As STAR4BBS approached its conclusion, we are proud to share the results of three years of collaborative research, stakeholder engagement, and policy dialogue. Together with our sister projects HARMONITOR and SUSTCERT4BIOBASED, STAR4BBS contributed to advancing sustainability certification schemes and labels (CSLs) for the bio-based economy, building knowledge, tools, and recommendations that will support both policymakers and market actors in the years ahead. 

A key highlight of our final activities has been the BIOBASEDCERT Cluster Final Conference (May 2025, Brussels), co-organised by the three sister projects. The event gathered more than 80 stakeholders from academia, industry, certification bodies, and policy institutions. Participants discussed the role of certification in EU sustainability governance, the potential of the BIOBASEDCERT Monitoring Tool (BMT) as a co-regulatory instrument, and strategies to enhance credibility and uptake of certification across Europe.

Interactive sessions, including Mentimeter polls, provided direct input for joint policy recommendations, with a strong emphasis on harmonisation, transparency, and trade flow monitoring.

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All the project deliverables have been finally submitted! Below you can find few highlights from them. The public deliverables will be hosted on the open-access platform Zenodo and the STAR4BBS website (as soon as revised by the European Commission), ensuring transparency and long-term accessibility. 

D4.3 – Report on the testing and ranking (Sensitive)

Presented the results of testing the BIOBASEDCERT Monitoring Tool (BMT) across nine certification schemes and labels. The assessment showed strong performance in standard setting and governance, but recurring gaps in assurance and traceability and claims. The findings highlight the tool’s value as a diagnostic resource for identifying blind spots, refining practices, and supporting policymakers, scheme owners, and industry in strengthening the credibility of sustainability certification. 

D5.3 – Report on feasibility of best awarded B2B labels (Sensitive) 

This document describes a feasibility assessment of selected certification schemes and B2B labels. The analysis examined costs and benefits associated with certification processes through primary data collection from three company case studies. Environmental and social positive externalities were identified. The study found that certification feasibility was highly context-dependent and   concluded that a comprehensive accounting of environmental and social improvements would likely improve cost-benefit ratios, supporting wider adoption of sustainability certification in bio-based systems. 

D6.3 – STAR4BBS Recommendations for increasing the uptake and harmonization of SCS and labels (Public)

Provided practical guidance for policymakers, businesses, and scheme owners to increase uptake of certification and ensure alignment with EU sustainability goals. Highlighted opportunities for harmonisation across sectors and regions. 

D7.6 – STAR4BBS final conference Report (Public) 

Summarised the outcomes of the BIOBASEDCERT Cluster Final Conference in Brussels, where over 80 stakeholders discussed the role of certification in EU governance, provided feedback on the BIOBASEDCERT Monitoring Tool (BMT), and shaped joint policy recommendations for future policy integration. 

D7.7 – Final Clustering Report for HORIZON-CL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-07 (Public) 

This document describes the collaborative activities of the BIOBASEDCERT cluster during the second reporting period. Key achievements included establishing a Joint Advisory Board and developing a shared Monitoring Tool. The projects collaborated across five thematic areas to maximize impact while avoiding duplication of efforts and support the EU's transition to a sustainable bioeconomy. 

Waiting for the final report to be revised by the EC, you can read the midterm report: STAR4BBS D7.4 Mid-term clustering report for HORIZONCL6-2021-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-07 

D7.8 – Roadmap for STAR4BBS' outputs exploitation (Public) 

Defined pathways for the long-term use of STAR4BBS outputs, identifying key exploitable results (KERs) such as the BMT, the web tool, the inventory of sustainability indicators, the impact assessment of CSLs on market access, and policy recommendations. Established plans for open access and future uptake by policymakers, scheme owners, and researchers. 

D7.9 – Final Policy Brief (with HARMONITOR & SUSTCERT4BIOBASED) (Public) 

Outlined policy recommendations to strengthen sustainability in the EU bioeconomy. It calls for clearer and more cohesive sustainability targets, systematic monitoring of bio-based trade flows, and the use of tools like the BIOBASEDCERT Monitoring Tool (BMT) to assess certification performance. The brief highlights the need to improve the coherence of certification schemes, understand their costs and benefits, and foster dialogue among policymakers, scheme owners, and industry to support a circular and sustainable transition.

D8.4 Final Data Management Plan 

D8.4 sets out how STAR4BBS managed data securely and in line with GDPR and FAIR principles, ensuring that datasets and tools—like the Monitoring Tool—remain openly accessible on Zenodo and the project website beyond the project’s end. 

Follow us on LinkedIn and X , where we will post additional insights from these deliverables! 

Boosting the transition to biorefineries in compliance with sustainability and circularity criteria 

University of Santiago de Compostela reviewed and integrated LCA, PEF, Green Chemistry Principles, and certification/CE policy criteria into a single assessment framework for bio-based processes. The scientists from Santiago University tested the framework on three biorefinery cases (apple vinasses, grape must, chickpea peel), showing how multi-criteria assessment pinpoints benefits, bottlenecks, and market-readiness gaps—useful evidence for scaling biorefineries while aligning with EU circularity goals.  

https://zenodo.org/records/12625931 

https://zenodo.org/records/12722647 

The Impact of Sustainability Certification Schemes and Labels on Greenhouse Gas Emissions: A Systematic Evidence Map 

Iseal Alliance (Producer), Environmental Coalition on Standards (ECOS) (Producer), Oxford Systematic Reviews (Producer) worked together to produce a systematic map, that synthesized 41 studies and found that evidence on CSLs’ GHG impacts is uneven across sectors and life-cycle stages (heavy focus on agriculture and production phase; limited coverage of processing/disposal). It highlights methodological gaps and regional biases, calling for more rigorous, sector-specific studies to verify climate benefits and to guide smart policy integration.  

This publication has been included on the Evidensia, an open-access specialised platform for research focused on the impacts of various supply chain initiatives and tools. With this action, the publication is accessible to specialised audiences via a robust search engine that enables users to explore key dimensions of the study, -such as major findings, geographic focus, and alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), all within an open-access approach” 

https://zenodo.org/records/14731745 

Key governance and sustainability indicators for certification systems: Bridging certification and policy frameworks in the bioeconomy  

Universidade de Santiago de Compostela and Technische Universität Berlin collaborated to provide the identification and validation of operational, sustainability and circularity indicators to align certification schemes with policy needs and enable consistent benchmarking. Through benchmarking of existing systems and policies, the authors propose 142 sustainability indicators across environmental, social, and economic/circularity pillars, alongside 60 governance and operational indicators. The study highlights persistent gaps, particularly in circularity and economic aspects, and calls for stronger alignment between CSLs and EU policy frameworks to enhance credibility, comparability, and impact. 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352550925000673 

https://zenodo.org/records/16687976 

https://zenodo.org/records/16688412 

Monitoring the bioeconomy: Value chains under the framework of life cycle assessment indicators 

University of Santiago de Compostela produced an Inventory of environmental, economic and social LCA indicators and a proposed framework to monitor bio-based value chains end-to-end. The indicators provided constitute a building block for effectively exploring and assessing the sustainability of bio-based value chains by a wide range of stakeholders (e.g., policy makers, entrepreneurs, certification bodies) to facilitate informed decision-making, pave the way for balanced economic growth, improve social welfare and environmental protection, and overall promote more sustainable and resilient bio-based value chains. 

https://zenodo.org/records/12626011 

https://zenodo.org/records/12731314 

Ensuring that results remain available and impactful beyond the project has been a core priority. In line with our Exploitation Roadmap (D7.8), STAR4BBS has identified several key exploitable results (KERs): the BIOBASEDCERT Monitoring Tool with its self-assessment web version, diverse knowledge outputs such as: the inventory of sustainability indicators, the impact assessment of CSLs on market access, , capacity-building activities such as training courses, a set of best practices and recommendations and two policy briefs. STAR4BBS has also laid the groundwork for uptake by different user groups: 

Policymakers can rely on the BMT and accompanying policy recommendations to inform evidence-based regulation and to ensure that certification schemes align with EU policy frameworks. 

Scheme owners can use the tool to improve the design and credibility of their schemes, demonstrating alignment with EU sustainability objectives. 

Researchers and civil society gain access to new data, indicators, and analyses that shed light on certification performance and trade flows. 

Industry associations and business sector to identify and effectively understand certification schemes and labels, supporting their choices when pursuing certification.  

Through this approach, STAR4BBS ensures that its legacy goes beyond academic outputs, offering concrete resources that stakeholders can continue to use, adapt, and build upon in the years ahead. 

Over three years, STAR4BBS delivered:  

Indicators to assess the effectiveness and robustness of schemes and labels. 

The BIOBASEDCERT Monitoring Tool (BMT), developed with the cluster partners, to assess the robustness, credibility, and effectiveness of sustainability certification schemes and labels, helping identify strengths, gaps, and alignment with EU policy goals.  

Policy recommendations co-created with stakeholders to strengthen certification’s role in achieving EU Green Deal objectives. 

Capacity-building activities and knowledge exchange through workshops, trainings, and roundtables. 

Stay tuned for further information! 

Although STAR4BBS is ending, its outcomes will continue to live on through the BIOBASEDCERT Monitoring Tool, our open-access publications, and the policy dialogues we have initiated. We invite you to explore, use, and share these results to keep building a more transparent, credible, and sustainable bio-based economy. 

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The STAR4BBS project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation programme under grant agreement No 101060588 

Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.