Navigating Net Zero: Biomass

Navigating Net Zero: Biomass

The Scotland Food & Drink Partnership’s Net Zero Commitment exists to support the Scottish food and drink industry in achieving Net Zero emissions by 2045. As part of this commitment, we aim to provide leadership, advice, and guidance to businesses on their journey to sustainability.

A crucial element of our Net Zero Commitment is informing and educating food and drink businesses on how to progress their #NetZero journey and, key to that is the understanding of biomass.?

However, before diving into its origins, implementation and benefits, we want to ensure all our producers have a clear understanding of what biomass entails and how it fits into their #NetZero journey.

What is Biomass?

Biomass is renewable organic material that comes from living, or recently living, plants and animals. Biomass contains stored chemical energy from the sun that is produced by plants through photosynthesis. Importantly, biomass can be burned directly for heat or converted to liquid and gaseous fuels.?

You may wonder what Biomass has to do with the food and drink sector and its path to achieving Net Zero emissions, however, biomass has recently been considered a ‘carbon-neutral’ bioenergy solution.?

The role of biomass in the food and drink sector?

Biomass plays an important role in the food and drink sector through various applications, contributing to sustainability, energy production & efficiency, and waste management and its importance as a resource for energy production or as a chemical feedstock is set to increase significantly in the coming decades.

One major role biomass has is its use in the production of bioenergy, which can power food and drink manufacturing facilities. This can include the use of biogas, bioethanol, and biodiesel derived from organic materials such as crop residues, food waste, and other biomass feedstocks. A famous example in Scotland is the Craigellachie Biomass Plant which supplies heat to the iconic Macallan whisky distillery.?

Biomass also contributes to the circular economy through its impact on waste management and recycling.? With the food and drink industry naturally producing a significant amount of organic waste, biomass technologies enable this to be reused or recycled through conversion into useful products like bioenergy, compost, and animal feed.

What’s more, in practice, breweries regularly use spent grain to produce biogas or animal feed while food and drink processing plants have implemented anaerobic digestion (AD) systems to manage organic waste. Impressively, Scottish Water 's AD recycling centre in Cumbernauld has converted over 145,000 tonnes of food waste into green energy since it was commissioned in 2010.

Biomass on the journey to Net Zero

Utilising biomass in the food and drink sector can help us to reduce the carbon footprint of our production processes. Bioenergy and bio-based materials – such as packaging for our products – often have a lower environmental impact compared to fossil fuels and synthetic chemicals.?

In the long run, switching to more sustainable practices can be good for the purse strings too. Using biomass for energy and materials can lead to cost savings by reducing waste disposal costs and lowering energy expenses. However, it's important to note that large-scale biomass production for energy or materials can potentially compete with food production for land and resources.?

As such, careful management is needed to balance food security with other biomass uses. Integrated policies and sustainable practices are crucial to maximise the benefits of biomass while minimising negative impacts on food systems and the environment

For food and drink businesses looking to accelerate their sustainability efforts, the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC) offers support and funding opportunities. For more information on available grants and assistance, visit IBioIC's funding page: https://www.ibioic.com/innovation-support?

Together, we can make Scotland a global leader in sustainable food production and capture the commercial opportunities of the Net Zero transition.

We actively encourage all Scottish food and drink producers to take advantage of the resources and guidance available through our programme. Find out more about achieving Net Zero in the Scottish food and drink sector: https://tinyurl.com/FDFNetZero