Scaling up bio-based production in Europe

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Hundreds of delegates recently converged on Brussels for a conference that aimed to help boost the green transition. Specifically, it addressed the shift Europe from fossil-based to bio-based production and consumption.

The event heard that bio-based production must “reach beyond” the replacement of fossil-based products with bio-based ones.

It has to be “circular, minimise the use of natural resources and consider environmental, social and economic impacts”.

These were some of the themes to emerge from the two-day stakeholder forum, attended by more than 500 people.

The high-profile conference was hosted by the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU), a €2 billion public-private partnership advancing the European bio-based sector.

Nicoló Giacomuzzi-Moore, CBE JU Acting Executive Director, wants the bioeconomy “to be at the heart of the green transition, seeing the concrete results achieved by our community.”

“Europe must lead this revolution making the best of its talents, achieving a high level of sustainability, social fairness and inclusion, and industrial competitiveness.”

The event sought to foster sustainability and create new business models to help shift Europe from fossil-based to bio-based production and consumption.

Held on 6-7 December at The Egg venue in Brussels, the gathering brought together industry leaders, experts, researchers, policymakers and enthusiasts from Europe and beyond.

Over 500 speakers representing the bio-based sector, industries taking up bio-based solutions, research and innovation providers, public sector, local authorities and other stakeholders shared insights on what drives the sector’s contribution towards a sustainable future for Europe.

CBESF23 – CBE JU Stakeholder Forum 2023 – sought to provide a platform for “thought-provoking” discussions, showcasing cutting-edge technologies and inspiring actionable solutions “for a greener future.”

It showcased the latest advancements in the bio-based sector, sustainable practices, and their impact on the European and global landscape.

Nine panel discussions explored key challenges and opportunities in the bio-based sector, across three themes:
· How to stimulate demand for circular bio-based solutions?
· How to facilitate access to finance to scale up circular bio-based production in Europe?
· What R&I is needed to keep the European leadership in bio-based sector in the medium-long term.

An exhibition of 30 innovative bio-based solutions made by CBE JU-funded projects demonstrated the industry’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of technological advancements and the readiness of these solutions for market uptake.

Elsewhere, two workshops focussed on measures to support a successful bio-based sector’s roll-out in Europe: providing the education and training that address the skills needed in the sector and making the sector attractive for young professionals.
Over 500 participants from over 40 countries were present, representing the private sector (35%), research and education (27%) and the public sector (17%). Some 35% of all participants came from small and medium businesses.

The event heard that CBE JU is a “success story” in advancing the European bio-based sector by de-risking investments and engaging a fragmented stakeholder community around a common goal.

An event spokesman said, “Bio-based production must reach beyond the replacement of fossil-based products with bio-based ones: it has to be circular, minimise the use of natural resources and consider environmental, social and economic impacts.

“The regional dimension is key in the bioeconomy, since biomass is locally sourced and the bio-based sector is an important booster of local economies. Regions are also important drivers of innovation.

“The European bio-based sector needs to present a strong common narrative to support the take-up of bio-based solutions by both large industries and consumers.”

The spokesman added, “The shift from fossil-based to bio-based production and consumption requires consistency in legislation and policy objectives, supportive industrial regulation, access to finance, and adapted standardisation.

“The transition to a circular bio-based economy can only happen through true collaboration among all stakeholders, ranging from primary producers to researchers, to small businesses and large industries as well as acceptance by consumers.

Catia Bastioli, CEO of Novamont represents CBE JU’s private partner the Bio-based Industries Consortium and opened the forum.

Bastioli said the bioeconomy “should be a pillar of the Green Deal to rethink the production, use and end-of-life of bio-products, wasting nothing and promoting participatory innovation.”

Further comment came from Marc Lemaître, of the European Commission, who said, “Europe needs to move from the linear to the circular model of economy and the European Green Deal is making much better use of the resources.”

EU policies related to bio-based products

At European level, policies linked to bio-based products include the following:

• The EU’s industrial policy which aims to raise industry’s contribution to EU GDP to 20% by 2020 from the current level of 15%. The bio-based products sector, as a key enabling technology, is one of the priority areas with a high potential for future growth and addressing societal challenges.
• The Commission’s bioeconomy strategy and action plan aims at shifting the European economy towards a greater and more sustainable use of renewable resources. The second pillar of the strategy focuses on the development of markets and competitiveness in bioeconomy sectors (such as the bio-based product sector) by sustainably increasing primary production, conversion of waste streams into value-added products (bio-refineries), and mutual learning mechanisms for improved production and resource efficiency.
• The flagship initiative for a resource-efficient Europe under the Europe 2020 strategy supports the shift towards a resource-efficient low-carbon economy to achieve sustainable growth.
• The Circular Economy Package was created to help European businesses and consumers make the transition to a stronger and more circular economy where resources are used in a more sustainable way. The proposed actions contribute to ‘closing the loop’ of product lifecycles through greater recycling and re-use, and bring benefits for both the environment and the economy. This transition will be supported financially by ESIF funding, €650 million from Horizon 2020 (the EU funding programme for research and innovation), €5.5 billion from structural funds for waste management, and investments in the circular economy at national level.
• The European Innovation Partnerships (EIP) were launched under the Commission’s Innovation Union flagship programme to accelerate the market take-up of innovations which address key challenges for Europe. Specifically:
  • The EIP for Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability (EIP-AGRI) aims to promote competitive and sustainable agriculture and forestry that “achieves more from less”. It contributes to ensuring a steady supply of food, feed, and biomaterials.
  • The EIP on Raw Materials aims to achieve the transition to a circular economy by providing valuable lessons on how to boost recycling and the re-use of materials.
• The Commission’s Lead Market Initiative between 2008 and 2011 fostered the development of the bio-based products sector by exploring demand-side innovation policy tools such as standardisation, labelling, and public procurement. The main outcomes of this initiative were an interim report “Taking Bio-based from Promise to Market“; policy papers on financingand communications; and a list of priority recommendations (22 kB) for enabling the market uptake of bio-based products. In the framework of the Lead Market Initiative, the Commission issued several standardisation mandates to the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN):