New strategic roadmap from BSI on standards and regulations for industrial biotechnology

 
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BSI has published a major new report on industrial biotechnology which looks at the role of standards and regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support green growth.

 
 

The report called Industrial biotechnology report: strategic roadmap for standards and regulations was sponsored by Innovate UK and the Industrial Biotechnology Leadership Forum (IBLF). The ideas presented were based on interviews with 50 stakeholders and an in-depth analysis of the existing standards and regulatory landscape.

The report considers:

  • Which industries offer the greatest potential scope for reductions in GHG emissions over a 3 to 5-year timeframe

  • The blockers that might hold back progress

  • Initiatives and actions that could break through these blockers including the role of standards and regulations

The industries addressed in the report are:

  • Agritech from crop protection, to animal feed and new crop strains

  • Biofuels including increasing the bio component of petrol, diesel and aviation fuels

  • Fine and speciality chemicals as ingredients or building blocks in areas as diverse as washing liquids and skincare products

  • Plastics including bio-based replacements for polyethylene and PET, as well as bio-based and biodegradable products

  • Textiles from speciality textiles to bio-based approaches to the manufacture of dyes and fixing chemicals.

The main blockers identified range from cost and risk, to feedstock availability and the need to raise the public profile of industrial biotechnology.

The report then provides a potential way forward to unlock the growth potential of industrial biotechnology and realise CO2 reductions, with a wide-ranging set of recommendations which are grouped into four “pathways”:

  • Circular resources – including action to boost the visibility and availability of feedstocks that are currently characterised as waste, to reduce landfill and incineration, and to increase the value that can be realised through use of these materials in industrial biotechnology processes and products

  • Communication tools – from a communications strategy to raise the profile of industrial biotechnology and build support, to defining key terminology and characterising materials, through to labelling and life-cycle assessments

  • Informed science-led approach – with a wide range of recommendations on adaptive, evidence-based standards to address specific needs, from plant protection to chemical building blocks and the UKBioChem10, as well as considering the need for consensus on gene editing

  • A supportive level-playing field – covering potential approaches to help industrial biotechnology to compete on a more even basis, from carbon and plastics taxes, to procurement schemes, incentives and funding

 

BSI would welcome your ideas and input on which of the recommendations are most important to take forward first. IBioIC have also been actively contributing to this debate, including by taking part in a webinar hosted by BSI on 8 June to discuss the report’s findings and set this in the context of current industry activities, opportunities and challenges.

You can learn more by taking a look at the report itself which is free to download.

Valerie Evans