FAQ procurement

Definition of bio-based products: Bio-based products are manufactured wholly or partly from bio-based resources. These bio-based resources can be directly applied, such as wood for construction, used in new chemical processes, such as starch from potatoes converted into plant-based plastics, or partially replace fossil-based resources in existing processes, such as refining natural oil into plastics. Bio-based products can be identical to existing (fossil-based) products, for example, bio-based polyethylene. Some bio-based products also have unique, specific properties, such as biodegradability or compostability.

Bio-based resources: Bio-based resources include all natural material on Earth that is living or has ever lived, with the exception of fossil-based resources. This includes the biodegradable fraction of products, waste, and residues from agriculture, forestry, fishing, aquaculture and related industries. Although they are formed from plant residues over millions of years, fossil-based resources fall outside this definition because they cannot be renewed quickly enough for practical use.

Renewable resources: Renewable resources are inexhaustible, grow back and can be repeatedly extracted. Examples include wood, cotton and wool. Bio-based plastics are made from renewable resources such as sugar and starch.

Bio-based material groups:

The following is an overview of various bio-based material groups, with some examples of products made from these materials:

• Wood: extracted from forests and individual trees. Some shrubs and plants such as bamboo also count as wood. Wood contains sugars (cellulose) and fibres (lignin). Material applications of wood are well known in practice. Consider the built environment where wood is used for floors, beams, roofs and interior wall finishes. Innovations make it possible to use the cellulose and lignin from wood in chemical applications such as biofuel, bitumen and biopolymers. There are many potential win-win opportunities for bio-based and circular applications by using wood in a high-quality manner. In particular, achieving a low Environmental Cost Indicator (ECI) score and long-term biogenic CO2 sequestration so that it does not enter the atmosphere.
• Natural fibres: Material applications of natural fibres offer a lot of functionality. Fibre structures such as cotton, wool, and hemp fibre, are applied in the construction and textile sectors, with growing use in shoes and clothing. There are already shoes and clothes made from cellulose (wood) fibres, insulation material made from the cotton from old jeans, and paper with fibres from grass or aquatic plants. This often creates a potential win-win situation with residue streams from agriculture or the management and maintenance of green spaces (in the broadest sense of the word) that can be put to valuable use.
• Bioplastics: Natural plastics and hard plastics can be made from certain starch, sugar and protein structures. PLA (made from maize), plant and animal proteins, with recycling and functionality advantages. When plastics (polymers) are made with building blocks (monomers), these smallest building blocks can also be of natural origin (such as biopropene to make biopropylene). The resulting polymer is identical to the fossil-based version but is a bioplastic. This has advantages when it comes to recycling and functionality.
• Natural rubbers: Consist of an organic polymer derived from the rubber tree, a possible alternative to fossil-based rubber in various products. Other components in rubber, such as filler, can also be replaced with a bio-based version.
• Natural oils and fats: Various oils, fats and gases are natural raw materials for bio-based chemicals, biofuels, lubricants and biocomposites. Examples include oils from orange peels and coffee grounds. Large quantities of used cooking oil are converted into biofuels for road and marine transport.
• Biowaste streams: Underutilised residue streams, such as VFG waste, can be converted into green gas or burned for energy production.
• Biocomposites: Mixtures of natural fibres in resin, used in construction, the automotive industry and electronics. Thanks to the material's strength and durability, it can have a big impact on environmental savings compared to products made from traditional fibre-reinforced plastic. The disadvantage is that it is difficult to recycle into its individual components.

These various bio-based material groups offer a wide range of applications, in which choosing to use bio-based materials contributes to a sustainable and circular economy.

Flanders biomass policy:

The bioeconomy has long been a priority for the economic development of Flanders. The Department of Work, Economy, Science, Innovation and& Social Economy (WEWIS) organised an important bioeconomy conference in 2010, during Belgium's EU presidency. In 2011, a civil service network was established under the leadership of WEWIS in collaboration with the Agency for Agriculture and Fisheries. This initiative was later expanded into an interdepartmental working group with the goal of developing a coherent policy for the bioeconomy in Flanders.

On 18 December 2020, the Government of Flanders approved the Bioeconomy Policy Plan. This plan supports and encourages new initiatives in the broader bioeconomy, focusing on (i) innovative biomass production, (ii) synthetic biology and biological prospecting, (iii) technological and chemical transformation of biomass and residue streams, and (iv) supporting technology for bio-based value chains. Read about important and innovative Flanders actors in the bioeconomy in the "Flanders' Bioeconomy" brochure.

The Bioeconomy Working Agenda, under Circular Flanders, specifically focuses on the significant economic potential for bioeconomic activities outside the food and water sectors. The focus is on initiatives for new non-food products and the sustainable valorisation of organic residue and by-product streams. The bioeconomy working agenda focuses on concrete actions for and with businesses to develop clear bioeconomic projects. In collaboration with government and businesses, six major ambitions were formulated that define the main developments for the future bioeconomy in Flanders.

More about bioeconomy

Benefits of bio-based purchasing:

There are various reasons to support the purchase of bio-based products, such as alignment with government policy priorities or expecting specific benefits. Different approaches are possible when promoting bio-based products in purchasing processes for goods, services and/or projects. The focus can rest on criteria related to the product's origin (direct incentive) or on the properties of the product to be purchased (indirect incentive).

Various options are available for promoting bio-based products in purchasing processes. The focus can rest on criteria in connection with the product's origin (direct incentive) or on the properties of the product to be purchased (indirect incentive). What advantages do bio-based products offer versus non-bio alternatives and is this always the case?

When bio-based products have significant functional benefits and the call for tenders is also focused on functional requirements, it quickly becomes attractive for tenderers to offer bio-based products.

Benefits:

• Reduced use and dependency on fossil-based resources: using bio-based resources eliminates the need to use fossil-based resources, preventing their depletion and reducing negative environmental impact.
• Lower CO2 footprint: Bio-based products often have lower carbon dioxide emissions compared to fossil-based products.
• Improved use of residual material: Bio-based production uses residual streams and waste materials, contributing to more efficient resource use.
• Contribution to circular economy: The use of bio-based resources and residual materials fits within the vision of a circular economy, reducing waste streams.
• Driver of innovation: Demand for bio-based products drives innovation, which can lead to improved products, new markets and economic growth.
• Contribution to organisational goals and policies: Sustainable purchasing of bio-based products supports organisational goals and policy objectives, such as rural development and employment promotion.
• Biodegradability or compostability: Some bio-based products are biodegradable or compostable, which has advantages in terms of waste disposal.
• Reduced or no harmful substances: Bio-based products are often less toxic than non-bio alternatives, which benefits the environment and health.
• Lifespan costs (TCO): Despite a potentially higher purchase price, bio-based products often have lower lifespan costs, mainly due to specific properties.
• Product properties: Bio-based products may have improved properties, such as lightness, strength, flexibility and applicability, compared to non-bio alternatives.

More information is available on the fact sheets provided by InnProBio, a European platform for bio-based innovations in public purchasing. The following fact sheets have now been published in English:

• Fact sheet 1: What are bio-based products? This fact sheet describes when a product is considered 'bio based' and from what raw materials and other materials products are made.
• Fact sheet 2: Sustainability of bio-based products. This fact sheet addresses environmental aspects of bio-based resources and the life cycle of bio-based products and how to safeguard this through life cycle assessment (LCA), certificates and labels.
• Fact sheet 3: Myths and facts about biodegradability. This fact sheet covers when and which products are biodegradable and what this means in practice.
• Fact sheet 4: Bio-based products and services in the circular economy.
• Fact Sheet 5: Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).

In the circular economy, bio-based resources are used in a high-quality manner. The need for new raw materials involves replacing fossil-based, critical (scarce) and unsustainably produced raw materials with sustainably produced, renewable and widely available raw materials. This not only increases the future resilience of the economy but also reduces dependency on fossil-based resources. The bio-based economy plays a crucial role in achieving these circular ambitions.

Technical and biological cycles can be distinguished within the circular economy. To be circular, bio-based products should be reusable, recyclable or biodegradable at the end-of-life stage. Setting deliberate requirements regarding circularity in the design phase lays the foundation for this circular approach. Biodegradable bio-based products are incorporated into the biological cycle after use, while they can also sometimes enter the technical cycle (for example, wood or paper recycling, or textiles). Non-biodegradable products become part of the technical cycle and are reused or recycled to the highest quality possible.

In essence, the integration of bio-based and circular principles provides a sustainable path to a resilient, less wasteful economy.

Which rules should governments play by if they want to implement circular purchasing? And how can suppliers best respond to this? Alexander Lemmens, a legal expert with the Flanders government's Agency for Facility Operations, explains this in a webinar.

The webinars can be found in the learning hub

Chances are your organisation or business is facing a lot of questions around sustainability. Like many other businesses, yours may soon have to comply with a lot of European sustainability legislation, and as a buyer, it's best to be aware of it in time. SMEs not yet subject to all these new regulations but that have a lot of larger B2B customers, will notice increased requests from them for supply chain data. It's also useful for buyers in the public sector to know which legal sustainability requirements a lot of businesses will soon have to meet. We conveniently summarise the most important upcoming sustainability legislation for you.

Many new laws that will affect more and more businesses in the coming years are part of the European Green Deal. This is a set of policy initiatives to help the European Union make a sustainable transition - economically, socially and environmentally. The EU countries have committed to be climate neutral by 2050 and to keep the global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius, as agreed in the Paris Climate Agreement. The Green Deal is the strategy by which the EU aims to achieve its 2050 goal and it consists of several components, initiatives and laws. You could say it involves carrots and sticks.

The carrots consist of all the initiatives through which the EU aims to help and support its citizens, businesses and governments to enable the green transition, with the goal of a healthier living environment, more affordable energy, new jobs and a better quality of life. The carrots are the subsidies and funding programmes, while the sticks are the new laws and directives to which businesses will be subject.

• The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)
• The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)
• Ecodesign for Sustainable Product Responsibility (ESPR)
• The Digital Product Passport (DPP)
• Green Claims Directive

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)

Specifically? The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is one of the most important new guidelines. It requires large businesses to report transparently on things such as their carbon dioxide emissions and social capital, as well as the impact they have on biodiversity and human rights within their production chain. Business must collect all this data uniformly, in accordance with the established European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), and report it in a centralised manner analogous to their financial reporting. So your sustainability report becomes just as important as your annual financial report. The law does not require businesses to meet specific targets regarding this, except on one issue: carbon neutrality by 2050.

In addition, the CSRD requests organisations to map the impact of their entire value chain. This means that companies must report on their own sustainability performance and that of their customers and suppliers. Microenterprises and unlisted SMEs currently breathing sighs of relief because the CSRD does not apply to small businesses are, unfortunately, not entirely right. Even though small businesses are not required to submit this annual report, many will be affected by it. For example, if an SME is a supplier to a large business that falls under the new directive, that large business will also ask the SME to make its environmental data or social parameters more transparent. Some examples of requests you may receive:

• Provide a detailed calculation of your carbon dioxide emissions across your entire value chain.
• Prove that your supplier in Bangladesh does not use child labour in its production processes.
• Prove that you do not use harmful or prohibited substances in your products entering the European market.

Large businesses will have to disclose this kind of information to communicate transparently throughout their entire production chain. Even smaller businesses that want to keep up with "the major players" would do well to voluntarily investigate their impact on people and the environment, to the extent possible.

Who does this law apply to? The CSRD has been in effect since January 2024 for publicly traded businesses that are required to publish their first integrated report in 2025. As of 2026, large, unlisted and later certain non-European businesses (those with a specific turnover in Europe) will also have to comply with the CSRD. For informational purposes, a business is considered "large" if it meets two of the following three criteria: more than 250 employees; more than EUR 50 million in annual turnover; more than EUR 20 million in net assets on the balance sheet.

The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)

Specifically? The CSDDD is a directive that will impose "chain management obligations" (or "due diligence obligations") on a large group of businesses regarding their production chain. Among other things, businesses will soon be required to investigate the negative sustainability impacts they and other parties in their production chain cause. They must then seek to prevent, mitigate, minimise and/or eliminate those potential negative impacts.

Who does this law apply to? This directive applies to European and non-European businesses with more than a thousand employees and a turnover of more than EUR 300 million. Businesses with more than five thousand employees will have three years from the final vote in Parliament (April 2024) to get their due diligence practice in place. Businesses with three thousand employees must have their chain management plan in place within four years, while businesses with a thousand employees must have this in place within five years. As with the CSRD, the impact of this law will also be felt by SMEs and microenterprises. Those wondering what the link is between the CSDDD and the CSRD - two similar acronyms - should consider the CSDDD as the directive that asks you to take the necessary actions to investigate, mitigate and follow up on risks in your supply chain. The CSRD requires you to report on this policy, the underlying processes and the actions.

Ecodesign for Sustainable Product Responsibility (ESPR)

The ESPR Directive is a set of sustainability and circularity requirements for products placed on the European market.

Specifically? The new legislation calls for virtually all consumer products to become more sustainable, reliable, reusable, repairable, easier to maintain, recyclable and more energy and resource efficient. As such, the new legislation goes far beyond the current directives that are mainly limited to product energy consumption. Among other things, this means that manufacturers must start working with "ecodesign" and, as early as the design process, think more carefully about how a product can be designed as ecologically as possible. For example, by providing software updates, components and accessories so that products become obsolete less quickly. Or by ensuring that products are easier to repair and providing consumers with guidelines on this. One very important aspect is that ESPR must also ensure that the burning and destruction of unsold products such as textiles and electrical equipment will soon be prohibited. This is about the transition to a circular economy.

Who does this law apply to? It is not yet known exactly when this law will enter into effect, but the new legislation is expected to eventually apply to virtually all consumer-oriented products and sectors. Sectors that consume a lot of raw materials will have to implement it sooner. This involves businesses that distribute the following products on the European market: packaging, textiles, tyres, electronic equipment, chemicals, furniture, construction and steel.

The Digital Product Passport (DPP)

The DPP includes regulations consistent with the above directive on ecodesign and the circular economy.

Specifically? In the coming years, European regulatory framework will require all businesses to provide digital passports for their products. This gives consumers and waste handlers answers to questions such as: What's in this product? Where do the raw materials used originate? How was it produced? Where can I hand it in after use? All the information about raw materials used, processes and components of a product should ultimately make it easier to reuse a product or recycle the materials as best as possible. This is important information when all waste streams will soon have to remain within Europe and discarded textiles or plastics can no longer be shipped to countries outside Europe, as is now the case.

Who does this law apply to? To virtually all businesses. Products in the battery, textile and electronics categories will have to get started with the digital passport first.

Green Claims Directive

Currently still in the draft stage, this directive will determine how brands and businesses will be allowed to communicate about sustainability in the future.

Specifically? The law will ensure that greenwashing will be prohibited and punished. European Commission research found that 53% of the "green claims" or "green statements" made by businesses are too vague, or even misleading, and not independently substantiated. In the future, brands that claim to make products from more environmentally friendly materials, such as recycled PET bottles or organic cotton, will have to be able to prove such claims. So this new legislation is relevant not only to the marketing department, but also to you as a buyer, who must be able to prove and substantiate the sustainability of purchased materials. Europe thereby wants to combat a proliferation of sustainability labels and better inform consumers.

Who does this law apply to? To all businesses operating in the EU consumer market.