Bioeconomy and Global Inequalities

Backhouse, Maria; Lehmann, Rosa; Lorenzen, Kristina; Lühmann, Malte; Puder, Janina; Rodríguez, Fabricio; Tittor, Anne

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-68944-5

Cited by 21 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…LVL seems to have a way better social sustainability, having a look at the indicator data and inventory, this is mainly due to the less toxicity of materials, impacts on humans and their working environments, but also higher expenditures for social security and education as well as a lower gender wage gap. However, backed up by literature (Backhouse et al 2021), we suggest that the different technical production processes are not the main cause, but the far more global distribution of primary production chains and thereby externalization of social deprivations is much higher in the steel industry, and globalized BE would have such negative externalized effects likewise. When looking at f ecological = 1.01 , we expect a quite limited better ecological sustainability, which is foremost because of the high land use (change) effects of forestry in a way compensating the significant GWP savings and much lower ecotoxicity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

“…We also see that processes based on renewable resources in specific regions do not only have a better ecological, but also better social and economic sustainability and that there seem to be synergies between these aspects of sustainability. However, the dependency of sustainability from regions does not only apply to fossil industries, but bioeconomy can be very unsustainable as well when renewable material flows reproduce global social and economic inequalities and externalization of effects of sourcing and production (Backhouse et al 2021;Eversberg and Holz 2020;Asada et al 2020). In this regard, we see a high potential for regional, holistic, and integrated HILCSA: to not only identify trade-offs or synergies between different aspects of sustainability but also in shifting them to other regions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Application of holistic and integrated LCSA: Case study on laminated veneer lumber production in Central Germany

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2022

Int J Life Cycle Assess

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Purpose We have to transform our societies and economic systems towards social, ecological, and economic (holistic) sustainability. Bioeconomy (BE) can contribute to sustainable development by substituting fossil-based products with renewable ones; however, sustainability is not intrinsic to BE. Methods Therefore, we developed a holistic and integrated life cycle sustainability assessment (HILCSA) method containing 91 indicators, implemented in openLCA, using the Ecoinvent and SoCa database, and addressing 15 out of 17 Sustainable Development Goals. We applied it for the first time to show its capabilities by assessing the holistic sustainability of laminated veneer lumber (LVL) relative to hot-rolled steel beams. Results, discussion Our results indicate that renewable bio-based construction materials can have a better holistic sustainability than fossil-based products for nearly all indicators, by less stressing the environment, having a less negative impact on society and being economically more efficient. However, fossil-based components of LVL such as phenolic resin are main contributors of negative impacts and should be reduced and replaced. Renewable resources from agriculture and forestry have significant impacts on land use (change). Conclusions HILCSA demonstrates to be able to provide comprehensive sustainability assessments as well as aggregated results. BE substitutes indeed can improve sustainability; however, sustainability assessments and HILCSA need to be further developed to allow conclusions to be drawn about absolute sustainability of BE.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of holistic and integrated LCSA: Case study on laminated veneer lumber production in Central Germany

Zeug

Bezama

Thrän

2022

Int J Life Cycle Assess

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show abstract

“…Processes based on renewable resources in specific regions do not only have a better ecological, but also better social and economic sustainability as synergies. However, the dependency on sustainability from regions does not only apply to fossil industries, but BE can be very unsustainable when renewable material flows reproduce global social and economic inequalities and externalization of effects of sourcing and production (Asada et al 2020;Backhouse et al 2021;Eversberg and Holz 2020).…”

Section: Operationalization and First Results Of Hilcsa Case Study On...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment for Sustainable Bioeconomy, Societal-Ecological Transformation and Beyond

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2023

Sustainable Production, Life Cycle Engineering and Management

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Decoupling the fulfillment of societal needs from an ever-increasing production of goods together with decoupling this sufficient production from negative environmental, social and economic impacts, is and will be the major challenge of our economic systems to avoid an even deeper socio-ecological crisis. The ascending bioeconomy practices have to be assessed with regard to their potential to provide a good life for all within planetary boundaries Addressing this, life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) is necessary to integrate social, environmental and economic sustainability assessments. However, LCSAs are still in their infancy and a series of practical problems can be traced back to a lack of sound sustainability concepts and applied political economy/ecology. We reflect on social, ecological and economic sustainability, our societal relations to nature and a necessary societal-ecological transformation in order to structure a systemic framework for holistic and integrated LCSA (HILCSA). This framework allows an implementation in openLCA, conducting the inventory and impact assessment with harmonized databases and more coherent results compared to previous approaches. For further development we identify questions of political economy/ecology as significant. The idea of a bioeconomy as well as systemic assessments is a question of the perception of ends and means of a societal transformation.

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Regional adaptation of integrated pest management to control invasive forest insects

Stastny,

Corley,

Allison

2024

Frontiers in Ecol & Environ

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Globalization is increasing the threat of invasive forest insects to ecosystems. Control efforts against the same pest species progressively occur across distant jurisdictions as integrated pest management (IPM) programs or tactics developed in one region are adopted by another region. This knowledge exchange accelerates responses and collaboration; however, transplanted IPM programs can overlook preexisting or emerging differences between regions, which may explain their varying success. These differences include biological variation in the pest system, environmental conditions, issues of scale and capacity of the response, regulatory environment, and cultural context. We examine the role of these factors in the adoption and outcomes of IPM programs, drawing from case studies and an online survey of forestry IPM experts. To facilitate regional adaptation of IPM programs during their adoption and implementation in new regions, we propose an evaluation framework and recommend approaches to not only reduce risks but also maximize uptake, efficacy, and resilience.

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Bioeconomy and Global Inequalities

Cited by 21 publications

References 5 publications

Application of holistic and integrated LCSA: Case study on laminated veneer lumber production in Central Germany

Application of holistic and integrated LCSA: Case study on laminated veneer lumber production in Central Germany

Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment for Sustainable Bioeconomy, Societal-Ecological Transformation and Beyond

Regional adaptation of integrated pest management to control invasive forest insects

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