The project titled ‘A sustainable bio-economy: Environmental footprints of new bio-based materials for the chemical industry’ is a collaboration between the department of Environmental Science at the Radboud University Nijmegen and the directorate Sustainable Resources and Environmental Footprints at the Joint Research Center (JRC), the EU Science Hub in Ispra. The aim of the project is to assess the sustainability of emerging second generation bio-based products, in particular for the chemical industry. It explores the landscape of emerging bio-based chemicals, tries to enhance prospective life cycle assessment specifically for products with a bio-base nature and will provide recommendations for EU policies concerning the shift towards a European Bioeconomy.