www.open-bio.eu

Open-Bio Results of the

Business Survey

WP9: Social Acceptance

January 14, 2015

14/01/2015

Open-Bio: Opening bio-based markets via standards, labelling and procurement

Respondents profiles Who answered the survey?

Open-Bio: Opening bio-based markets via standards, labelling and procurement

Respondents profiles (1/5) – Country

• 324 completed questionnaires

• Coverage of 17 EU member states

14/01/2015

Open-Bio: Opening bio-based markets via standards, labelling and procurement

Respondents profiles (2/5) – Organization

• More than 50% are business representatives

• Relatively balanced distribution of firm size

14/01/2015

• 60% of

respondents

active in

production or

purchase of bio-

based products

• All product

groups well-

represented with

particular focus

on bio-plastics

Open-Bio: Opening bio-based markets via standards, labelling and procurement

Respondents profiles (3/5) – Business activities

14/01/2015

Open-Bio: Opening bio-based markets via standards, labelling and procurement

Respondents profiles (4/5) – Bio-based industry involvement

• Higher proportion of respondents with either core activity in bio-

based industry or only marginal involvement

14/01/2015

Open-Bio: Opening bio-based markets via standards, labelling and procurement

Respondents profiles (5/5) – Expertise

• More than 85% claimed to have at least some expertise in bio-

based products

• 66% claimed to have at least some expertise in labelling

14/01/2015

Open-Bio: Opening bio-based markets via standards, labelling and procurement

Acceptance in the business-

to-business market Market Drivers

14/01/2015

Open-Bio: Opening bio-based markets via standards, labelling and procurement

Market Drivers, ranked by average of all responses

14/01/2015

4,13

4,12

3,93

3,85

3,80

3,79

3,78

3,77

3,75

3,73

3,68

3,66

3,64

3,54

3,47

3,45

3,00

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Positive public image

Independence from fossil fuels

Savings in CO2 emissions

Compliance with environmental regulation

Reduced human toxicity

Utilization of waste products

New or added functionality

Recyclability

Potential to source feedstock locally

Improved performance

Potential to attract new customers

Reduction of environmental pollutants (other than CO2)

Energy savings during production

Lower production cost

Biodegradability / compostability

Life-cycle cost savings for buyers (from purchase to disposal)

Willingness to pay green premium

This figure depicts estimated means and standard errors for the entire sample of respondents (horizontal lines) and for each group separately

(circles with vertical bars). Hollow circles indicate group means that significantly differ based on two-sided tests at the 0.05 level in at least one

pairwise comparison. Bonferroni correction is used to adjust p values for multiple comparisons.

Market Drivers – Overview on response patterns based on the

country of the respondents’ work places

Open-Bio: Opening bio-based markets via standards, labelling and procurement

14/01/2015

Open-Bio: Opening bio-based markets via standards, labelling and procurement

Acceptance in the business-

to-business market Market Barriers

14/01/2015

Open-Bio: Opening bio-based markets via standards, labelling and procurement

Market Barriers, ranked by average of all responses

14/01/2015

4,14

3,86

3,79

3,78

3,72

3,71

3,63

3,59

3,51

3,49

3,42

3,38

3,22

3,21

3,09

3,03

3,00

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Higher cost of production

Uncertainty about future regulation

Volatility of feedstock prices

Unsupportive regulatory environment

Low performance or uncertainty regarding performance

Uncertainty about available feedstock quantity and quality

Lack of public awareness about bio-based products

Incompatibility with existing supply arrangementsor high replacement costs

Higher life-cycle costs to buyers (from purchase to disposal)

Difficulty in communicating environmental benefits

Limited local feedstock availability

Uncertainty regarding environmental benefits

Environmental impacts of feedstock production

Incompatibility with existing recycling schemes

Concerns regarding GMOs in feedstock production

Increased ecotoxicity and negative effects on the eco-system

Social impacts of feedstock production

Market Barriers – Overview on response patterns based on the

level of expertise indicated by the respondents

Open-Bio: Opening bio-based markets via standards, labelling and procurement

Y = respondents with expertise in the field of bio-based products, S = respondents with somewhat expertise in the field of bio-based products,

N = respondents without expertise in the field of bio-based products

This figure depicts estimated means and standard errors for the entire sample of respondents (horizontal lines) and for each group separately

(circles with vertical bars). Hollow circles indicate group means that significantly differ based on two-sided tests at the 0.05 level in at least one

pairwise comparison. Bonferroni correction is used to adjust p values for multiple comparisons.

14/01/2015

Open-Bio: Opening bio-based markets via standards, labelling and procurement

Labelling A European label for bio-based products

14/01/2015

4

52

14

15

17

13

73

24

26

29

38

72

58

54

116

114

77

109

114

72

154

45

117

113

82

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

The creation of a European label for bio-based products is importantfor promoting the market for bio-based products.

A European label for bio-based products should only requirecompliance with criteria on bio-based content. Other criteria - if

included - should be optional.

A European label for bio-based products should also requirecompliance with key environmental criteria (in addition to criteria

on bio-based content). Only bio-based products which comply withthe defined environmental criteria should be able to carry the

A European label for bio-based products should also requirecompliance with sustainability criteria related to the bio-based

feedstock used. Only bio-based products which comply with thesesustainability criteria should be able to carry the label.

A European label for bio-based products should be integrated withinthe existing EU Ecolabel.

A European label for bio-based products strongly disagree disagree neutral agree strongly agree

Open-Bio: Opening bio-based markets via standards, labelling and procurement

A European label for bio-based products (1/2)

14/01/2015

Open-Bio: Opening bio-based markets via standards, labelling and procurement

A European label for bio-based products (2/2)

14/01/2015

15

19

27

29

57

17

20

23

33

27

51

50

60

72

76

116

118

113

101

78

121

112

96

84

79

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

… sustainable feedstock production.

… recyclability.

… biodegradability.

… compostability.

… the use of GMO-free feedstock.

A European label for bio-based products should offer optional icons and label features to indicate ...

strongly disagree disagree neutral agree strongly agree

14/01/2015

Open-Bio: Opening bio-based markets via standards, labelling and procurement

This figure depicts estimated means and standard errors for the entire sample of respondents (horizontal lines) and for each group separately (circles with vertical bars). Hollow circles indicate group means that significantly differ based on two-

sided tests at the 0.05 level in at least one pairwise comparison. Bonferroni correction is used to adjust p values for multiple comparisons.

Optional label features – Overview on response patterns based

on the country of the respondents’ work places