4S – Social Dimensions
A commitment to incorporating safety, security, sustainability, and social responsibility (4S) is part of the fabric of BioMADE. All technical and education and workforce development projects must include elements dedicated to relevant 4S topics. Members will have access to experts in bioethics, biosecurity, biosafety, and other topics, while dedicated 4S advisors will work alongside BioMADE's technical and workforce leadership. BioMADE will create new models and norms for 4S bioindustrial manufacturing.
Safety, Security, Sustainability, and Social Responsibility Goals at BioMADE
Facilitate responsible bioindustrial manufacturing
Generate approaches, informed by collaboration between stakeholders and regulators, to accelerate pathways to commercialization in a responsible way.
Addressing ethical and security concerns
Advance new knowledge and research to address ethical and security concerns, while applying lessons learned and evidence based research from other sectors.
Increasing public understanding of bioindustrial manufacturing
Develop and implement strategies to increase public understanding of and support for bioindustrial manufacturing.
Develop approaches to 4S that facilitate responsible bioindustrial engineering and manufacturing
Responsible bioindustrial engineering goes beyond merely complying with existing regulatory requirements. It means collaborating with the U.S. government and other stakeholders to advise on revisions and improvements to biotechnology regulation to help bring its benefits to the broadest possible population. It means looking for ways to continually enhance environmental and worker protections, and engaging with the local community. As for governance, responsible bioindustrial engineering identifies regulatory gaps resulting from new technologies and provides suggestions for new approaches. It helps to establish benchmarks to advance equal global standards and norms.
Address ethical and security concerns in intellectual property management
BioMADE members will be thinking about the full range of possible uses for their products and processes, and will be working toward making the benefits accessible to the widest possible population. They will also meet and exceed industry norms for guarding against accidental or intentional misuse that might threaten the public.
Increase public understanding and support for bioindustrial engineering and manufacturing
Bioengineering has enormous potential to improve life for people, animals, and the environment. By developing new ways to make foods more safe and nutritious, to make crops more hardy and adaptable to climate change, or to make new building materials and consumer products, bioengineering can be of enormous value to the public. At the same time, many are made uneasy by the power of biotechnology, and worry about unintended and harmful effects. BioMADE will engage with the public, hear their concerns, and work to find new ways to respond to misunderstandings and to ameliorate those concerns.