Life Cycle Assessments Identify Best Available Sustainable Solutions for Humanitarian Aid

Bio4HUMAN is a Horizon Europe–funded research project working to improve waste management in humanitarian aid by identifying safe, effective and bio-based alternatives to conventional materials. In emergency and displacement settings, where waste infrastructure is often limited, the project brings together humanitarian organisations, researchers and industry partners to develop solutions that are both environmentally sustainable and practical to use on the ground.

In December 2025, Bio4HUMAN reached an important milestone with the completion of a series of environmental assessments of proposed bio-based solutions.

Led by WeLOOP, project partners completed full life cycle assessments to identify key environmental impacts, alongside an analysis of where these solutions can realistically be sourced and used. Together, this work helps identify options that reduce environmental impacts while remaining feasible for real humanitarian operations.

From Hotspot Analysis to Actionable Solutions

Building on previous inventory development and hotspot identification, the assessments compared conventional materials currently used in humanitarian kits with innovative bio-based alternatives across their full life cycle. The analysis covered both individual items (such as packaging, containers, mosquito nets and sanitary products) and complete humanitarian kits, including Food, WASH, Agriculture and Non-Food Items (NFI).

The results demonstrate that:

Environmental impacts are driven primarily by high-volume core items, while packaging typically represents a smaller share.
End-of-life management is a decisive factor, particularly in contexts where open dumping or open burning are common.
Bio-based and compostable materials can significantly reduce impacts, especially when functional performance is equivalent, and appropriate disposal options are available.
In some cases, material efficiency and local availability are more important than simple material substitution.

As Carla Bartolomé Rodrigo from ITENE explains, “To carry out this LCA assessment, the compilation of inventory data, inputs, and outputs is a crucial step. The accuracy and completeness of the inventory are essential, as they form the basis for the impact assessment. ITENE, in collaboration with AIMPLAS, UC, and WeLOOP, gathered the information provided by the companies developing innovative bio-based solutions.”

Then, Carolina Szablewski from WeLOOP continues, “The analysis carried out by WeLOOP and presented in D5.3 shows that environmental performance strongly depends on the reference flow to fulfill the functional unit and end-of-life conditions. In several cases, bio-based outperform conventional materials at an item level (e.g. mosquito nets, oil containers, sanitary products), while at the kit level their influence is diluted by high-impact core items such as food commodities, fertilisers, or shelter materials.”

Geographic Availability and Local Feasibility

Building on this analytical foundation, the project moved beyond environmental performance to consider the broader conditions required for real-world implementation. The geographic availability analysis represented a first step in assessing whether the identified bio-based solutions could realistically be deployed in specific humanitarian contexts. While the present milestone focuses on environmental and availability aspects, this work directly informed subsequent project activities, including the examination of socio-economic and governance factors led by partners working closely with affected communities.

Helena Krajewska from PAH explains “We aim to evaluate both socio-economic and governance aspects of bio-based solutions that we identified in previous project steps. It is very important for us at Polish Humanitarian Action to always involve different stakeholders – local community, NGOs, authorities, business, academia etc. That allows us to include different perspectives which is crucial for this project, especially in South Sudan context.”

Julien Lugwarha from PIN continues, “The socio-economic feasibility study of bio-based solutions in the Democratic Republic of Congo with stakeholders from five different groups demonstrated the relevance of bio-based solutions in urban and rural humanitarian contexts for waste management, as well as the socio-economic, cultural, technical, technological and governance limitations of these solutions, as well as suggestions for their adoption by communities receiving humanitarian aid.

During a meeting with the sanitation unit of Bukavu City Council, bio-based solutions were seen as a way of reducing the plastic packaging waste that pollutes Lake Kivu, causing serious problems for the Ruzizi hydroelectric dam. Several participants in the FGDs organised in Minova (a rural area located in the South Kivu Province benefiting from humanitarian interventions) mentioned that bio-based solutions would be a favourable alternative to plastic kits (including bags, bottles, mosquito nets and RUTF packaging) that pollute fields and reduce agricultural production, provided that these solutions are affordable and accessible to vulnerable communities.”

Roadmap for Policymakers: Verifying the Milestone

In addition, this phase of the project was completed by Roadmap for Policymakers, which consolidated:

The findings of the LCAs and hotspot analysis,
Insights on geographic availability and implementation constraints,
Clear, science-based recommendations for decision-makers.

The roadmap provides actionable guidance for policymakers, donors and humanitarian organisations on how to prioritise material choices, improve end-of-life practices, and support the uptake of sustainable innovations in humanitarian aid.

“The roadmap shows that reducing environmental impacts in humanitarian aid is not only a technical challenge, but a policy and system-level one. Aligning procurement rules, market incentives and waste infrastructure is essential to unlock the full potential of sustainable solutions” – Carolina explains.

A Key Step Toward Sustainable Humanitarian Aid

With this important milestone achieved, Bio4HUMAN reinforces its commitment to delivering evidence-based, implementable solutions that reduce environmental impacts while maintaining safety, performance and usability for crisis-affected populations.

The outcomes of this stage of the project will directly inform its next phases, including dissemination activities and engagement with humanitarian stakeholders and policymakers across Europe and beyond. In particular, Bio4HUMAN organises dedicated webinars with community-level actors in the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan to share the assessment results, explain the environmental implications of different material and packaging solutions, and support informed, context-sensitive decision-making.

By combining robust life cycle evidence with dialogue at community and policy levels, this milestone opens the door to more informed choices, greater awareness of environmental impacts, and the gradual adoption of sustainable practices that are grounded in local realities.