Florence, Italy, will be the capital of circular bioeconomy from 27 to 29 September. The International Forum on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioeconomy (IFIB) will be held in this beautiful city this year at the Innovation Center of Fondazione CR Firence.
The Biden-Harris Administration released a new action plan to rapidly and equitably expand biotechnology and biomanufacturing education and job training programs in the United States. The action plan accompanies the second round of the Administration’s Investing in America tour, where President Biden, Vice President Harris, First Lady Jill Biden, Cabinet members, and Senior Administration Officials will visit communities benefitting from the historic levels of private sector investments mobilized by the President’s Investing in America Agenda. Since the beginning of the Biden-Harris Administration, private companies have announced $470 billion in manufacturing and clean energy investments, including in biomanufacturing.
New legislation to tackle waste by improving recycling rates and increasing reuse has been published by the Scottish Government. The Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill was introduced by Lorna Slater MSP, the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity. The ambition of a circular economy is to generate a society where products are used and re-used for as long as possible, maximising their value and minimising waste, and where by-products are captured and used to create additional valuable commodities.
Arkema, which had already strengthened its climate plan in July 2022, is setting new, even more ambitious targets by 2030 across its whole value chain, approved by the organization Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a partnership between CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project), United Nations Global Compact, WRI (World Resources Institute), and WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature). The Group now aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 48.5% for Scopes 1+2 and by 54% for Scope 3 by 2030 versus 2019.
Neste and Viva Aerobus, the Mexican ultra low-cost carrier, have signed a new purchase agreement for one million liters (264,000 gallons) of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel™. The sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) supplied to Viva Aerobus will be blended with conventional jet fuel and used to power the airline’s flights from Los Angeles International Airport to Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey in Mexico.
The BioCities Facility was inaugurated last week in Rome, taking advantage of the “ThinkForest seminar Forests and the cities of the future”, which explored the transformational role forests and nature can play in creating ‘biocities’, and some of the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. The seminar took place in Rome on 20 April, as part of the official launch of EFI’s new Biocities Facility and celebrations of EFI’s 30th anniversary.
“When we consider that nearly all of the materials and products in society today are essentially 100% based on petrochemicals and that the chemical sector is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions, half of that from the fossil-based feedstock used to produce the chemicals, we see that the world is not only dependent on petroleum but also on petrochemicals. To transition to a lower carbon economy, we need renewable chemicals just as much as renewable energy.” Nick Smith, Head of Development Commercialisation at Circa Group, talks to Il Bioeconomista. In this exclusive interview, he talks about the ReSolute plant in Eastern France, the new partnerships and the next steps of the Australian company and the role of the bioeconomy to make industries more sustainable.
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
“One of the greatest advantages of the circular bioeconomy is the fact that it relies on renewable biological resources and renewable energy which we can develop, manage and process in Europe, which is not a continent rich in fossil resources or rare earth materials.” To say it – in this exclusive interview with Il Bioeconomista – is Marc Palahí, director of the European Forest Institute. He talks about circular bioeconomy, the role played by the forest-based sector, the Circular Bioeconomy Alliance founded by His Majesty King Charles III (formerly The Prince of Wales) and the next event focused on Biocities, which will take place in Rome on April 20.
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), around the world finding a job is much tougher for women than it is for men. When women are employed, they tend to work in low-quality jobs in vulnerable conditions and there is little improvement forecast in the near future. The current global labour force participation rate for women is close to 46% (for men it is 71%, according to the International Labour Organization). The freedom to work – by choice, in conditions of dignity, safety and fairness – is integral to human welfare.
Held jointly by France and Gabon, the 6th One Planet Summit took place on 1 and 2 March 2023 in Libreville, Gabon. This Summit focused on common challenges for the three tropical forest basins of the Congo Basin, the Amazon forest and the forests of South-East Asia. The choice of Gabon to host the Summit highlights the rich heritage of African forests.
