Overview

Bio-based products from forestry and agriculture have a long history of application, such as paper, board and various chemicals and materials. The last decades have seen the emergence of new bio-based products in the market. Some of the reasons for the increased interest lie in the bio-based products' benefits in relation to the depletion of fossil resources and climate change. Bio-based products may also provide additional product functionalities. This has triggered a wave of innovation with the development of knowledge and technologies allowing new transformation processes and product development. Acknowledging the need for common standards for bio-based products, the European Commission issued mandate M/4921, resulting in a series of standards developed by CEN/TC 411, with a focus on bio-based products other than food, feed and biomass for energy application. The objective of this European Standard is to harmonize the use of claims which are relevant to describe characteristics of bio-based products for business to business communication. It is intended to give the structure for reporting and to improve transparency by specifying the criteria for the use of claims about different aspects of bio-based products. This standard was prepared based on the general principles outlined in ISO 14020. This European Standard specifies requirements for transparent and non-misleading business to business communication of characteristics of bio-based products by means of a specific Data Sheet. It does not specify requirements for bio-based products. This European Standard is intended to be used as a tool to generate and transfer information in the value chain and/or as an input for product-specific standards and certification schemes. Business to consumer communication is covered by prEN 16935. DIN Working Committee NA 172-00-11 AA "Biobasierte Produkte" ("Bio-based products") at DIN Standards Committee Principles of Environmental Protection (NAGUS) is responsible for this standard.

Document: references other documents

Responsible national committee

NA 172-00-11 AA - Bio-based products  

Responsible european committee

CEN/TC 411/WG 5 - Certification and declaration tools