Category: Standardisation, LCA, labelling and regulatory hurdles

 STAR4BBS project

 STAR4BBS project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
Project concluded

Sustainability Transition Assessment Rules for Bio-Based Systems

STAR4BBS is a three-year multidisciplinary and multi-actor collaborative project, involving six partners, four associated partners and one linked third party. The overall aim of STAR4BBS is to maximize the potential of Sustainability Certification Schemes (SCS) and labels to support a successful transition to sustainable bio-based economy. At the core of the STAR4BBS project is the development of indicators and a new monitoring system for assessing the effectiveness and robustness of existing international and EU SCS, B2B labels, and related traceability systems applicable to biological feedstock and bio-based materials and products. This information will create the foundations to support achieving the much-needed harmonization between schemes and transparency in global and EU trade flows. Through the developed new monitoring system, existing SCS and labels will be analyzed, and the results, as well as additional research on certified and uncertified trade flows and on the impacts and costs and benefits of certification and labels, will substantially increase understanding of the potential of these schemes to contribute to policy and industry sustainability goals and will build awareness of the differences between the schemes. The project will involve important stakeholders (including scheme owners, policy makers, and industry) in the design of research and the monitoring system and in the development of practical recommendations emerging from the research and analysis in order to ensure that the project achieves its ultimate goal. In particular, an increased uptake of the most effective SCS and labels by the biobased industry will support the development of circular, climate-neutral, sustainable biobased systems that will mitigate climate change, increase resource efficiency, preserve and restore ecosystems, biodiversity, natural resources, and the quality of air, water and soil.

Contacts:

Luana Ladu – Project Coordinator: Luana.ladu@tu-berlin.de

website: www.star4bbs.eu

 BlueRev project

 BlueRev project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
Project concluded

Revitalisation of European local communities with innovative businessmodels and social innovation in the blue bio-based sector

The aim of the EU-funded BlueRev project is to encourage innovation in local communities by focusing on “blue” sustainability and creating positive environmental impacts.

To that end, it will establish three pilot regions in Europe, where it will focus on introducing meaningful changes across specific value chains in the blue bio-based sector.

The project will employ existing or advanced monitoring systems to assess the effectiveness of the value chains and come up with ways to improve governance frameworks and business models in the blue bio-based sector.

Engaging all relevant actors via awareness-raising communication campaigns, BlueRev will promote socially and environmentally responsible behaviour, facilitating the transition of local communities towards sustainable blue economy models that can be adopted across Europe.

Contacts:

Alessio Livio Spera: spera@apre.it
Claudia Iasillo: iasillo@apre.it

website: https://www.bluerevproject.eu/

3-CO project

3-CO project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
This project ends on: 31/01/2026

Concise Consumer Communication through Robust Labels for Bio-based Systems

The aim of the 3-CO project is to develop and demonstrate viability of a supportive framework for Label and Certification Schemes (LCS) on Business-to-Consumers (B2C) communication for industrial bio-based products (BBPs) that enables and supports consumers to make more sustainable buying choices.

The supportive framework will consist of actionable guidelines for LCS owners that reflect consumers’ and other stakeholders’ needs, digital solutions to support better-informed decision-making processes of consumers as well as policy recommendations on deploying social measures.

In terms of approach, 3-CO will

  1. assess the LCS and metrics in the bioeconomy,
  2. iteratively engage consumers to understand their decision-making processes and motivation towards sustainability consumption, and needs and requirements towards future labelling of BBPs,
  3. co-develop smart digital solutions for consumers to support their behavioural change towards responsible consumption,
  4. assess measures for social engagement/innovation supporting consumers, industry and public bodies to switch towards socially and environmentally responsible behaviour, and
  5. create guidelines for the design of labels for BBPs for owners of environmental labelling and information systems, public authorities and industry designers.

The project aims to improve the sustainability performance and competitiveness in the bio-based systems.

Impact of the 3-CO project will include

  1. improved transparency of BBP value chains and information to consumers and public authorities through digital solutions,
  2. support of environmentally responsible decision-making through LCS,
  3. improved understanding of metrics on environmental, societal and economic value generated by BBPs, and as a wider impact
  4. innovative governance models.

3-CO will help to increase the market share of sustainable, circular BBPs, influencing the business of companies that make and offer these.

Contacts:

Maarit Halttunen: maarit.halttunen@vtt.fi

website: https://3co-project.eu/

 BIOCIRCULARCITIES project

 BIOCIRCULARCITIES project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
Project concluded

Exploring the circular bioeconomy potential in cities. Proactive instruments for implementation by policy makers and stakeholders

The BIOCIRCULARCITIES project is designed to help identify and develop innovative and comprehensive regulatory frameworks and roadmaps that are well aligned with circular bioeconomy principles. The project will focus on the interactions between the circular and bio-economies, using insights derived from multi-stakeholder participatory processes. It will consider both supply-side and demand-side aspects of policymaking to maximise the effectiveness. It will determine these through four strands. The first will be by exploring the circular economy potential of unexploited bio-based waste streams generated around three European cities – Barcelona in Spain, Naples in Italy and Pazardzhik in Bulgaria. The second will be to identify and analyse those circular bioeconomy best practices in the EU that could be successful in the pilot areas. Third, opportunities and obstacles to for introducing such processes. It will then use the learnings from the three areas to propose proactive instruments and policy roadmaps that can be applied in a wider European context.

Contacts:

Rosaria Chifari: rchifari@ent.cat

website: https://biocircularcities.eu/

 HARMONITOR project

 HARMONITOR project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
Project concluded

Harmonisation and monitoring platform for certification schemes and labels to advance the sustainability ofbio-based systems

The HARMONITOR project will improve the effectiveness of sustainability certification schemes and labels (CSLs) in various sectors of the EU bioeconomy and strengthen their possible use as a co-regulation instrument within the EU Bioeconomy policy framework. The project will also establish and test a participative review platform concept to help CSLs to find commonalities and cooperation when operating in bio-based value chains within and across EU borders. The goal of this platform is to promote continuous improvement of CSLs and continuous knowledge of these dynamic developments by market actors.

Contacts:

Sergio Ugarte: s.ugarte@sqconsult.com
Costanza Rossi: c.rossi@sqconsult.com
Monique Voogt: M.Voogt@sqconsult.com

website: https://www.harmonitor.eu

 CALIMERO project

 CALIMERO project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
Project concluded

Industry CAse studies anaLysis to IMprove EnviROnmental performance and sustainability of bio-based industrial processes

CALIMERO project will analyse case studies across five bio-based sectors to find solutions and improve their overall environmental, economic and social performance of industries. New methodological developments to evaluate the sustainability of bio-based industries will be implemented using the Product Environmental Footprint guidelines as a starting point. Multi-Objective Optimization frameworks will be used to tune operational parameters in order to improve industrial processes’ sustainability impacts. Finally, guidelines and recommendations will be addressed to industry, policymakers and the scientific community.

Contacts:

Ricardo Méndez (Coordinator): Ricardo.mendez@contactica.es 

website: https://calimeroproject.eu/

 BioReCer project

 BioReCer project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
Project concluded

Biological Resources Certifications Schemes

BIORECER aims at assessing and complementing current certification and labelling schemes for biological feedstock according to the new sustainability EU goals. These objectives include new criteria for sustainability, origin, tracking and traceability, in order to ensure best possible environmental performance and applicability at EU and global scale.

Contacts:

Pedro Villanueva Rey: Pedro.villanueva@cetaqua.com

website: https://biorecer.eu/

ALIGNED project

ALIGNED project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
This project ends on: 30/09/2025

Aligning Life Cycle Assessment methods and bio-based sectors for improved environmental performance

The ALIGNED project will deliver a modelling framework to assess and optimise the environmental and socioeconomic performance of bio-based industries. ALIGNED will advance the scientific field of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and collaborate with industries and representatives from five bio-based sectors: construction, woodworking, textile, pulp and paper, and bio-chemicals.
The ALIGNED framework will allow accurately to model key aspects not covered in current practice: the competition for biomass and for land, dynamic and time-specific carbon accounting, and biodiversity and socio-economic impacts. ALIGNED will also develop future energy and resource scenarios derived from integrated assessment models, and a consistent approach to uncertainty assessment.
Key stakeholders in the five sectors will be continuously involved, by providing feedback in the early framework development and by sharing the learnings from its practical application. The professional engagement of stakeholders will secure industry relevance and acceptance delivering real impact.

Contacts:

Jeisel Goyanes: jeiselgoyanes@sustainableinnovations.eu

website: https://alignedproject.eu/

SUSTRACK project

SUSTRACK project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
This project ends on: 31/10/2025

Supporting the identification of policy priorities and recommendations for designing a sustainable track towards circular bio-based systems

The transition from linear fossil-based systems to circular and bio-based systems represents an opportunity and a suitable pathway for achieving several SDGs. Indeed, circular bio-based systems depict a great opportunity to reconcile sustainable long-term growth with environmental protection through the prudent use of renewable resources for industrial purposes.

This needed transition is a complex process, which does not simply require innovative technologies from the supply-side, but also societal transformations based on a multi-actor process.

The circular bioeconomy meta-sector may be a good candidate to put forward a new economic model, which requires transformative policies, purposeful innovation, access to finance, risk-taking capacity as well as new and sustainable business models and markets.

However, a critical assessment of the environmental, social and economic impacts of the current linear fossil-based economy, as well as of the improvement potential associated with circular bio-based systems, is needed to underpin the identification of policy priorities.

Bearing this in mind, SUSTRACK is a three-year project aimed at supporting policymakers in their efforts to develop sustainable pathways to replace fossil and carbon-intensive systems with sustainable circular and bio-based systems (at the EU and regional scale), contributing to achieving the European Green Deal’s objectives.

This will be done by:

  • identifying environmental, economic and social limits of a linear carbon-intensive and fossil-based economy;
  • improving existing assessment methodologies;
  • assessing the environmental, social and economic impacts of the EU’s current linear fossil-based economy;
  • comparing multiple transition scenarios focusing on the most carbon-intensive sectors;
  • identifying priorities according to scenarios analysed in the project and develop guidelines and policy recommendations.

Contacts:

Piergiuseppe Morone (Coordinator): piergiuseppe.morone@unitelmasapienza.it

Gülşah Yilan (Project manager): gulsah.yilan@unitelmasapienza.it

website: https://sustrack.eu/

 SUSTCERT4BIOBASED project

 SUSTCERT4BIOBASED project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
Project concluded

Sustainability certification for biobased systems

SUSTCERT4BIOBASED in a nutshell
In the transition from a linear fossil-based economy towards a circular biobased economy, numerous biobased value chains have been set up at different levels of development, and several new biobased products have been introduced to the market. Biobased products are wholly or partially derived from biological resources, but still, it is important to ensure their sustainability considering the range of environmental impacts, as well as to ensure their social and economic sustainability.
To this end, a plethora of sustainability certification schemes and business-to-business labels have been developed to allow traceability and transparency of sustainability impacts along the value chains and trades. Today, it is essential to evaluate the credibility of these tools and support their harmonization. This is where SUSTCERT4BIOBASED comes into play!
SUSTCERT4BIOBASED aims to develop a monitoring system to assess the effectiveness, robustness and completeness of the existing certification schemes and labels, identify their strengths and weaknesses and promote the adoption of the best-in-class examples. The interdisciplinary consortium will also be reviewing and analysing the existing sustainability certification schemes and business-to-business labels; creating a database of global trade flows for biological resources and biobased products, and carrying out costs and benefits analysis from the adoption of certification schemes and labels in selected industrial biobased value chains. In this vein, the consortium will engage a variety of relevant stakeholders such as international organisations, industrial biobased value chain actors, scheme owners, certifications bodies, regional bioeconomy actors, and policy makers, and will offer recommendations for the adoption of effective and robust sustainability schemes and labels.

Contacts:

Iris Vural Gursel (Coordinator): iris.vuralgursel@wur.nl

Annie Kalimeri (Communication): akalimeri@white-research.eu

Pinelopi Kaslama (Communication): pkaslama@white-research.eu

website: https://sustcert4biobased.eu/