Abstracts Biological Sciences

How sustainable biofuel business really is? : Today's issues on biofuel production

by Iris-Maria Kollanus

Demand for biofuels has skyrocketed during the recent years. While high price of oil might have been the main driver for this phenomenon, the risen demand is mainly a result of policies of energy security and climate change mitigation. Thus many countries, especially the Western ones, are moving towards anti-fossil fuel promotion what comes to energy policies. Even though biofuels refer to “green fuel” that is not always the case. There has been a lot of debating in the media if biofuels are sustainable at all for their negative economic, social and environmental impacts. This thesis evaluates biofuels through sustainability with the main focus on economic, social and environmental impacts. Furthermore proposals for better sustainable production management are introduced. Palm oil was selected as the main raw material of interest and Neste Oil Oyj was selected as case company for being a large Finnish company that has received a vast amount of negative publicity in the global media.