Position paper of BIO Deutschland "Realising an industrial bioeconomy"

Climate change, among other challenges, is forcing a rethink. We must do everything we can to sustain our livelihoods while keeping our economy strong. The bioeconomy is key to both these aims. While concepts such as circular economy and cascade utilisation focus on preserving the value of products, materials and resources in the economy for as long as possible and improving the environmental efficiency of processes, the bioeconomy encompasses the sustainable production of renewable biological resources and the conversion of these resources and waste streams into value-added products, such as food, feed, bio-based products and bioenergy.

Through the use of innovative technologies, it is possible to produce bio-based products in all sectors of the economy. A knowledge-based bioeconomy – especially one that supports the circular economy – can only be achieved with biotechnology.

As the diagram below illustrates, such a bioeconomy involves the technological usage of renewable biological resources – whether it’s microorganisms, enzymes, cell cultures or whole organisms – in circular systems.

BIO Deutschland is committed to efficiently implementing the bioeconomy in Germany and 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 bioeconomy.