One year of Bioeconomy Council NRW: from vision to stakeholder engagement
The Bioeconomy Council of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) is moving into its second year of advancing bioeconomy in the region. As an independent body, the council brings together experts from science, industry, and civil society to assist the state government in shaping a sustainable and innovative bioeconomy strategy for Germany’s most populated and industrialised state.
Over the past year, the council has focused on a sound process as well as the vision and action fields towards an integrated strategy for the region. With the council’s strategic goals and vision in place, which will soon be published on a newly launched website, the board is now ready to push into the next phase. In the coming months, they will launch a stakeholder engagement process collecting input from diverse actors to shape NRW’s bioeconomy strategy. Continued collaboration with the state government’s Interministerial Working Group on Bioeconomy will enrich the perspectives with the political frameworks needed for action.
Besides pushing the strategy process, council members promoted bioeconomy in NRW at several public events, including:
- The Renewable Materials Conference 2024 (11-13 June, Siegburg, Germany):
- Dr. Gernot Jäger discussed the role of renewable carbon in the bioeconomy.
- 2nd Status Conference for the BioeconomyREVIER Model Region (23 September, Dueren, Germany):
- Prof. Dr. Schurr emphasised the role of the bioeconomy in regional transformation and
- Prof. Dr. von Mikecz discussed sustainable land use and soil protection.
- Day of Bio-based Materials (26 November, Guetersloh, Germany):
- Christin Wittmann presented the council’s strategic goals and initiatives to professionals in the bio-based materials sector.
- Bioeconomy Regions Summit 2024 (28 November, Brussels, Belgium):
- Prof. Katja Fruehwald-Koenig highlighted the role of regions in advancing forest bioeconomy strategies.
Bioeconomy Council NRW
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Featured image: Bioeconomy Council together with the Interministerial Working Group on Bioeconomy. Image courtesy of Linda Luetkes, Office Bioeconomy Council NRW.