The bio-based industries – key to the green recovery – Calling for a stronger recognition of the bio-based sector
Dear Executive First Vice-President Timmermans,
Dear Commissioner Wojciechowski,
Dear Commissioner Gabriel,
Dear Commissioner Ferreira,
Dear Commissioner Sinkevičius,
Dear Commissioner Breton,
Europe is undergoing an unprecedented crisis and the impacts are felt in all aspects of our daily lives. While our society is facing challenging times, the bio-based industries welcome the immediate reaction from the European Commission to formulate a common response to the crisis and its economic consequences.
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.
Our companies are providing much-needed supplies such as food and feed ingredients, (compostable) packaging, hand sanitisers, masks, tissues, and energy from renewable feedstock.
The future impacts of the crisis are unpredictable. What is predictable, however, is that climate change will not halt if we do not take action.
Reducing Europe’s dependency on fossil-based resources, sustaining healthy ecosystems and reaching the climate neutrality goal will require better integration across sectors to create more circular and innovative bio-based solutions.
To quote President von der Leyen, the European Green Deal is “an opportunity to rebuild our economies differently and make them more resilient”.
The bio-based sector can help by turning the crisis into new opportunities for green growth and by being a strong partner in the EU’s green economic recovery.
We are integrating ‘traditional’ industrial sectors into innovative value chains in making the European bioeconomy the global leader.
We sustainably use domestic renewable feedstock from agriculture, forestry and fisheries as well as residues and bio-waste, and process it in state-of-the-art biorefineries to provide bio-based solutions for our customers and consumers
. We help to improve food security, foster circularity, stimulate rural development and maintain green jobs in EU regions.
It is necessary to build on the positive impacts of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) and to fully implement the EU Bioeconomy Strategy.
To enable our industry to fully deploy its potential, the European Green Deal should better recognise the importance of the bioeconomy and support the private-public partnership ‘Circular Bio-based Europe’.
Only together can private and public sectors ensure that economic recovery and green growth go hand in hand.
Our companies are committed to investing in circular and innovative bio-based solutions in Europe, paving the way to a more sustainable and resilient future.
ADM EMEA – Ismael Roig – President
AEP Polymers – Alan Patrick Giles – CEO
Algae 4 Future – Nuno Coelho – CEO
AlgaEnergy S.A – Augusto Rodríguez-Villa Matons – President
API Europe MEPE – Theodora Retsina – CEO
Arbiom – Marc Chevrel – President
BE-Basic Foundation – Abraham Brouwer – Managing Director
Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant – Wim Soetaert – CEO
BioEconomy Cluster – Matthias Zscheile – CEO
Bio-Mi – Filip Miketa – CEO
Biosphere S.r.l – Mario Riciputi – Chairman of the Board
Biotrend – Bruno Sommer Ferreira – CEO
BioVale – Sarah Hickingbottom – CEO
Borregaard – Per Arthur Sørlie – President and CEO
Capax Biobased Development – Bart Tambuyser – CEO
Cellicon – Ton Runneboom – CEO
Celtic Renewables Ltd. – Mark Simmers – CEO
Centro Ricerche per la Chimica Fine S.r.l – Samuele Giovando – CEO
ChainCraft – Niels van Stralen – Co-founder and Director
Circular Biobased Delta – Willem Sederel – Chairman of the Board
Clariant – Hariolf Kottmann – Executive Chairman
CLIB – Cluster Industrielle Biotechnologie- Dennis Herzberg – Managing Director and Cluster Manager
CLIC Innovation Oy – Jatta Jussila – CEO
Consorzio Italbiotec – Diego Bosco – CEO
Corbion – Olivier Rigaud – CEO
Cosun – Albert Markusse – CEO
CTA – Corporación Tecnológica de Andalucía – Elias Atienza – CEO
Dutch Biorefinery Cluster – Ger Willems – Chair of the Board
EnginZyme – Karim Engelmark Cassimjee – CEO
Evonik Industries – Ulrich Küsthardt – CIO
Fertinagro Biotech – Jose Luis Moya – CEO
FiberLean Technologies Ltd – Paris Kyriacopoulos – CEO
Flanders’ Food – Inge Arents – Managing Director
Fortum Oyj – Pekka Lundmark – President and CEO
Glanbia Ireland DAC – Jim Bergin – CEO
Graanul Invest AS – Raul Kirjanen – CEO
GreenWin – Véronique Graff – Managing Director
IAR, the French Bioeconomy Cluster – Yvon Le Hénaff – Chairman of the Board
IBioIC – Mark Bustard – CEO
InnovEn S.r.l – Fausto Tagliaferro – President
Irish Bioeconomy Foundation – Stephen Napier – CEO
Kaneka Europe Holding Company NV and Kaneka Belgium NV – Shinji Mizusawa – President
LanzaTech Inc. – Jennifer Holmgren – CEO
MBio, Innovation arm of Monaghan Mushrooms – Peter Corcoran – CEO
Metabolic EXplorer – Benjamin Gonzalez – CEO
MetGen Oy – Alex Michine – CEO
Metsä Group – Ilkka Hämälä – President and CEO
Natac Biotech SL – Antonio Delgado – CEO
Neste Corp. – Peter Vanacker – President and CEO
Norske Skog Golbey – Yves Bailly – Managing Director
Nova Pangaea Technologies (UK) Ltd – Sarah Ellerby – Chief Executive
Novamont S.p.A – Catia Bastioli – CEO
Novozymes – Ester Baiget Arnau – CEO
OLEON SAS – Moussa Naciri – President
Process Design Centre – Hans Keuken – Managing Director
Royal DSM – Dimitri de Vreeze – Co-CEO & Managing Board Member
Sappi Europe SA – Berend John Wiersum – CEO
Södra – Peter Karlsson – President/CEO
Stora Enso – Annica Bresky – President and CEO
Südzucker – Thomas Kirchberg, – COO & Member of the Executive Board
SUSPACC – Bart Labrie – President
Unilever – Peter ter Kulve – President, Home Care
UPM Kymmene Corporation – Jussi Pesonen – President and CEO
Plastics in the Circular Economy
15 June 2020 – Chemical Recycling Commitments and Incentives, Deep Sea Plastic, Greece Plastic Ban, NY Composting
12 June 2020 – Michigan Waste, Definitions, Greenpeace Malaysia, Tax and Voluntary Schemes, Shell Sustainable and Circular Plastics News
7 June 2020 – Industry 4.0, PEF, Perstorp, Timber and Chemical Recycling
5 June 2020 – Woodly, Plastic-Free Masks, Plastic Tax, UK & US Survey, Biodegradable War, Spain
3 June 2020 – Chemical Recycling Europe, Sustainability on Hold, Lyondellbasell, Ikea, Covestro
2 June 2020 – EU and Compostable Plastics, Biodegradable Additives, RWDC, Black Plastic, Oxo
1 June 2020 – Nestle, Denmark, Weather, Mitsui, Plastic Free July, Compost Shortage
31 May 2020 – Iowa, Zalando, Sabic, South Africa, Dow and Mondelez
29 May 2020 – China Scandal, Mitsubishi, Tyres, Flexible Packaging, Sargassum, Canada Lignin
27 May 2020 – SK Chemical, Borealis, Omya, Stora Enso, UPM, Dow and Good Natured