Dear Reader,
The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working
Conditions has made the following report freely available from SD
ONLINE.
Crops for Sustainable Enterprise. Office for Official Publications of
the European Communities, 2000 -92 pages.
Authors: Benjamin, Yorick & Van Weenen, Hans.
Go: http://susdev.eurofound.ie/download (PDF: 548k)
REPORT OVERVIEW
There is now a global recognition that we have to move to more
sustainable modes of production and consumption. To this end, policy
makers, industry and workers are engaged in the beginning of a
fundamental shift as to how we realise our materials for production
purposes. Slowly, we are moving from unsustainable fossil based
systems of production to ones based on renewable resources.
This publication explores the uses of fibre crops in the Non Food
Agriculture (NFA) sector and the underlying issues this raises for
the European Union. It scrutinises the agro-industry production
system that is currently emerging, and presents a model for Bionetic
SMEs - companies engaging in sustainable production within a
Bioregional framework.
The report also describes some of the concepts that support
sustainable development such as Bioregionalism, full resource
potential, Permaculture, Biorefining and industrial ecology.
The shift towards the use of renewable resources for material
purposes is very welcome. However, this publication argues that NFA
development should be carefully monitored. We must be fully aware of
all the consequences of mono-crop culture, genetic modification and
the over use of pesticides and fertilisers. Otherwise the
intellectual effort and the technology that enable us to make such a
wide range of products from renewable resources may also serve to
undermine their sustainability.
COORDINATION GROUP
Torsten Dahlin
Swedish Industrial Design Foundation, Stockholm
Gerard Zwetsloot
TNO-Arbeid, Hoofddorp
Jan Kahr Frederiksen
FTF Copenhagen - Representing the Trade Unions' Group of the
Foundation's Administrative Board
Margareta Mårtensson
SAF, Stockholm - Representing the Employers' Group of the
Foundation's Administrative Board
Bernard Le Marchand
Representing the Employers' Group of the Foundation's Administrative Board
Andreas Tschulik
Ministry of Environment, Youth and Family Affairs, Vienna
-Representing the Governments' Group of the Foundation's
Administrative Board
Robert Nuij
European Commission DG XI - Environment, Nuclear Safety and Civil Protection
Christina Theochari
Representing the Committee of Experts of the European Foundation for
the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
Wout Buitelaar
Representing the Committee of Experts of the European Foundation for
the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
The research manager responsible for the project is:
Henrik Litske European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and
Working Conditions
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