Policy | Knowledge for policy

Bioeconomy

Brief me

The bioeconomy is defined as the activities that deliver sustainable solutions based on biological resources to create added value. These include products, services, science and technologies benefiting sectors ranging from agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture to value chains based on biomass processing, biomanufacturing and biotechnologies such as in food, health, energy, industry, ecosystem and other services.
The EU Bioeconomy Strategy of 2025 charts a way forward to build a sustainable and a nature-positive bioeconomy by:
- Scaling innovation and investments;
- Building new lead markets for bio-based materials and technologies;
- Ensuring sustainable biomass supply across value chains and
- Harnessing global opportunities.
Bioeconomy strategies also exist or are being developed in many of the EU Member States and their regions – see the Bioeconomy country dashboard.

The EU Bioeconomy Strategy has sustainability and circularity at its heart since it was first published, in 2012. It was updated in 2018 and renewed in 2025 to further promote the renewal of our industries, the modernisation of our primary production systems, and the protection of the environment, including biodiversity. The European Commission monitors the EU bioeconomy through its EU Bioeconomy Monitoring System, and cooperate with countries and regions within the EU and internationally to unlock the potential of the bioeconomy.

Image of a globe, with the top half removed to show buildings, houses, and trees, and the bottom half of Earth

The EU Bioeconomy Strategy has a cross-sectoral character and holistic perspective and is linked to many sectoral policies. Likewise, many EU policies are crucial enablers for the transition to a fair and sustainable bioeconomy. Policies of high mutual relevance with the bioeconomy are for example environmental, pollution and climate policies, the Common Agricultural Policy, the Common Fisheries Policy, industrial and SME friendly policies, consumer policies, energy policies, R&I policies through the EU’s Framework Programmes for research and innovation. Together, the Bioeconomy Strategy and the sectoral policies mutually reinforce each other and jointly address interlinked challenges. The following list, far from being exhaustive, includes policies from the most relevant policy areas for the bioeconomy.