Environmental sustainability criteria for biological resources production and trade in bio-based systems: impacts and trade-offs

Expected Outcome:

The successful proposal will support tracing environmental impacts of biological resources production and trade by primary producers, traders and certification companies to enable responsible production in the industrial bio-based systems, in line with the 2030 Climate Target Plan and the zero pollution ambition. Project outcomes will contribute to establish circular bio-based systems reversing climate change, restoring biodiversity and protecting air, soil and water quality along supply chain of biological resources and industrial value chains, within the EU and across borders. Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcome:

• Certification schemes for international trade at EU and global scale of biological resources for bio-based systems include the environmental impacts and trade-offs along the bio-based supply chains.

Scope:

Assessment of environmental sustainability of biological resources production and trades in the bio-based systems is still a challenge. Indicators of such sustainability should build on dynamic perspectives at scales ranging, in space, from planetary to local ecosystems and, in time, from next decade to the end of century and beyond.

Proposals should:

1. Identify the range of biological resources intended for industrial bio-based systems at EU and local (regional/rural/urban/coastal) scale, including primary biomass resources production and biological secondary raw materials from rural/urban/industrial activities. Industrial bio-based systems do not include food/feed, biofuels, bioenergy and cultural/recreation sectors. However, relevant initiatives in the field of assessment and certification of environmental sustainability of biological resources arising from EU policies in the bioeconomy sectors should be taken into account. Aspects of trade of biological resources within the EU and at global level should be part of the analysis.
2. Collect data and figures on volumes of biological resources identified under a) in global trade flows and imports into the EU and their geographic distribution. The data collection should be based on existing and consolidated statistics and market databases.
3. Improve existing and/or develop new methodology for the assessment of the environmental impacts and trade-offs of biological resources in the scope addressing, but not limiting to, the following environmental categories: i) GHG emissions/savings and carbon footprint; ii) emissions from nitrogen and phosphorous based fertilisers; iii) land use and land use change and its related impact on land carbon sink capacity; iv) marine space use and marine space use change; v) water use; vi) biodiversity and ecosystem services; vii) energy consumption, viii) any other aspects of air/water/soil environmental quality. Assessments should consider the life cycle perspective and relevant regulatory requirements in terms of trade (across and within the EU), to the extent possible. Trade-offs and synergies with food production, nature-based solution to protect biodiversity or other resources use and ecosystem services (e.g. recreation, urban creep) should be included in the assessment;
4. Align methodology in c) with indicators (e.g. environmental, demographic, geophysics indicators) provided by consolidated and available database, including networks of environmental observations, efficiently.
5. Adapt methodology in c) to be suitable to definition/identification of environmental sustainability criteria compliant with the format of certification schemes in terms of either adopting existing certification schemes or developing of ad hoc ones. Criteria should be aligned with the Commission’s Taxonomy Regulation^[1]. Traceability of biological resources at European and global scale should be essential part of certification.
6. Demonstrate the developed methodologies for the assessment of environmental impacts and trade-offs, sustainability criteria and certification schemes to a range of biological resources intended for industrial bio-based systems in an operational environment and deliver guidelines.

In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.

Proposals’ consortia should involve primary producers of biological resources, trade bodies, bio-based industries, agencies/companies developing certification, consumers’ organisations and any stakeholder along the supply chain of biological resources for bio-based industries.

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[1] Regulation on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment (EU) 2020/852