News & Insights: October 2026
Bio-based materials and circular economy solutions are continuing to gain momentum across packaging, textiles and consumer products, with companies and policymakers advancing new approaches to reduce fossil-based plastics and strengthen circular value chains. In Europe, Italy has introduced requirements for compostable alternatives to selected single-use plastic packaging formats, while the Textile ETP has called for stronger collective action to establish bio-based and circular textile value chains.
Across the packaging and materials sector, innovation is accelerating around compostable, recyclable and bio-based alternatives, including home-compostable fruit labels, fossil-free paper sachets and plant-based materials for fashion. At the same time, research and standards development are supporting market adoption, with revised compostable product standards, new modelling of PLA packaging waste sorting and plasma technology exploring how plant-based packaging could replace conventional plastics.
Featured Article
Harnessing AI for the Bioeconomy, Part 3: Smarter Biobased Supply Chains
The last installment of articles by Dr Konstantinos Drousiotis focussing on the use of AI in the bioeconomy looks at current thinking on how artificial intelligence can transform the sourcing, logistics, processing and traceability of biobased value chains, while also examining the barriers that constrain adoption and the conditions under which AI genuinely delivers sustainability benefits.
The full article can be found here
Event Focus: Green Gas Day 2026
We’re delighted to be a sponsor of Green Gas Day 2026 in Birmingham, taking place on 8th October 2026.
A core theme of this year’s conference will be the Government’s anticipated Future Support Framework for Biomethane consultation. There will also be strategic insights from the Green Gas Taskforce with coverage of the most recent reports including hybrid heat pumps systems with biomethane, digestate management in an expanded biomethane sector and e-methane.
Alder BioInsights Director Lucy Hopwood and Managing Consultant David Vaughan will both be speaking during the event. Lucy will be joined by Jonathan Scurlock to discuss delivering green gas and working with agriculture to maximise benefits to both energy and agriculture and David will be focussing on digestate in an expanded biomethane industry
Please do come and say hello if you are attending the event.
Yorkshire Marathon Relay 2026
On October 18th, six members of the Alder team will be taking on the Yorkshire Marathon Relay! They’ll be working together to complete the race, each running a section of the course and supporting one another along the way.
Starting and finishing at the University of York, the route will take the team through the historic streets of York, including past the iconic York Minster, before heading out into the beautiful Yorkshire countryside before making their way back to the University.
As part of the marathon we will be raising money for Blood Cancer UK in memory of long standing client, colleague and friend Matthew Flint who very sadly passed away following a diagnosis late last year. We know many in the world of AD and biomethane will have worked with or spent time with Matt over the past 15 years, as we did, so this is a great opportunity to show our support to his family, friends and colleagues.
Blood Cancer UK fund scientific and clinical research, provide support and information to people affected by blood cancer and work to improve diagnosis and treatment.
We are so grateful to everyone who has already supported us, if you’d like to consider making a donation through our Just Giving fundraising page you can do so here.
Every donation, no matter how big or small, will help to support vital research.
