Policy

EuBP Brussels conference at European Parliament (September 2011) © F. Debatty

European economies are confronted by several challenges at the start of the 21st century. Faced with new global challenges and increasing competition from around the world, wealth, growth and employment have to be secured over the long term. At the same time, solutions must be found for urgent environmental problems such as climate change. The increasing scarcity of crude oil and other finite, non-renewable resources calls for additional innovation, and the development and usage of new products that utilise sources of resources not previously incorporated into industry. The EU economy, with its nature to export, is dependent on imported resources that will continue to become more expensive in the foreseeable future.

A political and economical framework plays a central role in the market penetration of products from biobased plastics. For this reason, the EU Commission has already intensively taken on the subject of biobased products during its Lead Markets Initiative. Biobased plastics were identified during this process as one of the most important markets for potential growth.

The Commission determined biobased products to be of high societal and economic interest due to several positive factors:

• Use of renewable and expandable resources
• Less dependency on limited and increasingly expensive fossil resources
• The potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• The potential for sustainable industrial production
• Potentially better recovery and recycling options
• Often low toxicity
• Often high biodegradability or compostability
• Less resource-intensive production (water, energy, waste)
• Potentially improved population health
• Support of rural development
• Increased industrial competitiveness through innovative eco-efficient biobased products

These advantages, however, can only be realised with unlimited political support.