CADEIAS COLABORATIVAS: Simbiose Industrial como tica circular

The linear economic model has generated increasing pressure on natural resources and waste management, driving the diffusion of Circular Economy (CE) strategies, such as Industrial Symbiosis (IS). However, studies on IS tend to prioritize the material dimension of these flows, leaving in the background the meanings and competences that sustain the practice in everyday organizational life. This study aimed to understand which elements sustain the practice of industrial symbiosis in the supply chain and how they interact, in light of Practice Theories. A qualitative exploratory approach was adopted, through an embedded single case study, with semi-structured interviews conducted with the founder-director and the commercial manager of a Brazilian green chemistry company (Company Alpha). Documentary analysis of institutional materials and sustainability reports from competing companies of different sizes was also employed. The results indicate that the practice is sustained through the continuous articulation of materials (valorized agro-industrial by-products), competences (patenting and technical know-how, technological internalization, supplier standardization), and meanings (founding purpose linked to sustainability and the circular economy, pioneering positioning, price and habit barriers, redefinition of competitor and partner), with these meanings being negotiated and, at times, divergent among the organization's own members. The study contributes to the literature by showing that material dimensions alone do not explain the implementation of circularity, reinforcing the relevance of a social-practice perspective for understanding organizational barriers to industrial symbiosis.