Carbon footprint considerations for biocomposite materials for sustainable products A review

Abstract

Bio-based materials have emerged in the last years as an attractive alternative for sustainable products elaboration. Nevertheless the environmental performance of these materials should be quantified through representative and reliable indicators. This study provides a bibliographic review of the environmental considerations regarding bio-based materials. It scope was focused on bio composites as raw material for the elaboration of sustainable products and the application of the carbon footprint as a comprehensive indicator to assess environmental burdens of these products.Following the review, all the major stages of a product life cycle were analyzed in or der to establish the main considerations for a carbon footprint assessment following a case based scenario. In order to validate the impact of the incorporation of bio composites on the development of products, every Carbon footprint evaluation should be reported for each case scenario highlighting the applied variables, the stages boundaries and the carbon quantification used for the study.