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ONORM EN 16751:2016
Bio-based products - Sustainability criteria (Austrian Standard)
Bio-based products from forestry and agriculture have a long history of application, such as paper, board and various chemicals and materials. The last decades have seen the emergence of new bio-based products in the market. Some of the reasons for this increased interest lie in the bio-based products benefits in relation to the depletion of fossil resources and climate change. Bio-based products may also provide additional product functionalities. This has triggered a wave of innovation with the development of knowledge and technologies allowing new transformation processes and product development. Acknowledging the need for common standards for bio-based products, the European Commission issued mandate M/4921, resulting in a series of standards developed by CEN/TC 411, with a focus on bio-based products other than food, feed and biomass for energy applications. This European Standard sets horizontal sustainability criteria applicable to the bio-based part of all bio-based products, excluding food, feed and energy, covering all three pillars of sustainability; environmental, social and economic aspects. If the product is partly bio-based, this European Standard can only be used for the bio-based part since it does not address non-bio-based (fossil, mineral) parts of a product. This European Standard can be used for two applications; either to provide sustainability information about the biomass production only or to provide sustainability information in the supply chain for the bio-based part of the bio-based product. This European Standard sets a framework to provide information on management of sustainability aspects. This European Standard cannot be used to make claims that operations or products are sustainable since it does not establish thresholds or limits. This European Standard can however be used for business-to-business (B2B) communication or for developing product specific standards and certification schemes.
Austrian Standards Institute [on]