Events Calendar

Europe’s Bioeconomy Strategy

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The renewed EU Bioeconomy Strategy, published in November 2025, signals Europe’s ambition to reduce dependence on fossil-based resources while advancing sustainability, circularity, and industrial resilience. Turning this ambition into reality will depend not only on new innovation, but also on how effectively existing, market-ready solutions are recognised and supported through coherent and enabling policy frameworks. A key challenge the strategy seeks to address is Europe’s continued reliance on fossil-derived materials and the environmental impacts that follow, including microplastic pollution. Synthetic fibres used in everyday products — from textiles to hygiene items — generate persistent pollution that current waste and wastewater systems struggle to manage.

Bio-based and biodegradable materials offer a credible pathway to reduce fossil dependency while addressing microplastic pollution. By replacing fossil-derived inputs with renewable alternatives, they can support circularity and climate objectives across multiple sectors. However, many of these solutions face barriers to market uptake not because of performance or scalability, but because existing policy frameworks do not yet fully reflect their broader environmental value. Recent experience demonstrates the impact of targeted regulation. The UK’s ban on plastic fibres in wet wipes showed that clear policy signals can drive rapid, low-disruption change.

Existing bio-based materials — including commercially available cellulosic solutions — illustrate that fossil-free alternatives can already be deployed at scale. This roundtable will explore how EU policy can enable similar transitions across Europe, reduce fossil-based pollution, and strengthen the bio-based economy as a pillar of long-term sustainability and competitiveness. Representatives from the institutions, including the European Commission, will participate in the roundtable.

Organiser: Lenzing
Media Partner: Euractiv

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