Small-scale Bio-based Business Models and their Market Potentials

Gerardo Anzaldúa

Small-scale Bio-based Business Models and their Market Potentials

Summary Report

Publication: Report
Citation: Anzaldua, G., Araujo, A., Tarpey, J. and Schock, M., 2021: Summary report on small-scale bio-based business models and their market potentials. Policy Brief. Ecologic Institute.

How can rural regions turn local resources into thriving businesses for the bioeconomy? This report, produced under the BE-Rural project, explores exactly that question.

Through capacity-building exercises in five European regions, facilitators worked with entrepreneurs and stakeholders to design locally-adapted business models and assess their market potential. The results provide concrete building blocks for regional bioeconomy strategies and roadmaps.

The report covers:

An overview of the EU framework supporting bio-based transitions.
Lessons learned for facilitators and stakeholders on fostering innovation and cooperation.
Case studies of small-scale businesses, including:

Sustainable Energy Communities in Romania
Mycelium-based packaging in North Macedonia
Wood wool products & eco-tourism in Latvia
Slow tourism with low-value fish in Poland
Cold-pressed grape seed oil in Bulgaria

The findings highlight the potential of small-scale bioeconomy businesses to build strong regional networks, link new value chains, and improve the well-being of rural communities.

Contact

Gerardo Anzaldúa

Co-Coordinator Water

Senior Fellow

Evaluation of BE-Rural's Stakeholder and Public Engagement Activities

Year 2022

Publication:Policy Brief

The brief highlights opportunities for agricultural residue utilisation to foster competitiveness, calls for stronger cooperation across borders and sectors, and stresses the need for participatory regional bioeconomy strategies. It also points to IPARD (Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance for Rural Development) as a funding instrument for circular, rural development and recommends embedding the bioeconomy in national strategic documents to ensure long-term policy coherence.

Mainstreaming the Bioeconomy in Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) Projects in the Western Balkans

Policy Brief

Year 2022

Publication:Policy Brief

How can small-scale bio-based businesses secure the support they need to thrive? This BE-Rural policy brief highlights the main barriers to financing and outlines key recommendations for policymakers.

Funding for Bio-based Business Models

Policy Brief

Year 2022

Publication:Document

This hands-on guidance document supports regional actors in designing viable business models for the bioeconomy. Based on practical experiences from five Open Innovation Platforms (OIPs) across Europe, it outlines how to analyse regional market conditions, engage diverse stakeholders and translate promising bio-based product ideas into actionable business strategies. The result: a modular toolkit to unlock local biomass potential and drive sustainable rural development.

Analysing Market Conditions and Designing Business Models within BE-Rural's OIPs

Deliverable 5.1 H2020 research project BE-Rural

Year 2020

Event:Conference

After 40 months of collaboration, the BE-Rural project concluded with its Final Conference, held in Frombork, Poland, from 11 to 14 July 2022. Approximately 40 project members and regional bioeconomy stakeholders – representing research organisations, universities, cluster associations, local action groups and regional authorities from eight EU Member States and candidate countries – gathered to reflect on BE-Rural's achievements.

Inspiring Regional Agendas for Inclusive Bioeconomies

BE-RURAL Final Conference

11 - 14 July 2022
Frombork, Poland

Event:Workshop

Within the framework of the Global Bioeconomy Summit 2020, Holger Gerdes and Zoritza Kiresiewa, together with the POWER4BIO project, organized a breakout session on "Local-Level Bioeconomy" on 18 November 2020. This session formed part of the workshop "Rebooting the economy – sustainability, growth, and climate action delivered by the bioeconomy," which the European Commission's DG RTD hosted in collaboration with BE-Rural, POWER4BIO, and other partners. Holger and Zoritza took charge of the program design: they introduced BE-Rural, implemented participatory methods, and coordinated the flow via digital platforms so that more than 30 participants engaged interactively.

Benefits of Participatory Development of Regional Bioeconomy Strategies

18 November 2020
online

Publication:Book Section

Cover of the book "Zukünfte nachhaltiger Bioökonomie. Kommunikation und Partizipation in neuen Wirtschaftsformen"

A democratic dialogue with a broad spectrum of stakeholders and the society is considered necessary for the transformation to a sustainable bio-based economy. As such, several dedicated bioeconomy strategies across Europe and beyond outline objectives towards broader stakeholder and public engagement. In this book chapter Zoritza Kiresiewa, Laurens Duin and Holger Gerdes address the degree of participation and the role of the individual actor groups and society in strategy development processes and recommend concrete actions for more inclusive and effective stakeholder and public engagement.

Limitations of Stakeholder and Public Engagement in Bioeconomy Strategy Development Processes

Year 2022

Publication:Policy Brief

First page of the BE-Rural Policy Brief "Enabling rural regions to recognise the ecological boundaries framing the bioeconomy"

BE Rural developed and piloted a new framework to help decision makers consider ecological limits when drafting regional bioeconomy strategies and roadmaps, and with this to contribute to Priority 3 of the EU Bioeconomy Strategy: "Understand the ecological boundaries of the bioeconomy".

Enabling Rural Regions to Recognize the Ecological Boundaries Framing the Bioeconomy

Year 2022

Publication:Report

This report provides the context and justification for the development of BE-Rural's Sustainability Screening, a description of its methodological procedure, and the syntheses of results from the two experimental implementations of the approach in the Stara Zagora and Vidzeme regions, which are included in full as annexes to this report. The last chapters present the main lessons learned from these two pilots and the overall conclusions of the task.

Note on the Development of a Sustainability Screening for Regional Bioeconomy Strategies

Deliverable 5.4 H2020 Research project BE-Rural

Year 2022

Language: English
Authorship: Gerardo Anzaldúa

Ariel Araujo

John Tarpey

Michael Schock
Funding: European Commission, Directorate-General Research & Innovation (DG Research & Innovation), International
Published by: Ecologic Institute, Germany
Year: 2021
Dimension: 41 p.
Project: Bio-based Strategies and Roadmaps for Enhanced Rural and Regional Development in the EU (BE-Rural)
Project ID: 2815
Table of contents: Click to show full table of contents

Introduction
A promising perspective
Elements of the EU framework to support the bioeconomy transition
BE-Rural’s approach for designing small-scale bio-based business models and exploring their market potential
Overview of the inception phase at each of the OIPs and the bio-based products and services explored

Bio-based business models explored in the BE-Rural OIPs
Sustainable Energy Communities from Covasna RO
Bio-based service and value proposition
Stakeholders involved in the assessment
Results of the market assessment and business model design process
Relevant considerations for the future

Mycelium-based Packaging and Insulation Material from Strumica MK
Bio-based product and value proposition
Stakeholders involved in the assessment
Results of the market assessment and business model design process
Relevant considerations for the future

Wood Wool from Vidzeme LV
Bio-based product and value proposition
Stakeholders involved in the assessment
Results of the market assessment and business model design process
Relevant considerations for the future

Slow tourism concept underpinned by low-value fish species from Szczecin Lagoon and Vistula Lagoon PL
Bio-based service and value proposition
Stakeholders involved in the assessment
Results of the market assessment and business model design process
Relevant considerations for the future

Cold-pressed Grape Seed Oil from Stara Zagora BG
Bio-based solution and value proposition
Stakeholders involved in the assessment
Results of the market assessment and business model design process
Relevant considerations for the future

Reflections on the process and lessons learned

Conclusions
Keywords: Agriculture

Bioeconomy

Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

small-scale bioeconomy, bio-based business models, rural innovation, sustainable energy communities, mycelium packaging, biodegradable materials, wood wool products, eco-tourism bioeconomy, slow tourism Poland, grape seed oil Bulgaria, bioeconomy market potential, circular economy rural areas, bio-based value chains, renewable biomass, local bioeconomy strategies, rural entrepreneurship Europe, EU bioeconomy framework, sustainable rural development, regional bio-based businesses, capacity building bioeconomy

Europe, Romania, Latvia, Poland, Bulgaria

literature review, expert interviews, market assessment, business model design, stakeholder workshops

Attachments

2815-D5-2-BE-Rural_Summary_Business_Models.pdf (2.18 MB)

Further Links

ProjectSupport to Research and Innovation Policy for Bio-based Products (BIO-SPRI)

Focus on: Environmental Impact (LCA), EU Commercial and Financial Success Stories and Top 20 Novel Products in Development The overall objective of this project is to provide a range of new information and analyses that will enable policy-makers, the scientific... Read more

Support to Research and Innovation Policy for Bio-based Products (BIO-SPRI)

Duration: Apr 2017 - Jun 2018
Funding: European Commission, Directorate-General Research & Innovation (DG Research & Innovation), International

ProjectHorizon 2020Improving the Market Access of Sustainable Bio-based Products (BIOBRIDGES)

BIOBRIDGES's overall aim is to ensure the marketability of sustainable bio-based products by establishing primary partnerships between bio-based industries, brand owners and consumer representatives in cooperation with other stakeholders like local communities, local... Read more

Improving the Market Access of Sustainable Bio-based Products (BIOBRIDGES)

Duration: Sep 2018 - Dec 2020
Funding: Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU), International

European Commission, Directorate-General Research & Innovation (DG Research & Innovation), International

PublicationPolicy BriefCreating Networks for the Transition to a Bio-based and Circular Economy

BioSTEP-Politikpapier

After two years of research and stakeholder consultation, the BioSTEP consortium, led by Ecologic Institute, finalized the BioSTEP policy paper. This paper concludes five recommendations, aiming to support the revision of the European Bioeconomy Strategy. These... Read more

BioSTEP consortium (2017): Creating Networks for the Transition to a Bio-based and Circular Economy. BioSTEP Policy Paper.

ProjectHorizon EuropeConcise Consumer Communication through Robust Labels for Bio-based Systems (3-CO)

The EU Bioeconomy Strategy accelerates the deployment of a sustainable European bioeconomy by managing natural resources sustainably, reducing dependence on fossil resources, ensuring food security, mitigation and adapting to climate change, and creating jobs and... Read more

Concise Consumer Communication through Robust Labels for Bio-based Systems (3-CO)

Duration: Feb 2023 - Jan 2026
Funding: European Commission, Directorate-General Research & Innovation (DG Research & Innovation), International

BE-Rural Project Website

Adaptation
Agriculture
Arctic
Biodiversity
Bioeconomy
Cities
Climate
Climate Foreign Policy
Coastal + Marine
Communication
Consumer Policy
Culture + Ecology
Digitalization
EU
Economics
Education
Energy
Environmental Law – Ecologic Legal
Evaluation
Events
Finance
Food
Foreign Policy
Governance
Health
Indicators
Industry
International Development
Land Use
Mobility
Nature-based Solutions and Green Infrastructure
Plastics
Public Diplomacy
Resource Conservation + Circular Economy
Trade
Water