B&C® Biobased and Sustainable Chemicals Blog

By Lynn L. Bergeson On May 20, 2019, U.S. Energy Secretary, Rick Perry, announced that DOE’s EERE will be awarding up to $46 million in grants to small businesses funded through DOE’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs for Phase I research and development (R&D). DOE will award 231 grants to 202 small businesses in 39 states and the District of Columbia (DC). Phase I grants provide small businesses with the opportunity...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On May 16, 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released the 2019 Better Buildings Report, announcing the progress made by public- and private-sector organizations that participate in DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE) Better Buildings Initiative. Aimed at improving U.S. energy efficiency, partners in the Better Building Initiative represent 32 of the country’s Fortune 100 companies, 12 of the top 25 U.S. employers, 12...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On May 21, 2019, EPA announced a new version of a mapping tool designed to assist in the reduction of food waste by displaying facility-specific information about potential generators and recipients of excess food. According to EPA, the Excess Food Opportunities Map serves as an online “matching” service, linking, for example, owners of anaerobic digestion facilities with people looking to dispose of organic waste, including excess food. These anaerobic digestion...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On May 20, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that on May 30, 2019, it will begin publishing Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 5 notices, including premanufacture notices (PMN), microbial commercial activity notices (MCAN), and significant new use notices (SNUN), their attachments, including any health and safety studies, any modifications thereto, and all other associated information in ChemView -- in the form they are received by EPA,...

Register Today Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), and the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health are pleased to present the one day conference “TSCA: Three Years Later” on June 24, 2019. Panelists Alexandra Dunn, Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Lynn R. Goldman, Michael and Lori Milken Dean and...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On May 15, 2019, Neste, a Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®) member, announced the introduction of a sustainable menu to be served on Zero Island. A Neste initiative to find sustainable solutions for building a fossil-free future for an island, Zero Island is located in the Swedish archipelago. The newly developed menu, also known as the Zero Menu, has been developed with renowned chef Jonas Svensson, taking into consideration not only what is served...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On May 15, 2019, DOE EERE’s BETO announced the deadline for concept paper submissions for a $79 million funding opportunity for bioenergy research and development (R&D): June 3, 2019. This funding opportunity includes biopower, biofuels, and bioproducts, aiming to reduce the price of drop-in biofuels, lower the cost of biopower, and enable high-value products from waste or biomass resources. The opportunity includes ten topic areas: Cultivation Intensification...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On May 14, 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced that scientists at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have developed a new, plant-derived, stretchy material that outperforms the adhesiveness of the natural chemical that gives mussels the ability to stick to rocks and ships. Composed of lignin and epoxy, the biobased material has the ability to self-heal...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On May 13, 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued in final guidance designed to assist sponsors in demonstrating that a proposed biological product is interchangeable with a reference product for the purposes of submitting a marketing application or supplement. This would mean that an abbreviated licensure pathway would be created, where biological products shown to be biosimilar to or interchangeable with an FDA-licensed biological reference product may be...

By Lynn L. Bergeson From July 23-24, 2019, the Food and Drug Law Institute (FDLI) will be hosting the Introduction to Drug, Biologics, and Biosimilars Law and Regulation conference in Boston, MA. The conference will cover an overview of administrative agencies that impact these industries and how they interact with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It will also include sessions on the development of drug and biological products, FDA’s review and approval of marketing...