Sustainable Biomaterials Collaborative co-chair, Jim Kleinshmit, will keynote the Biopolymer World Congress in Italy Monday, April 23, 2012. His talk will be on sustainable sourcing and the concerns about and opportunities for biopolymer feedstocks.
“Biopolymers are valued, in part, for their assumed environmental attributes. Yet if the crops and materials used to make biopolymers are not produced or harvested in a sustainable manner, the sustainability benefits from these new materials are greatly reduced. Using examples from the US and Europe, this presentation will introduce key sustainability concerns with existing and emerging biopolymer feedstocks, discuss current and developing feedstock sustainability initiatives (including IATP’s Working Landscapes Certificates Program, which is working with Stonyfield Farm and Danone-Germany), and identify ways that the biopolymer industry can help support sustainable agriculture in the market and in policy.” – Jim Kleinshmit
