As the solid waste management crisis is growing in its urgency, humanitarian aid practitioners are faced with the question of how to manage environmental challenges linked with aid that is being shipped across various humanitarian settings. One of the sound solutions how to address this challenge is to open up a streamline of cooperation between humanitarian aid operators and the bio-based sector allowing them to explore the application potential of bio-based products, systems, and innovative technological solutions. Bio4HUMAN aims to contribute to the identification of bio-based solutions for solid waste management that have the potential to be applicable in various humanitarian settings. To achieve this goal, Bio4HUMAN will conduct a scoping exercise that will come up with a list of solutions but also identify existing supply chain gaps. Following that, it performs life cycle assessments of the proposed solutions and evaluates their applicability with regard to socio-economic and governance aspects. To explore if solutions fit the purpose of key solid waste management stakeholders and to explore the possibility of their acceptance by the community, local businesses, and local authorities, Bio4HUMAN conducts a feasibility evaluation process in 2 African locations. Simultaneously, the project will develop a replication roadmap that will contribute to the future replicability of the solutions identified. Altogether, all of the Bio4HUMANs actions will help to improve ways of addressing waste management challenges under humanitarian contexts and to the reduction of waste littered in the environment. In the long run, Bio4HUMAN is expected to contribute to the development of innovative and sustainable value chains that will benefit consumers and citizens in Europe and beyond.

Climate crisis and unsustainable development increasingly threaten Europe’s tangible cultural heritage (CH), yet environmentally hazardous chemicals persist in CH conservation practice. The Sustainable Development Goals of the EU’s Green Deal vision call for change in CH conservation, but cannot be implemented without effective and affordable green alternatives. Soiling and deposition of carbon-based contaminants (CBC) such as fine particulate pollution, smoke and vandalism all increasingly present formidable challenges to conservators, and are an emerging threat to CH because of the inherent vulnerability of CH surfaces created with unconventional materials and studio practices. Existing CH cleaning methods require toxic solvents, physical contact and water, which can damage many sensitive CH materials, and conservators, equipped with only conventional means, now encounter fragile and untreatable CH where soiling cannot be removed at all. MOXY aims to redefine the paradigm in cleaning methodology towards an eco-conscious approach by creating a transformative green, non-contact technology based on atomic oxygen (AO) to selectively remove CBCs from surfaces that are otherwise untreatable. AO cleaning methodology is a selective, non-mechanical and liquid-free cleaning action, without health or environmental risks, residues or waste. By leveraging a sophisticated yet simple technology, MOXY will enable practitioners to achieve unprecedented results that are green, safer and more effective. To achieve its goals, MOXY will bring together expertise from plasma physics, conservation science, sustainability science, and conservators to conduct a novel investigation of the physical and chemical aspects of AO generation and flux to develop a proof-of-concept AO system, test the viability of AO technology for diverse CH materials, and roadmap AO innovation, to propel AO technology to the bench practice in CH conservation and beyond, with its full potential yet to be realized.

BIOARC connects the agricultural and construction sector by developing high-performance bio-based building materials from agricultural by-products. Bacteria are included as co-creators through a biomineralization process, to develop lightweight, fire-resistant products – such as insulation boards, construction panels, acoustic panels, and partition walls. To ensure global scalability, the project will leverage regionally available resources like rice, wheat, sunflower, and hops, which are widely accessible not only in the EU but also in other parts of the world. By standardizing production processes and rigorously assessing the structural, thermal, acoustic, health-related, and durability properties of the materials, the project ensures consistent quality, performance and validating them in real-world construction environments. The project takes a bioregional approach, collaborating closely with local communities, farmers, craftsmen, and industries to develop local value chains that reduce carbon emissions and promote circular economy principles. By connecting stakeholders across four European bioregions, the project integrates a participatory design process, ensuring that the developed materials are not only environmentally sustainable but also culturally embedded and economically viable. The project engages with the NEB hub for results and impacts, as well as contributing to regenerative design principles in the construction sector. BIOARC aims to provide scalable, cost-effective, and high-performance materials, while supporting local economies and promoting resilience against environmental and economic changes.

European industries remain a significant source of pollution (51% of GHG emissions), with unsustainable production processes impacting adversely on climate change, natural resources availability, air/water/soil quality, ecosystems services and biodiversity. Thus, a transition to a sustainable and strong bioeconomy is one of the European main priorities as part of the EU Industrial Policy Strategy, the European Green Deal, the 2030 Climate Target Plan and the Bioeconomy strategy. CALIMERO will analyse bio-based sectors industrial case studies provided by partners (construction (ECIA), woodworking (CESEFOR), textiles (TECHTERA, EREKS), pulp & paper (ESSITY) and biochemicals (BIMKEMI)) to find feasible solutions to improve their environmental performance while considering also economic and social aspects. A deep analysis and improvement of the bio-based sectors sustainability performance by sustainability experts (CTA, WELOOP, LIST, IVL NEOVILI), followed by the simulation and modelling of relevant case studies through bio-engineering expertise (DTU) will be conducted to improve current Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment methodologies, based on the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) guide. To that end, missing characterization factors to assess biodiversity loss, impacts to ecosystem services and toxicity effects of sector-specific substances will be developed. The allocation methods of biotic circular systems will also be improved and the time dimension for lifecycle carbon footprint assessment will be considered. Material criticality and socio-economic indicators will also be included to cover the three pillars of sustainability. The improved methodology will be applied via a Multi Objective Optimization framework that will optimize industrial simulations with sustainability criteria. Finally, guidelines and recommendations addressed to industry, policy makers and scientific community will be developed for industrial sustainable development and monitoring.