Bioeconomy Ireland Week 2024 is taking place from October 14th -20th. This is the 5th year where an all-island community of businesses, research centres, business clusters, communities and government agencies gather to showcase and celebrate the bioeconomy in Ireland.
This year’s theme ‘Demonstrating Biobased Solutions for a Greener Ireland’ will, through a broad range of activities and events, showcase how the natural environment can be utilised in a sustainable and circular way to help achieve a fair and prosperous society in Ireland. There is something for everyone – whether that be an event for kids, citizens, primary producers, industry and researchers. To view the itinerary of events, visit www.irishbioeconomy.ie
Bioeconomy Ireland Week 2024 will be officially launched at the offices of the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications on Monday the 14th of October. The theme of this year’s launch is ‘Utilising Organic Waste Streams within the Circular Bioeconomy’. The launch will be followed by presentations and a panel discussion featuring key stakeholders from the research, industry and policy sectors.
Bioeconomy Ireland Week 2024 is supported by; the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in association with UCD Biorbic, Teagasc, the Marine Institute, BIM, MTU, Circular Bioeconomy Cluster SW, the Irish Bioeconomy Foundation, Southern Regional Assembly, Climate KIC, the Rediscovery centre, BioConnect, CAP Network Ireland and Shannon ABC.
The bioeconomy covers all sectors (including agriculture, horticulture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture) and systems (including nature, land, food, energy, built environment and health). It is the part of the economy that uses renewable biological resources such as animals, plants, micro-organisms, and derived biomass and organic waste to produce food, feed, bio-based products, energy and services, while also reducing waste.
The bioeconomy offers society a path to apply knowledge, science, technology, and innovation as sustainable solutions to how we use and consume our biological resources, which respects nature and increases social equality by reducing our use of fossil resources and developing green practices, products, and local jobs in places where we wish to live.
The European bioeconomy is currently worth €2.3 trillion and employs nearly 19 million people. 75% of the income comes from food, beverages, agriculture, forestry and fisheries combined. 25% is generated by the Bio-based industries which operate, for example, biorefineries (like an oil refinery but converting natural resources rather than crude oil). The potential for growth in this sector is enormous as the world seeks to replace fossil resources with bio-based resources.
In Ireland Professor Kevin O’Connor, Director of BiOrbic Bioeconomy SFI Research Centre highlights the opportunity for the bioeconomy to “create value from natural, renewable resources in a sustainable way. Natural resources that are all around us, and if we use them well, we can move away from using fossil fuels and contribute to climate action and protect the environment on which we depend.” The Irish agricultural and food sector generates a range of organic wastes that require management, are currently underutilised, and could underpin the development of the Irish bioeconomy in the future.
A sustainable and circular bioeconomy in Ireland will contribute to delivering employment and new business opportunities in rural areas, and it will contribute to increasing food and energy security, support climate action by displacing fossil fuels, promote a circular economy by reducing waste, provide high-value diversification opportunities for transforming the agri-food system and leverage research, development, and innovation capabilities to address Ireland’s economic, societal, and environmental challenges.
Developing our bioeconomy will also provide major opportunities for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals across all sectors during the coming decade of transformative change as we seek to reduce emissions by 51% by 2030 and prepare for life at net-zero emissions by 2050.
Ireland’s first National Bioeconomy Action Plan for the period of 2023-2025 was published in October 2023 by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue. The National Bioeconomy Action Plan 2023-2025 has a strong focus on bringing sustainable scientific practices, technologies, and bio-based innovation into use on farms in Ireland.
Go to our Bioeconomy page to find out more.