Mind the Gap: The Methodological Issues in Biobased Product LCAs and their Relevance to European Policy. Main Findings of the ULTRA-BIO Project

The circular bioeconomy plays an essential role in Europe’s climate and sustainability agenda, as reflected in numerous legislative developments and the forthcoming European Unions’ (EU) Bioeconomy Strategy. Biobased products are therefore increasingly promoted. To assess the environmental performance of biobased products, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a common tool. However, several methodological issues arise when applying LCA to biobased products, compromising the harmonization, transparency, and integrity of LCA results. This research aimed to identify the most relevant methodological challenges from stakeholders’ perspective, to map those issues to the core regulatory and standardization documents for biobased products and ultimately to propose a holistic framework to address these challenges in a consistent manner.