symbosis-8fd055ec188ba981.pdf

This event report summarizes a May 2019 workshop in Gdansk, Poland, focused on improving water and nutrient governance in the Baltic Sea region. Key discussions centered on the challenges of phosphorus recycling, the role of cities and public procurement in driving circular innovations, the use of testbeds for scaling technology, and the potential for carbon farming to mitigate climate change while improving soil health. The report highlights that while technical solutions exist, market demand, regulatory barriers based on product origin, and a lack of trust remain primary obstacles to the widespread adoption of symbiotic circular economy models.

• Humanity has exceeded planetary boundaries for nitrogen and phosphorus, leading to eutrophication and nutrient loss in Europe. To support a circular economy transition, policy pathways include mandatory phosphorus recycling, CO2 taxation, taxes on nutrient effluents and landfills, and binding agreements with municipalities and industry.
• Cities are positioned as drivers of circular economy change due to their familiarity with local stakeholders and markets. Examples include Mikkeli in Finland, which is working to improve nutrient recovery and create business opportunities, and the CityLoops project, which implements circular economy demonstration actions regarding organic waste and construction and demolition waste in six small-to-medium European cities.
• Innovators in the nutrient sector identify the market as the most significant challenge. Key hurdles include the difficulty of balancing supply and demand at small scales and the necessity of recovering nutrients in a commercial, usable form that farmers are willing to purchase. Trust is cited as a fundamental requirement for the collaboration necessary in a circular economy.
• Public procurement is an underutilized tool for driving the circular economy. Strategies include using circular procurement criteria, leasing services, and supporting industrial symbiosis. Procurement types vary by readiness: Pre-commercial Procurement (PCP) for early R&D, Public Procurement of Innovation (PPI) for market-ready goods, and development-promoting procurement for those closest to the normal market.
• Testbeds enable rapid, low-cost, small-scale testing of circular innovations but face challenges regarding financial sustainability beyond project funding. Effective testbeds require a constellation of stakeholders, including a 'problem owner' (end user), R&D for evaluation, and clear financial models to distribute profits, often favoring the innovator.
• Carbon farming is proposed as a 'win-win' approach in the Baltic Sea Region to mitigate climate change and manage nutrients by capturing atmospheric CO2 as soil organic carbon. While it offers opportunities for extra income for farmers and improved soil productivity, barriers include a lack of understanding among actors, current policies favoring monoculture, and difficulties in monitoring effects across different climates.
• The market uptake of recycled fertilizers is hindered by high costs compared to mineral fertilizers, concerns over contaminants, and regulations based on the origin of the product rather than its quality. To increase adoption, the report suggests standardization, third-party certification, and potential taxes on mined phosphorus to incentivize reuse.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (n.d.). symbosis-8fd055ec188ba981.pdf. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/symbosis.pdf

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. symbosis-8fd055ec188ba981.pdf. n.d. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/symbosis.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=symbosis-8fd055ec188ba981.pdf |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/symbosis.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitutendsymbosis8fd055ec188ba981pdf, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{symbosis-8fd055ec188ba981.pdf}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/symbosis.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }