For the second time the German Bioeconomy Council, with financial support of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), has invited experts on bioeconomy, innovation, and sustainability from all over the world. The Summit will take place on April 19 and 20 at the Deutsche Telekom's Representative Office in Berlin. The focus will be on opportunities and challenges for an increasingly biobased and sustainable economy.

More than 800 participants and 100 high-ranking speakers

With its six plenary lectures and 14 workshops the meeting offers a huge platform to discuss burning societal and political challenges through the lens of bioeconomy.

More than 100 high-ranking speakers are expected to join the Summit, among them ministers and government representatives from Asia, Africa, Europe, South and North America, international policy experts from the United Nations, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the European Commission, as well as high-level representatives of science and industry.

Two federal ministers will join

On the evening of April 18, a welcome-reception will be held at the Federal Ministry of Research and Education. On Thursday, April 19, Federal Minister of Research and Education, Anja Karliczek, will officially open the Summit at the Deutsche Telekom's Representative Office. Additionally, Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture, Julia Klöckner, will also join the Summit and address the attendees on day two, April 20.

On day one of the Summit the German Bioeconomy Council will present a new study, which provides an overview of global political activities regarding bioeconomy – by now approximately 50 countries have introduced bioeconomy strategies. During the second day, the council will unveil the results of a survey among 350 international bioeconomy experts regarding their expectations and outlook on the future of bioeconomy. Moreover, the advisory board of the Summit will present their main policy recommendations.

Exhibition of bioeconomy products

A global exhibition will showcase specific products that could benefit the global sustainability goals. The exhibition spans 85 innovative bioeconomy products originating from more than 34 countries. All of these products are manufactured by way of biobased processes and/ or are based on renewable raw materials.