Conclusions 295
Environmental impacts of recycling and reuse of resources can be studied
either on an aggregated system level or at a more detailed level for the
different products and processes of valorisation. When keeping the level of
analysis at the aggregated level, many sustainability issues will become invisible and such analyses will not be useful for making the appropriate decisions.
Therefore, future research avenues for addressing the circular and sustainable
bioeconomy need to expand the scope of LCAs if they want to guide the
governance of the bioeconomy.
15.3 Regional embedding and geographies of
innovation
Geography is a recurrent theme in this book. Chapter 4 explores how specific regional contexts affect the emergence of novel pathways for valorising
forestry residues. In one of the Norwegian regions under analysis, in particular, forest- based value creation is reached by locating a biogas plant next
to a pulp and paper plant, achieving a successful industrial symbiosis. The
chapter also considers how regions can develop on the basis of their existing
assets, including their endowment in terms of knowledge and institutions.
Such a “path dependence” is theoretically framed in Chapter 3, together
with the related concept of “lock- in”. The territorial embeddedness of institutions also emerges as a relevant element in value creation in Chapter 8,
which suggests a socio- technical transition to valorise waste in salmon aquaculture through land- based farming. The same chapter also shows that the
current distance between traditional coastal farming districts and inland waste
processors may constitute a barrier to waste valorisation. A similar barrier is
considered in Chapter 7, which describes how the small and scattered
slaughterhouses in Norway face more difficulties in collecting and handling
animal by- products in comparison to the fewer and much larger Danish
slaughterhouses. Chapter 10 shows, in contrast, how geographic boundaries
of the national knowledge base can be overcome by establishing international
consortia, who apply for funding in Norway through a bioeconomy- focused
research programme. The political interactions across different spatial scales
are explored in Chapter 13, where a multi- level governance framework is
applied to analyse policy efforts for food waste reduction. Finally, Chapter
14, on life cycle analysis and governance, considers how political implications
of life cycle thinking depend on the spatial boundaries imposed on the industrial systems under analysis.
The spatial boundaries considered for environmental systems vary depending on the specific problem to be solved. In some cases, the concentration of
activities in a small area can constitute a problem, as in the case of coastal
aquaculture mentioned above. In other cases, the spatial boundaries for the
analysis must be extended to enclose the whole world, as in the case of the
consequences of greenhouse gas emissions on global warming. In the latter
case, municipalities and counties can be asked to face global challenges,
Environmental impacts of recycling and reuse of resources can be studied
either on an aggregated system level or at a more detailed level for the
different products and processes of valorisation. When keeping the level of
analysis at the aggregated level, many sustainability issues will become invisible and such analyses will not be useful for making the appropriate decisions.
Therefore, future research avenues for addressing the circular and sustainable
bioeconomy need to expand the scope of LCAs if they want to guide the
governance of the bioeconomy.
15.3 Regional embedding and geographies of
innovation
Geography is a recurrent theme in this book. Chapter 4 explores how specific regional contexts affect the emergence of novel pathways for valorising
forestry residues. In one of the Norwegian regions under analysis, in particular, forest- based value creation is reached by locating a biogas plant next
to a pulp and paper plant, achieving a successful industrial symbiosis. The
chapter also considers how regions can develop on the basis of their existing
assets, including their endowment in terms of knowledge and institutions.
Such a “path dependence” is theoretically framed in Chapter 3, together
with the related concept of “lock- in”. The territorial embeddedness of institutions also emerges as a relevant element in value creation in Chapter 8,
which suggests a socio- technical transition to valorise waste in salmon aquaculture through land- based farming. The same chapter also shows that the
current distance between traditional coastal farming districts and inland waste
processors may constitute a barrier to waste valorisation. A similar barrier is
considered in Chapter 7, which describes how the small and scattered
slaughterhouses in Norway face more difficulties in collecting and handling
animal by- products in comparison to the fewer and much larger Danish
slaughterhouses. Chapter 10 shows, in contrast, how geographic boundaries
of the national knowledge base can be overcome by establishing international
consortia, who apply for funding in Norway through a bioeconomy- focused
research programme. The political interactions across different spatial scales
are explored in Chapter 13, where a multi- level governance framework is
applied to analyse policy efforts for food waste reduction. Finally, Chapter
14, on life cycle analysis and governance, considers how political implications
of life cycle thinking depend on the spatial boundaries imposed on the industrial systems under analysis.
The spatial boundaries considered for environmental systems vary depending on the specific problem to be solved. In some cases, the concentration of
activities in a small area can constitute a problem, as in the case of coastal
aquaculture mentioned above. In other cases, the spatial boundaries for the
analysis must be extended to enclose the whole world, as in the case of the
consequences of greenhouse gas emissions on global warming. In the latter
case, municipalities and counties can be asked to face global challenges,