Industrial Symbiosis in Brownfields in Kranj, Slovenia

Kranj is the third biggest municipality in Slovenia, by number of inhabitants. It was a highly industrialised city before the 1990s. Today it still has major electronics, rubber and other manufacturers, but because of the change of economic system, globalisation and the independence of Slovenia in 1991, many factories went bankrupt, leaving a high number of brownfield sites behind. Despite existing brownfields, many new developments in the last 25 years were built on greenfield sites. Recent economic growth in Slovenia is mainly based on competitive export-oriented industries and their need to expand places additional pressure on soil sealing. This paper focuses on the potentials of industrial symbiosis in the City of Kranj in brownfields regeneration, mainly by improving the attractiveness of (partly) abandoned former industrial sites. Eco-industrial parks and industrial symbiosis are important elements of the new green (circular) economy, by reducing the need for raw materials, energy and water in industrial processes, but by building them in greenfield areas, we neglect the importance of land and soil as a very limited natural resource. In 2015, the City of Kranj adopted its Sustainable Urban Strategy 2030 and many of its objectives could be achieved through the concept of industrial symbiosis. Also, in 2017, a new inventory of brownfield sites was made, based on the standardised methodology for the whole Slovenia. This paper examines the potentials to establish industrial symbiosis by analysing three strategic documents. The benefits of industrial symbiosis can be seen for both industry seeking new development sites and the municipality, which aims to reduce soil sealing through brownfields reactivation.