Standards play a crucial role in supporting the growth of the bio-based products market. They can help to increase market transparency by providing common reference methods and requirements that enable the verification of claims and certification regarding the bio-based content, biodegradability or environmental sustainability of different products. However, inadequate standards can also act as barriers for certain products. So, what are the current EU standards or other related issues that hamper the growth of bio-based products? STAR4BBI (“Developing standards for bio-based industries”) analysed these barriers and proposed actions towards overcoming these.
The STAR4BBI document Regulation action plan (D4.4) contains specific proposals for regulations that are most in need of revision or demonstrate a high likelihood of adaptation with the ultimate objective of accelerating the transition to a bioeconomy. The report discusses solutions to overcome existing regulatory hurdles across sectors. The aim is to stimulate investments into existing and new value chains, products and applications as well as establish a level playing field for bio-based products. Solutions covered concern respectively:
- Introduce a fossil carbon tax levied on the fossil carbon of fossil resources
- Update of the Compostability standard
- Develop a new policy specific for bio-based materials
- Develop an effective End of Life (EOL) scheme