Rural Symbiosis project launched to unlock new opportunities for circular bioeconomy in rural regions

How can agricultural and forestry by-products be transformed into valuable resources? This is the central question behind Rural Symbiosis, a new international project bringing together nine partners from six Baltic Sea Region countries. The project aims to promote circular economy solutions, strengthen cooperation between regional stakeholders, and create new opportunities for businesses by making better use of underutilised biomass resources. 

Untapped resources offer new opportunities for rural businesses 

Agriculture and forestry generate a wide range of side-streams and by-products, from straw and wood residues to other biomass materials. Although these resources have the potential to be used in new products and production processes, much of their value remains untapped. 

Small and medium-sized enterprises in rural areas often face particular challenges in making better use of these materials. Limited access to technologies, logistics, expertise, and cooperation networks can make it difficult to develop new applications. In addition, biomass resources are often geographically dispersed and seasonal, making traditional industrial symbiosis models less suitable for rural conditions. 

Launched in July 2026, the Rural Symbiosis project seeks to address these challenges by promoting industrial symbiosis – an approach in which by-products, materials, or underutilised resources from one activity can become valuable inputs for another. 

By connecting businesses, public authorities, research institutions, and other regional stakeholders, the project aims to identify opportunities for more efficient resource use, new business models, and sustainable regional development. 

Strengthening regional cooperation across the Baltic Sea Region 

Across the Baltic Sea Region, rural areas face similar challenges in turning available biomass resources into economic opportunities. While circular economy and bioeconomy strategies provide important policy directions, translating them into practical solutions at the local level can be difficult. 

Rural Symbiosis therefore focuses on strengthening the capacity of regional development agencies, business support organisations, public authorities, and research institutions to act as facilitators of industrial symbiosis. 

These organisations play an important role in connecting businesses with potential partners, identifying shared challenges, and supporting cooperation between different sectors. By improving their knowledge, methods, and networks, the project seeks to bridge the gap between regional strategies and the practical needs of rural enterprises. 

According to Svea Uusen from Pärnu County Development Centre, the project’s lead partner, one of the main challenges in rural areas is not necessarily a lack of resources or ideas, but the difficulty of bringing together the right actors to turn potential opportunities into practical solutions. 

“In rural areas across the Baltic Sea Region, the challenge is often not that resources or good ideas are missing, but rather that the right people and pieces of the puzzle do not automatically come together. Biomass side-streams are often seasonal, dispersed and available in relatively small volumes, making it difficult for a single farm or SME to find the right user, technology, expertise and business case on its own. […] Regional development actors, clusters, and other multipliers can make that connection happen, helping move cooperation from an idea towards a practical solution.” – Svea Uusen, Pärnu County Development Centre 

From shared ideas to practical solutions 

Rural Symbiosis combines international knowledge exchange with practical activities designed to help regional stakeholders identify and develop new opportunities for resource valorisation. 

Throughout the project, partners will organise study visits, stakeholder workshops, and open innovation events. These activities will bring together organisations with different expertise and resources to explore potential applications for agricultural and forestry side-streams and develop opportunities for cooperation. 

One of the project’s key outputs will be the Rural Symbiosis Toolbox – a collection of practical methods and tools designed to help regional organisations facilitate cooperation, identify underutilised resources, and support the development of innovative circular solutions. 

In addition, regional rural symbiosis roadmaps will be developed for each participating region. These roadmaps will provide tailored guidance for integrating industrial symbiosis approaches into long-term regional development strategies, helping ensure that the project’s results can continue to create value beyond its implementation period. 

The project will also develop BSR Joint Action Agendas, outlining concrete opportunities for cooperation between rural regions across the Baltic Sea Region. These agendas will identify potential joint activities, relevant partners, resources, solutions and funding opportunities, helping translate shared interests into practical interregional initiatives. They will also connect proposed actions with relevant European and Baltic Sea Region strategies, providing a framework for future cooperation. 

Learning from practice: the first study visit in Sweden 

One of the project’s first joint activities was an international study visit to Sweden in late September 2026, bringing together partners to explore practical examples of industrial symbiosis and circular resource use. 

Over two days, participants visited four organisations demonstrating different approaches to turning underutilised resources into new opportunities. 

At Open Wood, partners learned about collaboration initiatives within the wood sector and how local forest resources can be connected with businesses, designers, and educational institutions to encourage innovation and new applications for wood industry side-streams. 

The visit to Karlstads Energi, a municipally owned energy and waste management company, highlighted how circular solutions and resource recovery can be integrated into municipal services through long-term planning, infrastructure, and cooperation. 

At Circlab in Torsby, the focus shifted to manufacturing and 3D printing technologies. Participants explored how bio-based materials and industrial residues could be used to develop new products, prototypes, and components. 

The final visit took place at Karlstad University, where researchers presented approaches to making better use of forest-based resources, including exploring new applications for by-products from the pulp and paper industry. 

Together, these examples demonstrated that industrial symbiosis could take different forms depending on regional needs, available resources, and local expertise. They also highlighted the importance of cooperation between businesses, municipalities, research institutions, and other actors in turning circular economy ideas into practical solutions. 

Although the study visit included four main organisations, it introduced the partners to a much wider range of models, methods and tools for initiating and supporting industrial symbiosis. Rather than looking for one model to copy, each region will use these examples to identify the approaches that best fit its own resources, actors and local conditions, and adapt them where needed. 

Reflecting on the study visit, Marianne Lampi, Project Manager at JAMK Institute of Bioeconomy, emphasized how a change in perspective, combined with motivated people and initial support, can help smaller initiatives develop into solutions with wider benefits for rural communities. 

“The study visit illustrated the importance of rethinking waste in order to turn it into valuable resources. With motivated people, thinking outside the box, and initial support, such as funding from EU projects, small initiatives can grow into bigger impact. This impact manifests as new business opportunities, less environmental footprint, and retaining youth in the region. All of this contributes to more viable rural regions.” – Marianne Lampi, Project Manager at JAMK Institute of Bioeconomy 

The knowledge and experiences gained during the study visit will contribute to the project’s next activities, including the development of the Rural Symbiosis Toolbox and regional roadmaps. By learning from existing practices and adapting them to different regional contexts, project partners aim to support lasting cooperation and more efficient use of local resources. 

Nine partners working towards a shared goal 

Rural Symbiosis brings together nine organisations from six Baltic Sea Region countries: Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Sweden. 

The project is led by Pärnu County Development Centre (Estonia), together with the following partners: 

• Paper Province and Torsby Municipality (Sweden); 

• JAMK University of Applied Sciences (Finland); 

• PRO CIVIS Foundation and the Center for Business Promotion and Entrepreneurship in Sandomierz (Poland); 

• Panevėžys Development Agency „Panevėžys NOW“ (Lithuania); 

• SIA ZAAO and Vidzeme Planning Region (Latvia). 

Through international cooperation, knowledge exchange, and the development of practical tools, the partners aim to strengthen the ability of rural regions to identify resource opportunities, build partnerships, and support circular business development. 

The Rural Symbiosis project runs from July 2026 to June 2028. 

The project is co-funded by the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme 2021–2027.

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