Bioeconomy Ireland Week 2023 ran from the 16th to the 22nd of October and was organised by The Irish Bioeconomy Network. A bewildering array of workshops, networking events, discussions and interactive activities were held across the country. These were attended by community groups, producers, researchers, artists and industry representatives who were all keen to explore ways to develop the bioeconomy in their local area.
In conjunction with Bioeconomy Ireland 2023 Week, the ‘Bioeconomy Action Plan 2023-2025’ was jointly launched by the Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine and the Department of the Environment, Climate & Communications. The action plan includes 33 actions to accelerate support for the development of Ireland’s bioeconomy to bring sustainable scientific practices, technologies and bio-based innovation and solutions into use on farms and by bio-based industries in Ireland. Further information can be found here.
For many, the concept of the bioeconomy is still new. Simply put, the bioeconomy means using renewable biological resources from land and sea, such as; crops, forests, fish, animals and micro-organisms to produce food, materials and energy. The transition to a bioeconomy will require creating new value chains, more sustainable industrial processes, while protecting biodiversity and the environment.
In conjunction with Bioeconomy Week, the BiOrbic Biobus has just completed a 5 week (October 14th to November 17th) tour around Ireland and will visit 30 cities and towns as well as 7 Gaeltacht areas during this period. The Biobus exhibit will show local communities just how heavily reliant on crude oil our economy currently is. The exhibit will raise awareness concerning how many of our everyday items are made from fossil fuels while highlighting how we can transition to a more sustainable future. The exhibit showcases many alternative products that are bio-based and locally produced that are currently on the market or coming on stream soon.
During this BiOrbic Biobus tour the CAP Network visited them in Cork and Offaly where feedback from the team was very positive and people of all ages were able to experience the message from the tour. Letting visitors into the exhibit bus to explore a standard Irish household and discover just how many day-to-day products we rely on that have crude oil components. Sowing the seed in many minds that the best option is to replace the use of plastics and need to raise awareness on what the bioeconomy is.
Further information about on BiOrbic can be found here.
