The Swedish EU Council Presidency organised a conference entitled Living in the Bioeconomy on 27 and 28 October, following on the European Commission EU Bioeconomy Conference which took place in October 2022 and discussed the Bioeconomy Strategy Progress Report published in June 2022. The EU Council is expected to adopt conclusions on the contributions of the bioeconomy in April 2023.  

EuropaBio Industrial Biotechnology Director Agnes Borg took part in the Swedish EU Council Bioeconomy conference. She presented on the importance of food as a key part of the bioeconomy, and how industrial biotechnology can enable solutions and innovation in the food sector. For example, novel solutions for food ingredients can improve the resource efficiency of food production and preserve nature and biodiversity. Valorisation of byproducts as feedstocks bridges the circular economy and the bioeconomy. Finally, industrial biotechnology solutions also support the growing demand for sustainable proteins, a key component of sustainable food systems.

The session also included a panel discussion which explored the opportunities and challenges of the bioeconomy, how bioeconomy drives market development and new business models, key policy changes and research and innovation questions for the development and scale up of the bioeconomy.

Watch the recording of the session here.

Conference web page: https://swedish-presidency.consilium.europa.eu/en/events/conference-on-bioeconomy-27-282/