Room: Amazon
Date: Thursday, 21 May 2026
Time: 11:30 - 12:45 CEST
Session code 2CO.5
From sustainability assessments to social dimensions of biomass and bioenergy
Embracing Biomass Uncertainty Through Robust Decision-Making is the Key to Sustainable Futures
Short Introductive summary
Biomass-based technologies are central to net-zero carbon pathways, and biomass demand is projected to increase. However, deep uncertainty around sustainable biomass availability raises concern about competition for biomass and the impact this could have on forests. This hinders policy and investment decisions and reduces public acceptance and support for bio-based technologies and the biomass sector. We propose a collaborative pathway to navigate uncertainty and build support for bio-technology implementation using robust decision-making (RDM). We present a novel decision-support framework that embraces biomass uncertainty through robust decision-making to deliver sustainable futures for scale-up of bio-based technologies; and demonstrate application with a case-study.
Presenter
Eilidh FORSTER
Drax, Sustainability Dpt., UNITED KINGDOM
Presenter's biography
Eilidh leads on delivering science-based evidence to inform sustainable practices for the business, with a focus on sustainable biomass and the use of lifecycle assessment.
Biographies and Short introductive summaries are supplied directly by presenters and are published here unedited
Co-authors:
A. Newton, Drax, London, UNITED KINGDOM
B. Xu, Drax, London, UNITED KINGDOM
J. Weston, Elimini, London, UNITED KINGDOM
G. Johnson, Drax, London, UNITED KINGDOM
E. Persson, Drax, London, UNITED KINGDOM
Session reference: 2CO.5.1