Sibling Projects
PERFECOAT
The pursuit of a climate-neutral Europe and a truly circular economy requires attention to nearly all fields of production if fossil-based materials are to be eliminated. This relates not only to manufactured goods but also to the paints and coatings used to protect them. Of the almost 1 million tonnes of paints and coatings produced in Europe each year, more than 80% are derived from fossil resources. Reducing the impact of these coatings would represent a major advance in Europe’s climate ambitions.
PERFECOAT addresses this challenge by developing and validating a new generation of industrial wood and decorative coatings with significantly more than 25% bio-based components. The project will address three important markets for coatings: high-volume, UV-curable clear coatings; waterborne trim paints for DIY and waterborne wall paints. Generated coatings will reach, and even surpass, the current quality and sustainability standards. Therefore, the project focusses on the development of main bio-based ingredients such as pigments, dyes, fillers, additives and binders using plant material, micro-organisms, fungi and even waste.
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When successful, the PERFECOAT project will provide bio-based coating ingredients from climate-neutral sources and processes. This will help encourage the uptake of sustainable coatings, with a positive impact on the environment, and help mitigate climate change.
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PERFECOAT and CHAMPION share a focus on developing new, high-quality and highly sustainable bio-based materials, with coatings among the intended end-uses. Since the two projects address similar stakeholders, agreements have been made to cooperate in communication and dissemination efforts. These aim to reach a larger audience and increase the impact and value of project communication.
BioReCer: Biological Resources Certifications Schemes
BioReCer aims to ensure the environmental performance and traceability of the biological feedstock used by the bio-based industries, deploying guidelines to strengthen the current certification schemes. Within this approach, the added value, the use, as well as social acceptance of bioproducts will be increased. To fulfil this goal, BioReCer is structured in three main technological pillars: i) to develop a multidimensional assessment framework for the biological feedstocks and their associated supply chains; ii) to create a BioReCer Innovation Ecosystem Living-Lab with a multi-agent approach, testing the framework in four bio-based systems supply chain case studies; and iii) to use all this knowledge to complement current certification schemes including new criteria for certifying the sustainability, origin and traceability of biological resources, and ensuring applicability in the EU and globally. The project involves 16 partners from seven different countries.
3-CO: Concise Consumer Communication through Robust Labels for Bio-based Systems
The aim of the 3-CO project is to develop and demonstrate viability of a supportive framework for Label and Certification Schemes (LCS) on Business-to-Consumers (B to C) communication for industrial bio-based products that enables and supports consumers to make more sustainable buying choices. The supportive framework will consist of: 1) actionable guidelines for LCS owners that reflect consumers’ and other stakeholders’ needs, 2) digital solutions to support better-informed decision-making processes of consumers as well as 3) policy recommendations on deploying social measures.
HARMONITOR
HARMONITOR aims to improve the effectiveness of certification schemes and labels in different sectors of the EU Bioeconomy and strengthen their use as a co-regulation instrument. HARMONITOR’s goal is to promote and contribute to better quality and more trustable certification schemes and labels available in the market. The HARMONITOR project will also establish and test a participative review platform concept that allows certification schemes and labels to find commonalities and cooperation when operating in bio-based value chains within and across EU borders. EU policy makers will also be invited to use and support the concept platform.