By embedding biotechnology at the heart of industrial processes and products, it can help to support the UK Government's target of doubling the bio-economy to £440 billion by 2030 and contribute to the UK's plan to achieve net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2050.
Much is achievable in 3-5 years that will lay the foundations for the UK’s ability to capitalize on its world-class science and optimize innovation and value from IB as a pivot towards a more sustainable economy, but to do this, best practices must be established.
Industrial biotechnology involves the exploitation of biological resources for the processing and production of enzymes, chemicals, materials, and energy.
It is recognized as a key enabling technology that can contribute to addressing major societal challenges, through the use of sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels for the manufacture of everyday products, as well as for the discovery of breakthrough methods and pathways to achieving entirely new functionalities and performance.
IB has already delivered considerable benefits to the UK through products ranging from antibiotics and vaccines, to biofuels, food and feed, and plastics, as well as through recycling of wastes and reduced energy consumption for the manufacture of chemicals and other materials.
The breadth of products and markets where IB can be deployed is a defining strength, yet IB is seldom recognized by consumers and stakeholders outside its immediate value chains or user markets, due to its status as an underpinning technology than an end product. This profile makes the impact of IB on the UK economy hard to quantify, as it is embedded in the toolkits of manufacturing industries.
Increasingly, IB is set to become part of our daily lives, whether in:
The specialty enzymes used in our food and beverages
The biopharmaceuticals that are increasingly being used to treat a range of illnesses including cancers, arthritis, and dermatological conditions
The alternative raw materials and chemistries in our personal care products, or
The bio-based technologies that sustain our agri-food production chains
To read case studies on the role of industrial biotechnology in different industries, download our whitepaper.
IB is an area of truly transformative opportunity, with far-reaching impacts and benefits.
It has the potential to remodel entire supply chains. It opens a new window to the future for industries where the UK is already strong, such as fine and specialty chemicals, while its disruptive solutions in areas from agri-tech to aviation fuels provide foundations on which innovative new industries can evolve.
Its strategic value also lies in its ability to be deployed across all regions of the UK where there is evidence of the bio-economy, including rural and coastal areas, as a leveller of economic growth. It is no exaggeration to say that industrial biotechnology is poised for expansion that will grow the economy, create high-value jobs, contribute to net-zero targets and deliver new solutions for some of our most pressing global issues. But at the same time, there is a risk of being too easily swept along by a compelling, positive narrative.
The ability of UK IB to capitalize on its position of relative strength and opportunity is no foregone conclusion, as many obstacles still remain. This is where standard development comes in.
While IB-specific standards are currently still in development, there are many standards already in existence that provide best practice frameworks for different aspects that IB stands for.
For example, in contrast to the ‘take, make, dispose of’ model of the linear economy – the circular economy concept looks for materials to be repeatedly recovered and reused for as long as possible. BS 8001 is the standard framework for implementing the principles of the circular economy in organizations.
Effective communication is also a vital part of the toolkit for fostering and giving meaning to game-changing innovation. For industrial biotechnology, this opportunity for traction touches many areas on different levels and for varied reasons - yet despite having a powerful story to tell, communication today remains something of an underutilized asset. Whilst IB-specific standards with regards to communication still require development, BS EN ISO 44001 Collaborative business relationship management can help organizations collaborate on sharing the knowledge and processes required to adopt industrial biotechnology.
Equally at the heart of this communication is the need for agreed-upon iconography – symbols or marks that can be easily interpreted and understood by a diverse range of stakeholders. Guidelines for the use of symbols or logos to communicate environmental benefits are provided by BS EN ISO 14024:2018 Environmental labels and declarations —Type I environmental labelling —Principles and procedures.
For the adoption of Industrial Biotechnology to be successful, there is also a need to develop standard(s) that specifically define how an organization should evaluate a range of waste materials primarily for the purpose of identifying opportunities to manage them as resources that add value inside or outside of the organization.
For example, although the BS EN ISO 14001 Environmental management system standard requires that organizations determine aspects that have significant environmental impacts, there are only brief mentions of identifying opportunities for repurposing waste, and little guidance on how to put that into practice. This type of guidance will enable producers of potentially reusable materials to more quickly identify new ways of identifying value, and confidently incorporate those opportunities into investments and business operations. This also enables them to embed these practices further upstream in their product development process, choice of materials, process design, etc.
Finally, when it comes to achieving carbon neutrality, organizations can use standards BS EN ISO 14040:2006, BS EN ISO 14044:2006, BS EN ISO/TS 14067, and BS EN 16760:2015, which provide guidance on gathering and analyzing the data needed to understand energy and materials consumed in manufacturing a product, along with corresponding GHG emissions.
Whereas PAS 2060 (addressing carbon neutrality) provides guidance on how that data should be used to support, communicate, and maintain a claim of carbon neutrality.
Start your journey into embedding industrial biotechnology best practices into your processes by adding these standards to your collection.
In your compliance-critical industry, ensure you are meeting the industry safety standards. A BSI Knowledge subscription gives you instant access to the resources you need to effectively conduct biotechnology processes within your manufacturing business. Build your own custom collection of standards, or opt for access to one of our pre-built modules and keep up-to-date with any relevant changes to your standards strategy. Request to learn more.