Kate Lewis is a Deputy Program Manager with the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) BioPreferred Program. She joins Biobased Radio host, Denny Hall, from Philadelphia where she’s attending BIO International, a convention dedicated to growing the global biotech industry.
In the episode, Denny asks Kate about her journey to the BioPreferred Program through a degree in communications and her early career at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) where she worked on the Energy Star program.
When Kate came to the USDA’s BioPreferred Program, one of the program’s biggest challenges was finding a way to educate the public on biobased products and creating a system that would certify those products. Thus, the USDA’s Certified BioPreferred label was born. Since the inception of the BioPreferred label, the program has certified 3,500 products in over 100 categories. To search the online catalog of certified products, check out the BioPreferred website.
But, wait. What is a biobased product? Kate goes into detail about what makes a particular product biobased and eligible to receive the Certified BioPreferred label.
Haven’t heard of biobased products before? You’re not alone. According to a survey conducted by the Bioproducts Innovation Center at The Ohio State University, only 8% of the public are aware of biobased products. How can we change that? Kate has some advice for people who are interested in creating a more sustainable future and how you can get involved.