Bioeconomy policy support hub for Member States, regions and sectors

This destination will support the EU Commission priorities ‘Sustaining our quality of life: food security, water and nature’ and ‘A new plan for Europe’s sustainable prosperity and competitiveness’.

The destination supports the EU Green Deal^[1] and contributes to Europe’s competitiveness and sustainable prosperity by supporting the development of a more resilient circular economy in line with the EU Competitiveness Compass^[2], the announced EU Clean Industrial Deal^[3] and the EU Circular Economy Act.

It aims to increase market demand for secondary materials and establish a single market for waste, whilst enhancing Europe’s efforts to develop a single market for sustainable products. It will also support the implementation of the framework conditions set by the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy.

Furthermore, the destination aims to facilitate the emergence and uptake of innovative, circular and bio-based materials, products, processes and value chains that play a key role for the defossilisation (reduction of feedstocks of fossil origin), climate neutrality and strategic autonomy of our economy, in line with the new EU bioeconomy strategy as well as with the New European Bauhaus.

In addition, this destination supports several key EU policies including the industrial strategy, the European Chemicals Industry Action Plan^[4] and the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation^[5] and its working plan.

It also contributes to the EU Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative, the SME strategy, the communication on safe and sustainable by design framework, the sustainable blue economy, the European Ocean Pact^[6], the European Water Resilience Strategy^[7], the European Life Sciences Strategy, the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030, and the Nature Restoration Regulation.

Further support extends to the CAP, the EU forest strategy for 2030, the proposal for a Regulation on a forest monitoring framework, the EU proposal for a directive on soil monitoring and resilience, and the Vision for Agriculture and Food.

The destination supports unlocking the unique assets for research and innovation of the EU outermost regions, in line with the EU strategy for outermost regions^[8].

Legal entities established in China are not eligible to participate in both Research and Innovation Actions (RIAs) and Innovation Actions (IAs) falling under this destination. For additional information please see “Restrictions on the participation of legal entities established in China” found in General Annex B of the General Annexes.

Expected impact: Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway contributing to “achieving healthy soils and forests, as well as clean air, fresh and marine water, whilst ensuring water resilience and the transition to a clean, competitive and circular economy and sustainable bioeconomy”, and more specifically to one or more of the following expected impacts:

• Improved climate change adaptation and mitigation through the transition to a more sustainable and circular economy and bioeconomy, underpinned by biotechnologies and sustainable industrial solutions, such as carbon capture and utilisation and recovery of materials, water and energy.
• Industrial competitiveness, sustainability and strategic autonomy are improved through the development of safe, sustainable, circular and/or bio-based value chains. This is done by promoting the efficient and circular use of secondary materials and water, fostering the multi-functionality of forests, and ensuring the sustainable supply of critical resources from land and sea.
• Living conditions for individuals and communities are improved through innovative, affordable and sustainable safe and sustainable by design products and services based on circular and/or bio-based solutions while demonstrating a reduction of environmental and climate pressures.
• Advanced societal transformation based on a systemic approach, as well as people’s involvement and integration of social sciences and humanities for fair, safe, sustainable and circular value chains, sustainable consumption patterns, environmental justice, gender equality and social inclusion.

[1] The European Green Deal - European Commission

[2] https://commission.europa.eu/topics/eu-competitiveness/competitiveness-compass_en

[3] Clean Industrial Deal - European Commission

[4] European Chemicals Industry Action Plan – European Commission

[5] Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation – European Commission

[6] The European Ocean Pact - European Commission

[7] Water resilience strategy - European Commission

[8] COM(2022) Putting people first, securing sustainable and inclusive growth, unlocking the potential of the EU’s outermost regions.

Expected Outcome:

Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• most Member States and regions^[1] have established the bioeconomy as an important policy field. Effective bioeconomy policies and strategies are developed and implemented with specific impact targets in mind;
• policies and action plans and roadmaps are coordinated across parts of government (e.g. Ministries) and across the quadruple helix (government, sectors, research & innovation, society) to take into account the cross-sectoral and place-based character of the bioeconomy, and the need for a whole of government approach. Platforms are established to facilitate dialogue, experimentation, learning and coordination;
• all actors of the quadruple helix (e.g. policy makers, NGOs, economic sectors) are aware of the bioeconomy, as well as of the potential and challenges that are specific for their perspective and context. The bioeconomy concept, its principles and its solutions and innovations are mainstreamed by sectors (e.g. food, textiles, chemicals, energy, agriculture, forestry).

Scope:

Proposals should:

• establish a European Bioeconomy Policy Support Hub to provide innovative approaches, hands-on support, learning and advise to Member States and regions on plans, roadmaps, policies and collaborations to deploy their bioeconomies;
• provide innovative tools to assess, on an ongoing basis, the stage of development of bioeconomy policies and strategies in Member States and regions, and to assess the quality of their implementation;
• provide relevant support, new approaches and recommendations to improve and/or take next steps. Take into account the learnings of the Report “Deploying the bioeconomy in the EU” (2021, European Commission), as well as the results of relevant Horizon Europe projects (e.g. ShapingBio, CEE2ACT, SCALE-UP);
• provide an overview of the uptake of new bioeconomy solutions based on biomass and biological resources (including ecosystems) in European value chains and sectors (including service sectors);
• provide innovative approaches, hands-on support, learning and advise to Member States and regions to deploy their bioeconomies. This can include activities that aim help to:
  • inform and engage political leadership on the potential of the bioeconomy;
  • establish or improve platforms facilitate policy dialogue, experimentation, learning and coordination (e.g. policy labs);
  • map the bioeconomy’s potential across sectors and society at regional and Member State level, and increase awareness;
  • advance skills of policy makers, and learn from best practices in bioeconomy policy and implementation;
  • set-up or improve local bioeconomy councils, i.e. platforms for dialogue between government, sectors, academia and society (quadruple helix) on bioeconomy policies, plans, roadmaps and their implementation;
  • put in place collaborations that facilitate the scaling-up of bioeconomy solutions in value chains and sectors that are relevant for the Member State or region;
  • monitor the bioeconomy as well as the change process it brings;
• ensure innovative approaches, hands-on support, learning and advise that is both generic (targeting all Member States and regions; or groups of Member States and regions) and tailormade (in response to questions from specific Member States and regions that express clear need and commitment to collaborate);
• carry out activities to maximize the geographical spread of its support and advice;
• enable structural dialogue with European Commission services, and collaborate with relevant initiatives such as the Circular Bio-based Europe (CBE) Joint Undertaking, European University Alliances, the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform or the BIOEAST initiative
• collaborate with such partners on a roadmap to ensure that key results, tools and approaches can be sustained after the end of the project;
• collaborate with relevant Horizon Europe projects (e.g. ShapingBio) and/or build on their results.

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the consortium selected for funding since results could contribute to the Knowledge Centre for Bioeconomy’s monitoring of bioeconomy policy developments in EU countries and regions.

[1] Including Associated Countries and EEA Member States.