How do biobased plastic content targets fit into the bigger picture?

Companies can set multiple layers of internal and external environmental performance goals. Depending on what is most material to their business, they may have goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, waste; or they may have goals to increase circularity, responsible sourcing, community wellbeing, and much more. Specifically, a company may use biobased plastic content to support several of its sustainability goals and to help it move away from virgin, fossil-based inputs, create business opportunities that build resilience in supply chains, and meet customer expectations for improved environmental performance. Leveraging biobased plastic content is one tool companies can use in their sustainability strategies that has measurable benefits to nature and people. But to realize the potential benefits, targets must be well-designed and intentionally integrated into a broader corporate strategy.

Biobased plastic content, and biomaterials more broadly, are an integral part of a bioeconomy where the carbon at the root of many products and systems comes from renewable organic material—like plants, animals, and wastes or residues—rather than from fossil-based resources. Adopting biobased plastic content can be strategic for companies in their operations. For instance, sourcing biobased feedstocks that withstand the impacts of climate change can create more stable supply chains. And increasing biobased content can provide competitive product offerings to customers that want improved environmental performance over virgin fossil-based products and can reduce a company’s exposure to transition risks. Especially when companies responsibly source their biobased plastic content, they can also provide benefits to a much broader landscape—responsibly produced biobased feedstocks can restore soil and water quality, protect critical ecosystems, and improve community livelihoods.

In a bioeconomy, responsible sourcing is crucial, along with striving for cross-industry collaboration and whole lifecycle thinking (see the Bioplastic Feedstock Alliance’s Vision Statement: Aligning Toward a Circular Bioeconomy for discussion on these topics). So, while biobased plastic content offers potential positive impacts to people and nature as well as potential business opportunities, it must be thoughtfully integrated into a corporate strategy to realize those benefits. It is for this reason the BFA recently published its Private Sector Guidance: Setting Biobased Plastic Content Targets—a resource that guides decision-makers through considering the material inputs that biobased content replaces, integrating targets with broader goals, and paying attention to responsible sourcing.

BFA Members leverage their combined experience and knowledge to collaborate on advancing knowledge of bioplastics and their social and environmental impacts. As part of this effort, this latest guidance lays the foundation for setting well-informed, effective biobased plastic content targets and has been developed to support decision-makers with relevant resources and considerations in the corporate sustainability landscape. This Private Sector Guidance outlines common principles, guidance for aligning biobased plastic content to sustainability strategies, and a recommended approach for setting effective biobased plastic content targets.

Establishing alignment in biobased plastic content target setting, even when those targets are set internally, can drive demand for responsibly sourced biobased plastic as actors along the bioplastic value chain are better informed on best practices and have greater confidence in biobased plastic content meeting their environmental performance goals and business needs. This increased certainty can accelerate the adoption of biobased plastic content and eventually lead to economies of scale.

When it comes to setting biobased plastic content targets, important context for decision-making includes considering the reason for adopting biobased content. Following the “Recommended Approach to Biobased Plastic Target Setting” steps will help decision-makers to design well-thought-out targets that are intentionally in line with a company’s strategic action plan. The steps walk users through several considerations that build on each other to inform decision-making:

Recommended Approach to Biobased Plastic Target Setting

1. Understand the materiality of plastic content.
2. Identify desired outcomes.
3. Evaluate how biobased plastic fits with existing sustainability goals. At a minimum, biobased content should be nested under material or packaging goals.
4. Develop and set targets using relevant information.
5. Once set, targets need to be tracked and regularly evaluated.

Access the Bioplastic Feedstock Alliance’s Private Sector Guidance and other resources on the BFA website to learn more about key biobased plastic issues like feedstock selection, biodegradable versus biobased, and land use.