The Bio-Economy Concept and Knowledge Base in a Public Goods and Farmer Perspective

Currently an industrial perspective dominates the EU policy framework for a European bio-economy. The Commission’s proposal on the bio-economy emphasises greater resource-efficiency, largely within an industrial perspective on global economic competitiveness, benefiting capital-intensive industries at higher levels of the value chain. However a responsible bio-economy must initially address the sustainable use of resources. Many farmers are not only commodity producers but also providers of quality food and managers of the eco-system. A public goods-oriented bio-economy emphasises agro-ecological methods, organic and low (external) input farming systems, ecosystem services, social innovation in multi-stakeholder collective practices and joint production of knowledge. The potential of farmers and SMEs to contribute to innovation must be fully recognised. This approach recognises the importance of local knowledge enhancing local capabilities, while also accommodating diversity and complexity. Therefore the bio-economy concept should have a much broader scope than the dominant one in European Commission innovation policy. Socio-economic research is needed to inform strategies, pathways and stakeholder cooperation towards sustainability goals

The Increasing Multifunctionality of Agricultural Raw Materials: Three Dilemmas for Innovation and Adoption

Bio-economy, industry convergence, renewables, disruptive innovation, multifunctionality, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Demand and Price Analysis, Q10, Q27, Q42, Q47,

BIOREFINERIES AND BIOBASED PRODUCTS FROM THE CONSUMER'S POINT OF VIEW

Paper prepared for presentation at the 13th ICABR International Conference on Agricultural Biotechnology: “The emerging bio-economy” Ravello (Italy), 18th to 20th June 2009Industrial biotechnology, Biorefinery, Consumer behaviour, Demand and Price Analysis, M39, R20,

Bioeconomy and sustainability: a potential contribution to the Bioeconomy Observatory

In response to the need for further clarifications concerning the emerging concept of the “bio-economy”, the present study scrutinizes this concept in order to better delineate its analytical scope. It also describes methodologies of potential relevance to evaluation and monitoring of the bio-economy. Although not directly intended to prepare the ground for the future EU Bio-economy Observatory (BISO), the material presented herein may also meaningfully inform the design of monitoring activities which will be undertaken within the BISO framework. The introductory section sheds some light on the bio-economy’s multi-dimensional nature, scope, drivers, challenges and economic potential. In order to clearly distinguish between their specific features and coverage, a comparative description of eco-industries versus the bio-economy is included here. The current EU policy approach to the bio-economy is sketched in the second section of this report. With the purpose of defining the bio-economy’s scope and its internal flows, the third section advances an integrated analytical perspective on the EU bio-economy. This perspective builds upon descriptions provided in the related Commission documents. Its potential use in support of the future Bio-economy Observatory is elaborated, together with several associated methodological aspects. In the fourth section, the datasets, methods and models which could be used for measuring and monitoring the bio-economy’s drivers, development and impact are identified and grouped into five inter-related methodological modules. Further methodological clarification is provided as to i) the need for complementing a sectoral approach to the bio-economy with other perspectives, including the product-chain approach, and ii) the usefulness of inventory data from the European Commission’s life-cycle based resource efficiency indicators. Other relevant data sources are also described. In addition, in light of the limited availability of statistical data on new bio-based products and processes, the need for further disaggregated product-level statistics for bio-based products and company-level research is also discussed. Current standardization and research activities on issues such as harmonization of sustainability certification systems for biomass production, conversion systems and trade, sustainability assessment of technologies, and environmental performance of products are reviewed in the fifth section. Based on the observation that it would be impossible to obtain all required data for bio-economy monitoring from official statistical sources, we propose in the sixth section a general-purpose questionnaire which could serve as a basis for prospective surveys. It is intended to be further refined and adjusted, in collaboration with the sector-relevant European technology platforms and industry associations and other relevant stakeholders, according to the specific profile of each sector, product group or firm type to be included in any future surveys.JRC.H.8-Sustainability Assessmen

A Global Overview of Bio-economy Strategies and Visions

This overview provides a comparative analysis of strategies and visions for the bio-economy. It concentrates on the US, EU, Finland, Germany, Sweden, Canada and Australia. It comments on China, Russia, Brazil and Malaysia. It also briefly outlines the OECD policy agenda for the bio-economy

Societal Perspectives on a Bio-economy in Germany: An Explorative Study Using Q Methodology

Bio-economy describes an economy based on renewable instead of fossil resources. To ensure the success of this transformation it is necessary to involve society into the process. Q methodology was used to empirically assess people’s perspectives on bio-economy in Germany. Using a Q-type factor analysis three perspectives were identified. “Sufficiency and close affinity to nature” focuses on natural/ecological relations, while “Technological Progress” favours technologies to become less dependent on fossil resources. The third perspective “Not at any price” is rather concerned about economic trade-offs. People’s viewpoints could be useful for politicians and stakeholders to improve communication and knowledge building on bio-economy in Germany

A Future Tale of Two Winters? Sediment-water interface nitrogen dynamics in Lake Võrtsjärv (Estonia) during the ice-free winter 2019/2020 : [presentation]

The presentation took place at the Lahti Lakes 2021 Symposium.This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 95196. Estonian University of Life Sciences ASTRA project “Value-chain based bio-economy”.This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 95196. Estonian University of Life Sciences ASTRA project “Value-chain based bio-economy”

Bacterial cellulose: from biotechnology to bio-economy

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a nanofibrillar exopolysaccharide synthesized by certain Gramnegative, obligate aerobic, acetic acid bacteria, the Komagataeibacter genus being the most important due to the high cellulose yield obtained. The unique properties of this biopolymer have supported a wide range of potential applications, in human and veterinary medicine, odontology, pharmaceutical industry, acoustic and filter membranes, biotechnological devices and in the food and paper industry. The large-scale production of BC, through advanced biotechnology has eluded many researches. Historical attempts but on low volume and highvalue (mostly for biomedical applications) production can be traced back to the 90s. This presentation will overview the potential uses of BC in several applications. Also, it will present Satisfibre, S.A., a spin-off from the University of Minho (Portugal). Through R&D activities, networking & partnering with industry, Satisfibre aims to bring new and improved solutions, based on the use BC, to the food sector, biomedical, composites, pulp & paper and textile industries. Examples of successful product development and industry networking will be shown. Finally, an overview on the main efforts towards the production of BC at large scale and potential markets will also be presented.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Laying the foundations for a bio-economy

Biological technologies are becoming an important part of the economy. Biotechnology already contributes at least 1% of US GDP, with revenues growing as much as 20% annually. The introduction of composable biological parts will enable an engineering discipline similar to the ones that resulted in modern aviation and information technology. As the sophistication of biological engineering increases, it will provide new goods and services at lower costs and higher efficiencies. Broad access to foundational engineering technologies is seen by some as a threat to physical and economic security. However, regulation of access will serve to suppress the innovation required to produce new vaccines and other countermeasures as well as limiting general economic growth