The Application of Biotechnology to Industrial Sustainability – a Primer

Special thanks are due to Dr. Mike Griffiths (OECD Consultant) as well as to those who contributed to the case studies set out in the publication on which the primer is based. Biotechnology provides tools for adapting and modifying the biological organisms, products, processes and systems found in nature to develop processes that are eco-efficient and products that are not only more profitable but also more environment-friendly. It is also providing an increasing range of tools for industry to continue improving cost and environmental performance beyond what could normally be achieved using conventional chemical technologies. Biotechnology is proving its worth as a technology that can contribute to sustainable industrial development. The OECD has collected and analysed case studies 1 of the application of biotechnology in such diverse sectors as chemicals, plastics, food processing, textiles, pulp and paper, mining, metal refining and energy. The case studies show that biotechnology can not only reduce costs but also reduce the environmental footprint for a given level of production. In some cases, capital and operating costs decreased by 10-50%. In others, energy and water use decreased 10-80% while the use of petrochemical solvents was reduced by 90% or eliminated completely. In a number of cases, biotechnology enabled development of new products whose properties, cost and environmental performance could not be achieved using conventional chemical processes or petroleum as a feedstock. Worldwide , there is growing appreciation that the management and utilisation of natural resources need to be improved. The amounts of waste and pollution generated by human activity must be reduced on a large scale. There is realisation that making industry more sustainable can provide the means of reducing environmental impacts or even improving the environment while yielding goods and services that can provide jobs, reduce poverty and improve the quality of life for a growing world population. Developing a sustainable bio-based economy that uses eco-efficient bio-processes and renewable bio-resources is one of the key strategic challenges for the 21 st century. Improved understanding of biodiversity, ecology, biology and biotechnology is making it possible both sustainably to increase biomass productivity in forestry and agriculture as well as to utilise that biomass and waste organic materials in a highly efficient and sustainable manner. Without such advances in science and technology, the move to a more bio-based economy would result in rapid depletion of renewable resources and environmental degradation. A more bio-based economy offers hope both …