Shaping Sustainable Bioplastics: Tools and Methods for Assessing Environmental Impacts in the Early-Stage Development

Sustainability assessments are crucial for evaluating the environmental impacts of emerging technologies, particularly bioproducts. This review explores various approaches for assessing the environmental impacts of bio-based materials during early-stage development, that is often challenging because of limited data and time constraints. We observed varying applicability of these approaches across different technology readiness levels, highlighting the importance of selecting appropriate tools and methods to support early-stage decision-making. Based on data availability and the inclusion of the most relevant environmental impacts, we recommend a case-by-case approach, which can also integrate complementary methods.