We create production capacity with materially better sustainability performance than current standards. Our goal is to invest 10 billion euro in circular production capacity and we like to do it really fast.
Towards a future without take-make-waste
Our approach
In our view, there is an urgent need for sustainable development to achieve social, environmental, and economic goals. The world faces a multi-crisis including climate, biodiversity, democracy, and human rights. One of many needs to achieve sustainability is a transition of production systems. This is where we focus our efforts.
Our projects create positive impacts related to
Bringing Waste to Life
Re-use of industrial wastes and by-products to contribute to a more circular economy.
Investments in projects which contribute to the UN SDGs and align with UN Global Compact principles.
Local production of food and other resources to increase domestic resilience and reduce demands for imported resources and related transportation.
New local jobs providing opportunities across genders, ages, and skill levels.
Abatement of harmful emissions and effluents attributed to re-use of waste instead of primary virgin resources.
Sustainability is not a part of what we do. It’s what we're all about.
Sustainability targets
Our sustainability targets are anchored in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the EU Taxonomy environmental objectives, and the Swedish Environmental Goals from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.
The sustainability goals set by WA3RM are ambitious and based on the key activities of our business model, where we can truly create the most positive impact.
Our goals are well-anchored in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the EU Taxonomy environmental objectives, and the Swedish Environmental Goals from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. Progress towards our goals will be regularly monitored with the intent to regularly communicate results to our stakeholders.
Target
Indicator
Area
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
Target
Invest 10 billion euro in circular production capacity with materially better sustainability performance than current standards, by 2030
Indicator
Billion Euro investment decisions cumulative
Area
Financial
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
8. Decent work and economic growth
9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
12. Responsible consumption and production
17. Partnership for the goals
Target
Report established circularity in volume of reused resources
Indicator
Total cumulative established annual circularity (various units)
Area
Environmental
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
12. Responsible consumption and production
Target
Start projects by 2030 to avoid 6.000.000 tons CO2-equivalent emissions over agreed project life-times compared to current production systems
Indicator
Cumulative calculated net metric tons CO2-eq emissions from approved projects
Area
Environmental
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
12. Responsible consumption and production
13. Climate action
Target
Avoided emissions and effluents to air, water and land by circularity compared to current production systems
Indicator
Cumulative calculated net metric tons for each pollutant from approved projects
Area
Environmental
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
12. Responsible consumption and production
14. Life below water
15. Life on land
Target
Create 6.000 new jobs by latest 2030
Indicator
Number of full-time jobs created
Area
Social
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
8. Decent work and economic growth
11. Sustainable cities and communities
Target
Zero loss-time accidents per year during project development and construction.
Indicator
Number of reportable accidents
Area
Social
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
8. Decent work and economic growth
A development model made for industrial-scale impact
Development strategy
WA3RM identifies businesses that could run on industrial waste streams and matches these with industrial sites.
WA3RM develops project concepts with physical modelling underlying the business model, enabling focus on maximizing productivity and thereby impact
The industrial symbiosis that WA3RM’s process creates, adds a layer of complexity to projects that WA3RM manages, thereby
offering a one-stop-shop to anchor industries, tenants and finance.
Our projects
How we create impact and minimize risk
The main impacts will typically appear from fundamentally improving resource efficiency, allowing more sustainable consumption. By replacing unsustainable consumption, projects can be expected to lead to substantial improvements in areas such as avoiding climate change and environmental damage of marine and land environments.
Large-scale projects inevitably have some adverse local effects and risks. These must be managed towards a life-cycle optimum. Legal compliance must be ensured. The Regenergy Project Policy details the demands on WA3RM projects.
Consistent use of methodologies
and frameworks
WA3RM’s climate impact calculations are based on well-established methodologies and data sources. We use the Greenhouse Gas Protocol standards for our scope 1, 2, and 3 emission calculations and reporting.
We also use GHG emission factors from reliable sources, including but not limited to, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket), the Swedish National Board of Housing (Boverket), Building and Planning, and the UK Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
For our biodiversity assessments we use public map tools recommended by the EU SFDR such as the European Environment Agency (EEA) GIS map tool, the Key Biodiversity Areas map tool, and the relevant national map tools of Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. For assessments of water stress, we use the public Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas tool from the World Resources Institute (WRI).
For assessments of otherwise protected sites, we use the World Heritage List map tool from UNESCO. Our Code of Conduct and business partner criteria are also based well-established frameworks such as the UN Global Compact, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
Monitoring of key performance indicators
Our sustainability impacts are regularly monitored using a range of key performance indicators (KPIs).
These KPIs relate directly to our sustainability goals, our sustainability policy, key activities of our business model, our Code of Conduct, and our Green Bond Framework. Our KPIs focus on, but are not limited to, energy consumption and sources, greenhouse gas emissions, waste re-use and output, water consumption and availability, job creation, financial investment into projects,and produced resources.
To review our sustainability KPIs, see the WA3RM Regenergy Development Fund AB Pre-contractual Disclosure here. It should be noted that each WA3RM project may differ and therefore exhibit differences in certain KPIs.
Robust and transparent
We strive to assess our industrial symbiosis projects in a robust and transparent manner, throughout all phases of project development. The objective of these activities is to create substantial positive impacts from a life-cycle perspective and avoid causing any significant harm with our projects.
Each project is also required to follow the Regenergy Project Policy. This policy guides projects to set relevant sustainability targets, embed such targets in partner agreements, and perform in-depth assessments related to ecology, forestry, biodiversity, water, climate impacts, labor, cultural values, and more. These assessments guide decision-making in our projects, while helping us manage risks and avoid adverse impacts.
WA3RM was founded as a spin-off from European Spallation Source (ESS) with a mission to change global industrial development by bringing waste to life on an industrial scale.
Publications
Call to Action – Food Production in Industrial Symbiosis.
10.19080/ARTOAJ.2021.25.556317.
Parker, Thomas
(
2021
)
Resilience by industrial symbiosis?
A discussion on risk, opportunities and challenges for food production in the perspective of the food-energy-water nexus. Sustainable Earth. 2.
10.1186/s42055-019-0016-7.
Parker, Thomas & Svantemark, Maria.
(
2019
)
Low-grade heat recycling for system synergies between waste heat and food production, a case study at the European Spallation Source.
Energy Sci Eng, 4: 153–165. doi:10.1002/ese3.113.
Parker, T. and Kiessling, A.
(
2016
)
Improving the energy efficiency of accelerator facilities.
In: 6th International Particle Accelerator Conference, Richmond, VA, USA, 2015-05-03.
Seidel, M., E., J., R., G., J., S., P., S. & Parker, T.
(
2015
)
Status of the ESS Cryogenic System.
In: Joint Conference of the Transactions of the Cryogenic Engineering Conference (CEC) / Transactions of the International Cryogenic Materials Conference, Anchorage, AK, June 17-21, 2013. American Institute of Physics. 633-638.
Weisend, J., Darve, C., Gallimore, S., Hees, W., Jurns, J., Köttig, T., Ladd, P., Molloy, S., Parker, T. & Wang, X.
(
2014
)
ESS Conceptual Design Report
ESS reports, ESS-2012-001, 6 Feb 2012, ISBN 978-91-980173-0-4, 240 p.
Peggs, S. (ed)
(
2014
)
System Synergies between Waste Heat and Food Production
A case study at the European Spallation Source, Energy Systems Conference, London, U.K.
Kiessling, A. & Parker, T.
(
2014
)
Energy Effciency of Particle Accelerators: A Networking Effort within the EuCard2 Program.
In: 5th International Particle Accelerator Conference, Dresden, Germany, 2014-06-15.
Stadlmann, J., Gehring, R., Jensen, E., Parker, T., Seidel, M. & Spiller, P.
(
2014
)
Greening for Bosons.
In: 55th ICFA Advanced Beam Dynamics Workshop on High Luminosity Circular e+e– Colliders – Higgs Factory (HF2014), Beijing, 2014-10-09.
Parker, T. & Peck, P.
(
2014
)
The view from below – a management system case study from a meaning-based view of organization.
Journal of Cleaner Production, 53 81-90.
Parker, T.
(
2013
)
ESS Energy Design Report.
ESS reports, ESS-0001761. European Spallation Source ESS AB.
Parker, T., Andersson-Ek, P., Bengtssson, R., Blücher, A., Didriksson, M., Eriksson, R., Fröjd, C., Gesterling, M., Gierow, M., Indebetou, F., Jensen, F., Jurns, J., Lindström, E., Lundgren, D., Nilsson, M., Persson, J., Persson, T., Renntun, M., Stenlund, J., Strömberg, S., Strandberg, G., Stråth, N., Swartling-Jung, M., Wiegert, M. & Österback, R.
(
2013
)
Sustainable Accelerators.
In: EuCARD’13, CERN, Geneva, 2013-06-12.
Parker, T.
(
2013
)
ESS Technical Design Report
ESS-doc-274, April 23, 2013, ISBN 978-91-980173-2-8, 650 p.
Peggs, S. (ed)
(
2013
)