BIC position paper on Green Recovery

With about 700 billion EUR turnover and 3.6 million people employed, the bio-based industries are helping to alleviate the impact of the crisis by keeping essential services running and maintaining green jobs. BIC members reacted quickly and effectively to assist governments and health authorities to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. This included the provision of much-needed supplies such as food and feed ingredients, (compostable) packaging, hand sanitisers, masks, tissues and energy from renewable feedstock.

The advantage of the bioeconomy lies in the fact that through integrated and innovative circular operations food, feed, bio-based products and materials, services and energy can be produced. The bio-based industries help to reduce Europe’s dependency on fossil-based resources, sustain healthy ecosystems and achieve the climate neutrality goal. We help to improve food security, foster circularity, stimulate rural development and maintain green jobs in EU regions.

Creating bio-based value chains requires new connections and innovations across multiple and diverse sectors. It also requires involving brand owners’ and citizens’ insights to achieve market up-take and acceptance. That is the uniqueness and the challenge of the European bio-based sector. The bio-based industries integrate ‘traditional’ industrial sectors including the primary sector into innovative value chains in making the European bioeconomy the global leader.