Bioeconomy in Flanders.

The Bioeconomy in Flanders is a regional multi sectoral strategy of Flanders for the long period, up to 2030. Its vision is to address the major environmental and social challenges such as the struggle against climate change, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the increased need of global agricultural production, in a sustainable way so as to guarantee the well-being of the population in the future. The bioeconomy is an important tool for addressing these challenges and to transition to alternative sources and renewable raw materials for materials and energy.
The Strategy's main objective is to embed the socio-economic development in a smart, material- and energy-efficient circular system that respects the ecological and social capacity of the earth.
The Strategy aims to save energy and materials placing biobased materials in a closed circuit by focusing on system innovation as a priority.
The production and use of biomass from agriculture, horticulture and forestry and biomass of marine origin must become more sustainable so as to reduce the pressure on the resources used to produce food, animal feed and biological raw materials and the ecosystems. A cascade or sequence of priorities can be created based on economic, social or ecological criteria or a combination of these. The starting point is that biomass from primary production as well as from residual and waste streams must firstly be responsible for guaranteeing food safety (food and animal feed), secondly for use as a raw material, and thirdly for use as an energy source. When using biomass, the entire life cycle must always be taken into consideration.
A process of transition is unavoidable in order to move from the current fossil economy to a bioeconomy. To achieve the transition from an economy based on fossil raw materials to renewable raw materials, a strategy is needed that encompasses the entire value chain.
Transition management requires networks in which forward-thinking players from government, business, civil society and science are involved. The government is expected to play a facilitating and guiding role, among other things by stimulating policy integration, creating experiment areas and investing in networks.
To create this framework and achieve the vision, five strategic objectives (SOs) have been formulated. SO1: The development of a coherent Flemish policy that supports and facilitates a sustainable bioeconomy. SO2: To put Flanders at the top for education and training and research and innovation in future-oriented bioeconomy clusters. SO3: Biomass is optimally and sustainably produced and used across the entire value chain. SO4: Strengthening of markets and competitiveness of bioeconomic sectors in Flanders. SO5: Flanders is a key partner within European and international joint ventures.