Evonik has been committed to the balanced and healthy feeding of poultry for years. The Essen-based specialty chemicals company is now expanding its investment in precision livestock farming and in particular automated poultry production by investing in the Chesterfield-based British start-up OPTIfarm.

More than 400 experts gathered at the EUREF campus in Berlin Schöneberg on 5 November to discuss and compare the state of the Agenda 2030 for sustainable development on an international level. Three years after the approval of the agenda, there is clear progress regarding implementation. However, in order to fully realize and achieve these goals, the respective efforts will have to be increased.

Many foods such as cheese, yoghurt, beer, yeast dough or soy sauce have a special characteristic taste and are therefore very popular. So-called non-volatile substances in particular are the basic building blocks for these unique taste profiles. These building blocks in turn consist of fragments of long protein molecules that are formed during the microbial or enzymatic conversion (fermentation) of milk or cereal proteins.

In July of this year, the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) ruled that organisms obtained by using new techniques of directed mutagenesis, including those known as ‘gene editing techniques’ such as CRISPR-Cas, are genetically modified organisms (GMOs). As GMOs, they are subject to the corresponding legislation, the so-called GMO-Directive.

Even the IPCC has taken note: Chemists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed a process that uses algae to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and convert it in to carbon fiber. What's more, it can do so in a cost-effective way.

Recently, the European Commission announced an updated Bioeconomy Strategy containing an action plan to develop a sustainable and circular bioeconomy for all of Europe.

In 2010, 196 member states of the United Nations adopted the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), an international treaty for the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of the components of biodiversity and the equitable sharing of the benefits derived from the use of genetic resources.

Rice is one of the most important crops in the world. More than half of the world's population feeds on it. Although there are many rice varieties, not every plant can withstand climate change. Especially in Asia, where cereal grains have always been a staple food, flooding is increasingly causing crop losses and threatening the livelihood of rice farmers. This is where the work of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) comes in.

In early December, the 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP24) will take place in Katowice, Poland. In the Paris Climate Accord three years ago, the participating states agreed to limit global warming to well below two degrees Celsius. To achieve this goal, almost all sectors of the economy must rethink and establish new, sustainable and environmentally friendly processes. Now, the participants of the COP24 meeting in Poland will discuss the measures taken as well as their progress.

What if we could redesign everything? That is the tagline of dif – the disruptive innovation festival. dif is curated by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a non-profit organisation headquartered in the UK aiming to accelerate the transition towards a circular economy. Five years after its inception, DIF has become a one-of-a-kind online festival that took place from November 6 to 23 this year. Their programme contained more than 100 items, including studio discussions, live streaming events, podcasts and film productions.