IL BIOECONOMISTA

Another brick towards the European Bioeconomy. The European Commission organises from 8 to 9 October in Turin the EU Bioeconomy Stakeholders Conference “From sectors to system, from concept to reality”.

Two years on from the launching of the EU’s Bioeconomy Strategy, Brussels in collaboration with the Italian Presidency analyses the achievements and the opportunities ahead in the two-day conference.

Commissioner for Science, Research and Innovation, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, and the Italian Minister for Education, University and Research , Stefania Giannini, will open this high level meeting that takes place at Torino Incontra (meeting center of the Turin Chamber of Commerce).

In line with the EU strategy “Innovating for Sustainable growth: a Bioeconomy for Europe“, fostering an understanding of the bioeconomy as an inter-connected system and inspiring and enabling different actors to take further concrete actions to build the EU bioeconomy are key objectives for the European Commission.

The Conference builds on the conclusions and key recommendations of the last two Bioeconomy Stakeholders Conferences held in Copenhagen (February 2012) and Dublin (March 2013). In particular, the Italian Conference will trigger discussion on how to integrate the concept of the Bioeconomy into European policies, fostering stronger policy coordination in a top-down approach at national, regional and local level, in light of the EU 2020 strategy, the Horizon 2020 overarching goal and the Smart Specialization Strategy.

Turin will host and gather experts and a wide range of stakeholders from industry, academia and end-users to discuss about the routes to close the industrial research-market gap and maximize the knowledge-based development potential of local regions in the following Bioeconomy key areas: Primary Production: the role of agriculture, forestry and marine resources, Agro-food by-products and waste as additional biomass sources; Biomass Transformation and Integrated Biorefineries; Horizontal key elements needed for a strong Bioeconomy in Europe; Innovation and key supporting measures; Implementation tools at national and regional level.

The aim of Bioeconomy Strategy is to shift the European economy towards greater and more sustainable use of renewable resources to ensure a secure and healthy food and feed supply, as well as producing bio-based materials, energy, and other products.

This will enable a more innovative and low-emissions economy – reconciling demands for sustainable agriculture and fisheries, food security, and the sustainable use of renewable biological resources for industrial purposes, while ensuring biodiversity and environmental protection.

All the stakeholders can register for free until 25 August at bioeconomy.miur.it. Registrations will be considered on a first come first served basis.