Sustainability and Life Cycle Assessment in Industrial Biotechnology: A Review of Current Approaches and Future Needs.

Sustainability and Life Cycle Assessment in Industrial Biotechnology: A Review of Current Approaches and Future Needs. Adv Biochem Eng Biotechnol. 2020 Mar 30;: Authors: Fröhling M, Hiete M Abstract The development and implementation of industrial biotechnology (IB) is associated with high expectations for reductions of environmental impacts and risks, particularly in terms of climate change and fossil resource depletion, positive socioeconomic effects, hopes for new competitive products and processes, and development in rural areas. However, not all products and processes are really advantageous with regard to sustainability criteria, and not all are economically successful and accepted by stakeholders. Sustainability and life cycle assessment can play an important role to assess IB products and processes, often accompanying development processes from the early stages onwards. Such assessments can identify key factors regarding sustainability criteria, enable a determination of both product and process performance, or aid in prospectively estimating such performance and its consequences. Thus, development processes, investment decisions, policymaking, and the communication with stakeholders can be supported. This contribution reviews the field of sustainability and life cycle assessment in IB. We explore relevant literature from a methodical and application perspective and categorise suitable methodologies, methods, and tools. We c...
Source: Advances in Biochemical Engineering Biotechnology - Category: Biotechnology Authors: Tags: Adv Biochem Eng Biotechnol Source Type: research