The EU Bioeconomy Strategy was first launched in February 2012 with the aim of promoting sustainable growth through the use of biological resources. The strategy was updated in 2018 to accelerate the deployment of a sustainable European bioeconomy and to align with new policy priorities such as the European Green Deal.

Following the 2018 update, a progress report was published in 2022. This report assessed the implementation of the strategy and its action plan, highlighting achievements and identifying areas for future action.

The 2018 update of the Bioeconomy Strategy aims

• to accelerate the deployment of a sustainable European bioeconomy
• to contribute towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and
• to help fulfilling the goals of the Paris Agreement.

It also responds to new European policy priorities, such as

• the renewed Industrial Policy Strategy,
• the Circular Economy Action Plan
• and the Communication on Accelerating Clean Energy Innovation, all of which highlight the importance of a sustainable, circular bioeconomy to achieve their objectives.

A related action plan formulates 14 concrete measures launched in 2019. They are based on three key priorities:

1. Strengthen and scale up the bio-based sectors, unlock investments and markets;
2. Deploy local bioeconomies rapidly across the whole of Europe;
3. Understand the ecological boundaries of the bioeconomy.

A Bioeconomy Strategy Progress report was published in 2022. It assesses the progress made in the implementation of the strategy and its action plan, and identifies gaps for possible future EU bioeconomy action and initiatives.

No specific EU bioeconomy legislation exists. However, sectorial legislation, in many cases considerably older than the bioeconomy concept, has major impact in the field.

Bioeconomy (or bioeconomy-related) strategies also exist or are being developed

• in many of the EU Member States and their regions (see below);
• at international level (e.g. OECD bioeconomy agenda) and
• in many third countries (Source: German Bioeconomy Council and JRC research).

Related legislation:

Communication COM/2018/673 A sustainable Bioeconomy for Europe: Strengthening the connection between economy, society and the environment