Incorporating stakeholders' views is crucial for developing feasible solutions
BIO-PLASTICS EUROPE is developing robust solutions which are based on science and also on the expertise and insights from key stakeholders. To this end, the project is implementing an over-encompassing stakeholder engagement approach, which is the topic of this final post in this project newsletter series.
By Karolina Niemenoja, PI, Belgium
Photo by Zen Chung from Pexels
“We believe this is the only way to achieve our goal of developing sustainable strategies for bio-based products”, says Karolina Niemenoja, Junior consultant at Prospex Institute (PI). A recent example of successful stakeholder engagement were the stakeholder workshops ran in February 2021 by Prospex Institute, in close collaboration with Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU). During these interactive sessions, key representatives from various stakeholder groups had the opportunity to participate in the development of the safety protocol for bio-based biodegradable plastics. This safety protocol, which is currently being developed by MMU, could become a signposting document or platform to existing standards, regulations and directives within the industry. It will help both established players and companies that are new to the bio-based plastics sector keep up to date with evolving regulations and understand their obligations regarding human health and environmental safety.
In order to present the work done so far by MMU on the safety protocol and to gather feedback from across the bio-based plastics value chain, a set of two workshop sessions were facilitated online. The first session gathered manufacturers and industry associations, whereas the second session focused on downstream players, that is, consumer associations as well as end-of-life and waste management companies.
The workshops resulted in extremely insightful discussions, which will further guide the development of the safety protocol. To ensure the continuity of the stakeholder engagement, a third workshop will take place in May 2021 to further build on the outcomes of these first two, gathering players from across the entire bio-based plastics value chain.
With this, the 18-month update on the project comes to an end. For updated information on project activities, visit our events page and follow us on social media channels, which are linked throughout this website. The next newsletter will be released in September 2021. Until then and stay healthy!
