Chapter 07 · Materials & footprintsLife Cycle Assessment & Product Footprinting
Bio-based content
Definition
Bio-based content is the proportion of a product that is derived from biomass — plants, agricultural residues or other biological sources — rather than fossil resources, expressed either as bio-based carbon content (measured by radiocarbon testing under EN 16785-1 and ASTM D6866) or as bio-based mass content (which includes oxygen and other elements and gives higher figures). Certification marks such as DIN CERTCO's and TÜV Austria's biobased labels communicate verified percentage ranges, and the USDA BioPreferred programme sets minimum content thresholds for its certified product label and federal purchasing preference. Bio-based content is a statement about feedstock origin, not end-of-life behaviour: a bio-based product may not be biodegradable, and a biodegradable product may be fossil-based.
References
ASTM D6866 provides a radiocarbon method for measuring the share of product carbon derived from biomass rather than fossil sources.
USDA's BioPreferred programme uses ASTM D6866 testing to verify and display the biobased content of certified products.
Overview
The overview for this term is being prepared.