Variable stakeholders across the value chain 2 1 24/11/2014 - - PDF document

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Bioeconomy: A view from the stakeholders

(JRC-IES, 21st November 2014) Calliope Panoutsou

Variable stakeholders across the value chain

2

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Complex interactions lead to misleading messages: diverse feedstock, regional characteristics and broad range of markets

• Conflicts or synergies among various demand sectors? How to

understand and what are the appropriate metrics to evaluate and monitor progress?

• What is the value chain potential and what are the issues

shaping the sustainable biomass supply and building new value chains?

• How do various stakeholder categories react to the
• pportunities and risks associated with potential impacts of

bioeconomy to the economy, society and environment?

• How can we maximise benefits and mitigate risks, and through

what policy mechanisms/ instruments?

• What types of policies are required to create a demand- pull

and supply –push bioeconomy?

Policy. Sustainability

.

Demand Supply

Science

Educate Understand Validate Conclude Review

Primary and secondary resources Energy, fuels Biobased materials Biodiversity, Land and water use GHG balances Climate Change, Renewables Agriculture, Trade Environment, Enterprise Innovation

Work with each group

• Scoping
• Debate
• Critique
• Conclusions

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Key issues to facilitate communication

• Diversity: diverse range of stakeholders, including farmers, fishermen, food

processors, waste handlers, advanced bio-material manufacturers, researchers, educationalists, policy-makers, bio-energy providers, NGOs and civil society.

• Flexibility: the bioeconomy is not prescriptive, but allows each country, region,

industry and stakeholder

• Connectivity: regardless of origin, the basic biomass substrate is a renewable yet

finite resource that serves as the raw material for a range of different uses.

• Coherence: the bioeconomy requires all actors along the value chain to work

together at various levels in a coherent manner if it is to achieve its full potential.

• Innovation: …learning from each other, sharing best (and worst) practices, being

courageous in taking risks and accepting failures as learning experiences.

• Sustainability: European society is moving towards a low-carbon, green economy

where consumers are increasingly focusing on health, well-being and sustainable food

• Security: the stability and efficient functioning of Europe's bioeconomy is of critical

importance to the long-term security of its 500 million people. This concerns not just food security, but the adaptations required to balance an economic use of biological resources with all aspects of conservation of the environment.

Key actions to achieve progress

• Skilling/Reskilling: realising the full potential of the bioeconomy requires a mix
• f existing skills and occupations (e.g. farming, fishing, etc.) allied to new high-

and low-tech skills in a range of bio-refining and bio-processing technologies. This in turn has implications for educational curricula – from primary education to third and fourth level – which will need to be re-engineered to meet the demands of the bio and green economies of the future.

• Wider Horizons: the development of Europe's bioeconomy needs to be seen

and planned over much wider dimensions of space and time, addressing its global impact and looking beyond short-term budgetary cycles. In particular, policies and actions to minimise climate change require urgent and consistent priority in the decades ahead.

• Close the research-market gap and build an effective dialogue between

industry, academia and end-users.

• Maximise the knowledge-based development potential of EU regions in the

different bioeconomy sectors.

• Stronger policy coordination, not only at EU level, but also at national, regional

and local level.

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Options to engage stakeholders

• Ensure appropriate selection and representatives across value

chain steps and scales of decision making/ implementation (EU, national, regional, local)

• Develop dialogue mechanisms
• Reform and translate long scientific reports and modelling to a

set of clear messages that each stakeholder group can relate to or will be interested to hear (tackle the issues of ‘stakeholder fatigue’ and ‘lack of real time response’ to misleading messages).

• Engage stakeholders on a continuous basis.
• Public awareness is equally important.

Thank you!

c.panoutsou@imperial.ac.uk