Monday 2 December 2024 – BB-REG-NET, the UK’s first regulatory science network for bio-based and biodegradable materials, launches today following a £474,135 award from Innovate UK. The network will bring together stakeholders from across industry, academia, and government to accelerate the adoption of sustainable chemicals and materials in the UK market.

The 12-month implementation phase follows a successful six-month discovery period that engaged with over 180 individuals and 100 organisations to identify key barriers preventing wider adoption of sustainable chemicals and materials in the UK market.

Manufactured chemicals are in everything we use in our daily lives – plastics, food, textiles, energy, batteries, defence products, mobile phones, and medicines. They are vital to our food security, the clothes we wear, heating our homes, affording national security, enabling communications, and delivering treatments for diseases.

Today, almost all chemicals are manufactured from fossil oil-and-gas, and are responsible for ~10% of Global-Greenhouse-Gas-Emissions.

As global temperatures continue to rise, the drive towards a more environmentally friendly economy is not an option; it is a necessity. We simply cannot afford to keep digging up fossil resources and releasing more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.BB-REG-NET brings together leading experts from academia, industry and government to develop new tools, standards and approaches for evaluating bio-based chemicals and materials. The network aims to facilitate evidence-based policy making and create a more supportive regulatory environment for sustainable alternatives to fossil-based materials.

Dr Jen Vanderhoven, Chief Operating Officer at BBIA and Project Lead for BB-REG-NET, said: “The development of a regulatory science network for bio-based and biodegradable materials is crucial to overcoming existing barriers to their widespread adoption. Current challenges include inconsistent policy and regulatory frameworks, standardardisation challenges, and a consumer confusion. These issues hinder innovation and market acceptance, placing bio-based chemicals and materials at a disadvantage compared to fossil-based incumbents.

“BB-REG-NET will establish a network of key stakeholders, with the aim of developing new tools, standards and approaches to evaluate the quality, performance and environmental and economic impact of Bio-based, biodegradable and compostable chemicals and materials, to assess benefit-risk and facilitate sound and transparent regulatory decision-making. We hope this will enable a truly circular bioeconomy and reducing reliance on fossil resources.”

Rachael Rothman, Professor of Sustainable Chemical Engineering & Academic Lead for Sustainability at the University of Sheffield added: “BB-REG-NET will bring together industry, academia, policy makers and regulators with a shared goal of developing, assessing and bringing to market the bio-based supply chains needed for a sustainable future. Through collaboration across sectors, we will develop guidelines to help harmonise the assessment of bio-based and biodegradable materials, and in particular to ensure fair, forward looking comparisons with fossil counterparts.”

Professor Paul Freemont is co-director of the UK Innovation and Knowledge Centre SynbiCITE  at Imperial College said: “”This programme is a hugely important development for the UK Bio-based materials industry as it allows direct engagement between companies, academics, policy makers and government to ensure that the UK is at the forefront of developing responsive regulatory frameworks for new bio-products and materials.”

Clare Walker, Head of Global Regulations and Product Safety, Holiferm: “The establishment of the UK Bio-based Materials Regulatory Network (BB-REG-NET) provides a much-needed opportunity to address the barriers preventing the adoption of more sustainable chemicals in the UK. Through the true collaboration this network offers, we can create a clear regulatory path to market for sustainable materials, accelerating our transition away from fossil-based materials.”

The initiative comes at a crucial time as the UK chemicals industry aims to source 30% of its carbon feedstock from biomass by 2050, potentially contributing £204 billion in annual revenue to the UK economy. The manufacture of just 15 biochemicals could deliver 5.2 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gas savings and £1.6 billion annually to the UK economy.

BB-REG-NET will operate through six specialised working groups focusing on:

– Circular bioeconomy

– Environmental impact assessment

– Economic impact analysis

– Market acceptance and consumer understanding

The network will be supported by an advisory board comprising leading experts from industry, academia and regulatory bodies. Working groups will begin activities in December 2024, with the first major deliverables expected in early 2025.

BB-REG-NET will host a free=to-register online launch event on Monday 9 December 2024 from 3-4pm GMT. The event will introduce the BB-REG-NET team, outline the network’s aims and working groups, and explain how organisations can get involved.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

About BB-REG-NET:

The Bio-based and Biodegradable materials REGulatory NETwork (BB-REG-NET) is the UK’s first regulatory science network dedicated to bio-based and biodegradable materials. The initiative is led by the Bio-based and Biodegradable Industries Association (BBIA) in partnership with the University of Sheffield, NNFCC, Perspective Economics, Higginson Strategy, and Resource Media.

Advisory Board Members:

Paul Mines (Chair), CEO, Biome Plastics

Tony Breton, Market Specialist, Novamont

Professor Paul Freemont, Imperial College London

Dr Mark Corbett, Director, Biorenewables Development Centre

Clare Walker, Head of Global Regulations and Product Safety, Holiferm

Emily Nichols, Technical Director, REA

William Clark, Forestry Transport and Innovation, Forestry Commission

Max Ryadnov, Biometrology Research Lead, NPL

Adam Herriott, Senior Specialist, WRAP

Alex Smith, Director of Biotechnology, CPI

Emily Field, Sector Lead, British Standards Institute

Additional Information:

Today, chemicals are integral to everything we use in daily lives – from food and textiles to energy, batteries, defence products, mobile phones and medicines – ensuring food security, providing clothing, heating homes, enabling communications and delivering medical treatments. Almost all of these chemicals are currently made from fossil oil and gas, accounting for approximately 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions (Source: DESNZ, 2024).

By 2050, the UK chemicals industry is projected to double in size while significantly reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by sourcing 80% of its carbon requirements from non-virgin fossil, sustainable carbon sources (Source: Innovate UK, 2024).

For further information visit: bb-reg-net.org.uk or contact jen.vanderhoven@bbia.org.uk