SUCCESS STORY #7 – BIOECONOMY FOR CHANGE
Bioeconomy For Change (B4C) is a leading French Bioeconomy Cluster, recognised across Europe and internationally since 2005. It gathers over 500 members on the entire bio-based value chain, from upstream agricultural and marine feedstocks to the exploitation of end-products for several industrial sectors (food, feed, bioenergy, bio-based products). Members include agricultural cooperatives, research institutions and universities, companies of all sizes, public stakeholders… B4C is involved in 350 projects funded including more than 50s EU projects (H2020-BBI JU) and offers several supports for its members including activities on valorisation and communication of the innovation, organization of events, strategic advice and market intelligence.
How would you define B4C?
We are currently the only competitiveness cluster in France dedicated to the bioeconomy. Our teams are made up of engineers, specialists in project development, business intelligence, international affairs, communication, etc. We come from all walks of life to work on common and meaningful objectives: sovereignty, sustainability and decarbonization. We are a family in continuous expansion with now 40 staff members.
Today, we bring together more than 500 members, from the largest multinationals to the smallest start-ups. Our goal is to create opportunities between our members and to connect the skills and knowledge for future partnerships and innovations.
How important is the Bioeconomy to you?
For us, bioeconomy is the new viable economic and industrial model to choose. The transition is necessary and required to reduce the impact of the current petrochemicals based industry. Our goal is “to change without changing everything”.
The innovations are there to replace the production processes but not necessarily the products.
In the long term, the bioeconomy will allow us to revalue the wealth of our territories, our resources, our human and artificial intelligence. This in service of a more responsible present for a sustainable future.
The bioeconomy also has a rooted economic and social importance. The sector represents today more than 1.9 million jobs and 300 billion € of revenues in France. In Europe, there are about 23 million jobs and 2, 300 billion € of turnover! The figures illustrate a dynamic in expansion and we believe in it for the decades to come.
What role do you play in the INCITE project?
From the very beginning, we helped and provided strategic advice to the coordinator OLEON, member of B4C network, to meet European funding expectations. We were delighted to see that the project was selected and would receive financial support from the EU ! We continue to work on the project by performing the communication and dissemination missions in order to valorise the work achieved by the partners and contribute to its successful deployment and exploitation.
