Possible solutions

What needs to be done, who needs to be involved

The implementation of the Bioeconomy will require a coherent policy framework that spans all levels of the value chains and that covers all sectors (i.e. primary production, logistics, industrial processing/refining, end-products).

The implementation will also require “market-making”: in the beginning, bio-based products will need to fetch a higher price to cover research, technological development and initial investment. Incentives will need to be put in place in order to give bio-based products a chance on the market.

A number of scientific and technical challenges need to be addressed; the multiple possible value chains differ substantially in terms of technological readiness, profitability and scalability. These challenges are of horizontal nature in part, but more often than not specific to certain business cases and technological pathways.

All of the above will require the involvement of very different stakeholders, on regional, national and European level. Many different actors are needed, from primary producers and associated sectors (e.g. breeders, chemical industry, agricultural engineering companies), to the industries using the bio-resources (e.g. in integrated biorefineries), to the end-users of the products. Many different kinds of stakeholders (e.g. researchers, industrialists, policy makers, non-governmental organizations) will need to come and work effectively together. Advice will need to be developed that is coherent and can be adopted by the regions, the Member States and the European Union. To all of this the BSW will contribute with its activities.