Position paper of BIO Deutschland "Driving the economy through the power of biology"

BIO Deutschland champions the interests of all companies active in the industrial biotechnology sector, in particular those of innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Industrial biotechnology is one of the central pillars in the transformation process towards a bio-based and sustainable economy – i.e. a knowledge-based bioeconomy. Such a knowledge-based bioeconomy, which primarily involves using the principles of industrial biotechnology, is the key to realising the sustainability goals set by Germany, the European Union and the United Nations.

To achieve these sustainability goals, BIO Deutschland’s Working Group on the Industrial Bioeconomy is committed to implementing the following measures:

• Any comparison with traditional fossil-based products and processes must take into account all costs, including a product’s ecological footprint, in order to shed light on how using innovative technologies benefits the economy and society.
• A clear regulatory framework for new technologies is needed to promote biotech innovations. This includes a comprehensive revision of all existing laws and directives at the national and EU levels related to biotech manufacturing processes and bio-based products.
• The implementation of bioeconomic approaches in industry must be accelerated. This should be achieved by:
  • providing sustained assistance to pre-competitive pilot plants and prototype developments; and
  • giving massive support to developing new manufacturing processes for biotech products and intermediates and to establishing the necessary value chains, all the way from bio-based agricultural and forestry raw materials through to chemical or biotechnological production and onto end product processing.
• To facilitate the market entry of bio-based products, it is crucial to create a market pull by setting blending quotas and material specifications and by levying higher taxes on CO2 emissions.
• Legal avenues must be created for German and European capital-collecting institutions to invest in venture capital (VC). Tax incentives must be created, especially ones that encourage private investors to invest in the VC asset class.
• A clear and coherent commitment to the central importance of biotechnology in implementing bioeconomy strategies is required from Bundestag members, the federal government and the responsible federal ministries. Unlocking the potential of biotechnology is vital if we are to succeed in defossilising and biologising the economy.
• Public relations work as well as efforts to advance dialogue with society and report transparently on innovative technologies and products must be supported.