Ex-Ante Eco-Efficiency Assessment of Dendromass Production: Conception and Experiences of an Innovation Project

Rising demand for bio-based products exerts growing pressure on natural resources such as wood. The agricultural technique of short rotation coppice (SRC) to produce dendromass from fast growing trees has gained relevance to ease the pressure of demand for wood from forests. The European-funded project Dendromass4Europe supports the establishment of SRC in Western Slovakia and its biomass use for four new bio-based materials, in the context of a developing bioeconomy. Along with the development of the SRC and material value chains, eco-efficiency assessment is carried out to anticipate areas of critical concern and derive measures for improvement. Among many other assessment approaches, eco-efficiency assessment was conducted by combining Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and socio-economic assessment to optimize the whole production system towards eco-efficiency. An LCA study provided necessary data to assess the environmental performance. The added value and revenue results from the socio-economic assessment were used to assess the economic performance. The value chain of the moulded fibre parts shows the best eco-efficiency value, but only because its economic performance is comparatively strong. The lightweight boards have the least environmental impact but do not perform so well in terms of eco-efficiency. The overall eco-efficiency of the full value chain can be optimized only with a specific combination of all four dendromass-based materials within the whole production system.