Driving continuous improvement of sustainability certification for industrial biobased systems through comprehensive sustainability requirements

Abstract

Existing monitoring frameworks for sustainability certification schemes and labels (CSLs) have largely prioritised environmental aspects, while the social and economic pillars of sustainability remain comparatively underdeveloped. Also, dedicated circularity requirements tailored to biobased systems are still largely lacking, despite being highly relevant for steering the transition to a sustainable circular bioeconomy. The work presented closes these identified gaps through the development of a structured and holistic set of sustainability principles, criteria and requirements for industrial biobased systems under four categories: environment, social, economic and circularity, distinguishing between mandatory, basic and advanced (i.e. aspirational) requirements to stimulate continuous improvement of CSLs. These are incorporated in the Content level of the newly developed BIOBASEDCERT Monitoring Tool (BMT), designed to assess the comprehensiveness of sustainability and circularity requirements in existing CSLs for industrial biobased value chains. This paper presents the Content level BMT and its testing on a selection of CSLs covering different biobased feedstocks and sectors. The tool was tested in close cooperation with CSL owners across three groups of CSLs: (1) schemes for biobased products; (2) schemes for biological feedstocks; and (3) Type I ecolabels. The results highlight the importance of a clear scope definition to identify applicable requirements for evaluation. Opportunities for improvement were identified for each group of CSLs, aiming to encourage CSL owners to improve the coverage and ambition level of their systems. The Content level BMT can be utilised for strengthening and harmonising sustainability requirements in existing CSLs, and as input to future legislation for a sustainable circular bioeconomy.