The second edition of the Bioeconomy Investment Summit will take place on 14-15 December in Helsinki, Finland, organized by the European Commission and the European Forest Institute.  The 2017 Bioeconomy Investment Summit is a follow up of the Bioeconomy Investment Summit organised by the EU in 2015, and builds on the results of the Lodz Bioeconomy Congress and the Bratislava Bioeconomy Conference in 2016. 

Key topics

The Summit discusses the potential the bioeconomy has to offer in building a sustainable future, and how to mobilize investments to unlock that potential. Key topics will include:

• Regulatory policy environment to transition towards a circular bioeconomy
• Bioeconomy products and services value chains, including sustainability issues
• Private and public financing opportunities for the bioeconomy
• Identifications of barriers and obstacles for investments in the bioeconomy
• International bioeconomy markets
• Europe’s bioeconomy strategy development

Participants and speakers at the bioeconomy investment summit 2017

Over 30 speakers from across the globe will share their views on how we can bring together the economy and the environment.

Organizers say:

“New advances in technology mean that everything that can be made out of oil can be made from renewable, biological resources. There are huge environmental and business opportunities for a wide range of industries: construction, chemicals, textiles, energy, plastics. The bioeconomy gives us a unique opportunity for building a sustainable future. Our speakers will focus on what investment steps we need to take to make it happen.”

More than 400 participants are expected in Helsinki to discuss how investment can bring speed and scale to the European Bioeconomy. The two days conference will showcase successful business cases and will focus on the importance of the policy and investment environment to unlock the potential of bioeconomy companies.

>>READ ALSO: The bioeconomy should be a new way of thinking – interview with Dr Marc Palahi

Speakers’ panels debated on what can be done to further unlock public and private investment and presented new commercial and competitive uses for natural resources and innovative, resource-efficient industrial processes leading to the creation of entirely new, environmentally sustainable markets.

Among the speakers there are Catia Bastioli, CEO of Novamont, Mathieu Flamini, co-founder of GFBiochemicals, Marc Palahí, director of EFI, John Bell, director of Directorate Bioeconomy at the European Commission, Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of Lanzatech, Jyrki Katainen, Vice-President of the European Commission, Robert Costanza, Australian National University, and Esko Aho, former Prime Minister of Finland.

Field trip to Metsä Group bioproduct mill

I am planning to attend this summit, and I am really look forward to attending the field trip that will be organized to bioproduct mill, located in Äänekoski, and to Stora Enso Innovation Centre for Packaging.

Metsä Group’s next-generation bioproduct mill in Äänekoski, in Central Finland came into operation on 15 August 2017. With a value of EUR 1.2 billion, the bioproduct mill is the largest investment in the history of the Finnish forest industry. In addition to high-quality pulp, it will produce a broad range of bioproducts, such as tall oil, turpentine, biogas and bioenergy.

>>READ MORE: Finland’s Metsa starts new 1.2 billion EUR bioproduct mill

Registration:

The registration for this event is very straight-forward and for free.
You can do it at organizers website: 2017 Bio-economy Investment Summit 

Zdjęcie tytułowe: Mój bilet na konferencję. Autor zdjęcia: Rafał Chudy