Exploring presentations of sustainability by US synthetic biology companies.
The field of synthetic biology is increasingly being positioned as a key driver of a more sustainable, bio-based economy, and has seen rapid industry growth over the past 15 years. In this paper we undertake an exploratory investigation of the relationship between sustainability and synthetic biolog...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2021-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0257327 |
| _version_ | 1798032834530639872 |
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| author | James Karabin Izaac Mansfield Emma K Frow |
| author_facet | James Karabin Izaac Mansfield Emma K Frow |
| author_sort | James Karabin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The field of synthetic biology is increasingly being positioned as a key driver of a more sustainable, bio-based economy, and has seen rapid industry growth over the past 15 years. In this paper we undertake an exploratory investigation of the relationship between sustainability and synthetic biology, identifying and analyzing sustainability-related language on the public websites of 24, US-based synthetic biology companies. We observe that sustainability is a visible part of the self-presentation of the nascent synthetic biology industry, explicitly mentioned by 18 of the 24 companies. The dominant framing of sustainability on these company websites emphasizes environmental gains and "free-market" approaches to sustainability, with little explicit mention of social dimensions of sustainability such as access, justice or intergenerational equity. Furthermore, the model of sustainability presented focuses on incremental transition towards environmental sustainability through direct substitution of products and processes using bioengineered alternatives (n = 16 companies), with no change in societal consumption or policy frameworks required in order to see sustainability gains. One-third of the companies analyzed (n = 8) mention "nature" on their websites, variously framing it as a resource to be managed or as a source of inspiration; whether the latter signals a potentially more complex relationship with nature than advanced free-market models of sustainability remains to be seen. As the synthetic biology industry begins to grow in size and visibility, we suggest this is an opportune time for the community to engage in explicit deliberation about its approach to sustainability. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T20:20:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6e8ce00265ee46b3a26ee5d71ed11f92 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T20:20:07Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-6e8ce00265ee46b3a26ee5d71ed11f922022-12-22T04:04:49ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032021-01-01169e025732710.1371/journal.pone.0257327Exploring presentations of sustainability by US synthetic biology companies.James KarabinIzaac MansfieldEmma K FrowThe field of synthetic biology is increasingly being positioned as a key driver of a more sustainable, bio-based economy, and has seen rapid industry growth over the past 15 years. In this paper we undertake an exploratory investigation of the relationship between sustainability and synthetic biology, identifying and analyzing sustainability-related language on the public websites of 24, US-based synthetic biology companies. We observe that sustainability is a visible part of the self-presentation of the nascent synthetic biology industry, explicitly mentioned by 18 of the 24 companies. The dominant framing of sustainability on these company websites emphasizes environmental gains and "free-market" approaches to sustainability, with little explicit mention of social dimensions of sustainability such as access, justice or intergenerational equity. Furthermore, the model of sustainability presented focuses on incremental transition towards environmental sustainability through direct substitution of products and processes using bioengineered alternatives (n = 16 companies), with no change in societal consumption or policy frameworks required in order to see sustainability gains. One-third of the companies analyzed (n = 8) mention "nature" on their websites, variously framing it as a resource to be managed or as a source of inspiration; whether the latter signals a potentially more complex relationship with nature than advanced free-market models of sustainability remains to be seen. As the synthetic biology industry begins to grow in size and visibility, we suggest this is an opportune time for the community to engage in explicit deliberation about its approach to sustainability.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0257327 |
| spellingShingle | James Karabin Izaac Mansfield Emma K Frow Exploring presentations of sustainability by US synthetic biology companies. PLoS ONE |
| title | Exploring presentations of sustainability by US synthetic biology companies. |
| title_full | Exploring presentations of sustainability by US synthetic biology companies. |
| title_fullStr | Exploring presentations of sustainability by US synthetic biology companies. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring presentations of sustainability by US synthetic biology companies. |
| title_short | Exploring presentations of sustainability by US synthetic biology companies. |
| title_sort | exploring presentations of sustainability by us synthetic biology companies |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0257327 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jameskarabin exploringpresentationsofsustainabilitybyussyntheticbiologycompanies AT izaacmansfield exploringpresentationsofsustainabilitybyussyntheticbiologycompanies AT emmakfrow exploringpresentationsofsustainabilitybyussyntheticbiologycompanies |