BIOINNOVATION STRATEGIC AGENDA 1
- 3 - Photo: Stora Enso Photo: Gabriel Liljevall,
Swedish Forest Industries Federation 3.1 Material Bio-based materials already create great benefits to customers as well as climate benefits. However, there is great development potential through increased substitution and new solutions, not least in large volume areas such as packaging, textiles and composites. The new materials and products that are being developed have to be functional, recyclable and they must have a conscious environmental impact throughout the whole life cycle. PACKAGING Trade in goods is increasing at a furious pace all over the world, creating a growing demand for packaging in which those goods can be delivered. In many ways, packaging is a key part of the value chain for both consumer products and industrial products. How the goods are delivered is of great importance for the product as a whole, both in terms of sustainability and resource efficiency, but also from a marketing perspective. One challenge will be designing the packaging materials and packaging solutions of the future, in order to offer the right functionality in combination with good climate and environmental performance. Plastic packaging is often criticized due to being seen as one of the major sources of littering in nature. Today, around 40 percent of all plastic used in the world goes to packaging.6 From this starting point, there is broad agreement in society about reducing the use of fossil-based plastic. One clear example is the plan for new EU legislation that, among other things, increases demands for reductions in the use of so-called single-use plastics. Recently, the EU also supplemented the directives on packaging and packaging waste with a legislative proposal emphasizing further reduction of landfill, and the need for material recycling. This creates new incentives both for trade operators, and for producers of packaging and packaging materials. One example is ICA, the food retailer, which aims to have packaging in stores made only from bio-based or recycled raw materials, by 2030.7 Taking this kind of stance focuses attention on fibre based and recyclable materials and new combinations of materials, among other things. In turn, this increases the momentum of manufacturers of plastic raw materials to replace fossil building blocks with renewable ones. Going forward, development is about getting the right material, in the right place for the desired function, and to do this in a resource-efficient way that enables efficient recycling. TEXTILES Global demand for textile fibres is increasing rapidly, and by 2050 consumption is expected to have tripled.8 There are many advantages to plastic materials – the price, its barrier properties and moldability – however, they are made from non-renewable raw materials, they release carbon dioxide during combustion and they have a long degradation time in nature. This poses a major societal challenge as the textile and fashion industry is one of the world's most resource-intensive industries. It has great environmental impact in every part of the value chain – from fibre production, manufacturing and processing of materials and products, to transport. In addition to this, material recycling of textiles is also one possible step in the process, but this is almost non-existent today. 10