The concept of the bio-based economy has gained increasing attention and importance in recent years. It is seen as a chance to reduce the dependency on fossil resources while securing a sustainable supply of energy, water, and raw materials, and furthermore preserving soils, climate and the environment. The intended transformation is characterized by economic, environmental and social challenges and opportunities, and it is understood as a social transition process towards a sustainable, bio-based and nature-oriented economy. This process requires general mechanisms to establish and monitor safeguards for a sustainable development of the bio-based economy on a national and EU level. Sustainability certification and standardisation of bio-based products can help to manage biogenic resources and their derived products in a sustainable manner. In this paper, we have analysed the current status of sustainability certification and standardisation in the bio-based economy by conducting comprehensive desktop research, which was complemented by a series of expert interviews. The analysis revealed an impressive amount of existing certification frameworks, criteria, indicators and applicable standards. However, relevant gaps relating to existing criteria sets, the practical implementation of criteria in certification processes, the legislative framework, end-of-life processes, as well as necessary standardisation activities, were identified which require further research and development to improve sustainability certification and standardisation for a growing bio-based economy.
The control of surface properties is a substantial step in the development and improvement of biomaterials for clinical applications as well as for their use in tissue engineering. Interaction of the substrate surface with the biochemical or biological environment is crucial for the outcome of the applied biomaterial and therefore should meet specific requirements regarding the chemical composition, wettability, elasticity, and charge. In this study, we examined the effect of chemical groups introduced by low pressure plasma treatments of polystyrene surfaces on the cell behavior of primary human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) and dermal microvascular endothelial cells (hDMECs). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis and contact angle measurements were employed to evaluate ammonia-, carbon dioxide-, and acrylic acid-plasma modifications to substrate surfaces. HMSCs and hDMECs were analyzed simultaneously to identify the most suitable surface functionalization for each cell type. Significantly higher cell proliferation was detected on ammonia plasma-treated surfaces. Cell-material interaction could be shown on all created interfaces as well as the expression of typical cell markers. Hence, the applied plasma treatment presents a suitable tool to improve culture condition on polystyrene for two important cell types (hMSCs and hDMECs) in the field of tissue engineering.
Background The high number of bioeconomy (BE) policies and strategies indicates the interest in the BE in many nations. The development of the BE holds opportunities but also risks for sustainability. Thus, the future development of a sustainable BE should be based on coherent policy frameworks. There are already links between private governance approaches and public policy frameworks that might support each other for this purpose. The aim of this study was to evaluate how the current EU BE policy frameworks consider sustainability aspects and if non-governmental governance approaches could support their enhancement. Methods An inventory of BE policy documents on EU and EU member state levels relevant to sustainability was conducted applying desktop research. Major sustainability risk perceptions in the BE sectors were identified. We provide a list of sustainability risks within different BE sectors, based on an expert survey. In a qualitative evaluation, most commonly identified sustainability requirements in policy documents were benchmarked against most important sustainability risk perceptions. Results Sustainability requirements have been identified in 56% of the policy documents. The influence of the policy frameworks on the industry was found to be rather low. Specific targets and goals are included in 72% of the analysed BE policy documents, but only 50% are quantifiable. Identification of major sustainability risks revealed that in the biomass production stage, mostly environmental risks are most relevant. A “hot spot sector” with accumulated sustainability risk perceptions or a tendency to higher risk levels was not identified. Most important sustainability risk perceptions matched with requirements in policy documents, but requirements were mostly stated in a noncommittal way. Discussion and conclusions Coherence amongst the sustainability criteria included in the various BE frameworks should be increased. Groundwork developed by non-governmental governance approaches should be picked up by policy makers for more harmonised terminologies of sustainability requirements, BE definitions, etc. BE monitoring approaches should take policy targets, sustainability requirements and sustainability risks into account and should adjust them in a dynamic way.
The circular economy (CE) represents an environmentally and sustainability-focused economic paradigm that has gained momentum in recent years. Innovation ecosystems are the evolving interconnected sets of actors, activities, artefacts, and institutions who are vital to the innovative performances of single actors or actor groups consisting largely of firms in the products and services sector. To develop sustainable CE ecosystems, participating firms need to involve the consumers and users in their innovation processes. The automotive industry is to a large extent an industry in which incorporating customer requirements in product development is critical to success. In addition, growing expectations and growing awareness of environmental issues drive the industry to develop environmentally friendly products. However, CE solutions and, specifically, sustainable tyres have not yet been given due consideration. Likewise, the specific preferences of the end-users of sustainability-focused cars such as electric vehicles (EVs) and users of biofuels are unknown in the CE context so far. Based on the current state of research, this article addresses an important, unexplored topic of product circularity. Being the first article on consumer interests and active contributions to CE automotive products, it also extends the first articles on CE software products. A survey of 168 traditional car owners (no EV/biofuels users), 29 users of biofuels, and 40 EV affine consumers was conducted in Germany to create an empirical foundation for the specification of CE configuration software for sustainable automotive products, particularly sustainable tyres. The results show different preferences among these user groups, but also the importance of other characteristics not captured by the distinction by car ownership. In particular, the perception of climate change and the use of test reports or rating portals were variables that had significant influence on configuration preferences.
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