Abstract
Bioenergy is an important renewable energy source in the UK, but the bioenergy industry and in particular the wood fuel sub sector, is relatively under-developed. Socioeconomic factors have been identified as critical for facilitating deployment levels and sustainable development. However, previous studies have mostly assessed these factors using quantitative methods and models, which are limited in assessing pertinent contextual factors such as institutional/regulatory governance, supply chain structure and governance, capital resource availability as well as actor decisions. As a step further, this research engages with these under-explored aspects of the system by developing a new analytical framework: the Resilience and Livelihoods in Supply Chains (RELISC) framework, which was designed by linking Value Chain Analysis, the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach and a supply chain resilience framework. Its application to a UK wood fuel supply chain produced useful insights. For example, the structure of the chain revealed a high level of dependency on a particular end user and contractor. Key institutional governance was critical in sustaining natural resources and providing access to finance. Internal supply chain governance was limited in ensuring the sustainability of resources and lack of actor awareness and interest were also limiting factors. In addition, five capital analyses revealed gaps in skills, networking and physical infrastructure. Finally, the design of the novel RELISC framework enables it to engage with diverse aspects of the system holistically and its application generated practical recommendations and strategies for supply chain resilience and sector growth, which are useful and applicable to other emerging sectors.
Highlights
It is recognised that bio-energy has a significant role to play if the UK is to meet its low carbon objectives by 2020 and 2050 [1]
This paper proposes that it is necessary, if not more important, to determine how socioeconomic benefits can be derived and sustained, by shifting from mainly quantification and description to exploring the dynamics underpinning socioeconomic benefits and their impacts on sector growth and resilience
The aim of this paper is to describe the development and application of the Resilience and Livelihoods in Supply Chains (RELISC) framework, designed to engage with factors that have been underexplored in traditional socioeconomic assessment methods
Summary
It is recognised that bio-energy has a significant role to play if the UK is to meet its low carbon objectives by 2020 and 2050 [1]. The UK Government is committed to increasing penetration levels of bioenergy from its current low level of 7.3% of total energy [2]. Several studies have identified social and economic barriers within the wood fuel sector such as lack of cost competiveness; institutional, infrastructural and social constraints; and benefits such as increased income, positive livelihood impacts, job creation and security of energy supply as being critical to its development and resilience [4,5,6,7]. People perceive socioeconomic benefits as more important goals for implementing bioenergy projects than its environmental benefits, possibly because of the immediate and visible impact on their lives and communities [4]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
