A bioeconomy can be defined as an economy where the basic building blocks for materials, chemicals and energy are derived from renewable biological resources. This paper provides an overview of the bioeconomy in Europe, examining it from a policy framework and concept perspective. The role of bioenergy in the bioeconomy is discussed particularly through biofuels for transport and biorefineries. The study finds that the definitions of the bioeconomy are evolving and vary depending on the actor, but display similarities such as the emphasis on economic output and a broad, cross-sectoral focus. While there is great optimism about the benefits and opportunities associated with developing an advanced bioeconomy in Europe, significant risks and trade-offs are also expressed. Furthermore, the bioeconomy concept has been criticised for presenting a technical fix and pre-empting alternative visions. To advance a competitive and sustainable bioeconomy, this paper calls for attention on two important themes: participatory governance that engages the general public and key stakeholders in an open and informed dialogue as well as a commitment by government and industry to innovation that drives concerted efforts on sustainable development of the bioeconomy.

This paper explores a global trend where universities are collaborating with government, industry and civil society to advance the sustainable transformation of a specific geographical area or societal sub-system. With empirical evidence, we argue that this function of ‘co-creation for sustainability’ could be interpreted as the seeds of an emerging, new mission for the university. We demonstrate that this still evolving mission differs significantly from the economic focus of the third mission and conventional technology transfer practices, which we argue, should be critically examined. After defining five channels through which a university can fulfil the emerging mission, we analyse two frontrunner ‘transformative institutions’ engaged in co-creating social, technical and environmental transformations in pursuit of materialising sustainable development in a specific city. This study seeks to add to the debate on the third mission and triple-helix partnerships. It does so by incorporating sustainable development and place-based co-creation with government, industry and civil society.

The onset of formulating strategies and policies regarding the bioeconomy can be, at least partly, attributed to the publication of the policy agenda on the bioeconomy by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2009. The aim of this study is to analyze selected national strategies and policies regarding the development of a bioeconomy and to clarify similarities and differences between them. The article presents a comparative overview of the strategies and policies for developing a bioeconomy in the EU, USA, Canada, Sweden, Finland, Germany and Australia. The documents analyzed are in most cases national strategies or policies. The structures and aims of these documents vary and the analysis is further complicated by the terms “bioeconomy” and “bio-based economy” having as yet no clear definition, a point which is discussed in some depth in this article. In the documents analyzed, strategies and policies on how to promote the bioeconomy are often presented based on the prerequisites of the country in focus; the need for increased research, development and demonstrations in the area is thus particularly stressed. The main emphasis is often to enhance the economy of a nation and provide new employment and business possibilities, whereas the aspects of sustainability and resource availability are addressed only to a limited extent in many of the documents.

(2019). Smart and sustainable cities? Pipedreams, practicalities and possibilities. Local Environment: Vol. 24, Smart and Sustainable Cities: Pipedreams, Practicalities and Possibilities, pp. 557-564.

Cities and local governments are increasingly under pressure to accelerate transformative change in energy and climate transitions. To help cities in their climate actions, the European Commission (EC) has established the EU Cities Mission, which aims for climate neutrality by 2030 for participating cities. The literature argues that one of the main obstacles to accelerating decarbonization lies in organizational divisions and other forms of structural silos. One of the possible ways to address these challenges and accelerate transformation is through governance innovations. The EU Cities Mission is a governance innovation that aims to incentivize and support climate and energy transitions in cities. In this paper, we critically assess the EU Cities Mission’s framework and implementation plan in terms of its potential and possible gaps in addressing different types of silos. To do so, we develop an analytical framework based on academic literature that outlines types of silos and strategies for addressing them. Our results show that key EU Cities Mission documents include several strategies to bridge silos, but that some silos are less frequently addressed. This is particularly the case for silos that rely on political leadership. The paper concludes by drawing out the implications of our findings for the scholarly literature and practice.