BioSTAR
BioSTAR
Bioenergy Sustainability Tradeoffs Assessment Resource
The Bioenergy Sustainability Tradeoffs Assessment Resource (BioSTAR) tool (Figure 1) is being developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) with the support of the US Department of Energy’s BioEnergy Technologies Office (DOE BETO). BioSTAR is designed to help stakeholders quantify and visualize the potential sustainability benefits and tradeoffs of cellulosic biomass production systems (Figure 2).
Figure 1
Systematic Approach for Measuring Progress toward Landscape
- Process for defining and measuring sustainability
- Developed based on existing literature and experiences with bioenergy production in US & Mexico
- The 6 steps are tailored to local context and stakeholder concerns
- Iterative application of approach builds capacity and promotes continual improvements in agricultural management practices
- Enables timely responses to changing conditions while progressing toward locally defined goals
Figure 2
BioSTAR Supply Chain
Applicability of recommended environmental, economic, and social sustainability indicator categories across the biofuel supply chain (Dale et al. 2013, Efroymson et al. 2013). BioSTAR assesses the feedstock production and feedstock logistics steps (shown in red) of the biofuel supply chain.
Use BioSTAR
The BioSTAR tool will help stakeholders quantify and visualize the potential sustainability benefits and tradeoffs of cellulosic biomass production systems.
BIOSTAR TUTORIAL
This 12-minute tutorial will walk you through how to use the BioSTAR tool to explore an existing project or add a new project.
Indicator Checklist
Indicators are measures that provide information about the potential or realized effects of human activities on environmental, social, or economic phenomena of concern.
Use this checklist to assess the environmental or socioeconomic effects of a specific bioenergy system.