The potential of emerging bio-based products to reduce environmental impacts

Emma A. R. Zuiderveen (), Koen J. J. Kuipers, Carla Caldeira (), Steef V. Hanssen, Mitchell K. Hulst, Melinda M. J. Jonge, Anestis Vlysidis, Rosalie Zelm, Serenella Sala () and Mark A. J. Huijbregts
Additional contact information
Emma A. R. Zuiderveen: Radboud University
Koen J. J. Kuipers: Radboud University
Carla Caldeira: European Commission, Joint Research Centre
Steef V. Hanssen: Radboud University
Mitchell K. Hulst: Radboud University
Melinda M. J. Jonge: Radboud University
Anestis Vlysidis: European Commission, Joint Research Centre
Rosalie Zelm: Radboud University
Serenella Sala: European Commission, Joint Research Centre
Mark A. J. Huijbregts: Radboud University

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract The current debate on the sustainability of bio-based products questions the environmental benefits of replacing fossil- by bio-resources. Here, we analyze the environmental trade-offs of 98 emerging bio-based materials compared to their fossil counterparts, reported in 130 studies. Although greenhouse gas life cycle emissions for emerging bio-based products are on average 45% lower (−52 to −37%; 95% confidence interval), we found a large variation between individual bio-based products with none of them reaching net-zero emissions. Grouped in product categories, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions ranged from 19% (−52 to 35%) for bioadhesives to 73% (−84 to −54%) for biorefinery products. In terms of other environmental impacts, we found evidence for an increase in eutrophication (369%; 163 to 737%), indicating that environmental trade-offs should not be overlooked. Our findings imply that the environmental sustainability of bio-based products should be evaluated on an individual product basis and that more radical product developments are required to reach climate-neutral targets.

Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-43797-9 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-43797-9

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43797-9

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().