“By-product synergy” changes in the industrial symbiosis dynamics at the Altamira-Tampico industrial corridor: 20 Years of industrial ecology in Mexico

The Industrial symbiosis emergence constitute a complex and dynamic process that we set in four different phases in this paper: Emergence, Regional efficiency, Regional learning, and Sustainable Industrial District. Embedded in a theoretical framework concerning the industrial symbiosis dynamic, this paper triggers a historical sequence of consequences in the industrial ecosystem evolution encompassing micro and macro elements, which also depends upon the individual actors' intervention in the network. The industrial symbiosis at Altamira is depicted here as a centralized and ancillary industrial symbiosis embedding a socio-technical and environmental model, one of the most complete biophysical, social, and economic symbiotic case studies in Latin America. The further historical analysis uses the number of actors composing the industrial network and the amount of material and energy exchange flows as a proxy for the success of the Altamira By-Products Industrial Symbiosis as a way to approach sustainability in the industrial ecosystem and attractiveness in the territory. According to the analysis of those proxies in Altamira, the actors involved in the network decrease at the Regional efficiency stage, with the highest synergies rate. The Regional learning phase follows the dynamic through an eco-innovative ecosystem strategy, encompassing small and medium size firms in the region, as the mechanisms for improving learning and innovation, decreasing transaction costs and boosting sustainability.