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Bioeconomy

The bioeconomy encompasses the sustainable production of renewable resources and their conversion into food, feed, fibres, materials, chemicals and bioenergy through efficient and/or innovative technologies. A corner stone of the bioeconomy are biorefineries that use biomass, by- and co- products and waste instead of fossil resources as their raw material. The sector offers huge potential to tackle societal challenges such as resource efficiency, climate change, maintaining European competitiveness and creation of jobs.

In order to stress the need to revitalise rural areas and optimise land use and food security through a sustainable, resource-efficient utilisation of Europe’s renewable raw materials, FEDIOL has been extensively involved in the work of the European Bioeconomy Alliance (EUBA), a cross-sectoral alliance of 14 associations active in the bioeconomy sphere. Since the Alliance was established in early 2015, it has been working to further mainstream and realise the potential of the bio-based economy in Europe.

At EU level, the bio-based economy sector's pillars and development are defined via the EU Bioeconomy Strategy, which was published in 2012 with three overarching priorities:

  1. Investment in R&I and skills;
  2. Policy interaction & Stakeholder engagement;
  3. Enhancement of markets and competitiveness.

A revised EU Bioeconomy Strategy was issued on the occasion of a High-Level Bioeconomy Conference on October 2018. 

In June 2022, the European Commission published the EU Bioeconomy Strategy Progress report presenting the state of play of the implementation of the 2018 Bioeconomy Strategy and general progress of the bioeconomy in Europe. On the same occasion, EUBA issued a Statement to welcome the progress made on the implementation of the 2018 Bioeconomy Action Plan, including emphasis placed on the strengthening the role of substituting fossil-based products with renewable raw materials, products and fuels and scaling up the bio-based sectors through the launch of the new Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking.

In view of the 2024 European elections, EUBA members shared in a Manifesto their vision of how Europe’s bioeconomy sector can help achieve the economic, social and environmental objectives of the European Green Deal and its Industrial Plan: The Bioeconomy Blueprint - Building a circular and resilient Europe.