New Frontiers in Social Innovation Research: Social Innovation Management for BIOPlastics

This project is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, grant number: ES/T015195/1Increasing concerns over the environmental impact of plastic single-use packaging have reached a critical juncture. With growing awareness of the negative environmental impacts of petroleum-based packaging, the trend towards adopting bio-based products has increased. However, while bio-based packaging may be seen as a “disruptive innovation”, there is a lack of studies exploring the social and environmental implications of this product. For example, bioplastic packaging is hard to distinguish from its plastic counterpart, resulting in contamination and waste management issues at a municipal level. As such, the adoption of this product becomes a “wicked problem” as it is seemingly impossible to solve due to the numerous interdependent factors that simultaneously impact solutions. To address this issue, four research partners consisting of the UK, Canada, Brazil and Poland, will implement four collaborative social innovation labs. A social innovation methodology is critical to better understand how bio-based packaging innovation will impact the environment and diverse stakeholders across the supply chain, especially as it relates to food security, waste infrastructure, formal and informal waste collectors, consumers, vendors, food producers, and policymakers.