us put those ideas into practice in communities across Oregon.”
People are also reading…
The pilot program was established through House Bill 4086, passed by the Oregon Legislature in 2026. The legislation allows Business Oregon to coordinate the pilot program and provide technical assistance to four pilot communities, while also developing a statewide Industrial Symbiosis Roadmap.
The four participating communities were identified in the legislation: COR Healthy Communities - based in the Portland Metro region, Clatsop County, Klamath County, and the Port of Morrow. The four communities represent different regions, sectors, and economic strengths across Oregon, providing an opportunity to explore how industrial symbiosis can be applied across a range of industries and local economies. The Center for Sustainable Infrastructure (CSI) will serve as the technical assistance provider for the pilot program, working onsite with each participating community to identify and advance industrial symbiosis opportunities and help each community develop at least one prioritized capital project for future implementation.
Business Oregon has selected the University of Oregon’s Institute for Policy Research and Engagement (IPRE) to lead development of Oregon’s first Industrial Symbiosis Roadmap, which will identify opportunities and strategies to expand industrial symbiosis activities across the state.
The pilot builds on industrial symbiosis work already underway in Oregon. In recent years, Business Oregon has collaborated with CSI to support Oregon businesses and economic development partners participating in Industrial Symbiosis Study Tours in Denmark, providing firsthand exposure to established industrial symbiosis projects and opportunities to explore how similar approaches could be applied in Oregon.
Alongside the pilot program, IPRE will develop the statewide Industrial Symbiosis Roadmap, examining opportunities for industrial symbiosis in Oregon, best practices and technologies, barriers to adoption, and strategies for expanding voluntary industrial symbiosis activities across the state. The roadmap will also recommend ways to measure Oregon’s progress and identify opportunities to support business innovation, job creation, resource efficiency, and improved environmental performance.
Work on the roadmap is underway, with deliverables to the Oregon Legislature due in May 2027 and the final roadmap anticipated in June 2027. Technical assistance work in the four pilot communities is expected to continue through June 2027.
