Conceptualization of an Indicator System for Assessing the Sustainability of the Bioeconomy

Abstract

The increased use of biogenic resources is linked to expectations of “green” economic growth, innovation spurts through biotechnology, development options for rural areas, and an increasingly regenerative resource base that is also climate-neutral. However, for several years the signs for unintentional and unwanted side effects have been increasing. In 2015, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was published at the international level in order to address this problem and deliver a starting point for a comprehensive sustainability criteria evaluation catalogue. Impact indicators to quantify the environmental burden induced by national activities in foreign countries are especially lacking. In this article a comprehensive framework for the evaluation of the sustainability of the bioeconomy, considering key objectives and relevant criteria for environmental, economic, and social sustainability is developed. A special focus is set to the intersection area of the three pillars of sustainability, where the particularly important integrative key objectives and the indicators assigned to them (e.g., resource footprints) apply. This indicator set can be used as a basis for bio-economy monitoring, which uses and produces differently aggregated information on different levels of action, with a focus at the national level but also including global impacts of domestic production and consumption.

Stakeholders’ Interests and Perceptions of Bioeconomy Monitoring Using a Sustainable Development Goal Framework

“…Regarding our main objective, to identify the most important aspects of monitoring BE from a stakeholder perspective, the subgoals of the "must" and "may" categories should be a substantial basis for the development of a national monitoring framework for BE in Germany (see Tables A2 and A3). Consequently, besides the more common ecological and economic aspects, food security, sustainable production, infrastructure, and final consumption (SDGs 2, 8, 11, 12) have been integrated explicitly as key objectives in "Conceptualization of an Indicator System for Assessing the Sustainability of the Bioeconomy" [54] in the context of SYMOBIO. Furthermore, the science stakeholder group in particular followed our hint to leave the SDG setting and proposed a series of issues specific to the discussions around BE that were not part of the SDGs but should nevertheless be implemented (e.g., new primary biomass resources, national and global potentials; advanced indicators to measure leakage, rebound, reduction, and substitution effects; awareness, acceptance, and significance regarding BE; BE-specific energy consumption, emissions, footprints, and animal welfare; political evaluation of BE and indicators for policy strategies).…”

“…So far, such a comprehensive monitoring system fulfilling all the named criteria does not exist on any national scale, and Systematic Monitoring and Modelling of the BE (SYMOBIO), of which our study is a part [53], will be the first of its kind. Developing an appropriate monitoring framework is a challenge, because it has to be general in order to cover all relevant topics but also detailed in order to identify specific hotspots of general interest [54]. Due to the limited extent of the monitoring and its framework, the topics, drivers, and hotspots need to be selected and weighted, especially when it comes to the global dimensions of BE.…”

Evaluation of bioeconomy in the context of strong sustainability

“…In order to measure the availability of bio-productive land and water along with the demand of biological resources, the ecological footprints can be applied (Egenolf & Bringezu, 2019;Majore et al, 2015;Zilberman, Kim, Kischner, Kaplan, & Reeves, 2013). Among different types of footprints (water, carbon, material, and land), bioeconomyoriented assessments usually consider land footprint because it encompasses the main resource of biomass (cropland, pastures, and forests; Arto et al, 2012;Bruckner et al, 2015;Hubacek & Feng, 2016;Kastner et al, 2014;O'Brien et al, 2014;O'Brien et al, 2015;O'Brien, Wechsler, Bringezu, & Schaldach, 2017;Schaffartzik et al, 2015;Tukker et al, 2014;Weinzettel et al, 2014;Wilting & Vringer, 2009;Yu et al, 2013).…”

Development of Possible Solution to Overcome Factors Influence on Sustainable Construction Process

“…A case study incorporating building information modeling technology and energy consumption analysis software was conducted to demonstrate the benefits of the innovative green roof proposed by the generic eco-innovation model [8]. For Conceptualization of an Indicator System for assessing the Sustainability of the Bioeconomy had been done and the focus of work on the design stages and their environmental and economic effects and reflected the importance of the application of sustainable standards [9]. Economic pillar: ensures financial affordability, employment creation, adopts full-cost accounting, and enhances competitiveness, sustainable supply chain management [10].…”