The Calimero project, supported by its Theory of Change, is dedicated to evolving and adapting process improvement across five bio-based sectors. As a collaborative network, it brings together diverse stakeholders to address sustainability challenges, focusing on creating impactful and systemic change. The Theory of Change serves as a conceptual framework, outlining the project's activities designed to yield results that contribute to impactful changes in the bio-based sectors. It recognizes the complexity and dynamic nature of these industries and emphasizes the importance of interventions - critical events that lead to the evolution of new structures and shared meanings. These interventions are based on a logical, evidence-based framework that connects different levels of intervention and their interactions, considering the range of behavioural changes and the complexity of measuring change. This approach aims to ensure that Calimero's activities are linked to expected outcomes and impacts, effectively addressing various levers of change within the bio-based industry.
Calimero's Theory of Change narrative identifies four pathways towards a sustainable future in the bio-based industry: Regenerative Optimization, focusing on process and value chain optimization through case studies and stakeholder alignment; Integration and Transparency, aiming to integrate life cycle sustainability assessment principles and enhancing data utilization for informed environmental choices; Collaboration and Adaptive Governance, fostering an ecosystem of interdisciplinary collaboration for the development of sustainable products and methodologies; and Balancing the Bio-Based Demand, addressing the challenge of increasing bio-based demand while maintaining economic viability and environmental stewardship, using financial incentives and shifts in industrial practices.