Criteria for the success of the bioeconomy

Abstract

The establishment of bioeconomic value chains has implications for companies, regions, jobs and consumers. The most important factors on which the successful transformation into a sustainable bioeconomy will depend are raw material supply, technological progress, production costs, ecological sustainability, and social acceptance. The transition from the fossil-based economy to the bioeconomy will take decades, especially since, at this point in time, most bio-based value chains remain in competition with their fossil-based counterparts. It must be borne in mind, however, that not all areas currently dominated by the fossil-based economy will be replaced by bio-based processes. In the energy industry, for example, non-bio-based processes must also pursue a greater degree of sustainability, for example, through the use of wind, water, and solar energy. The transition to more bio-based forms of economy must therefore be oriented towards three specific dimensions of sustainability, which together take into account the potential for increasing competition of numerous economic sectors for scarce biomass resources. This results in fundamental conflicts of objectives that must inevitably be resolved if the transition is to succeed. The two most important general prerequisites for a successful transition to future bio-economies are therefore contingent on solutions of this nature being attained. After all, new innovations, whether products or process technologies, must be competitive if they are to attain a foothold in the market. This means that innovations in both the business-to-business area (B2B) and the business-to-customer area (B2C) also require the active involvement of customers.