Today, the Commission has proposed a series of targeted actions to boost biotechnology and biomanufacturing in the EU. The Communication on Building the future with nature identifies the challenges and barriers and proposes to tackle them, in line with the Communication on the long-term competitiveness of the EU.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) honored last 8 March the second annual National Biobased Products Day, a celebration to raise public awareness of biobased products, their benefits and their contributions to the U.S. economy and rural communities. “Bioproducts offer opportunities for more revenue streams for small and mid-sized farmers while giving consumers more in-demand, clean options for everyday items.”
A Festival that aims to engage youth as drivers of the transformative change required in view of the multiple challenges that Europe faces today, and to unlock the potential of the bioeconomy to make the transformation happen. This is the ‘Bioeconomy Changemakers Festival’ organised by the European Commission (DG Research and Innovation) in cooperation with the Bioeconomy Youth Ambassadors, and accompanied by independent satellite events all over Europe on March 13 and 14
In addition, the Festival helped the European Commission to gather views on an update of the Bioeconomy Strategy and Action Plan.
It took place between 11 and 17 of March 2024 in various locations across the EU, and comprised of:
The target audience of the high-level event of 13-14 March 2024 consists of bioeconomy stakeholders, regional, national and international policy makers and youth interested in the bioeconomy.
The satellite events, organised in 18 countries, are offering space for discussions, networking, and information on career opportunities.
Equal opportunity and equal treatment in the labour market are at the core of decent work. Unfortunately, women around the world still face additional hurdles to access employment, and once in employment, to access decision-making positions and jobs in certain sectors or of certain characteristics. This horizontal and vertical gender segregation of employment, combined with the unequal distribution of unpaid work (including household and childcare activities), results in differences in working conditions such as the gender pay gap and the over-representation of women in part-time jobs.
The Commission published a detailed impact assessment on possible pathways to reach the agreed goal of making the European Union climate neutral by 2050. Based on this impact assessment, the Commission recommends a 90% net greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2040 compared to 1990 levels, launching a discussion with all stakeholders; a legislative proposal will be made by the next Commission, after the European elections, and agreed with the European Parliament and Member States as required under the EU Climate Law. This recommendation is in line with the advice of the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change (ESABCC) and the EU’s commitments under the Paris Agreement.
Thomas Philipon is the CEO of TotalEnergies Corbion, a global leader in the marketing, sales and production of PLA (Poly Lactic Acid). He is also the Most Innovative Bioeconomy CEO 2023 according to the readers of Il Bioeconomista. In this exclusive interview with us, Philipon talks about the meaning of innovation in the bioeconomy, the role played by TotalEnergies Corbion and above all the European legislative framework to support the ecological transition, in comparison with USA and China. “Europe – he states – is leading in the bioeconomy, but needs to support sectors like bioplastics, otherwise the risk is that we develop the know-how, but other areas of the world (USA and China), will scale up the production of these products”.
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
There is a Scottish bioeconomy beyond Brexit. The Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC) has been awarded long-term investment from the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), securing its position at the forefront of Scotland’s emerging bioeconomy. The commitment, announced by the First Minister yesterday, will enable the innovation centre to continue the development of a greener economy and support Scotland’s transition to net zero. Industrial biotechnology explores the creation of more sustainable materials, consumer goods and pharmaceuticals by using bio-based alternatives to petrochemicals.
Dear Readers,
we want to wish all of you a very happy, peaceful and healthy year, where we all will keep working together to make the circular bioeconomy happen.
Our readers have voted. The most innovative bioeconomy CEO 2023 is Thomas Philipon, CEO of TotalEnergies Corbion, a global technology leader in Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) and lactide monomers. PLA is a biobased, recyclable, and biodegradable polymer made from annually renewable resources, offering a reduced carbon footprint versus traditional plastics. TotalEnergies Corbion, headquartered in the Netherlands, operates a 75,000 tons per year PLA production facility in Rayong, Thailand. The company is a 50/50 joint venture between TotalEnergies and Corbion.
The circular bioeconomy is innovation, the result of the skills and passion of researchers and managers able to create value and new high-qualified jobs, reconciling economy, society and the environment. At the end of 2014 Il Bioeconomista launched a new initiative: The 10 Most Innovative Bioeconomy CEOs.
We have asked a panel of world bioeconomy experts to tell us the Chief Executive Officers that have stood out as the most innovative during the last year.
Now we ask you to choose the most innovative CEO responding to our survey (open till December 13 at 7 am, Western European Time).
The most innovative CEO 2016 was Ken Richards (CEO of Leaf Resources, Australia)
The most innovative CEO 2017 was Tony Duncan (CEO of Circa Group, Australia)
The most innovative CEO 2018 was Jürgen Eck (CEO of BRAIN AG, Germany)
The most innovative CEO 2019 was Alex Michine (CEO of MetGen, Finland)
The most innovative CEO 2020 was Simão Soares (CEO of SilicoLife, Portugal)
The most innovative CEO 2021 was Jennifer Holmgren (CEO of LanzaTech, USA)
The most innovative CEO 2022 was Tom van Aken (CEO of Avantium, Netherlands)
This is the result of 2023 (in alphabetical order)
Catia Bastioli, Novamont (Italy)
John Bissel, Origin Materials (USA)
Annika Bresky, Stora Enso (Sweden)
Marc Delcourt, Global Bioenergies (France)
Jennifer Holmgren, LanzaTech (USA)
Dave Kettner, Virent (USA)
Thomas Philipon, TotalEnergies-Corbion (France/Netherlands)
Christophe Schilling, Genomatica (USA)
Frederic van Gansberghe, Futerro (France)
Niklas von Weymarn, Metsä Spring (Finland)
Here the survey closed
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