Transitioning towards the bio‐economy: Assessing the social dimension through a stakeholder lens

Abstract

International institutions are calling for a transition towards more sustainable systems of production and consumption. In this transition, sustainable innovations are expected to play an ever-increasing role. In particular, the production of innovative bio-based products-products wholly or partly derived from biological materials or from innovative production processes and/or innovative biomass such as food waste or forest residuals-will be part of this process. However, the sustainability of such products must be assured along their entire life cycle and across the three dimensions mentioned above. Against this background, our study aimed at identifying a social impact framework tailored to bio-based products. It employed a two-step methodological framework encompassing (a) identification of the relevant social impact categories, subcategories, and indicators and (b) validation of these factors, according to participatory stakeholder involvement. The validation exercise enabled us to consider a restricted number of social indicators so as to reduce the amount of data needed for assessing and decreasing related costs.

Constructing the Public in Roadmapping the Transition to a Bioeconomy: A Case Study from the Netherlands

“…Whereas in some contexts, such as the Netherlands, it is considered straightforward that public engagement is a prerequisite for a successful bioeconomy transition [37], in others it might not-or with different enactments [23]. The transition to a bioeconomy requires actions on a global scale, yet regional efforts are needed to demonstrate progress and to identify useful indicators that monitor the performance of a sustainable bioeconomy [41,42]. It is a challenge that takes on many forms to ensure that public participation does not turn into a meaningless or stripped-down strategic practice, in which official authorities pretend to listen to citizens while continuing the pursuit of their own vested interests and exerting their own power [23].…”

Sustainable innovation: Processes, strategies, and outcomes

“…The paper by Falcone et al () examines the production of innovative bio‐based products. Following the rational of the triple bottom line approach, it is argued that the sustainability of such products must be assured along their entire lifecycle and across the three key dimensions of sustainable development.…”

“…Also, measurement issues should be further taken into account when studying sustainable innovation. This is a topic which has barely been mentioned except for the paper by Falcone et al (). Targeting multiple goals, sustainable innovation likely needs more complex and composite metrics to be measured.…”

Research on Quality Decisions and Coordination with Reference Effect in Dual-Channel Supply Chain

“…The objective of circular economy is to extract the advantage of materials, enemy and wastes of an industry [2]. Some scholars have carried out relevant research in the context of ecological economy [3,4].…”