We are at the doorstep of a transition to a greener, more sustainable future, with the bio-based economy as the key enabler. No company or government can drive this transition alone — the public and private sectors have to work closely together. As innovation will be key in achieving this, the private sector needs to drive this with conviction and new open innovation concepts. At the same time, it offers governments worldwide a great opportunity, too, in which they help to create a positive framework with stimulating regulations and incentives to enable the pri­vate sector to accelerate its investments. The transition to a bio-based economy offers a lot of opportunities to all of the stakeholders involved. Over time, our cars, our trucks, and even our airplanes are going to run on low-carbon fuels derived from starch and cellulose. Plastics and chemicals will be made from plants rather than petroleum. Millions of new green tech jobs will be created in rural areas and in biorefineries, producing bioenergy and biomaterials.

Biorefineries are the beginning of a third industrial revolution with new rural and geographical winners, and a move towards a bio-based, lower carbon dioxide emissions society.

The development of the bio-based economy is at an early and high-risk stage, and no single industry or company is capable of managing this phase of its development independently. Governments, therefore, have a key role to play in providing seed support — particularly at the precompetitive stage — to the emerging bio-based sector and creating the market to ensure that it becomes established and successful as quickly as possible.

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