ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to present the first approaches to social assessment applied to biorefineries using mainly the Colombian case as an example, given the socioeconomic characteristics of this country. It presents the most relevant concepts to determine the social impact that generates this type of system are indicated: job generation at land and process levels, food supply, and health. People can expect that any efficient project related to a biorefinery can improve supply chains, making more profitable the use of biomass in an integrated way. In a biorefinery, health aspects are related with the end use of the obtained products. In Poland, the institute for fuels and renewable energy—IPIEO conducted a project to analyze demo and commercial-scale biorefineries and summarized the social impact of the biorefineries in Europe as follows: stabilization and provision of new employment opportunities; revitalize existing industries; promote regional development, especially in the Research and development area.
