STAR4BBI – News and events

Past events

First webinar 30th of July - Focus group webinar on valorization of lignin and furan-chemistry technologies from sugars to produce FDCA

From the ex-ante analysis executed under the STAR4BBI project, CRISPR related technologies, techniques for the valorisation of lignin into high value products and furan-based chemistry from sugars to produce 2,5 furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), resulted the three most promising technologies/innovations and were defined by the experts as potential drivers of change for the future of the European bioeconomy. However, their capacity for innovation and future development depend on favourable regulatory, standardization and investments conditions. Two focus group webinars were organized to learn from experts about the regulatory and standardization issues of these industries.

30^th of July from 10:00h to 12:00h

The aim of this focus-group event was to discuss existing challenges that are hampering the fully deployment of the potential and opportunities of these two innovations: valorization of lignin and furan-chemistry technologies from sugars to produce FDCA.

For interested parties to share their issues on regulative and standardization issues concerning gene-editing methods, please contact STAR4BBI team:

Second webinar 16th October - Focus group webinar on gene editing technologies

From the ex-ante analysis executed under the STAR4BBI project, CRISPR related technologies, techniques for the valorisation of lignin into high value products and furan-based chemistry from sugars to produce 2,5 furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), resulted the three most promising technologies/innovations and were defined by the experts as potential drivers of change for the future of the European bioeconomy. However, their capacity for innovation and future development depend on favourable regulatory, standardization and investments conditions. Two focus group webinars were organized to learn from experts about the regulatory and standardization issues of these industries.

16^th October 2018 from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm

A focus group was organized to discuss regulatory issues of gene-editing techniques. The aim was to collect the view of experts on the new decision of the EU Court of Justice (ECJ) on the 25th of July 2018, where it was decided that organisms obtained by mutagenesis are GMOs within the meaning of the GMO Directive, in so far as the techniques and methods of mutagenesis alter the genetic material of an organism in a way that does not occur naturally. Furthermore, existing and potential future challenges that could prevent the fully deployment of these technologies was discussed.

The results obtained in the webinar will be used in the upcoming deliverables of the project for designing suggestions and recommendations towards the establishment of a supportive and investment-friendly regulatory and standardization framework that enables a further/full deployment of these technologies and innovations.

For interested parties to share their issues on regulative and standardization issues concerning gene-editing methods, valorization of lignin and furan-chemistry technologies, please contact STAR4BBI team:

Luana Ladu: luana.ladu@tu-berlin.de
Janire Clavell:  j.clavell@tu-berlin.de
Technische Universität Berlin

STAR4BBI Stakeholder Workshop 23th of October - Improved Standards and Certificates for Bio-based Industries

23^rd October 2018 – STAR4BBI Stakeholder Workshop on improved Standards and Certificates for Bio-based Industries

Venue: 

CEN-CENELEC Meeting Centre
Rue de la Science 23
B-1040 Brussels
Belgium

For the bio-economy standards have a crucial role to play in supporting the growth of the bio-based products market. In particular, they can help to increase market transparency by providing common reference methods and requirements that enable the verification of claims regarding the bio-based content, bio-degradability or environmental sustainability of different product. At the same time there are standards in place that bring obstacles to (enter) the bio-based economy. During desk research and interviews with companies within the bio-based economy several issues related to standards and certificates in the bio-based economy were identified.

Identified issues are related to the following subjects:

• Climate test
• Biodegradability definition in standards
• Compostability standard: EN 13432
• Certificates in the building industry
• Harmonization of FSC/PEFC
• Cooperation between ASTM-EU

STAR4BBI held a workshop on the 23th of October to evaluate the identified issues with stakeholders. During the workshop, the STAR4BBI project partners received feedback stakeholders concerning these identified issues related to standards and certificates. With the information resulting from the workshop the project partners of STAR4BBI will make proposals to make changes to the standards/certificates with the correct committees.

For interested parties to share their issues concerning standardization of bio-based products please contact STAR4BBI team:

Minique Vrins: Minique.Vrins@nen.nl

Netherlands Standardisation Institute NEN

Third Webinar 15th of January 2019 – Algae and aquatic biomass for use in bio-based products

Third webinar: 15^th January 2019 from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm
Focus group webinar on algae and aquatic biomass for use in bio-based products (excluding food, feed and energy purposes).

A focus group discussion will be organized with experts in order to discuss existing challenges and solutions linked to the development of emerging innovations in the bio-based economy. This particular focus group will concentrate on algae and aquatic biomass for use in bio-based products (excluding food, feed and energy purposes).

Here we will welcom input on specific products in the market as well as the experiences and thoughts of experts around (hurdles caused by) regulations and policies.

We are happy to have interested parties participating at this webinar.
For registering at the webinar please send your request to Ms. Janire Clavell Diaz: j.clavell@tu-berlin.de

Upcoming events

STAR4BBI Stakeholder Workshop 14th of May 2019 - Assessing Bio-based Product Value Chains

Assessing Bio-based Product Value Chains:
How Better Regulation and Standardisation can Promote a Level Playing Field

14th of May 2019, between 10:00h – 13:45h as a side event of the 12th International Conference on Bio-based Materials

Venue:
Maternushaus
Kardinal-Frings-Str. 1-3
50668 Cologne Germany

Program

10:00 – 10:15	Introduction of the STAR4BBI project
10:15 – 10:30	Presenting the results on market entry barriers and STAR4BBI proposals for elimination of hurdles
10:30 – 11:20	Discussion with the attendants
11:20 – 11:30	Retrospective on the results from a project advisory partner perspective
11:30 – 12:00	Break
12:00 – 12:15	Presenting the results on foresight study of technological trendsSTAR4BBI proposals for future supportive regulatory and standardization framework
12:15 – 13:05	Discussion with the attendants
13:05 – 13:15	Retrospective on the results from a project advisory partner perspective
13:15 – 13:35	Discussion on standards and certification for bio-based industry
13:35 – 13:45	General conclusions and ways forward
13:45	Closing

 

 

Press releases

15th of November 2018 - Horizontal standards to deliver a better integration and support to bio-based industry

How can standards support the full deployment of innovation in the bio-based industry? Standards are used in all parts of the bio-based product market. Their application is specific to a product or an application and can differ from sector or value chain where it is applied.

As part of the work of the STAR4BBI research project an investigation was undertaken to determine concepts that could be laid down in standards at a more general or broader level. The work looked into possibilities to apply product specific test standards, certifications and labels on a more horizontal level through the so – called horizontal standards. Several aspects have been identified that create hurdles that currently prevent a better integration of the bio-based industry across boundaries. Interested parties are invited to comment and assist the project in achieving this objective for better integration and support to CEN in the industrial applicability and use of existing standards is sought.

For this purpose, a broad desk research and follow-up by gathering inputs from academic articles, conferences, developed standards in the bio-based industry and interviews with industry was carried out. This resulted in the following identified aspects:

• Terminology
  • A common language across the value chain is of major importance. CEN/TC 411 has delivered a standard on common terminology (EN 16575). Although interviewees confirmed that they do not use the terminology set by EN 16575 and they have not experienced any communication problems, the research shows that consumers are sometimes confused when talking about bio-based products. Does it mean that the products are biodegradable? Does it mean that these are sustainable? Or does it mean that products are compostable? The different certificates for the characteristics are not always clear to consumers.
• Test methods/Sampling
  • Bio-based content: It is essential to characterize the amount of biomass contained in the product by, for instance, its bio-based content or bio-based carbon content. However, it is important to note that bio-based content of a product does not provide information on its environmental impact or sustainability, which may be assessed through LCA and sustainability criteria. The carbon content was usually defined according to the US/international standard method ASTM D-6866. However, Europe has developed its own standards to determine the bio-based content of a product. Both work in the legal and policy environment that they are developed for, but when internationally traded one needs to be cautious about product claims, as the different tests of these standards result in different bio-based content of a product.
  • Standards developed for fossil-based products, applied for bio-based products: It is challenging when requirements in standards/regulations that have been developed for fossil-based products are applied for bio-based products. Main challenges are related to “proving” that bio-based materials are equivalent to traditional materials. As a result in some cases these bio-based materials having different functionalities do not pass the tests. Furthermore, additional advantages of bio-based products are not always included in the standard.
• B2B and B2C communication/ Labelling
  • B2B and B2C communication: The term “biomass-based” or “bio-based” refers to the origin of the raw material. The prefix “bio” can refer to different functionalities (biodegradable, biocompatible, etc.) or their origin (their origin (plant based and/or produced by biotechnological processes). As all these aspects are part of a bio-based product and are to be communicated to customers, for this reason, CEN/TC 411 has developed two standards, one for the business-to-consumer (B2C) and one for the business-to-business (B2B) communication. However, when conducting the interviews with companies operating in bio-based industries, the interviewees reported that they are unaware of the existing standards.
  • Labelling/certification: Over the last years many certification schemes have been developed by NGOs, authorities or certification bodies to help consumers, manufacturers, distributers, traders to choose the right products for their purpose. As a result, the market contains many different and sometimes overlapping certificates. Several of these certification schemes are only required (or used) in particular regions (or sectors). Performing business in these regions means that the products need to be certified by these specific schemes. When a company operates in different regions this results in the need of multiple certificates that are more or less similar and creates significant costs without adding significant value.
• Sustainability criteria/ Origin of Biomass / LCA
  • According to the European Commission, for biomass to be effective at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, it must be produced in a sustainable way. Biomass production involves a chain of activities ranging from the growing of feedstock via products to final energy conversion at end of life. Each step along the way can pose different sustainability challenges that need to be managed. According to the interviewees clear sustainability criteria are however missing; there is a lot of conflicting information around. What is sustainable is defined differently by governments, institutions, organizations.

In the following work packages of STAR4BBI project, proposals to alternative standards will be developed for improving the horizontal aspects identified in this report. An implementation plan will be created for new or revised standards suggested.

Contact:
Minique Vrins
Netherlands Standardisation Institute NEN
Email: energy@nen.nl
Tel: +31 (0) 15 26 90 326
www.biobasedeconomy.eu/projects/star4bbi/

Responsible for the content under German press law (V.i.S.d.P.):
Dipl.-Phys. Michael Carus (Managing Director)
nova-Institut GmbH, Chemiepark Knapsack, Industriestraße 300, DE-50354 Hürth (Germany)
Internet: www.nova-institute.eu – all services and studies at www.bio-based.eu
Email: contact@nova-institut.de
Phone: +49 (0) 22 33-48 14 40

nova-Institute is a private and independent research institute, founded in 1994; nova offers research and consultancy with a focus on bio-based and CO₂-based economy in the fields of food and feedstock, techno-economic evaluation, markets, sustainability, dissemination, B2B communication and policy. Every year, nova organises several large conferences on these topics; nova-Institute has 30 employees and an annual turnover of more than 2.5 million €.

Get the latest news from nova-Institute, subscribe at www.bio-based.eu/email

3rd of December 2018 - Common language across the value chains of bio-based products – where are the real challenges?

Terminology and common language used across the whole value chains from farmer to consumer is of major importance to facilitate the market uptake of bio-based products. The study carried out within the EU funded project STAR4BBI concludes that challenges are related to misuses of terms and to the lack of knowledge of characteristics of bio-based products. The need for additional standardisation of terms is not perceived as a challenge. Interested parties, such as producers and users of bio-based products are welcome to contact STAR4BBI team for questions and requests.

To facilitate the market uptake of bio-based products, it is important to clearly communicate their benefits to all parties that have a stake in either manufacturing, use or disposal, including producers, distributors, users and consumers, public authorities, NGOs, universities and schools. It is of major importance to have a common language for all these stakeholders to effectively communicate the benefits of bio-based products.

The above mentioned terms are widely used in the bio-based economy. Most of these terms are product characteristics that are communicated at various points in the value chain. Very often these terms are not fully understood by the users, or may have more than one meaning, hence they can cause confusion in relation to the underlying bio-based product. An example of a term that has a double meaning is the seemingly simple term ‘bioplastics’. Often it refers to plastics made from biomass, but it is also being used as a synonym for biodegradable plastic. When the same term is used for different characteristics of products it causes confusion on the market. Misunderstandings of terms can halter the growth of the bio-based economy as this unclarity on specifications of products can influence the decisions taken by companies and ultimately consumers to make the switch to these materials.

The Expert Group on Bio-Based Products (BBP-EG), which advised the European Commission on the development of bio-economy sector, underwrites the importance of clear terminology and communication in their final report (November 2017)[1].

The EU funded project “Standards and Regulations for the Bio-based Industry STAR4BBI” has analysed the vocabulary used across the value chains to identify terminology challenges and issues in the bio-based economy that could be solved via standardization. However, the study showed, that the existing terminology standard (EN 16575:2014 Bio-based products – Vocabulary) is not widely used and that adding additional terms to this standard is not the solution to the current miscommunication in the market. This was confirmed by the experts in the European Standardization Committee on Bio-based products, CEN/TC 411.

Nevertheless, there were other challenges that were identified during the interviews and the desk study:

• No singular meaning of terms
  • Bioplastic was mentioned as one of the terms used mostly with non-singular meaning. The EN 16575, Bio-based products – Vocabulary states: The prefix “bio” can refer to different functionalities (biodegradable, biocompatible, etc.) or processing (biological or biotechnological processes). With this statement CEN attempted to solve this issue in the market. However, the prefix bio is still used. There are number of other such terms used in miscommunication, such as cascading use, etc.
• Unclarity on what the characteristics of bio-based products actually mean
  • The EN 16848 and EN 16935 standards specify requirements for transparent and non-misleading business-to-business and business-to-consumer communication of characteristics of bio-based products accordingly. Additionally, CEN/TC 411 has standardized the way communication of characteristics should take place. The STAR4BBI assessment taught us however that the above mentioned standards are not widely recognized and used within the bio-based economy. Consumers currently lack the knowledge of what properties bio-based products actually have. This leads to bio-based product producers not communicating more information about the characteristics of their products, as it is perceived as too comprehensive for the consumers. For example, if a product is labelled as biodegradable or compostable, consumers often confuse it with home composability.

The study carried out has concluded that there are two main challenges in the current bio-based market around terminology: Terms that are being used with no-singular meaning and existing unclarity on the meaning of characteristics of bio-based products. CEN will be asked to consider appropriate action.

The issue of limited consumers/user awareness on bio-based products’ characteristics/terms is a challenge but this is not solved with further standardization of terms. Stimulating further communication is considered a priority at this moment.

Contact:
Minique Vrins
STAR4BBI Work package Co-ordinator
Netherlands Standardisation Institute NEN
Email: energy@nen.nl
Tel: +31 (0) 15 26 90 326
www.biobasedeconomy.eu/projects/star4bbi/

Responsible for the content under German press law (V.i.S.d.P.):
Dipl.-Phys. Michael Carus (Managing Director)
nova-Institut GmbH, Chemiepark Knapsack, Industriestraße 300, DE-50354 Hürth (Germany)
Internet: www.nova-institute.eu – all services and studies at www.bio-based.eu
Email: contact@nova-institut.de
Phone: +49 (0) 22 33-48 14 40

nova-Institute is a private and independent research institute, founded in 1994; nova offers research and consultancy with a focus on bio-based and CO₂-based economy in the fields of food and feedstock, techno-economic evaluation, markets, sustainability, dissemination, B2B communication and policy. Every year, nova organises several large conferences on these topics; nova-Institute has 30 employees and an annual turnover of more than 2.5 million €.

Get the latest news from nova-Institute, subscribe at www.bio-based.eu/email

[1] http://ec.europa.eu/growth/content/commission-expert-group-bio-based-products-calls-alignment-bioeconomy-strategy-eu-policy_en