Towards a regenerative and competitive circular bioeconomy

Consultations on the initiative Toward a Regenerative and Competitive Closed-Circuit Bioeconomy will run until June 23, 2025. The initiative aims to offer solutions for a climate-neutral, closed-loop economy, which will increase the European Union’s prosperity and competitiveness, but taking into account the Earth’s capabilities.

It will help citizens, regions and key economic sectors (including agriculture, forestry, fisheries, the bioproduction sector and biotechnology and their services) to make the best and most sustainable use of biomass, thus keeping materials and products in circulation for as long as possible.

The European Commission invites all interested parties to submit opinions, comments and proposals through a questionnaire published on its website. The opinions, comments and proposals submitted will be taken into account in developing the final form of this initiative.

In parallel with the online public consultation, there will be targeted stakeholder workshops and several events on the bioeconomy, such as the EU Green Week 2025 and a conference organized by the European Stakeholder Platform on the Circular Economy.

What is a bioeconomy?

The bioeconomy in this context is understood as the production of biomass, as well as the conversion of biomass into food, bio-based materials and products, including biochemicals, and bioenergy. In addition, it strengthens the industrial base, reduces dependence on fossil fuels and boosts rural development.

The bioeconomy is estimated to provide employment for 17.2 million people in the EU in 2021, helping to generate €728 billion in added value.

This shows the growth potential of the regenerative bioeconomy, contributing to the competitiveness of the European Union.

Nevertheless, as highlighted in the Competitiveness Compass for the EU, the bioeconomy as part of the European market could suffer from a persistent gap in productivity growth.

General context

The European Council’s 2024-2029 strategic agenda sets a policy goal of developing a more resource-efficient closed-loop economy, driving industrial development of clean technologies and reaping the benefits of the bioeconomy.

Pandemics, crises and wars have recently highlighted the need to increase competitiveness and strengthen the European Union’s resilience, resource efficiency, including water resources, food sovereignty and energy security in the EU, while ensuring the affordability (e.g. of food) and general availability of basic goods and services.

That’s why the European Commission’s 2025 work program announced a new bioeconomy strategy to be created by the end of this year.

New bioeconomy strategy

The new bioeconomy strategy is intended to help remove barriers and identify enablers for innovation and solutions. It is to be consistent with the future strategy for start-ups and scale-ups, the Ocean Pact, the Life Sciences Strategy, the European Biotechnology Act, the Circular Economy Act and the Act on Accelerating Industrial Decarbonization.

In addition, it is expected to bridge the innovation gap and support environmental transformation.

This will reduce pressure on limited resources by:

• innovations in primary production,
• The spread of closed-loop circulation,
• efficient management of resources.

The actions taken are to be in line with the principles of closed-loop and sustainable development. The strategy will target farmers, foresters, industry managers and businesses, especially SMEs and start-ups.

The planned completion date for the initiative is the fourth quarter of 2025.

The European Commission will continue to monitor the development of the bioeconomy through the EU’s knowledge center and monitoring system. Evaluation of the implementation of the activities will take place four to six years after the adoption of the strategy.

Main objectives of the new bioeconomy strategy

According to the adopted assumptions, the goal of the new bioeconomy strategy will be the production, use and consumption of biological resources for the production of food, materials, energy and services.

The following were identified as the main objectives:

• Ensuring the long-term competitiveness of the EU bioeconomy and investment security;
• Increasing resource-efficient use of biological resources in a closed loop by creating effective demand;
• Ensuring a competitive and sustainable supply of biomass, both within and outside the EU;
• Strengthening the EU’s position in the fast-growing international market for bio-based materials, bioproduction, biochemicals, and the agri-food and biotechnology sectors.

Bioeconomy and agriculture

According to the Vision for Agriculture and Food, the bioeconomy and closed loop is an important instrument for agriculture, forestry and the food system. It is intended to help reduce dependence on external raw materials, diversify income sources and strengthen the role of primary producers.

The bioeconomy uses biological resources, such as plants, to produce food, materials, energy and other products, and agriculture is a key part of this process. In addition, it drives innovation in agriculture, introducing new technologies and methods that make more efficient use of resources and reduce environmental impact. It has the potential to increase the sustainability of agriculture, minimize its impact on nature and support the development of more efficient production methods.

As an example of bioeconomy in agriculture, we can point to renewable plant resources that are used to produce biofuels, providing an alternative to fossil fuels, or the production of energy from biomass.