Conference Agenda

The bioeconomy is a broad and transformative concept centered on the sustainable use of renewable biological resources—agriculture, forestry, fisheries, marine systems, and microbial platforms—combined with biotechnology, engineering, and digital tools to produce an expanding portfolio of goods and services. Historically, biological systems supplied food, feed, and fiber. Today, their contributions have expanded to include fuels, biomaterials, biochemicals, carbon-sequestration pathways, environmental services, and forms of recreation and ecological restoration. The bioeconomy thus provides the foundations of a sustainable, circular, and climate-smart economic system.

Because modern society remains deeply dependent on non-renewable resources—especially fossil fuels—the bioeconomy provides a crucial pathway for transitioning to renewable sources of energy, materials, and production processes. Realizing this transition requires innovations that increase productivity, reduce pressure on land and water, valorize agricultural and forestry residues, curb pollution, and create new bio-based value chains that enhance rural incomes while improving environmental outcomes. These innovations offer solutions to climate change, rural poverty, biodiversity loss, and the food–fuel dilemma. 

Recognizing its strategic importance, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), through its CASA-Bio task force, has proposed a $5 billion research initiative to advance the bioeconomy. Similarly, the European Union, Brazil, and China have launched major policy frameworks and investments to support bioeconomy research and commercialization. However, realizing the promise of the bioeconomy requires more than scientific breakthroughs. It depends on the development of robust and scalable supply chains, effective policies, and institutional frameworks that can support innovation, mobilize investment, and integrate new bio-based industries with existing economic systems. NSF and other funding agencies have explicitly identified policy design and supply-chain development as key challenges in this transition.