How to get the most out of fungal biotechnology?

Bioengineering textiles across scales for a sustainable circular economy

Fungi have the ability to transform organic materials into a rich and diverse set of useful products and provide distinct opportunities for tackling the urgent challenges before all humans. Fungal biotechnology can advance the transition from our petroleum-based economy into a bio-based circular economy and has the ability to sustainably produce resilient sources of food, feed, chemicals, fuels, textiles, and materials for construction, automotive and transportation industries, for furniture and beyond. Fungal biotechnology offers solutions for securing, stabilizing and enhancing the food supply for a growing human population, while simultaneously lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Fungal biotechnology has, thus, the potential to make a significant contribution to climate change mitigation and meeting the United Nation’s sustainable development goals through the rational improvement of new and established fungal cell factories. The White Paper presented here is the result of the 2nd Think Tank meeting held by the EUROFUNG consortium in Berlin in October 2019. This paper highlights discussions on current opportunities and research challenges in fungal biotechnology and aims to inform scientists, educators, the general public, industrial stakeholders and policymakers about the current fungal biotech revolution.

Digitalization is creating and driving a sustainable data driven production and consumption of materials and energy. The goal of this research was to outline circular economy and employ machine learning algorithms in the industry 4.0-environmental social and governance (ESG) for the bioplastic properties. The paper review sustainability, circular and digital economy and potential of biomasses on bioplastics production, tensile strength and degradation. Sustainability and circular economy are very crucial to adaptation and mitigation of climate change and social-economic responsibilities of the environmental and human health. It was found that most studies covered sustainability, few embed circular and digital economy. It was important to investigate the end-of life of a product, to know its effect to the environment and human health. There were limited studies on bioplastics production with the digital economy. It was discovered that machine learning approaches have the potential to improve quality control and optimization in industrial processes.

As global industrial waste demands rise alongside increasing water scarcity, it becomes imperative to adopt circular economy principles within industrial water management. Traditional linear models of resource use have become unsustainable, demanding systemic transitions toward circular, closed-loop approaches. This paper explores the intersection of circular economy education and industrial water uses by examining how circular economy education and practices can transform industrial water use and improve sustainability outcome. Through case studies and best practices, this research illustrates successful implementations of circular water economy principles, demonstrates the implementation of closed-loop water systems, cascading reuse and zero liquid discharge technologies can reduce freshwater intake in industrial applications and emphasises the role of public-private partnerships in promoting water reuse projects. The paper also addresses the challenges and barriers to implementation, focusing on regulatory issues, resource limitations, and gaps in awareness. It concludes by proposing future directions for integrating circular economy principles into industrial water management and offers policy recommendations to foster circular water economy education. Hence, it contributes qualitative analysis to the growing body of knowledge on sustainable water management practices and provides valuable insights for policymakers and industry professionals seeking to advance circular economy approaches in industrial water use.

Ocean pollution, plastic pollution, loss of biodiversity and climate change is global problems that receive increasing attention and need to be addressed urgently. Policies such as the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals or the EU’s ‘Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy’ show the increasing need for a more responsible handling of materials, products, wastes and residues. Innovative companies react and seek practical solutions that contribute to the development of the bio-based and circular economy. International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) support the circular and bio-based economy by offering a certification that promotes an environmentally, socially and economically sustainable production. The ISCC certification system is used globally for the chemical industry, packaging, industrial applications as well as in the food, feed and bioenergy markets. It provides credible sustainability certification for all types of agricultural and forestry raw materials, waste and residues, non-bio renewables, recycled carbon materials and the respective supply chains and is a leading global certification scheme for the biobased and circular economy. The presentation will offer a deepen overview of the solutions provided by ISCC for credible certification for a sustainable bioeconomy and circular economy. ISCC certification ensures sustainability, certification, feedstock identity and correct on-product claims. Different options for the certification of the supply chains will be presented: physical segregation and mass balance. The applied methods to guarantee that supply chains are deforestation-free will be explained in detail.

Circular Urban Metabolism Framework

PurposeThis paper investigates circular economy communications and stakeholder dialogic engagement with circular economy posts published by European agri-food companies on Twitter from the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. It explores the use of social media as a dialogic tool to activate circular economy engagement in order to involve all supply-chain actors on the route to a circular transition.Design/methodology/approachA coding framework based on the reclassification of the Glossary of Circular Economy, according to a 4-R paradigm (reduce, reuse, recycle and recover), was developed for the analysis. All tweets published by a sample of European agri-food companies, starting from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic until data extraction, were collected, purified and analysed.FindingsAgri-food companies showed a higher level of engagement through social media, even if mainly focused on “recycling” and “general circular economy” issues. In general, awareness among social network users of the need to be part of the circular economy transition emerged. Moreover, the highest percentage of posts published by the companies' Twitter accounts was informative rather than interactive. In addition, starting with the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, the circular economy has arisen as a central topic of debate and a driver for the rethinking process of the agri-food business community.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this research represents the first study focused on circular economy engagement through social media from the company perspective in the agri-food industry.

The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the environmental crisis in which our ecosystem is posed. In this context, the call to reorganize the production and consumption models to implement sustainable economic models is emerging. Accordingly, the Circular Economy paradigm, based on the reduction, reuse and recycling practices, has spurred as one of the best ways to manage this emergency state. The scientific literature has highlighted that, to shift from a traditional linear economic model to a circular economic one, the involvement of the whole supply chain is required, especially in the agri-food sector. In this perspective, the stakeholders’ engagement plays a pivotal role in reaching the global goal. The present research aims to explore the stakeholders’ perception of messages conveyed through social media on circular economy in agri-food, using a coding framework based on the reclassification of the “Glossary of Circular Economy” according to a 4-R paradigm (reduce, reuse, recycle and reduce). In particular, the study analyses the stakeholders’ reactions to Twitter posts focused on agri-food and circular economy from the beginning of the pandemic until now.

The development of biorefineries is the key for access to an integrated production of food, feed, chemicals, materials, goods, fuels and energy of the future. This communication considers an integrated green biorefinery combined with today's production of feed in the green agriculture. Special attention is given to the combination of physical and biotechnological processes for the production of proteins as well as platform chemicals such as lactic acid and lysine. Mass and energy flows (steam and electricity) are given for the biorefining of green biomass to produce platform chemicals, proteins, feed and biogas from residues.

An in-depth analysis of the sugar industry's waste management approaches in the context of the circular economy framework: A comprehensive systematic review.

As societies place greater emphasis on sustainability, there is a move toward creating a circular economy in which renewable resources, such as agriculture and forestry residues, serve as feedstocks in the production of energy and chemicals. One emerging agricultural commodity that may potentially serve as a feedstock for numerous chemicals and materials is cannabis. For most of the last one hundred years the use of cannabis as a biomass feedstock has been all but impossible, due to its legal status. However, over the last 20 years the changing legal status of cannabis has resulted in a large number of studies which have investigated cannabis as a feedstock for diverse bioproducts, including polymers, pulp, and biofuels. Being a relatively new agricultural commodity, the literature on chemicals, fuels, and materials derived from cannabis is spread across numerous disparate disciplines, such as engineering, agriculture, chemistry, and biology. Thus, the purpose of this review is to compile and summarize the relevant studies that illustrate the use of cannabis as a feedstock in the production of chemicals, fuels, and materials as well as to highlight the challenges and possibilities for future research opportunities.

Accelerated population growth, depletion of natural resources, excessive pollution of the environment, which threatens the existence of mankind, was a prerequisite for the emergence of the concept of circular economy and the principles of sustainable development, ie doing business without harm to the environment. The model of circular (circular) economy is aimed at energy saving, regenerative environmentally friendly consumption and production. The article presents the results of the study of the concept of circular economy and the benefits of its implementation based on the experience of the European Union - a global leader in this field. The main goals, priorities and measures of the EU in the implementation of the circular economy are revealed. The basic principles of the circular economy are highlighted, examples of successful use of its business models are given. The two most acute global problems that can be solved only by a closed-loop economy are identified, and forecasts of the results of its global use are given. Closed-loop economics is a concept of resource management that is rapidly gaining global popularity and is recognized in the scientific literature as one of the key drivers for achieving objectives of the Paris Agreement. 30 years have passed since the first mention of the "circularity" of the economy, however only after its official introduction in the EU its popularity has grown rapidly, and world leaders have gradually been realizing its importance for achieving sustainable development. Climate change and depletion of natural resources are the visible negative processes that require the implementation of a circular economy. At the same time, society itself must change – from the choice of raw materials, product development methods and new concepts of service to the widespread use of by-products of one industry as complete raw materials for another. This requires the training of relevant specialists, whose professional activity will be the circular economy.To date, the most significant results in the transition to a circular economy are demonstrated by the European Union (EU), where the European Resource Efficiency Platform, which brings together EU countries, aims to ensure the transition to a circular economy based on reuse and high-quality recycling. Circular economy is a new trend that is seen as an important area of structural reform and aims to raise awareness of the real environmental, energy and socio-economic situation of the world by identifying ideological options for a better understanding of the dilemma of economic growth vs. the environment, optimal ways and more effective tools for solving problems, faced by society. The goal of the circular economy is to ensure, in line with the global CSWs, a shift towards sustainable production and consumption while integrating environmental issues into the adoption process solutions.

The number of decommissioned batteries is increasing worldwide, and this growth also reflects the high demand of traction batteries employed in electric vehicles (EV). Therefore, the option to use second-life batteries from EVs is a global challenge for protecting the environment and promoting circular economy (CE) development. The industrial sector is increasingly implementing the CE principles in their business models to reach more efficient utilization of resources and sustainable businesses. Recent studies focused on the link between CE and climate change, highlighting the potential positive effects of CE eco-innovations on climate change mitigation. The present study aims to promote the transition to a circular open-loop economy for second-life batteries derived from EVs, evaluating the techno-economic performance and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) associated to the integration of a battery energy storage system (BESS), made of spent batteries, serving a ball mill machine in a ceramic manufacturing plant. In particular, the average GHGs derived from the Italian electricity mix, in a midweek day, have been considered, assessing hourly emissions. This innovative approach is particularly suited for analyzing renewable energies intermittency. To this purpose, three different scenarios were modeled: Scenario 1, with no BESS; Scenario 2, with a second-life BESS with power grid support; and Scenario 3, with the second-life BESS combined with a standalone PV system. Results showed how the use or non-use of the BESS involves similar daily emissions (111.94 kgCO2eq and 111.69 kgCO2eq for Scenario 1 and Scenario 2, respectively) and costs (74.69 € and 73.05 € for Scenario 1 and Scenario 2, respectively). On the other hand, the use of green energy from the PV panel (Scenario 3) represents the best option for obtaining significant GHGs reduction and economic savings, decreasing both by approximatively 22% in respect to other scenarios, with an annual saving of approximatively 5,916 €. These outcomes suggest that the investment for a second-life BESS, serving a machine such as the ball mill, would imply economic and environmental benefits, as well as advantages from the grid side, enabling load levelling. As a consequence, governments may promote the use of BESS through incentives and, consequently, reducing the payback period.

The concept of the circular economy has gained traction among scholars, governments, and businesses alike who advocate it as a remedy to the grand sustainability challenges of our time. These challenges include the enormous increase in resource use, waste, and greenhouse gas emissions from increasing production and consumption. Through its linkage with these sustainability challenges, the circular economy concept was transferred to an entirely renewed scale and scope of application within a short period of time. This PhD dissertation responds to calls in the scientific circular economy literature to better conceptualize and measure the circular economy. First, in its new context of application, the circular economy has often been criticized as a melting pot of concepts lacking consensus across scholars and other societal stakeholders. Second, circular economy measurement has thus far mostly been focused on technical aspects of the circular economy, quantitative performance measures and final sustainability impacts, rather than the progress of the transition to a circular economy. As a contribution to circular economy conceptualization, this dissertation synthesizes conceptual foundations of the circular economy into a new circular economy definition and it creates a comprehensive framework of a key circular economy principle, the circular economy value retention options (also called R-strategies). The definition includes the basic principles of circular economy (systems and value retention options), enablers (businesses models and consumers), and aims (sustainable development and an intact resource based for future generations). The framework of circular economy value retention options emerges from a qualitative analysis of 69 academic articles and comprises a 10R hierarchy (R0—Refuse, R1—Reduce, R2—Reuse/Resell, R3—Repair, R4—Refurbish, R5—Remanufacture, R6—Repurpose, R7—Recycle, R8—Recover Energy, R9—Remine). Circular economy measurement in the dissertation focuses on better understanding the circular economy transition in the formative phase through system-oriented measurement of circular economy processes. Two different frameworks are constructed in leaning on the “technological innovation systems” approach and its “seven functions of innovation systems”. The first framework focuses on the analyses of multiple, diverse circular economy solution trajectories emerging in parallel. To assess progress of solution trajectories, the 10R framework is utilized, and two additional innovation system functions are employed (coordination, regime change) to better capture their progress. An empirical mixed-methods study on the “Dutch circular textiles mission” serves to apply the framework. The second system-oriented framework developed is termed “AMOR”. It combines the original seven functions of innovation systems with the “Abilities, Motivations, Opportunities–AMO” framework and the 10Rs framework into a new framework (AMOR) with nine lead indicators. In the dissertation, a macro-level and a micro-level framework are introduced, and results are obtained based on government data from the Netherlands (macro-level) and through corporate sustainability reports from multinational corporations (micro-level). Overall, the dissertation derives advances on the circular economy concept and its measurement combined with empirical insights. It presents further avenues for conceptualization by academics and proposes that practitioners may use the circular economy definition, the 10R framework, and the measurement frameworks as a guideline for circular economy implementation and monitoring.

Ensuring the sustainable development of economic systems requires the introduction of organizational, management and environmentally friendly technologies, as well as innovative business models aimed at reducing the negative impact on the environment. This is in line with the concept of "green growth" proposed by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. As international experience shows, an increase in the level of environmental safety of the national economy can be achieved through the introduction of fundamentally new management tools based on integrated (combination of system, process, situational, functional) approaches, the concepts of "lean" production, sustainable development. The purpose of the paper is to clarify the essence and content of the term "circular economy" on the basis of generalization and systematization of existing conceptual approaches to the definition of this concept. Methodology. The methodological basis of the study are the scientific works of foreign and Ukrainian scientists on the problems of green economy, circular economy and environmental management. The study was conducted using general scientific methods: analysis and synthesis (to generalize the existing conceptual approaches and provisions, scientific developments on the development of circular economy and ecologization of logistic systems, clarification of terminology), classification (to systematize theoretical approaches to the definition of "circular economy" proposed by various scientific schools), structural and logical generalization (to clarify the essence and content of the term "circular economy"). Results. The evolution and preconditions of formation, challenges, and factors of development of circular economy are investigated. Existing scientific approaches to the definition of the concept of "circular economy" are analyzed and summarized, which are conventionally systematized into the following groups: section of economy, paradigm, strategy, model, system, ecological opportunity, recycling technology, tool of "green" economy, and type of economic activity. The term "circular economy" is proposed to be considered from the following positions: as a modern paradigm of development of logistic systems; as a new way of management in the conditions of digital transformations; as a strategic direction of sustainable development; as an economic model based on the technology of industrial waste processing in order to achieve sustainable business models in the national economy. Practical implications. The key goal of the transition to a circular economy is a paradigm shift in logistics, rethinking the value chain and developing new business models that must meet the current requirements and challenges of the global world. The practical significance of the results of the study lies in the possibility of developing recommendations for "green" transformation of logistics systems in a circular economy and regional strategies for industrial waste management in the economic regions of Ukraine, taking into account their specificity. Value/originality. The author's approach to the formulation of the category "circular economy" is theoretically substantiated.