In the fall of 2005, the Department of Environment for the City of Chicago was looking for a proven, yet innovative process for developing eco-industrial activities in the Chicago region. Coincidentally, CMC's Great Lakes Partnership had begun collaborating with the United States Business Council to create a by-product synergy process to promote business resiliency.

When the groups came together, with assistance from the Region V EPA, it became clear that the City of Chicago could take the by-product synergy process expertise of the USBCSD and the experience with transforming small and mid-size businesses of CMC to develop the type of network that the City had envisioned creating. With this approach, businesses can collaborate across the entire Chicago region to promote a zero waste culture that the City of Chicago has been committed to developing for quite some time. Through City of Chicago leadership, additional investments were provided toward developing this network through the State of Illinois , the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and EPA's Great Cities Program. And, of course, companies' own investment.