The potential roles of bio-economy in the transition to equitable, sustainable, post fossil-carbon societies: Findings from this virtual special issue

Ingrao, Carlo; Bacenetti, Jacopo; Bezama, Alberto; Blok, Vincent; Goglio, Pietro; Koukios, Emmanuel G.; Lindner, Marcus; Nemecek, Thomas; Siracusa, Valentina; Zabaniotou, Α.; Huisingh, Donald

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.09.068

Cited by 95 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 99 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Wood represents one of the most important renewable resources for the BE in Germany, considering that it is not in competition with food resources, it is regionally available, and there is an already well-established wood-based industrial sector which can provide essential support in fostering regional economies and, therefore, local communities [15]. As the transition towards BE evokes implications not only in terms of economic and ecological aspects, but also in the social dimension, analytical tools for evaluating and monitoring social sustainability are required [16][17][18]. Tools based on life cycle thinking have proved to be an effective approach, particularly for the assessment of environmental impacts, and have become well-developed and often applied in recent years [19].…”

Section: Definition Of Goal and Scopementioning

confidence: 99%

A Regional Socio-Economic Life Cycle Assessment of a Bioeconomy Value Chain

et al. 2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A bioeconomy tackles sustainable development at both the global and regional levels, as it relies on the optimized use of renewable bio-based resources for the provisioning of food, materials, and energy to meet societal demands. The effects of the bioeconomy can be best observed at a regional level, as it supports regional development and affects the social dimension of sustainability. In order to assess the social impacts of wood-based production chains with regional differentiation, the social life cycle assessment framework "RESPONSA" was established in 2018. We present an initial study, in which this method is applied to an exemplary production chain in a case study of laminated veneer lumber produced in central Germany. The results show a relatively better social performance compared to the reference economic sector, reflecting a relatively low rate of female employees as a major social hotspot. Several social opportunities are identified, in terms of health and safety, equal opportunities, and adequate remuneration, for the organization taking part in the value chain. Finally, considering the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a global normative framework, a number of additional indicators for RESPONSA, as well as further developments and recommendations regarding its application in other regions and the upcoming social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) guidelines, are identified.

show abstract

Section: Definition Of Goal and Scopementioning

confidence: 99%

A Regional Socio-Economic Life Cycle Assessment of a Bioeconomy Value Chain

et al. 2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…According to its conventional definition, bioeconomy comprises all economic activities related to the development of renewable resources and use of biological products and process (Albrecht et al, 2010;Cristóbal, Matos, Aurambout, Manfredi, & Kavalov, 2016;D'Amato et al, 2017;Dietz, Börner, Förster, & von Braun, 2018;Efken et al, 2016;Golembiewski, Sick, & Bröring, 2015;Ingrao et al, 2018;Loiseau et al, 2016;McKormick & Kautto, 2013;OECD, 2009;Ramcilovic-Suominen & Pülzl, 2018;Sasson & Malpica, 2018). In this regard, bioeconomy is primarily focused on the development of biotechnology, referred to as the biotechnology-oriented approach.…”

Section: The Notions Of Bioeconomymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A body of literature on bioeconomy has shown that its development can contribute to food security, climate change mitigation, job creation, and biosecurity (Sheppard et al, ; EC (European Commission), ; Woźniak & Twardowski, ; Aguilar, Wohlgemuth, & Wohlgemuth, ; Budzinski, Bezama, & Thrän, ; D'Amato et al, ; Bell et al, ; Ingrao et al, ; Näyhä, ). Bioeconomy promises both economic growth and environmental gains through the conversion of renewable biological resources into food, fuel, chemicals, and fiber (Devaney & Henchion, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Commission), 2012a; Woźniak & Twardowski, 2018;Aguilar, Wohlgemuth, & Wohlgemuth, 2018a;Budzinski, Bezama, & Thrän, 2017;D'Amato et al, 2017;Bell et al, 2018;Ingrao et al, 2018;Näyhä, 2019). Bioeconomy promises both economic growth and environmental gains through the conversion of renewable biological resources into food, fuel, chemicals, and fiber (Devaney & Henchion, 2018).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Evaluation of bioeconomy in the context of strong sustainability

Liobikienė

Baležentis

Štreimikienė

et al. 2019

Sustainable Development

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The implementation of bioeconomy is important in seeking to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Thus, in recent years, more attention is focused on sustainable bioeconomy. Referring to weak and strong sustainability approaches, many authors stated that bioeconomy is related only to weak sustainability, but this study provides a framework for policy makers that allows the definition and implementation of the bioeconomy based on the strong sustainability approach. Furthermore, researchers evaluating bioeconomy implementation conventionally encompassed the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of the impact of bio‐products; however, they did not consider the strong sustainability approach. Strong sustainability additionally requires not crossing ecological thresholds and, thus, implies consideration of planetary boundaries. Therefore, the inclusion of land footprint and biocapacity measures in the bioeconomy strategy, verifying that the land footprint does not exceed the level of biocapacity, is essential for the creation of a strongly sustainable bioeconomy. This study embarks on the definition of the bioeconomy based on strong sustainability and contributes to the discussion about bioeconomy implementation in the context of sustainable development.

show abstract

“…While there has been a strategic effort to transform carbon (C) management from linear to circular systems (e.g., Ingrao et al, 2018), there has been relatively little focus on the importance of a circular P economy within the emerging bioeconomy (Withers et al, 2018). Nonetheless, securing and maintaining sustainable P supplies will be vital for growing the renewable biomass feedstocks that provide the foundation of the bioeconomy, particularly given rising concerns about future P security (Cordell et al, 2011).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Future Phosphorus: Advancing New 2D Phosphorus Allotropes and Growing a Sustainable Bioeconomy

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

With more than 40 countries currently proposing to boost their national bioeconomies, there is no better time for a clarion call for a “new” bioeconomy, which, at its core, tackles the current disparities and inequalities in phosphorus (P) availability. Existing biofuel production systems have widened P inequalities and contributed to a linear P economy, impairing water quality and accelerating dependence on P fertilizers manufactured from finite nonrenewable phosphate rock reserves. Here, we explore how the emerging bioeconomy in novel, value‐added, bio‐based products offers opportunities to rethink our stewardship of P. Development of integrated value chains of new bio‐based products offers opportunities for codevelopment of “P refineries” to recover P fertilizer products from organic wastes. Advances in material sciences are exploiting unique semiconductor and opto‐electrical properties of new “two‐dimensional” (2D) P allotropes (2D black phosphorus and blue phosphorus). These novel P materials offer the tantalizing prospect of step‐change innovations in renewable energy production and storage, in biomedical applications, and in biomimetic processes, including artificial photosynthesis. They also offer a possible antidote to the P paradox that our agricultural production systems have engineered us into, as well as the potential to expand the future role of P in securing sustainability across both agroecological and technological domains of the bioeconomy. However, a myriad of social, technological, and commercialization hurdles remains to be crossed before such an advanced circular P bioeconomy can be realized. The emerging bioeconomy is just one piece of a much larger puzzle of how to achieve more sustainable and circular horizons in our future use of P. Core Ideas Society's vision for a more circular economy must go beyond the C cycle to include P. Some biofuel systems have widened P inequalities and contributed to a linear P economy. New bioeconomy in bio‐based products offers an opportunity to rethink P stewardship. A circular bioeconomy requires efficient P reuse, recovery, and recycling from waste. New 2D P allotrope technologies offer a potential antidote to our current P “paradox.”

show abstract

The potential roles of bio-economy in the transition to equitable, sustainable, post fossil-carbon societies: Findings from this virtual special issue

Cited by 95 publications

References 99 publications

A Regional Socio-Economic Life Cycle Assessment of a Bioeconomy Value Chain

A Regional Socio-Economic Life Cycle Assessment of a Bioeconomy Value Chain

Evaluation of bioeconomy in the context of strong sustainability

Future Phosphorus: Advancing New 2D Phosphorus Allotropes and Growing a Sustainable Bioeconomy

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About