Project concluded

The context

Europe’s economy depends on oil and gas for energy and chemistry for all kinds of daily life products, but the use of fossil resources harms the environment and our climate. The bioeconomy offers a way out by providing industrial and consumer products made of biomass and waste.

This is a crucial moment for involving society in the transition to a more circular economy. Since all individuals, whether as citizens or consumers, will be affected, they should be able to play a role when shaping it. On the other hand, it goes without saying that the bio-based industry needs the input of citizens and consumers, to make sure that the products developed are in tune with consumers’ requirements and expectations.

In Allthings.bioPRO we put all emphasis on getting citizens involved in the bioeconomy and making their voices heard. We focused on issues and products, which connect with the daily life of citizens and consumers. Main themes were the creation of growth and jobs, Kids & School, Food Packaging and Fashion & Textiles. The personal viewpoint of a consumer considers quality, functionality and the costs of products but does also care about sustainable production and the environmental impact of daily life products.

Using a co-creation approach involving both citizens and experts, Allthings.bioPRO developed a serious game and a mobile app which serve as tools to raise awareness and educate about bioeconomy and bio-based products in a fun way. To ensure focus, we already decided on the subject of the serious game (Mission BioHero) but left the final creation of its content to the engagement process. The game is composed of 8 so-called campaigns, with each campaign focusing on a specific theme within the bioeconomy. It consists of quizzes, real-life and in-game tasks, a lexicon and mini-games with the goal to turn a fossil-based value chain into a bio-based one. The mobile app (Label BioHero) focuses uron non-food and non-energy bio-based products. It scans (eco-)labels, logos and EU certification schemes, providing information on the sustainable performance of the scanned bio-based/bio-degradable product. The serious game and mobile app can be downloaded free of charge in Google Play Stores and App Stores. Both applications generate data in anonymised form that can be used by stakeholders in the bio-based industry and provide important insights for policy.

Assuming that the bioeconomy is about the transition from a fossil-based economy to a sustainable bio-based economy we will start from the usual product case, which is often made from fossil-based materials. We developed both applications to support citizens in their change from a fossil-based lifestyle to a bio-based and sustainable one.

Contacts:

Martin Behrens, Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e.V. (FNR): m.behrens@fnr.de

Jurjen Spekreijse, BTG Biomass Technology Group BV: spekreijse@btgworld.com

Website