Bio-based plastics - A review of environmental, social and economic impact assessments

Spierling, Sebastian; Knüpffer, Eva; Behnsen, Hannah; Mudersbach, Marina; Krieg, Hannes; Springer, Sally K.; Albrecht, Stefan; Herrmann, Christoph; Endres, Hans‐Josef

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.03.014

Cited by 367 publications

(213 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…As became apparent from the case studies considered in our review, and according to several scholars [8,19], SLCA studies on bio-based products have focused mainly on social indicators relating to the worker stakeholder category while overlooking other stakeholders. Indeed, focusing on consumer perspectives is very important to deepen our knowledge on the main social sustainability indicators able to guarantee consumer well-being and therefore enhance the market development of bio-based products.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In particular, it has been clearly pointed out that for the assessment of social aspects of bio-based products, upstream processes in the agricultural sector have a high social risk potential [19]. Indeed, the production of biomass affects access to land and land use [18] and the price of feedstocks, with direct and indirect effects on food production and security (see [20,21]).…”

Section: The Context Of Analysis and Research Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Social Life Cycle Approach as a Tool for Promoting the Market Uptake of Bio-Based Products from a Consumer Perspective

Falcone

Imbert

2018

Sustainability

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Abstract:The sustainability of bio-based products, especially when compared with fossil based products, must be assured. The life cycle approach has proven to be a promising way to analyze the social, economic and environmental impacts of bio-based products along the whole value chain. Until now, however, the social aspects have been under-investigated in comparison to environmental and economic aspects. In this context, the present paper aims to identify the main social impact categories and indicators that should be included in a social sustainability assessment of bio-based products, with a focus on the consumers' category. To identify which social categories and indicators are most relevant, we carry out a literature review on existing social life cycle studies; this is followed by a focus group with industrial experts and academics. Afterwards, we conduct semi-structured interviews with some consumer representatives to understand which social indicators pertaining to consumers are perceived as relevant. Our findings highlight the necessity for the development and dissemination of improved frameworks capable of exploiting the consumers' role in the ongoing process of market uptake of bio-based products. More specifically, this need regards the effective inclusion of some social indicators (i.e., end users' health and safety, feedback mechanisms, transparency, and end-of-life responsibility) in the social life cycle assessment scheme for bio-based products. This would allow consumers, where properly communicated, to make more informed and aware purchasing choices, therefore having a flywheel effect on the market diffusion of a bio-based product.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Context Of Analysis and Research Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Life Cycle Approach as a Tool for Promoting the Market Uptake of Bio-Based Products from a Consumer Perspective

Falcone

Imbert

2018

Sustainability

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“…Still, LCA for process selection has been applied for important problems such as the selection of feedstocks (74), catalysts (75), products (76,77), and process routes (78,79). Major interest in comparing process alternatives arises from the assessment of novel process designs to conventional processes, e.g., recently in the area of bio-based production of chemicals (80) or carbon capture and utilization (27).…”

Section: Process Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life Cycle Assessment for the Design of Chemical Processes, Products, and Supply Chains

Kleinekorte

Fleitmann

Bachmann

et al. 2020

Annu. Rev. Chem. Biomol. Eng.

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Design in the chemical industry increasingly aims not only at economic but also at environmental targets. Environmental targets are usually best quantified using the standardized, holistic method of life cycle assessment (LCA). The resulting life cycle perspective poses a major challenge to chemical engineering design because the design scope is expanded to include process, product, and supply chain. Here, we first provide a brief tutorial highlighting key elements of LCA. Methods to fill data gaps in LCA are discussed, as capturing the full life cycle is data intensive. On this basis, we review recent methods for integrating LCA into the design of chemical processes, products, and supply chains. Whereas adding LCA as a posteriori tool for decision support can be regarded as established, the integration of LCA into the design process is an active field of research. We present recent advances and derive future challenges for LCA-based design. 203 Annu. Rev. Chem. Biomol. Eng. 2020.11:203-233. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org Access provided by 44.224.250.200 on 07/08/20. For personal use only.

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“…This is in contrast to previous studies reporting potential annual CO 2 -eq. savings between 241 and 316 Mt (Spierling et al 2018), without considering LUC. Our approach quantifies upstream GHG emissions across the bioplastic supply chain by capturing feedback effects from agricultural input intensity and LUC, among other factors.…”

Section: Discussion and Policy Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Land use mediated GHG emissions and spillovers from increased consumption of bioplastics

Escobar

Haddad

Börner

et al. 2018

Environ. Res. Lett.

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Bioplastic production is a small but fast growing sector in the global bioeconomy, which may benefit from public support measures in the future as governments seek to promote more sustainable consumption patterns. Here we assess the potential net economy-wide impacts of a 5% bioplastic target relative to current plastic consumption in the main producing regions. We compare two alternative policy strategies to achieve the target in a general equilibrium framework that allows for substitution between conventional and bio-based plastics: a subsidy on bioplastics versus a tax on fossil-based plastic consumption. Our study is the first to quantify global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from an increased demand for bioplastics on a global scale, produced from arable crops, considering both direct and indirect land use change (LUC). The tax provokes a contraction of all sectors that employ plastics, which leads to a drop of 0.07% in global real GDP, whereas the subsidy has no significant effect on the global economy. Both tax and subsidy reduce world demand for petroleum products, by 0.37% and 0.07%, respectively, boosting demand for sugar-and starch-based feedstock in the bioplastic industry. This leads to emissions from LUC globally, which correspond to a carbon payback time of 22 years on average, with the associated annual abatement costs of over US$2000 per tonne of CO 2 -eq. The tax has greater GHG reduction potential in bioplastic producing regions but generates greater economic and environmental spillover effects in countries that do not enforce the target. Results show that promoting bioplastic consumption is not a cost-effective strategy for climate change mitigation if based on conventional feedstock, due to market-mediated GHG emissions from LUC. Bioplastics are not necessarily more sustainable than conventional polymers just because they are biobased, although further assessment of potential environmental gains associated with biodegradability and recyclability is desirable.

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Bio-based plastics - A review of environmental, social and economic impact assessments

Cited by 367 publications

References 42 publications

Social Life Cycle Approach as a Tool for Promoting the Market Uptake of Bio-Based Products from a Consumer Perspective

Social Life Cycle Approach as a Tool for Promoting the Market Uptake of Bio-Based Products from a Consumer Perspective

Life Cycle Assessment for the Design of Chemical Processes, Products, and Supply Chains

Land use mediated GHG emissions and spillovers from increased consumption of bioplastics

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