Calimero – improving the sustainability of Europe's bio-based industries

The transition to a sustainable and resilient bioeconomy is one of the European Union's top priorities today. Calimero brings together researchers and partners from bio-based industries across Europe to develop proposals for improving sustainability in different sectors. The project is also developing methodologies to evaluate and measure the environmental and sustainability performance of bio-based products.

European industries contribute a substantial share of greenhouse gas emissions and resource consumption within the region. A transition to a sustainable and strong bioeconomy is one of the EU's top priorities today, as reflected in the EU Industrial Policy Strategy, the European Green Deal, the 2030 Climate Action Plan and the Bioeconomy Strategy.

Calimero brings together twelve partners, consisting of researchers and stakeholders from bio-based industries across Europe, to develop proposals that can improve the sustainability of the construction, woodworking, textile, pulp and paper, and biochemical industries. The project will develop several case studies in each sector and propose improvement measures to reduce environmental impacts, as well as a range of other sustainability indicators related to social and economic aspects.

Ground for policies

As part of the EU's environmental and sustainability efforts, the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) methodology, developed by the European Commission, is used to calculate and communicate the environmental footprint of products. A further aim of the Calimero project is to develop the PEF methodology to better account for the evaluation and measurement of the environmental and sustainability performance of bio-based productsfrom a life cycle perspective. Methodologies are being developed, for example, to evaluate the impact on biodiversity, the impact of chemical use, and various socio-economic aspects.

The results from Calimero will form the basis for the formulation of guidelines and policy proposals for decision-makers, industry players and researchers.

Many partners

IVL participates as a research partner and leads several work packages and activities within the project. Other research partners include the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), WeLOOP, Contactica and Neovili. Industry partners include the European Cellulose Insulation Association (ECIA), Cesefor, Techtera, Ereks Garment and Swedish Essity and BIM Kemi.