The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recently joined the National Commission on Research, Science, and Technology (NCRST) to officially launch Namibia’s very first Sustainable Bioeconomy Strategy 2024-2029. This landmark strategy, developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Higher Education, Technology, and Innovation (MHETI), represents a significant milestone as Namibia becomes the second African country to adopt a National Bioeconomy Strategy.
The Mitsubishi Chemical Group’s biomass-based polycarbonatediol (PCD) BENEBiOL was selected by Citizen Watch Co. for use in its fall/winter 2024 CITIZEN PROMASTER model. BENEBiOL™ will be used as a raw material for polyurethane for the watch band.
Artigo, an international rubber flooring company based in Italy, will produce their next-generation flooring collections from 2025 with UPM BioMotion™ Renewable Functional Fillers (RFF). By incorporating UPM Biochemicals’ RFF, Artigo has achieved CO2 footprint savings of up to 0.5 kg CO2e/sq. meter and managed to reduce the weight by up to 5% per square meter flooring.
The Compostable By Design Platform (CBDP) was launched in Europe by a group of leaders of compostable materials value chain with TotalEnergies Corbion has one of the steering group members. The platform gathers stakeholders representing the entire value chain from raw material producers, converters, brand owners to waste management organizations as well as testing and certification bodies.
INEOS Inovyn launched two new PVC pilot plants at its Jemeppe-sur-Sambre site in Belgium, to accelerate technologies for recycling PVC which is not mechanically recyclable today. It forms part of a strategic ‘Project Circle’ initiative, which aims to commission an industrial unit with a 40KT recyclable capacity by 2030. To strengthen the technical and commercial development, INEOS Inovyn joined two value chain consortiums supported by the Walloon and Flemish authorities.
Boeing is buying 9.4 million gallons (35.6 million liters) of blended sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to support its 2024 U.S. commercial operations, reducing its carbon emissions and working to help grow the supply of the fuel globally. This is the company’s largest annual SAF purchase, more than 60% higher than its buy in 2023. The blended fuel – 30% SAF made from waste by-products such as fats, oils, and greases and 70% conventional jet fuel – will support the Boeing ecoDemonstrator program and Boeing U.S. commercial operational flights.
“This phrase by Robert Schuman, founder of Europe, has marked my political commitment from the start. “Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan: it will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity.” It summarizes Schuman’s pragmatic and progressive approach to building European unity, starting with specific projects that could bring nations together and build a basis for cooperation and mutual trust. The analogy with the Bioeconomy is perfect.” To say this – in this exclusive interview with Il Bioeconomista – is Franck Leroy, the President of the Grand Est Region in France, one of the leading bioeconomy regions at European level. He talks about the role of the bioeconomy fur the future of the Region is governing, for France and for the European Union, inviting all our readers to vote for the next election of the EU Parliament (and we fully support his invitation). “It is therefore essential – he states – that public policies are consistent with each other, to foster innovation and the development of the Bioeconomy in our territories, in our countries, and in our continent. And I believe that the regional level is undoubtedly the most relevant level to intersect all these ambitions.”
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a plan that will boost biomass supply chain resiliency for domestic biobased product manufacturing, while also advancing environmental sustainability and market opportunities for small and mid-sized producers.
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.”
IL BIOECONOMISTA 