Germany’s economy is facing multiple crises. Particularly in light of the climate crisis and volatile fossil supply chains, locally available renewable resources are becoming increasingly important as a raw material base for establishing sustainable and crisis-resilient value creation systems.

This is where the bioeconomy comes in as a cross-sectoral economic model. According to the German Federal Government, ‘the bioeconomy encompasses the production, development and use of biological resources, processes and systems to provide products, processes and services across all economic sectors within the framework of a sustainable economic system’ (BMBF & BMEL, 2020, p. 10). The national bioeconomy strategy aims to use the bioeconomy to achieve sustainable and climate-neutral development, which is to take the form of a circular economy based on biological resources (BMBF & BMEL, 2020). The European Commission’s bioeconomy strategy (2018, p. 4) focuses on biological resources and processes. All sectors and systems that draw upon these resources are therefore considered part of the bioeconomy. Overall, the bioeconomy is seen as a option of driving forward sustainable development by replacing non-renewable material flows (Beck-O´Brien et al., 2024, p. 12).

During the NaGeWe-Bio project, the term ‘bioeconomy’ was examined from the perspective of the definition developed by the Plant³Alliance:

"Bioeconomy is a cross-sectoral economic concept based on biogenic resources (agricultural, forestry and marine products), biological processes and biological knowledge. It encompasses all actors, relations and processes of production, processing and further valorisation of biogenic resources as well as related services, research and development activities. In a narrower sense, bioeconomy aims to increase regional value creation and the sustainability of the economy through the application of knowledge-based, innovative processes. The associated transformation process is realised through at least one of the following pathways:

• • Replacement of fossil raw materials with biogenic, renewable raw materials within the scope of their regenerative capacity.
  • Cascade and combined use of biogenic raw materials
  • Increasing biodiversity through diversification of the agricultural, forestry and maritime economy
  • Ecological compatibility of production by saving resources and minimising emissions
  • Promotion of regional development in economic, ecological and social terms".

The focus is therefore on development pathways that strengthen both the sustainable transformation of the economy and regional value creation. The NaGeWe-Bio sustainability assessment examines precisely this combination of regional value creation dynamics and sustainable development. To this end, the processes in bioeconomy regions are analysed at the system level using the concept of bioeconomic value creation systems.

Value-creation systems are networks comprising companies, organisations and other economic entities, within which products and services are created through cooperation and the division of labour. In the context of the bioeconomy, these networks encompass activities relating to the cultivation of bio-based raw materials and the subsequent processing stages, right through to the final product and its disposal or recycling. This explicitly includes supporting services, research and development activities, as well as interactions with government, political and civil society actors.

In order to use value creation systems as the subject of analysis for sustainability assessment, clear system boundaries must be defined. This opens up the possibility of delimiting the value creation system on the basis of one’s own objectives and research questions. Therefore, the final definition of the value creation system is not specified here. Instead, the first module of the sustainability assessment explains how the value creation system to be assessed can be adapted to the respective bioeconomy region through the definition of system boundaries.

The perspective on bioeconomic value creation systems described here was developed through dialogue with stakeholders from the (bioeconomy) region of Vorpommern (Western Pomerania, Germany), in combination with a literature review. A more detailed description of the methodology is provided in the chapter ‘Documentation of the development of the sustainability assessment’.

 

 

The sustainability of bioeconomic value creation systems is of interest because this approach facilitates the identification of development options that minimize conflicts with social, environmental and economic interests. As part of the NaGeWe-Bio project, a catalogue of criteria was developed and tested to enable the sustainability assessment of bioeconomic value creation systems. The catalogue is the result of a research phase during which expert interviews were conducted and existing approaches to the sustainability assessment of companies and value creation systems were evaluated. The identified sustainability criteria are assigned to the three sustainability dimensions considered in this guide from the perspective of bioeconomic value creation systems:

• ​​ Social sustainability describes the contribution of bioeconomic value creation systems to the long-term maintenance and improvement of quality of life in the region, working conditions within companies, and the involvement of regional and societal stakeholders in decision-making processes.
• ​​ Environmental sustainability describes the contribution of bioeconomic value creation systems to the long-term conservation and restoration of ecosystems, as well as the use of biological resources in accordance with planetary boundaries.
• ​​ Economic sustainability describes the contribution of bioeconomic value creation systems to the long-term competitiveness and adaptability of the associated business models and economic systems.

 

 

The bioeconomy is considered an opportunity to relocate stages of value creation systems to predominantly rural regions where biomass is produced. In this context, agriculturally oriented regions may develop into bioeconomy regions through the establishment of processing companies, suppliers, supporting services and research ecosystems. This process acts as a driver of regional structural change in the affected regions.

Regional structural change is characterized by long-term shifts in economic practices and social conditions within a region. Triggers may include crises, new technologies, demographic change, or political objectives. As a result, the relative importance of individual sectors shifts, leading to new employment structures. To examine regional structural change in the context of sustainable development in bioeconomy regions, three cross-cutting themes have been identified that are closely related to the dimensions of sustainability but cannot be clearly assigned to any single dimension:

• Regional structural change refers to the long-term transformation of a region’s economic structures and social conditions. It may be driven by factors such as crises, technological innovation, demographic change, or political objectives. These developments alter the significance of individual industries and lead to changes in employment structures. In this guideline, regional structural change encompasses the activities and factors that support the establishment, further development, and scaling of bioeconomy value creation structures within a region. Particular attention is given to the social implications of regional structural change arising from the spatial and organizational distribution of the creation, appropriation, and allocation of economic value generated by the bioeconomy.
• Resilience describes the capacity of systems to maintain their current state, adapt to changing conditions, or initiate transformative processes when confronted with disturbances such as crises or long-term trends. In the context of regional structural change, the key question is whether these transformations enhance the resilience of regional value creation structures. However, maintaining resilience may require substantial resource inputs, meaning that more resilient systems are not necessarily more sustainable. Therefore, it is particularly important to examine potential trade-offs between resilience and sustainability objectives.
• Governance describes the mechanisms and practices through which decisions are made and coordinated within networks, companies, other organizations, and across different levels of government. Understanding these mechanisms is essential for identifying how the interests of diverse stakeholder groups are represented in decision-making processes. Examining the governance of value creation systems helps to reveal underlying power structures and identify key actors who either drive or hinder regional structural change and the transition towards a bioeconomy.