The Crucial Role of the
Bioeconomy and the Circular Economy

Excessive waste generation and the constant increase in greenhouse gas emissions are some of the major challenges facing our planet today. In addition to harming the environment and human beings, these problems affect today’s economic environment. In this context, the bioeconomy and the circular economy play a crucial role.

According to the Bioeconomy Strategy published in 2018 by the European Community , the bioeconomy links terrestrial and marine ecosystems and the services they provide; all primary production sectors that use and produce biological resources (agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture); and all economic and industrial sectors that use biological resources and processes to produce food, feed, bioproducts, energy and services (except biomedicine and health biotechnology).

But what does this new concept consist of? The circular bioeconomy is based on the sustainable and efficient valorization of biomass through integrated, multi-product production chains (e.g. biorefineries) while making use of waste and optimizing the value of biomass over time through cascades. The use of biomass as a resource is the key intersection between the bioeconomy and the circular economy.

The circular bioeconomy is presented as the alternative of the future and it is easy to predict that companies wishing to maintain their position in the market will have to adapt and adopt a new production model based on optimizing the use of resources and raw materials. The circular bioeconomy is, therefore, a new economic model that seeks to synchronize the economy with environmental and social objectives. Its deployment will therefore lead to an improvement in the well-being of society as a whole. Find out more about these concepts by reading the full article.