As of today, humanity is taking up more arable and pasture land, fishing grounds and forests for the rest of the year than would be available to us mathematically. And we are emitting far more CO2 than the world's forests and oceans can absorb. The Earth Overshoot Day illustrates that the entire world population would need 1.7 Earths to sustainably meet the average global demand for natural resources.
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IINAS | NABU (2021): Sustainable Bioeconomy
The authors present concrete scope for action and show what sustainable economic activity in Germany and Europe could look like in the future.
They name five important levers for a nature-compatible and sustainable bioeconomy:
1. Determine maximum biomass quantity based on the load limit of the earth
2. Advance farming systems that promote biodiversity
Darmstadt-based textile start-up scores in PlanB start-up competition
On June 23, 2021, Sebastian Seibert and Louisa Wenkemann won the fourth edition of the start-up competition "PlanB - Biobased.Business.Bavaria" with their young company "nakt" from Darmstadt. They convinced the jury with a functionalized fiber made from green waste. "nakt" has produced a reusable makeup wipe from it as its first application.
Bioeconomy ship on tour again
Since the beginning of June, it's been time to cast off again for the hands-on exhibition on the bioeconomy aboard the MS Wissenschaft (MS Science). Commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the converted cargo ship will stop at a total of 30 locations in Germany and Austria between now and October 26. After an eight-month break, the ship dropped anchor in Hamburg on June 5 as the first stop on the second tour. After Glückstadt and Rendsburg, the exhibition ship will also call at Kiel and Hildesheim in June.
Much bioeconomy at the Week of the Environment
How can we shape our future in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way? Which innovations, trends and ideas can help to keep our earth livable for future generations? The Week of the Environment on June 10 and 11 in Bellevue Palace will provide answers.
Biotech silk pioneer AMSilk expands market presence
AMSilk is accelerating its growth: The world's first commercial supplier of high-tech biopolymers made from artificial silk has received further financing from its existing as well as additional investors. This means that the company, which is based in Martinsried near Munich, has access to an additional 29 million euros. The biotech specialist intends to use this money to "accelerate industrial scale-up and expand commercial operations to new markets."
How bio-based products are transforming the economy
The transformation to a biobased economy is in full swing. Start-ups, but also established large corporations, are increasingly producing biobased products using new, often biotechnological production processes. The economic development agency of the German state of Hesse therefore organized the online conference "Biofabrik" on May 25 and 26, 2021, at which experts from business and science presented current developments.
Bioeconomy conference in Stuttgart
How can the industry of tomorrow become more sustainable and the new direction be communicated to the public? That was only one of the main questions and topics raised and discussed during the second international bioeconomy conference in mid-September in Stuttgart-Hohenheim.
Microbes isolate precious metals in pilot plant
An international research team involving scientists from Brain AG has succeeded in extracting nearly the entire copper content from local shale deposits by applying a novel bio-leaching process. In the early extraction phase, microbes that are used for the bio-leaching process first convert insoluble ore minerals into water-soluble salts. Downstream, a bio-chemical precipitation process then recovers up to 97% of the dissolved copper.