Critical elements for eco-retrofitting a conventional industrial park: Social barriers to be overcome

•Overcoming social barriers is necessary for eco-retrofitting a conventional industrial park.•Values, trust, waste cognitive domain and engagement are vital for an eco-industrial park.•Values of benevolence and universalism are essential for company engagement in eco-retrofit.•Limited trust and waste cognitive domain prevent firms from waste exchange agreements.•Social barriers limit firm engagement in technological and logistical solutions for eco-retrofitting.

This paper aims to explore critical elements for eco-retrofitting a conventional industrial park, based on a survey of companies and institutions located in Brazil. The study investigates social barriers to be overcome in promotion of opportunities for waste exchange. Our results indicate that values, trust behaviour, waste cognitive domain and environment engagement are necessary for the creation of an eco-industrial park. Similar values of benevolence and universalism are essential for company engagement to eco-retrofit. Low levels of trust behaviour combining with limited waste cognitive domain prevent firms from establishing agreement on waste exchange initiatives. The findings lend support to the view that social barriers are pre-requisites to engagement among firms in establishing technological and logistical solutions. Serious attention needs to be given to these social barriers because they are not easily overcome in the social and economic context of developing countries.