D1.1 – REPORT ON LITERATURE GAPS AND TRADE-OFFS
This report presents SUSTRACK results on the environmental, economic, social and cultural limitations of the linear, fossil-based economy, as well as barriers and potential improvements associated with transitioning to a circular bio-based economy (CBBE). Through an extensive literature review, the research identifies gaps in overcoming these barriers and focuses on four carbon-intensive sectors: construction, fine chemicals, plastics, and textiles. The study explores the trade-offs of the CBBE as an alternative resource strategy, and the requirements for overcoming barriers in terms of knowledge, practical implementation, and opportunities.
D1.2 - PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL, ECONOMIC, CULTURAL AND SOCIAL LIMITS OF THE LINEAR, CARBON-INTENSIVE AND FOSSIL-BASED ECONOMY
The findings in this report showcase the outcomes of a comprehensive stakeholder consultation with the objectives of identifying and confirming the challenges that impede progress towards a sustainable circular bio-based economy. These barriers encompass various areas such as environmental, economic, and social sustainability, along with technical, structural, and cultural challenges. The stakeholder consultation was built upon the barriers identified through an extensive literature review, documented in D1.1. The identified barriers were initially validated through a co-creation workshop. Following this, a series of interviews were conducted with 20 experts in the bio-based economy field to further confirm the results of the workshop, allocate the barriers to the four critical sectors that the project focuses on (textile, chemical, plastics and construction), and identify any additional barriers that may have been overlooked. The resulting list of barriers was utilised in the development of a questionnaire for a more comprehensive survey during a broader consultation process.
D1.3 - REPORT ON THE PRIORITISATION OF THE IDENTIFIED LIMITS, AS WELL AS THE PRELIMINARY GUIDELINES AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
This report aims to prioritize barriers hindering the transition to circular bio-based economy (CBBE) and identify interdependencies among them, based on the work documented in D1.1 and D1.2. These findings lay the groundwork for policy actions, ensuring a smoother transition to circular bio-based economies. To this purpose, the barriers transitioning from a linear fossil-based to a CBBE in Europe were evaluated using Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods. Analyzing six clusters via AHP, economic and governance emerged as the most crucial, followed by environmental, technical, structural, and cultural barriers. These barriers include issues with investment, policy coherence, recycling capacity, collaboration, and consumer trust. Analytic Network Process (ANP) reveals interconnectedness among barriers, with governance and structural clusters being most influential. Key barriers include political conflicts, social and technical lock-ins, and fragmented regulations. Upon this background of prioritisation and identification of the interdependencies, the report also provides a first set of policy recommendations.
D2.1 – REVIEW OF APPROACHES AND IDENTIFICATION OF RESEARCH GAPS
This report presents the results of a review of existing knowledge for monitoring and evaluating the transition to circular biobased systems. More than 130 research items, including scientific articles and reports, were consulted to identify major gaps across indicators and approaches generally used to monitor and evaluate the bioeconomy across the three major policy-level analyses: micro-level (products/processes/companies), meso-level (city/regions) and macro-level (World, Europe or countries). Furthermore, the literature review also served to initiate the compilation of a database of existing indicators related to the circular bioeconomy, setting the basis for the monitoring framework developed by SUSTRACK. Finally, based on the identified knowledge gaps, the report provides a list of recommendations to advance bioeconomy monitoring and evaluation at the different policy-levels.
D2.2 – ADVANCEMENT OF SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT KNOWLEDGE-DRAFT
This report focuses on the development of new indicators applicable for monitoring and evaluating the transition to circular bio-based systems, which were identified as gaps across the set of indicators that emerged in D2.1. Three research gaps have been selected for further exploration:
- Governance indicator(s): to give insight into how stakeholders work together in achieving common strategic goals of a city/local/regional area, like via cluster organisations, industrial/regional/ministerial corporations; existence of circular bio-based economy strategic plans.
- Monetisation of externalities indicator(s): to distinguish between market price and inherent value for externalities, like greenhouse gas emission, and to permit a fairer comparison between fossil-based and bio-based systems.
- LCA-based indicator(s): to integrate key impact categories for the bioeconomy, like (in)direct land-use issues, biodiversity, deforestation, soil/water quality, and related carbon emissions.
Knowledge has been developed on how these research gaps could be tackled taking into account issues like system boundaries, methodological approach and data needs.
In particular, this report contains the first round of reporting on the development of the aforementioned three innovative indicator types that should bridge knowledge gaps. This work is ongoing research that will be continued and finalised in the course of the SUSTRACK project.
D3.1 – A CASE STUDY SELECTION METHODOLOGY AND DEFINITION OF THE SELECTED CASE STUDIES
The aim of this report is to identify and select feasible case studies to be used to design, test, and validate different methodologies and tools to be developed within SUSTRACK, as well as involve stakeholders for the different stakeholder interaction processes in the project.
The report provides a description of the case study selection process with selection criteria, and all the methodological steps involved. For the 10 selected case studies (in the four critical sectors, namely construction, textile, chemical, plastics), factsheets are included that provide a brief overview of the case study, the scope, system boundaries, and baseline situation representing the current fossil-based situation, and the circular bio-based alternative. The aim is to provide a picture of the commercial characteristics of the case study and a graphical representation of the value chain (including feedstock type and origin, production processes, and end-of-life options). For each case study a preliminary identification of relevant stakeholders (e.g., companies) is included.
D3.2 – DESCRIPTION OF THE VALIDATION METHODOLOGY
This report presents the SUSTRACK results on the validation of the monitoring and assessment framework and guidelines for the implementation of the case studies work. In D3.1, 10 case studies were selected. In D2.1 a gap analysis was done of existing monitoring indicators and methodologies for assessing environmental, social and economic impacts of the transition from the current linear fossil-based economy to a more circular bio-based economy. In this deliverable, firstly the outcomes of a consistency check of the resulting indicator framework from D2.1 is presented per case study. This provides a further improved understanding of the indicators and metrics that are missing and/or need further elaboration and how the monitoring framework can be further improved. This is also in the context of different case studies analysed. This is then followed by general feedback for the further development of the monitoring and assessment framework in terms of clarity, completeness and other relevant aspects. Finally, guidelines are presented for mapping stakeholders, policy instruments, information and data collection for the case study analysis to be performed.
D4.1 – REPORT PRESENTING SCENARIOS AND RELATED POLICY PACKAGES
The aim of this report is twofold: (i) to identify and describe policy goals that are essential for the transformation to a circular biobased economy (CBBE), and (ii) to develop policy portfolio scenarios for the four focus sectors of the project, namely construction, chemicals, plastics and textiles. The report first presents the methodology adopted for the identification of a portfolio of policy goals and the development of the scenarios. The results section provides an overview of the selected policy goals. Based on the screening of 49 policy documents, expert consultations and verification via stakeholder workshops, 73 policy goals were identified and selected. Finally, building on these goals, one BioTransition and one BioRevolution policy portfolio scenario at the EU level and applied to each sector (chemicals, construction, plastics and textiles) are presented. The BioTransition scenarios consider existing, status quo policy objectives. The BioRevolution scenarios instead integrate new and more ambitious goals, aiming at a rapid transformation towards a fully CBBE.
D5.1 – MID-TERM POLICY BRIEF: POLICY PRIORITIES TO SUPPORT THE SUSTAINABLE TRANSITION AND EXAMPLES OF GOOD POLICIES
This policy brief discusses which barriers exist that need to be addressed through new policies and policy improvements to support the transitioning to a Circular Biobased Economy (CBBE). It summarises what the limitations are of the linear fossil-based economy, it then discusses how it has become embedded in the EU policy. In the last sections the current barriers are highlighted in relation to the transition to a CBBE to provide an understanding where the policy opportunities lie to tackle these barriers. At the end it presents the approach as to how in SUSTRACK policy opportunities are to be identified that address the different barriers of transition to a CBBE.
D6.1 – INITIAL DISSEMINATION AND COMMUNICATION PLAN
This deliverable describes the dissemination, communication and stakeholder engagement strategy, activities and tools that will be implemented by the SUSTRACK project throughout the entire lifetime of the project.
D6.2 – INITIAL DISSEMINATION, COMMUNICATION AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT REPORT
This deliverable updates on the progress about dissemination, communication and stakeholder engagement tools and activities implemented from the beginning of the project to the midterm.