Material flows pathway in industrial ecosystem: A case study of Nanning Sugar Group in China

With the environment and resource facing more and more serious challenge, Circular Economy in China become a considerable topic. Integrating industrial symbiosis into the corporate development plans to optimize materials and energy flows is a feasible strategy for many corporations in their transition between nonsustainable and sustainable development. This paper takes the Nanning Sugar Group, a Chinese sugar complex, as a case to conduct an analysis on the material flow. On the basis of a brief introduction of the concept of industrial ecosystem, the paper describes the Nanning Sugar Group and its material flows of ecosystem After summarizing experiences of the application of the Group´s model, it analyzes challenges and then introduces possible solutions. The material flows experience in question is hoped to point to a feasible development path for similar corporations.