This work identifies relevant sustainability targets from the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for main value chains of biobased products, categorized into four dimensions: environment, circularity, social, and economics. Of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 85 targets were identified as aligning with sustainability criteria for industrial biobased systems. Six sectors with biobased activity were analyzed, chemicals, construction, plastics, textiles, woodworking, and pulp and paper, each represented by 3–5 value chains. These value chains were chosen based on certification availability, production scale in Europe, economic importance, and potential to replace fossil-based products. In total, 25 value chains were assessed qualitatively for their positive, negative, or neutral impact on each selected SDG target, using public data like EU reports, life cycle analyses, and expert insights. The results showed that 43 SDG targets were directly applicable to the value chains, with higher synergies for those using waste as feedstock over primary resources like crops or virgin wood. Overall, advances in technology and holistic approaches are paving the way for biobased solutions to replace resource-intensive, petroleum-derived materials and chemicals. These alternatives offer additional advantages, such as enhanced recyclability, biodegradability, and reduced toxicity, making them promising candidates for sustainable development. This study underscores that technological progress and a comprehensive approach can further advance sustainable biobased solutions in industry and have a relevant positive impact on various SDGs.

In recent years, heightened environmental concerns linked to agriculture have surged, with soil degradation standing out as a global issue. However, prevailing sustainability assessment methodologies in agriculture often overlook soil systems due to their intricate nature. This study aims to develop a methodology for evaluating soil degradation in agricultural practices using exergy regeneration costs. These costs determine the exergy required to restore soil fertility to pre-harvest levels. The methodology covers key soil factors like nutrients, organic matter, and prevalent issues like salinity, acidification, and erosion. For each of these factors, exergy regeneration costs are determined based on the energy needed to execute an optimal process for reverting the soil to its original or ideal state. The methodology has been applied to data from agricultural trials, showing that the calculated soil replacement cost is significantly higher compared to one of the most energy-demanding processes in agriculture, the use of urea. This demonstrates that agricultural soil degradation needs to be quantified for a correct evaluation of agricultural practices and their sustainability.

Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorus (P) are essential macronutrients whose unsustainable extraction and use pose growing environmental and geopolitical challenges. In the European Union, tightening regulatory frameworks, including the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (EU 2024/3019) and the Farm to Fork Strategy, have positioned nutrient recovery as a fundamental pillar of the circular economy. Despite the availability of mature technologies, comprehensive techno-economic assessments applied comparatively across multiple industrial sectors remain scarce. This study addresses that gap by evaluating the economic feasibility of five nutrient recovery systems across European waste valorization case studies: ammonia stripping from digestate (Spain), sewage sludge composting (Latvia/Lithuania), whey valorization via ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis (Hungary), algae-based dairy wastewater treatment (Slovakia), and pyrolysis of sewage sludge (Denmark). A structured data collection methodology was applied to assess capital expenditures (CAPEX), operational expenditures (OPEX), mass and energy flows, and nutrient recovery yields. Results demonstrate that all five systems show technical operability and economically relevant cost structures, with unit treatment costs ranging from €0.005/kg to €1.60/kg of waste treated, supporting their further development and scale-up as viable nutrient recovery pathways. N recovery was prioritized in most configurations, while P was predominantly co-recovered in solid residues. The findings provide a cross-sectoral comparative framework to support decision-making in the transition towards sustainable nutrient management and circular economy models.

Products obtained from livestock manure and anaerobic digestion are increasingly promoted as alternatives to conventional mineral fertilisers. However, their environmental performance depends on fertiliser characteristics and soil properties controlling nutrient mobility. This study evaluated nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) leaching dynamics following the application of pig slurry, digestate, and ammonium sulphate recovered through digestate stripping. Replicated soil column experiments were conducted using four agricultural soils from three European river basins (Ebro, Lielupe and Danube), three fertiliser treatments, and three replicates per treatment, under controlled climatic conditions (15–25 °C; 50–60% relative humidity; 16 h light/8 h dark cycle) reproducing field climate and water application regimes. Leachates were periodically collected and analysed for ammonium (NH₄⁺-N), nitrate (NO₃⁻-N), and phosphate (PO₄³⁻-P). Results showed distinct nutrient release and transport patterns among fertilisers and soils. Ammonium sulphate produced rapid NH₄⁺-N losses immediately after application, whereas digestate and pig slurry exhibited a more gradual nutrient release. The relative contribution of ammonium and nitrate to total N leaching varied among soils, highlighting the influence of soil properties on nitrification and nutrient retention processes. Phosphorus losses remained low across treatments. These findings support nutrient recovery strategies adapted to soil conditions to enhance nutrient circularity while minimizing environmental losses. In practical terms, managers and policymakers should require soil-specific nutrient management plans for recovered fertilisers, prioritising slow-release products such as digestate or pig slurry on soils prone to nitrogen leaching, and restricting ammonium sulphate to soils with lower leaching risk.