The BioINSouth project aims to support decision-makers to incorporate considerations of ecological limits into their regional bioeconomy strategies and roadmaps, when it comes to circular bio-based activities. The project aims to develop guidelines and digital tools, considering the safe and sustainable by design (SSbD) assessment framework, to support the adoption of innovative methodologies to assess environmental impacts in multiple industrial bio-based systems, increasing regional competitiveness and innovation capacity, and contributing to the EU fair & green transition. The project will focus on Southern Mediterranean European Regions with particular attention to regions currently lagging behind, i.e. regions in widening Countries, such as Cyprus, Slovenia, Greece, and Portugal, while the project will see the wider participation of other Southern Mediterranean Countries, including Spain, France and Italy and international cooperation with Turkey and Argentina (in the advisory board). Thanks to the experience of the BIOEAST initiative that BIOEAST HUB CZ brings in, BioINSouth will reach the main objective by establishing regional HUBs bringing together a broad range of stakeholders, including policymakers and public authorities, expert voices, market actors (especially SMEs) and civil society (especially NGOs). The methodology will also seek the collaboration and exchange of best practices among the HUBs within a macro-regional BioINSouth Network and with international organisations. The concept will be demonstrated in 8 regions in the partners’ Countries, under a fully transferable case-study approach, that can be replicated throughout other Southern European Regions after the end of the project.

BIOTRANSFORM provides European policymakers with an adequate assessment and policy development framework, knowledge base and expert support ecosystem to accelerate the transition from linear fossil-based systems to circular bio-based systems. It is therefore operating at the interface between the circular economy and the bioeconomy transitions. In this way, BIOTRANSFORM equips policymakers with the tools to set informed priorities that serve environmental, economic, and social goals, being actionable, future-proof, and align with supply-and-demand trends in related industries and value chains. BIOTRANSFORM’s “assessment package” will be tested by and provided for European policymakers, which will include 3 complementary tools: (i) resource flow analysis tool including circular innovations, (ii) a cutting-edge quick environmental, social and economic assessment tool, and (iii) a logistics management tool. To achieve this, BIOTRANSFORM develops and tests its framework to establish and roll out circular bio-based systems by applying a multi-actor approach around 6 regional cases: Andalusia (Spain), Northern Burgenland (Austria), Western Macedonia (Greece), Finland, Charles Spa Region (Czech Repulic) and North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany). These regional case studies represent several important industries and scenarios for Europe such as: forestry, agri-food, lake ecosystems, lignite and minerals, and chemicals. Action roadmaps will consider specific regional available resources and infrastructures, conversion pathways, logistics, current policies, strategies, and access to finance. In other words, BIOTRANSFORM builds on the concept of regenerative bioeconomy value cycles by tapping into what is there already and connecting the dots. In this concept, carbon is stored and nutrients are recovered. This concept shall be upscaled and replicated to many further European regions to achieve Europe's ambitious goals.

In response to the increasing need for cooperation in learning and skills/capacity development for environmental sustainability, including biodiversity and Nature-based Solutions (NBS) learning and teaching, eNaBlS will set the basis of networking and collaboration with a view to promoting transdisciplinary dialogue and further embedding and unfolding NBS concepts and approaches within universities and vocational schools, the professional sphere and society at large. eNaBlS envisions the creation of 7 Living Labs (DE, NL, FI, AT, LT, GR, CZ) to epitomise an integrative approach that includes all ‘voices’ and leaves no one behind. Collecting a variety of input and welcoming a plurality of values and knowledge, the goal is to mainstream biodiversity and NBS in higher education and TVET (Technical and Vocational Education & Training) by developing and upscaling new forms of teaching, learning and capacity-building that are more relational, systems-oriented and applied. This should be achieved through multi-actor collaboration and a whole institution approach (WIA) – universities become their own Living Labs – that spans the curricula, pedagogy and didactics, professional development, institutional practices school/university-community relationships and institutional ethos, vision and leadership. Doing so implies working together across silos, sectors and epistemologies as well as a paradigm shift in education and the development of sustainability competencies. The ultimate objective is for eNaBlS to contribute more generally to i) the advancement of a Nature Positive society through the necessary transformative change of communities, business models and lifestyles, and, specifically, ii) put biodiversity and climate on the path to recovery responding to the objectives of the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 and the EU climate adaptation strategy.

Sustainable bioeconomy transition is an acknowledged pathfinder to achieve the Green Deal ambitions. A regionalised bioeconomy is seen as a promising leverage point for green growth. Many European regions have already adopted bioeconomy strategies. However, the majority of regional stakeholders lack actionable knowledge to translate them into practice and embed them into society, industry and research by simultaneously considering planetary boundaries. Regions heavily relying on GHG-intensive economies - that are particularly critical for realising the Green Deal - face even more challenges to unlock their bioeconomy potential. The concept of bioeconomy model regions tackles the urgent need to concretise bioeconomy into tangible transition measures. Model regions are characterized by a systemic approach, draw on technological and societal innovations, are able to link sectors and contribute to sustainable development in economic, ecological and social dimensions. BIO2REG therefore aims to enable regional stakeholders of GHG-intensive economies to unlock their regions’ bioeconomy potential by transitioning towards model regions. BIO2REG paves the way for regional stakeholder to actively initiate and shape transition based on a regions-to-regions approach. Embedded in a network of regions for regions, interregional exchange and cooperation will be facilitated. Specifically, regional stakeholders will be capacitated by i) provision of a regionalisation concept for model regions, ii) mapping best practices on circular and sustainable bioeconomy, iii) guides for bioeconomy potential assessments, iv) mentoring and training services v) formation of transition alliances and v) policy recommendations to adapt strategies and funding. A key component is the adoption of a multi-actor approach by co-creating tools and guides with regional stakeholders as well as engaging with regions by guided on-site exchanges with stakeholders from other regions.

The BOOST4BIOEAST project aims to set in motion the levers for bioeconomy deployment in the Central Eastern European and Baltic countries. The consortium will focus on building upon BIOEASTsUP outcomes and the Vision Paper of the BIOEAST Initiative by boosting the participation of national stakeholder networks in the development of national bioeconomy action plans and to build long-lasting structures for national and macro-regional cooperation. The BIOEAST HUBs will be the national platforms directly linked to public administrations under which capacities are built and the different stakeholders of the bioeconomy are mobilised to more effectively contribute to and take part in decision-making processes using participatory approaches. BIOEAST-wide mapping of bioeconomy competencies and biomass will be undertaken to advance the knowledge on bioeconomy in the macro-region as well as BIOEAST Knowledge Platform will be created to act as repository of knowledge materials and relevant information on bioeconomy that will allow BIOEAST´s stakeholders to access, share and store bioeconomy-related materials towards developing national BIOEAST HUBs into active contributors to bioeconomy in each member state. In order to boost bioeconomy innovation and education in the BIOEAST countries, the project will bring together public and private funders with relevant business stakeholders and expand the BIOEAST UNI NET network. Activities such as training, reskilling, awareness spreading and communication channels creation will set the basis of the bioeconomic transition, creating spaces of dialogue and involvement among all agents of the industry (academia, private and public), which will boost the stakeholders engagement for the integration of programmes and policies in turn of bioeconomy. The hereby proposed consortium is composed of stakeholders of all BIOEAST member states along with partners distributed throughout Western Europe (BE, FI, GER, IE, IT& ES).