Cefic calls for the introduction of product-level biomass-derived content targets to create market demand and unlock investment in Europe’s bioeconomy, alongside rapid implementation through the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) and the upcoming Biotech Act II.
The bioeconomy is a key pillar of the chemical industry’s industrial transition. However, investment in biomass-derived products is still held back by a lack of clear and predictable market demand.
Biomass-derived products are products wholly or partly made from biomass, covering both bio-based and bio-attributed products*. Product-level biomass-derived content targets would set minimum requirements for the share of biomass-derived content in products placed on the market.
In practice, this means setting a single biomass-derived content target per product or product group, while counting both bio-based and bio-attributed inputs to ensure technology neutrality.
Introducing such targets can create the market pull needed to bring innovative solutions to scale. In its policy proposals to introduce biomass-derived content targets, Cefic recommends:
- Product-level biomass-derived content targets: Create demand certainty and unlock investment by setting minimum content requirements for products placed on the market.
- Incentives and dedicated measures to support emerging value chains facing technological and financial challenges: Such as VAT reductions to be applied for products having a certain minimum share of circular content.
- Clear and workable design: Set targets at product or product-group level, using a technology-neutral approach that counts both bio-based and bio-attributed inputs.
- Targets that are complementary to other carbon measures: Maintain a clear distinction from recycled content and captured carbon targets to ensure a coherent and effective policy framework.
- Predictable regulatory pathway: Establish a gradual ramp-up with milestones to give industry the certainty needed to invest and scale solutions.
- Fast implementation through existing EU tools: Use the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) and the upcoming Biotech Act II to accelerate deployment, harmonise definitions and address policy gaps.
By combining clear product-level targets, supportive incentives and a fast implementation pathway through Biotech Act II and ESPR, Europe can unlock investment, scale its bioeconomy and strengthen industrial competitiveness and resilience.
*Bio-based products are those for which the share of bio-based content can be measured via established radiocarbon methods (14C tracing). These may be fully or partially bio-based. Bio-attributed products are those for which the use of bio-based feedstocks, substituting part of the raw material needed in the manufacturing process, has been attributed to the product via the mass balance method and is certified according to a third-party certification scheme.