BIOSWITCH, a new project to support brand owners to switch to bio-based approaches, kicks off

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BIOSWITCH, a new project to support brand owners to switch to bio-based approaches, kicks off

BIOSWITCH, a new European project that seeks to raise awareness among brand owners and to encourage them to turn their products into bio-based goods, kicked off with an online meeting yesterday, 9 June.

With a turnover value of €2.3 trillion and accounting for 8.2% of the European Union’s workforce, the bioeconomy is a central element to the success of the economy overall, and brand owners delivering bio-based products are one of the main drivers to boost it. Their decision to become bio-based is one of the starting points for an efficient implementation of the bioeconomy, as they have the power to stimulate bio-based value chains and the market acceleration of bio-products. However, brand owners are often reluctant to invest in taking a bio-based approach due to perceived risks and uncertainties, and to a lack of adequate support from the innovation ecosystems. BIOSWITCH aims to encourage and support them to switch to bio-based approaches by hosting a set of communication actions and events that will allow shaping solutions to mitigate brand owners’ perceived risks. Furthermore, the project will develop a toolbox that will allow to assess the brands’ bio-based maturity level and assist their owners in the transition journey.

“We are very glad to coordinate such an ambitious project that aims to go beyond just raising awareness”, said the Project Coordinator Anna Tenhunen. “By developing the BIOSWITCH Toolbox based on the investigated framework on brand owner needs, motivations and incentives, we aim to encourage companies to switch to bio-based in a novel way”.

“BIOSWITCH is a project highly needed and wanted by Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) since years ago”, said Ana Ruiz, Project Officer at the BBI JU. “It will play a crucial role to assist brand owners and improve the market penetration of many of the bio-based products that are emerging during the last years. In addition, BIOSWITCH is a very relevant initiative to support the society and the economy in its green transition from fossil-based to bio-based.”

The project will focus on four value chains: agriculture, chemistry, forestry, and food, and four regions will serve as model demonstrators: Andalusia (Spain), Denmark, Finland, and Flanders (Belgium). BIOSWITCH aims to reach 180 brand owners, to increase the marketability of bio-based products by 8% and, ultimately, to support bringing Europe to the forefront of the bio-based economy, strengthening the competitiveness of the industry.

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