The new Packaging Act, which came into force in January 2019, paved the way for more bio-based packaging and increased recycling rates. In particular, the recycling of plastic packaging takes on a high priority. Single-use plastic products such as eating utensils or drinking straws have been banned throughout the EU since last year and have since been gradually replaced with sustainable materials. However, reusable products such as beverage bottles are also made of plastics and are largely disposed of or incinerated at the end of their life cycle.

Chemistry without hazardous waste and greenhouse gases - that is the goal of the future cluster "Electrification of Technical Organic Syntheses" (ETOS). Modern life would be completely unimaginable without chemical products, and some synthesis processes simply do not work without environmentally harmful starting materials, high energy input and expensive catalysts. The potential of organic electrosynthetic processes, on the other hand, promises more sustainable and less expensive alternatives. ETOS aims to leverage this potential.

The World Biodiversity Council's (IPBES) first global state of biodiversity report in 2019 was a wake-up call. The 1,500-page report showed the global community for the first time how dramatically biodiversity has changed in recent decades and why. But the IPBES report only covers species that have already been scientifically described. Despite the most intensive research, 80% remain undiscovered.

For agriculture, it is important that crops are as high-yielding as possible and robust against diseases. Breeding aims to pass on useful properties of plants. But in plant breeding, these useful traits are often lost if the genes on the chromosomes are too far apart. Using the molecular gene scissors CRISPR-Cas, researchers can specifically modify or switch off genes.

In 2020, the bioeconomy strategy "Zukunft.Bioökonomie.Bayern" (Future.Bioeconomy.Bavaria) paved the way for a sustainable and ecologically responsible as well as socially just and thus sustainable way of life and economy in Bavaria. The use of renewable raw materials plays a central role in this.

Former dumps from landfills or mining operations often resemble moonscapes and revitalization of such areas can take nature decades. A research team has now shown that it can be done more quickly: Using biogenic residues, the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems (IKTS) and its partners have brought a landfill site in the Leipzig area back to life within a short period of time. The project involved landfill operators, sewage sludge recyclers, special machinery manufacturers and agricultural experts.

Food security is the most important task of agriculture. However, the sector is responsible for a large proportion of climate-damaging greenhouse gas emissions, which are mainly due to livestock farming. This also leads to the loss of biodiversity through monocultures and fertilization practices. Experts have long called for a rethink on meat consumption. But what would be the impact on agriculture in Germany of cutting out schnitzel, steak and the like? Researchers at the Öko-Institut have investigated this in a study commissioned by Greenpeace.

When people see a farm today, only few think of agriculture's actual task of producing vital food. Instead, younger people in particular associate it primarily with problems relating to animal welfare, nature conservation and climate protection. The RESPECTfarms project aims to change this - by developing concepts for how farms can produce cultured meat instead of traditional livestock farming in the future. Cultured meat is produced by multiplying animal cells in a bioreactor. Animals do not have to be kept or killed for this purpose.

To achieve climate targets, industry must cut emissions such as carbon dioxide. Using it as a source of raw materials therefore seems a promising way forward: using biotechnological processes, the carbon it contains can be processed into new products. An industrial consortium led by Swiss sporting goods manufacturer On is now demonstrating the potential of carbon-containing industrial waste gases and presenting Cloudprime, the first sneaker made from such carbon waste.