European bioeconomy in the making
The EU has an ambitious vision to develop a robust bioeconomy to help Europe exploit its biological resources in a sustainable manner and produce more from less. Espousing this premise, the EU-funded TOBE2014 (Organisation of the EU Bioeconomy Stakeholders Conference - Turin 2014) project organised the 3rd European Bioeconomy Stakeholders' Conference entitled ‘From sectors to system, from concept to reality’ in Italy in 2014. It worked on moving the EU from strategy to implementation with focus on actually deploying the principles of a healthy bioeconomy in Europe. To begin with, the 2014 conference built on the valuable outcomes of the previous events on the topic. It analysed the role of agriculture, forestry, marine resources, waste and agro-food by-products as biomass resources, looking at biomass transformation and integrated biorefineries to upgrade the value of natural resources. Horizontal considerations such as public-private partnerships, private investments, venture capital and research innovation barriers were also examined. In this respect the project team outlined innovation considerations and key supporting measures, as well as implementation tools at the national and regional level. The event, which featured more than 70 experts in 18 panel sessions, attracted 350 participants in addition to being streamed live to interested stakeholders. It created discussions related to the European bioeconomy involving industry players, government officials and farmers, as well as trade unions and NGOs. Different side events added value to the conference programme, addressing specific topics such as startups in the bioeconomy and barriers for growing the bioeconomy. One notable workshop related to the role and impact of science and technology policies on bio-based chemicals and bio-plastics also added important insight to the event. The conference outcomes were published on the event’s website and have attracted a significant amount of interest. If and when these outcomes are applied, Europe will be well on its way to becoming a model bioeconomy.
Keywords
Bioeconomy, TOBE2014, biomass, biorefineries, bio-based chemicals, bio-plastics
