Stichnothe Heinz
Thünen-Institute of Agricultural Technology, Bundesallee 50, 38116, Braunschweig, Germany.
Adv Biochem Eng Biotechnol. 2019;166:519-539. doi: 10.1007/10_2016_71.
The long-term substitution of fossil resources can only be achieved through a bio-based economy, with biorefineries and bio-based products playing a major role. However, it is important to assess the implications of the transition to a bio-based economy. Life cycle-based sustainability assessment is probably the most suitable approach to quantify impacts and to identify trade-offs at multiple levels. The extended utilisation of biomass can cause land use change and affect food security of the most vulnerable people throughout the world. Although this is mainly a political issue and governments should be responsible, the responsibility is shifted to companies producing biofuels and other bio-based products. Organic wastes and lignocellulosic biomass are considered to be the preferred feedstock for the production of bio-based products. However, it is unlikely that a bio-based economy can rely only on organic wastes and lignocellulosic biomass.It is crucial to identify potential problems related to socio-economic and environmental issues. Currently there are many approaches to the sustainability of bio-based products, both quantitative and qualitative. However, results of different calculation methods are not necessarily comparable and can cause confusion among decision-makers, stakeholders and the public.Hence, a harmonised, globally agreed approach would be the best solution to secure sustainable biomass/biofuels/bio-based chemicals production and trade, and to avoid indirect effects (e.g. indirect land use change). However, there is still a long way to go.Generally, the selection of suitable indicators that serve the purpose of sustainability assessment is very context-specific. Therefore, it is recommended to use a flexible and modular approach that can be adapted to various purposes. A conceptual model for the selection of sustainability indicators is provided that facilitates identifying suitable sustainability indicators based on relevance and significance in a given context.
化石资源的长期替代只能通过生物基经济来实现，生物精炼厂和生物基产品将发挥主要作用。然而，评估向生物基经济转型的影响非常重要。基于生命周期的可持续性评估可能是量化影响并识别多个层面权衡取舍的最合适方法。生物质的广泛利用可能导致土地利用变化，并影响全球最脆弱人群的粮食安全。尽管这主要是一个政治问题，政府应承担责任，但责任却转移到了生产生物燃料和其他生物基产品的公司身上。有机废物和木质纤维素生物质被认为是生产生物基产品的首选原料。然而，生物基经济不太可能仅依赖有机废物和木质纤维素生物质。识别与社会经济和环境问题相关的潜在问题至关重要。目前，对于生物基产品的可持续性有许多定量和定性的方法。然而，不同计算方法的结果不一定具有可比性，可能会在决策者、利益相关者和公众中造成困惑。因此，一种统一的、全球公认的方法将是确保生物质/生物燃料/生物基化学品可持续生产和贸易以及避免间接影响（如间接土地利用变化）的最佳解决方案。然而，仍有很长的路要走。一般来说，选择适合可持续性评估目的的指标非常依赖具体情况。因此，建议采用一种灵活的模块化方法，该方法可以适应各种目的。本文提供了一个可持续性指标选择的概念模型，有助于根据给定背景下的相关性和重要性识别合适的可持续性指标。
