BIT - Bioeconomy in Italy - A unique opportunity to reconnect the Economy, Society and Environment

1. Agrifood

2. Forestry 1.1 IN THE GLOBAL AND EU CONTEXT

3. Biobased industry Currently, more than 40 nations worldwide are pro-

4. Marine Bioeconomy posing actions and strategies to boost their bioecon- omy, the economic dimension of which is steadily in- This document proposes a transition towards a circular creasing: about US$2 trillion products in agriculture bioeconomy by integrating the bioeconomy and the cir- and forestry, food, bioenergy, biotechnology and green cular economy models into a vision where the produc- chemistry were exported worldwide in 2014, amount- tion and use of renewable bio-resources and their con- ing to 13% of world trade - up from 10% in 2007 [Com- version into value added products is part of a circular muniqué of the Global Bioeconomy Summit. Making system, that will make businesses more economically Bioeconomy Work for Sustainable Development (2015); viable and sustainable in the long term2. Beate El-Chichakli et al., 2016, Nature). 1 Europe’s Bioeconomy Strategy, European Commission, 2012 2 Closing the loop - An EU action plan for the Circular Economy, COM/2015/0614 final 3 Global Bioeconomy Summit 2015 Communiquè 7

1. BIOECONOMY – AN INTRODUCTION In Europe, the bioeconomy is already worth EUR 2 tril- concrete and ambitious action programme, including lion in annual turnover and accounts for more than measures that will contribute to “closing the loop” of 20 million jobs (Strategy for “Innovating for Sustain- product lifecycles through greater recycling and re- able Growth: A Bioeconomy for Europe”, EC, 2012); it use, bringing benefits for both the environment and is expected to grow further, reaching a market value the economy. of EUR 40 billion and creating 90,000 new jobs by 2020 (“Growing the European bioeconomy” Third Bioecon- The Mediterranean area deserves a specific focus: it omy Stakeholders’ Conference, Turin, EC, 2014). Fur- is characterized by high levels of hydric stress that, thermore, the food industry is the largest in the EU together with climate change, have a negative im- and there is still potential for growth, with new busi- pact on agriculture. This has a negative influence on nesses and industries emerging in both traditional standards of living, with social and economic stress and novel food and non-food sectors. The EU Bioeco- acting as a major cause of instability, which in turn nomy strategy, which is currently under revision, will contributes to migration, both internally, from rural unlock the potential of available bio-resources in the to urban territories, and externally, in particular to- various bioeconomy and blue economy sectors in a wards Europe. For food security reasons, a sustain- sustainable and socially responsible way. The Europe- able management of water provision and use and of an Circular Economy Package will stimulate Europe’s food systems is required to provide clean water and transition towards a circular economy, boosting glob- affordable food for the region’s inhabitants. PRIMA4 is al competitiveness, fostering sustainable econom- an initiative launched and coordinated by Italy, aimed ic growth and generating new jobs. It establishes a at making water provision and food systems more ef- 4 Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area: prima4med.org, 4prima.org 8

1. BIOECONOMY – AN INTRODUCTION ficient, cost-effective and sustainable, at helping solve of alien species, etc. At the same time, local biodiver- bigger problems relating to nutrition, health and so- sity and deep sea resources, tourism, renewable ener- cial wellbeing, and ultimately helping address mass gy production, marine aquaculture etc. are major local migration trends. opportunities for ‘blue’ growth and the creation of jobs in areas that are currently underexploited. BLUEMED The BLUEMED Initiative5 - also led by Italy - together was initiated by the EU MS of the area as a way of ad- with the EUSAIR and WEST MED regional initiatives, dressing/implementing such challenges and opportu- aims to create new ‘blue’ jobs and sustainable eco- nities via a common and shared vision and a Strategic nomic growth in the marine and maritime sectors in R&I Agenda. the area. The Mediterranean Sea is a basin with unique bio-geo-physical characteristics that contributes sig- The bioeconomy could therefore contribute greatly to nificantly to the EU economy by supporting 30% of the regeneration, the sustainable development and the global sea-borne trade. It has more than 450 ports/ political stability of the area and, in turn, to a reduc- terminals, which host the world’s second largest mar- tion in the migration phenomenon (for example with ket for cruise ships, half of the EU’s fishing fleet and a reference to the implementation of local investment unique cultural heritage and natural patrimony. How- projects with a high social and infrastructural impact, ever, it is facing serious environmental challenges re- as outlined in the “Migration Compact” document pro- lated to climate change, growing maritime traffic and posed by the Italian Government) . Italy in particular, pollution, the overexploitation of fish stocks, invasions through the two initiatives it is coordinating, can play a key role in achieving this aim. 5 researchitaly.it 9

1. BIOECONOMY – AN INTRODUCTION 1.2 AT ITALIAN LEVEL Agriculture Agriculture is an important economic sector in Italy, ac- In Italy the entire Bioeconomy sector (including agricul- counting for EUR 31 billion of contribution to Gross Value ture, forestry, fisheries, food and beverages production, Added (2.3%) (ISTAT, 2015). The total agricultural area in paper, pulp and tobacco industries, textiles from natural Italy amounts to 17.1 million hectares, of which 12.9 mil- fibers, leather, bio-pharmaceuticals, green chemistry, lion are in use. In 2015, the value of the production from biochemicals and bioenergy) accounted for a total turno- agriculture, forestry and fisheries amounted to EUR 57.7 ver of EUR 254 billion in 2015, and around 1.6 million em- billion . Around 910,000 people are employed in agricul- ployees. 1 ture. Rural development is an important priority, mainly in marginal areas without access to the same services of Estimates of the Bioeconomy as a whole are based on public interest as towns and cities. Various rural develop- National Accounts for most of the sectors involved, while ment challenges are emerging in several regions. Rural it is worth noting that biochemicals are not easily ac- diversification is important; sustainability, social media, counted for, since (with the exception of biofuels) they big data availability and new business models may well are not included in the current statistical framework. Es- bring a new dimension to rural life. Furthermore, thanks timates based on the Input/Output Table, following a dif- to the variety of its territory and the long and diversified ferent methodology, also indicate that chemicals based historical heritage, Italy enjoys a unique variety and rich- on renewable resources were worth around EUR 2.9 bil- ness in food traditions. This is considered one of the most lion in 2015, i.e. 5.9% of total chemical production value. important distinguishing features of Italian agriculture and one of the main strengths of the sector in interna- However the potential for the substitution of renewable tional competition on the agriculture/food markets. inputs within the chemical industry is high: according to one estimate6, in the current technological framework Agriculture and forestry have a vast potential in the (not considering therefore economic and environmental context of the biobased and circular economy, ranging sustainability), around 40% of chemical products could from the efficient management of resources, biodiver- theoretically be produced with renewable inputs. Beyond sity, protection, soil and land sustainable management, this potential (theoretical) substitution, the share of ef- production of ecological and social services, enhance- fective substitution will strongly depend on industrial and ment and re-use of residuals and wastes, as well as environmental policy and technological innovation. the production of bioenergy and bio-products through the adoption of sustainable production models and the efficient use of renewable resources. 6 Intesa Sanpaolo-Assobiotec “Report on Bioeconomy in Eu- rope”, December 2015 10 13 1 BIOECONOMY IN ITALY IN 2015 2.0 52 00 ,0 % Food industries, beverages Turnover: 253.815 and tobacco (million euro) Agriculture, forestry and fisheries 71 321 1.9 Manufacture of paper and 8% 0, 0,1% 57.733 paper products 22,8% Manufacture of textiles and 2.900 1,1% wearing apparel Manufacture of wood and of products of wood and cork, except furniture; % manufacture of articles of 2,0 83 straw and plaiting 5.0 materials 8,7 % 22.02 Manufacture of biobased 5 pharmaceutical products 5,6% Manufacture of biobased 54 14.1 7,0% chemicals and chemical products 2817.6 Bioenergy Biodiesel Source: Agriculture, forestry and fisheries: Na- Employment: 1.592 tional Account (th. person employed) Food industries, beverages and tobacco: National Account 6,4 Manufacture of textiles and leather: 45% % 1,8 Textile + leather 0,4 12,1 0,1 Manufacture of wood and of pr. of wood 0,8% % and cork, except furniture: National Ac- 57,2% 910,4 count and SBS Manufacture of paper and paper products: % National Account and SBS 73,7 4,6 Manufacture of biobased chemicals: Esti- mates on Input/Output Table and National Account Manufacture of biobased pharmaceutical 24 products: 20% of pharmaceuticals 5,3 ,2 Biodiesel: Prodcom % % 38 5 ,7 84 ,0 Bioenergy: Our computation on biomass 7,4% share (excluding solid urban wastes) on electricity production (quantities) and ap- 117,7 plication of this factor to the value of elec- tricity production in national accounts (SBS)

1. BIOECONOMY – AN INTRODUCTION Food Industry In 2015, the Italian food industry, with a turnover of EUR The Food Industry opens up huge opportunities for 132 billion (of which around 29 bn from exports - about innovation and growth in the Bioeconomy sector. The 8.8% of Italy’s total exports), 385,000 employees and National Agrifood Technology Cluster “CL.A.N.”7, a 54,400 businesses, is the second largest manufactur- multi-stakeholder network of the key national players ing sector in Italy, and the third in Europe, behind the of the agrifood chain, from companies to research cen- German and French food industries. 2 tres, microbe collections and institutions, gave an im- portant contribution on this matter through the draw- The industry sector relies mostly on very small SMEs ing up of a Roadmap that identifies the most significant (over 85% of the companies have fewer than 9 employ- challenges and research priorities for the Food Indus- ees) but, in spite of this, it has proved to be a resilient try with respect to the reuse of by-products. These in- sector, capable of growing also during the economic clude: crisis. This is due to its unique structure, especially based on the market success of Italian products world- ýý Obtaining new foods and/or fodders for zootechni- wide, thanks to well-known trademarks and brands cal purposes, innovative ingredients and/or bioactive and also to the fact that the high value given by the so- compounds for developing health-giving foods with cial, cultural and environmental attention found in Ital- a high nutritional value obtained from by-products ian products is protected by Geographical Indications generated by the agrifood processing industries; (18% of EU products). 3 ýý Adopting innovative processes to exploit by-products left over from agroindustry processing, to be placed on the market as new products for the food, fodder and agricultural sector; ýý Reducing disposal costs and finding new economic returns from agrifood by-products; ýý Analysing techniques to recuperate low cost by-prod- ucts and their functional components, with a low en- vironmental impact. 7 clusteragrifood.it 12

1. BIOECONOMY – AN INTRODUCTION 2 Europe’s top five food industries Germany 175 France 159 Italy 132 UK 114 Spain 92 Source: FoodDrinkEurope – Turnover 2014 Bn € Essential oils 1 3 Composition by sector Pasta 2 Italy has registered: Other animal products 5 106 PDO – Protected Fishes 5 Designation Origin Fresh meat 5 161 PGI – Protected Geographical Indication Other products 8 2 TSG – Traditional Specialty Bakery products 10 Guaranteed products. Meat products 38 Olive oils 43 Cheese 49 Fruit and vegetables 103 Source: Report Qualivita 2014 13 New solutions for the efficiency of processes in the fresh-cut vegetables industry and valorization of wasted biomass. Within So.Fi.A., new technolo- The AGRIFOOD CLUSTER gave an important gies for reducing wasted biomass production using contribution to the Bioeconomy through the integrated drying processes and associated energy national flagship project So.Fi.A. (Sustaina- recovery devices are under study. In addition, com- bility of Agrifood supply chain) in terms of: posting and recycling waste into “on-farm” system is aimed at simplifying biomass management, re- Valorization of dairy by-products, especially resi- ducing environmental impact. dues of ricotta cheese (scotta) and cheese whey for recovery of their bio-molecules. A specific experi- Other important initiatives led by food companies: mental campaign was conducted focused on dou- SUSTAINABLE FARMING for ITALIAN HIGH QUAL- ble ultrafiltration steps followed by nanofiltration ITY DURUM WHEAT CULTIVATION – a landmark on scotta and cheese-whey with the separation and project aimed at shifting towards more sustainable concentration of proteins, lactose and peptides. durum wheat cultivation in order to improve pro- The liquid intermediates obtained after ultrafiltra- duction and soil efficiency through the optimization tion were conferred to other partners of the project of operations and inputs, as well as to reduce soil for post-processing treatment (enzymatic hydrol- degradation. It is followed up by a Handbook for ysis, oxidation) to turn bio-molecules in bio-active Sustainable Cultivation of Durum Wheat and a Web and functional substances as pre-biotics, function- based Decision Supporting System (DSS) imple- al peptides, lactulose and lacto-bionic acid. mented through the incorporation in a standalone entity of all public and private research, on-field Strategies for the reutilization and valorization on trials, agronomic principles, soil-climate-crop beef processing by-products and wastes. The pro- modeling, environmental footprint. duction of new food (Bone Chips for gelatin, tallow, and food proteins) and non-food products (tallow EU flagship initiatives: AgriMax project (BIO BASED and animal flour for the production of energy and INDUSTRIES JOINT UNDERTAKING - H2020-BBI- depilated hides) to be included in various national PPP-2015-2-1): Agri and food waste valorisation and international industrial sectors represents the co-ops based on flexible multi-feedstocks biore- final goal. The byproducts which could not be val- finery processing technologies for new, high add- orized otherwise, will be used for the production ed-value applications. The project combines flex- of electric and thermal energy directed to satisfy ible processing technologies to valorize residues the energy needs of the company. The aim of the and by-products from the agriculture and food pro- So.Fi.A. project, to valorize the beef hides, is the cessing industry to extract valuable biocompounds development of a biotechnological method for hair used to produce active ingredients, such as pack- removal and exploitation of proteins, bioactive pep- aging and agricultural materials. tides and collagen of the obtained products and of fleshings generated from processing.

1. BIOECONOMY – AN INTRODUCTION Forestry the forest-wood sector. Beyond the domain of wood- Forest surface in Italy covers 11 million hectares - ap- based products, non-wood (or wild) forest products and proximately 37% of the national surface territory. forest- related ecosystem services deserve to be men- Thanks to its Mediterranean positioning, together tioned. The former include a number of products - such with its diverse landscape spanning from sea to high as mushrooms, truffles, herbs, cork etc.- which often mountains, Italian forests host a wide variety of plant have a strong link to traditional knowledge, local econ- ecosystems. However, forest management needs to be omies and forest management practices. While in many improved, as does the accounting for its products and cases economic activities related to these products re- ecosystem services (INFC 2015). It is worth noting that main largely informal, there is an increasing number of carbon removals by managed forests covered 10% of cases where wild product production has become more the total national Kyoto target for CO2 emission reduc- structured and more important than wood production tion and that there is a quite an active voluntary carbon in terms of direct and indirect income opportunities, sinks market. The whole wood/furniture supply chain in job creation, visibility and rural development potential. 2015 amounted to more than 80,000 companies, em- ploying about 400,000 people, with an annual turnover In addition, processed wood is converted into a few and of EUR 40 billion , while the industry based on cellulose 8 traditional low value products while more room should has an annual turnover of about EUR 22 billion, over also be made to expand the role of wood in the bio-con- 3,800 companies and over 20,000 employees. However, struction industry. The current lack of integration and it should be noted that in such an important industry, of efficient chains between the primary production 80% of the wood used is imported from other countries. and the wood processing industry is limiting both so- Therefore, one of the primary objectives is to increase cio-economic growth and the international competi- the degree of self-supply in this area. tiveness of the whole value chain. Solid biomass fuels (among these wood) represent the With regards to ecosystem services, although these main renewable source of energy on a national scale. are not (or are just marginally) included within official The bioenergy sector has also shown strong growth national accounting systems, they are increasingly rec- during the last few years, becoming a very dynamic ognised as an important component of forest ecosys- segment - including biomass producers and traders, tems9. stove producers, energy plant managers etc. - within 8 FederlegnoArredo, 2016 9 The implementation of PES mechanisms is recalled by Art. 70 of the 2015 Budget Law (Collegato Ambientale alla Legge di Stabilità, 22nd December 2015) and related norms/regulations. 15

1. BIOECONOMY – AN INTRODUCTION Bio-based industry The bio-based industry is the segment of the bioeconomy that uses renewable biological resources in innovative industrial processes for manufacturing biomass-derived goods/products and services. Hence it concerns indus- trial sectors which traditionally use biological resources as their main feedstock or catalysts (forest-base sec- tor, bio-fuels/bio-energy, biotechnology) and others for which biomass is part of the raw material portfolio (e.g. SPRING’s Roadmap built upon its members’ Chemicals, Plastics, Consumer goods). priorities and objectives, establishes a com- mon ground in the discussion with regional, Thanks to the levels of innovation already achieved national and European institutions which through a number of proprietary technologies devel- the Cluster considers as key partners for oped in the chemistry and industrial biotechnology achieving the long-term objectives related sectors, the investments made, the range of products to the transition towards a new model cen- such as green catalysts and microbes, and the value tered around the concept of “sustainable chains available, Italy is playing a leading role in the regions” and present the main innovation bio-based industry. breakthrough for Italian Biobased Indus- tries. This is a fundamental sector, as it supplies inputs and knowledge for promising technologies such as next A. Achieving a Near-to-zero waste country generation bio-fuels and bio-plastics production, elec- by completely reusing biowaste as bio- tricity and heating from biomass, bio-pharmaceutics char, biogases, and biobased products. and bio-cosmetics. It is also important for the effec- tive valorization of biological materials for residential B. Reconverting disused industrial sites buildings, bio-waste, urban, agricultural and industrial into next generation biorefineries. effluents/wastewater, the production of bio-methane, bio-fertilizers, bio-lubricants, and essential amino ac- C. Maintaining and reinforcing Italian ex- ids for feed production. cellence in R&D in a global contest fac- ing more and more aggressive policies Bio-based chemistry is one of the few sectors where developed by the major countries and our country is a leading player in a high-tech environ- the growing interest of the most impor- ment, with large private investments, and important tant chemical companies. projects underway for the reconversion of industrial sites affected by the crisis into bio-refineries for the 16 4 Biorefineries: industrial plants and flagships INDUSTRIAL SITES FLAGSHIPS Piemonte INDUSTRIAL PLANT Lignocellulosic bioethanol (Crescentino – VC) FLAGSHIP Succinic acid (Cannano Spinola – AL) Emilia Romagna Campania INDUSTRIAL PLANT based on vinification INDUSTRIAL PLANT Levulinic acid scraps and byproducts (Faenza - RA) Umbria (Caserta) INDUSTRIAL PLANT Bioplastics based Veneto on starch and polyesters from Sardegna FLAGSHIP 1.4 BDO from renewable raw vegetable oils (Terni) FLAGSHIP Bases for biolubricants and materials (Adria – RO) bioadditives for rubber (Porto Torres – SS) FLAGSHIP for the production of biofuels Lazio from vegetable oils biomass INDUSTRIAL PLANT Biodegradable FLAGSHIP Azelaic acid and pelargonic (Porto Marghera - VE) polyesters (Patrica – FR) acid (Porto Torres – SS) 17

1. BIOECONOMY – AN INTRODUCTION production of bio-products and bio-chemicals from re- newable sources. Over a billion euros has already been Italian Flagships invested in the re-industrialisation of decommissioned or no longer competitive sites of national importance Italy has important projects for the recon- and for the construction and launch of four flagship version of industrial sites affected by the plants - the first of their kind in the world. 4 5 crisis into biorefineries for the production of bioproducts and biochemicals from re- Notably, the Italian bio-based industrial sector is char- newable sources, with positive impacts acterized by a network of large, medium and small- on employment, the environment, product sized companies which work together, leveraging on profitability and integration with oil-based the sustainable production and efficient use of biomass, products, enabling greater specialisation following a cascading approach to increase the added and competitiveness. Some of these pro- value of agricultural production with complete respect jects, coordinated by leading Italian players for the biodiversity of local areas, in collaboration with in bio-based industries sector have been the agricultural world and creating partnerships with recognized as flagship initiatives in Europe local actors. Italy is also the second EU country (after by the BBI Joint Undertaking. Germany) for the production of biogas and bio-meth- ane with 1,924 installed plants and an energy produc- tion of 19,400 GWh (Terna, 2015). There are other factors that have contributed to Italy’s success in bio-based chemistry: the existence of the First2Run: Flagship demonstration of an in- Cluster of “Green Chemistry” SPRING10, a national plat- tegrated biorefinery for dry crops sustaina- form which brings together over 100 of the main stake- ble exploitation towards biobased materials holders of the value chain, from farmers to entrepre- production. neurial associations; it represents a proven, effective collaboration between public and private stakeholders, and research bodies with strong competences on the main value chains of the biobased industry; a network of large, medium and small-sized companies which work together (the main sectors represented are: bio-based BIOSKOH’s: Innovation Stepping Stones for chemicals, oleochemistry, bio-lubricants, cosmetics, a novel European Second Generation BioEc- wheat and corn wet-millers, bio-plastics, bio-methane). onomy. 10 clusterspring.it 18 5 Biobased R&D Piemonte centres, pilot R&D CENTER Bioplastics and biochemicals from renewable raw plants, demo plants materials (Novara) and experimental R&D CENTER Chemistry from fields renewables (Novara) R&D CENTER Biochemicals and biofuels R&D CENTERS from renewables (Rivalta Scrivia – AL) PILOT PLANTS PILOT PLANT Fatty alcohols DEMO PLANTS (Rivalta Scrivia – AL) PILOT PLANT Biomonomers (Novara) EXPERIMENTAL FIELDS EXPERIMENTAL FIELDS Lombardia R&D CENTER Biolubricants (San Donato Milanese – MI) R&D CENTER Green chemistry, process engineering and biolubricants (Mantova) PILOT PLANT for biobased butadiene (Mantova) PILOT PLANT for biobased coatings (Cernusco sul Naviglio - MI) Umbria PILOT PLANT for biomaterials from R&D CENTER PILOT PLANT and mycelia and scraps (Varese) DEMO PLANT Oleaginous crops and Basilicata EXPERIMENTAL FIELDS biolubricants from local crops (Terni) R&D CENTER for green biotechnologies EXPERIMENTAL FIELDS (Matera) Veneto PILOT PLANT for conversion of non- R&D CENTER for new technologies Lazio food cellulosic biomass into cellulosic development in the biotech-sector EXPERIMENTAL FIELDS glucose (Rotondella - MT) (Adria - RO) 2 PILOT PLANTS for steam gasification of Campania Emilia Romagna biomass (Rotondella - MT) R&D CENTER on biotechnologies R&D CENTER Bioelastomers (Ravenna) EXPERIMENTAL FIELDS (Piana di Monte Verna – CE) PILOT PLANT for PHA (Bologna) EXPERIMENTAL FIELDS Sardegna EXPERIMENTAL FIELDS R&D CENTER for biochemicals from Puglia vegetable oils (Porto Torres – SS) Toscana R&D CENTER to characterize biomass R&D CENTER and PILOT PLANT for and biomaterials, organic waste EXPERIMENTAL FIELDS biolubricants and biopesticides and sludge, residues and agro-food (Sesto Fiorentino - FI) byproducts (Foggia) Sicilia PILOT PLANT for cellulose extraction R&D CENTER PILOT PLANT and PILOT PLANT Anaerobic digester from citrus for textiles (Caltagirone – CA) DEMO PLANT on bioenergy, biofuels and plant, pyrolysis/gasification plant, bioproducts (Scarperia e San Piero – FI) photobioreactors plant (Foggia) EXPERIMENTAL FIELDS 19

1. BIOECONOMY – AN INTRODUCTION Marine bioeconomy and biowaste of fishery and aquaculture products pro- Italy is characterized by over 8000 km of coastline, 40% cessing, biomonitoring and bioremediation of marine of whose jurisdiction space is under water. It can there- water/sediment systems. In particular, Italy is, respec- fore count on remarkable sea-based resources (food, tively11, the second biggest European fish producer and microbes, energy, materials, landscape). Currently, bi- ranks fourth in Europe for aquaculture production. Nev- oeconomy related activities are responsible for about ertheless, about 75% of national consumption is cov- 20% of the turnover and job opportunities of the present ered by imports. Sea based tourism is responsible for Italian blue economy, which were estimated at about € 19.1% of the presences in the country and is the second 43 Billion/y and 835,000 employees. These activities in- contributor to the significant part of the Italian economy clude fishery and marine aquaculture, the exploitation driven by foreign visitors. In addition to this, 64% of Ital- of marine algae, microbes, enzymes, and by-products ians choose marine locations for their vacations. 11 V rapporto sull’economia del mare, Unioncamere 2016 20

1. BIOECONOMY – AN INTRODUCTION 1.3 BIOECONOMY AT REGIONAL LEVELS my, Agrifood, the Bio-based industry. The study paves the way to interregional cooperation in the bioeconomy, The availability of local competitive biological feedstocks especially between neighboring territories, opening up is an important requirement for bioeconomy industries. also the necessary dialogue with national programs and Italian regions, at an individual level, have a high level strategies. 6 of agricultural and natural landscape specificity linked to the biodiversity of cultivated plants, animals, related The Italian regions are particularly motivated when it ecosystem services and their diverse cultural heritage. comes to keeping rural economies alive, putting into place regional economic cycles and supporting agro-in- A recent collaborative work for the drawing up of a dustrial local projects with the strategic idea of using Position Paper on Bioeconomy (6/129/CR08b/C11), de- bio-resources in a more innovative and efficient way. veloped by the Conference of the Italian Regions, mon- Some of the initiatives carried out demonstrate the po- itored the strategic position of the regions with respect tential and the socio-economic impact of the develop- to three pillars of the Bioeconomy: Marine bioecono- ment of the bioeconomy at a local level. BLU ECONOMY AGROFOOD 6 Strategic BIO-BASED INDUSTRY positioning of the Regions with respect to the three main pillars of Bioeconomy (from the Conference of the Italian Regions, elaborated on the Bioeconomy Position Paper) 21

1. BIOECONOMY – AN INTRODUCTION The Agrifood sector is a priority in the strategic plans of territories host important projects for the reconversion of all the regions, reflecting the value and importance of de-industrialized sites into biorefineries for the produc- the sector linked to the quality and strong identity of the tion of bioproducts and biochemicals from local renewa- products. The agrofood system issues related to quality, ble sources, leading to positive impacts on employment, sustainability and recovery of environmental value, and environment, product profitability and integration with the relationship between food and health are central to regional agriculture systems. the vision of the regions. The Italian regions are willing to establish a distributed The regions see great potential in the development of bioeconomy system built on modular and multiple con- the bio-based industry - the second sector in the stra- cepts, by building cross territorial links and interregion- tegic assessment. The potential is largely related firstly al value chains. The key components of the Distributed to the exploitation of food chain wastes, with the aim of Business Models are the distributed units and the modu- reducing the environmental impact, and secondly to the lar nodes. Each module or production site is a node of its development of industrial crops in marginal agricultural own, and is linked to several other nodes according to the areas that do not compete with food production. Some needs and deliverables of each node. 22  The Biopower project in Tuscany tackled the chal- lenge of energy production by using renewable sourc- EXAMPLE OF REGIONAL PROJECTS es through a diffused network of small sized plants. The project involves 7 enterprises and has reduced  One recent example of an industrial reconver- the environmental pressure by saving 1,000,000 TEP, sion is a new plan for the production of bio-butan- at the same time producing 17 new jobs. diol at an old chemical site. The factory, which will produce 30 thousand tons of bio-butandiol per  Another important initiative developed in Tuscany year, hired 51 employees at the end of 2015. It will is related to the production of 20,000 tons of soil com- be the first facility in the world capable of produc- post per year from local organic waste coming from ing butandiol (BDO) directly from sugars rather the urban separate collection and treated in three than from fossil sources. This is done through a industrial composting plants. The initiative provides low-impact process and the co-products are com- a supplement to industrial fertilizer production lines, pletely reused. Some of these projects are coor- as well as organic fertilizer for farmers and public dinated by leading Italian players in bio-based administrations. 30% of the mixed compost is used by industries sector and have been recognized as the industry and the rest by local farmers on various flagship initiatives in Europe by the BBI Joint Un- crops in the provinces of Florence, Pistoia and Pisa. dertaking.  Aquaculture is an important sector in Italian  Other interesting cases are focused on the pos- regions where there is a high availability of water sibility of using agricultural residues as a source and sea coast. One of the objectives of aquaculture of renewable energy - very common in several re- is to reduce energy consumption and minimize the gions - thanks to the existence of public subsidies environmental impact. One initiative developed for investments. Agro-energy offers farmers the and supported by the Veneto Region relates to the potential to earn extra income and often pushes cultivation of mussels with a continuous rope and for cooperation among farmers in order to aggre- a biodegradable retention net. The projects led to gate the biomass needed to manage a bioenergy a 50% in fuel reduction and waste, and an increase plant. The most accepted and widespread model in production of up to 9,5 tons. is a grid of a diffused small-medium size agro-en- ergy plant producing bio-methane, that in many  Microalgae cultures have a strong potential for cases uses zoo-technical waste integrated with industrial developments thanks to the higher yield solid matter deriving from cultivated crops. An ex- capacity per unit of land used when compared to ample of this kind of initiative can be seen in the green plants, and the production of a variety of Veneto Region, where 14 farmers active in cereal fine biochemicals. A Best Practice on microalgae production, cooperated in setting up a 1MW biogas cultures has been supported by the Liguria Re- plant fed with the waste of their production, cre- gion and the BIOFAT EU project. The industrial pi- ating a 2 million Eur/year turnover, making farm lot initiative is developing rapidly, covering a 8,000 jobs more stable and creating new jobs for plant sqm greenhouse surface and employing 15 people, management and service. demonstrating the potential of producing oil and fine products for pharmaceutical and cosmetics. 2 2 RAW MATERIALS SOURCES AND THE OPPORTUNITIES OF BIOWASTE: THE IMPACT OF THE BIOECONOMY ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL CAPITAL CONSERVATION From the environmental viewpoint, the bioeconomy Finally, it is important to reconcile economic and envi- raises both opportunities and challenges. ronmental needs: increasing the value added of the bi- oeconomy sectors should not be done by importing raw The opportunities are linked to the gradual shift in pro- renewable materials from countries with less strict en- duction processes from non-renewable to renewable vironmental regulations, as this could result in shifting resources in order to limit the environmental pressure the environmental damage abroad. on ecosystems. Higher value is placed instead on their conservation as, beyond their intrinsic or existing value It is clear, therefore, that the opportunities and challenges connected to other services, they can provide important in building a sustainable and flourishing Italian bioecono- services for the economy, - including the strategic im- my vary according to the source of biomass in the bioecon- portance of finding nature-based solutions to cope with omy sectors, according to the need for “using better what climate change and hydrological risks. Furthermore, we already use” and “using well what we don’t use yet”. the bioeconomy implies the possibility of decreasing dependence on resources not widely available in Italy. The stock of renewable natural resources, including Producing more from renewables may ease the prob- forests, water, land, landscapes, terrestrial and marine lem of waste management as these sources are more plants and animal species not only supplies food, raw easily reabsorbed by the nature receptors. materials, energy, fresh water and medicinal products for human consumption, but represents overall the most However, the bioeconomy can also lead to a number significant part of the total value of our natural capital. of challenges. One necessary condition is the econom- The sustainable management of this stock offers other ic, environmental and social sustainability of products benefits to human society and the environment through and processes. Especially in the food and fish industry, a continuous flow of regulatory, supporting and cultural there are many examples of unsustainable manage- ecosystem services that are worth accounting for. ment for both the environment and human health. The Value Added and utility for the society can be increased Agriculture based on sustainable practices responds to by improving the quality of products (i.e. agriculture). its primary function of food production while enhanc- 25

2. RAW MATERIALS SOURCES AND THE OPPORTUNITIES OF BIOWASTE ing the correct management of natural resources (soil, starch from corn and potatoes, cellulose from straw and water, air), biodiversity and contributing to genetic di- wood, lignin and amino acids as well as the exploitation versity conservation. of algae are becoming increasingly important as indus- trial feedstocks. Through physical, chemical and bio- Between 1960 and 2000, the European countryside ex- logical processes these materials can be converted into perienced a dramatic change in land use. Further land fuel, chemical intermediates, polymers and specialties abandonment is forecast to continue until 2030 , ac- 12 in general for which mineral oil has been used to date. cording to the Institute for European Environmental We need to further valorize this potential of the agricul- Policy and Eurostat survey. Estimates indicate an over- tural sector within the circular economy. all decrease in agriculture, grasslands and semi-nat- ural habitats of more than 30 million hectares and an Innovative, sustainable bioeconomy sectors should fol- increase in urbanization. Activating synergies between low this general approach for the use of raw materials: agriculture, forestry, and the industrial sector in or- der to reuse residuals and waste for the production ýý determination of the most suitable species (identifi- of bio-products and bioenergy, could help in bringing cation of autochthonous crops, plants, algae) and bi- marginal and abandoned lands back into cultivation. omass at a local level (dedicated low-impact crops or Agriculture is already responding well today to the not fragile marine areas), most suitable with respect model of the circular economy - as in the case of the to technical and environmental prerequisites in agri- production of biogas and digestate, with positive im- culture and biorefinery processes; pacts on organic soil matter. ýý identification and use of marginal and/or contaminat- Nature provides us with an enormous range of raw ma- ed lands, in line with international policies on climate terials from which it is possible to synthesize various change and biodiversity, sustainable intensification chemical intermediates which are similar to those ob- policies, and in synergy with regional and local policies; tained from raw fossil materials. It also has a wide vari- ety of molecules and processes for synthesizing which ýý promotion of the efficient use of biomass (by ex- are extremely interesting, yet until today, remain large- tracting all possible value from renewable resourc- ly unexplored. As a consequence of energy-related and es, starting from food and feed components, passing environmental problems arising from the use of fossil through the production of materials and recovering energy, renewable raw materials such as vegetable oils, energy content from products); 12 “Agri-environmental indicator - risk of land abandonment” 2013: farmland abandonment due to economic, structural, social or difficult regional factors is estimated to have a higher risk in southern Member States (ec.europa.eu). 26

2. RAW MATERIALS SOURCES AND THE OPPORTUNITIES OF BIOWASTE ýý construction of new supply chains integrated with tops and leaves) (about 10 million t/y), and livestock pro- agriculture forestry and the industrial sectors, en- duction (about 130 million t/y) along with the bio-residu- suring competitiveness and profitability for all partic- als and waste from the primary food biomass processing ipants in the value chain; and food making e.g. husks, hulls, shells, bagasse, etc. (about 15 million t/y). In addition, there are forest resid- ýý reliance on eco-labelled, certified forest products, uals arising in-field e.g. thinnings, tops and branches preferably from local chains. (up to 40% of above-ground forest biomass) and residue from primary processing at sawmills or pulp and pa- Also within the context of the Common Fisheries Pol- per mills e.g. sawdust, chips from off-cuts, black liquor icy, the sustainable use of fish stock is at the basis of (about 11.5 million t/y). Finally, the organic fraction of the functioning of the marine ecosystem, as well as of municipal waste collected in the country is above 5.7 the future livelihood itself of fisheries and marine bio- million t/y, representing about 43% of the total munic- based economy. This is even more crucial in the Medi- ipal organic waste produced after 201413. Such residual terranean Sea where the overexploitation and the intro- streams are currently only partially and poorly valorized duction of invasive alien species threatens local fish and (mostly via biogas production) and mainly disposed of in their habitats. To this end, aquaculture can be a viable landfills, with consequent high external costs and neg- solution to the sustainable management of the fisheries ative environmental impacts. Many of them, and in par- industry and it is no coincidence that it is prioritized in ticular the agro-food industry by-products, waste and the EU Blue Growth Strategy and BLUEMED Strategic effluents, could be cheap and abundant sources of bi- Research and Innovation agenda. However, caution is obased chemicals and materials, along with substrates required to mitigate potential negative impacts of inten- for tailored biotechnological productions which, in turn, sive aqua-farming, through monitoring the release of could enable the preparation of value-added biobased nitrogen and phosphorous in the coastal zones. fine chemicals, materials and bio-fuels. The increasing use of residuals and byproducts for the However, the “end of waste” criteria, as well as a na- production of materials and energy is at the foundation of tional revised regulation on waste and residuals, along a sustainable circular bioeconomy, reducing the pressure with clear indications on the potential use of the prod- on raw renewable sources and dependence on fossil fuels. ucts and on their quality assessment would contribute greatly to boosting the efficient and valuable exploita- Biowaste comes both from the primary vegetal produc- tion of these forms of biomass. tion (those arising in-field e.g. cereal straw, sugar cane 13 ISPRA; Rapporto Rifiuti Urbani, 2015). 27 3 3 BIOECONOMY IN EVERYDAY LIFE    CARRIER BAGS AND WASTE BAGS PRODUCTS FOR FOODSERVICE NEW FUNCTIONAL COLD PRESSED OILS Biodegradable shopping bags, thanks to The use of biodegradable and com- An innovative vegetable oil produced their dual use (i.e. first carrier bags and postable foodserviceware simplifies using olives and tomatoes only by me- then waste bags), facilitate the separate post-consumer disposal operations. It chanical processes. collection of organic waste reducing the can in fact be disposed of with the or- • Olive oil naturally enriched in carote- risks of littering in the environment. ganic fraction in composting structures, noids. Thanks to biodegradability, com- reducing environmental impact and • A good alternative to chemical extrac- postability, transparency, resistance waste management costs. tion of functional compounds. to humidity and pathogens they have • An oil dressing naturally enriched proved to be a key tool to encourage the and suitable for vegetarian, vegans and separate collections of organic waste gluten-free diets. and to produce high quality compost.  PACKAGING These products can be disposed of   with the organic waste. Here are some applications: BAGS AND GLOVES FOR FRUIT & BIOGAS VEGETABLES • Compostable food wrapping paper, Organic gas produced by the anaerobic extruded trays and woven nets. The switch from traditional plastic digestion of biomass that can be used • Non-food packaging such as toilet products to biodegradable and com- as fuel for the production of electricity paper, kitchen roll, napkins, films for postable ones contributes to reduce the and heat or as fuel as a result of a refin- magazines, etc. generation of waste that is not easily ing process biomethane. • Compostable label: standard fruit recyclable and to increase the organic labels are one of the main pollutants of waste collection. compost.  29

3. BIOECONOMY IN EVERYDAY LIFE    COMPOSTABLE CAPSULES CARBOXILIC ACIDS AND COSMETICS BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS FROM MEAT BY PRODUCTS Biodegradable and compostable cap- Carboxilic acids are the basic con- Optimization and validation of modi- sules can be collected with the organic stituents of bio-based plastics. They fied response surface methodology to waste and sent for industrial compost- are intermediate in the production of extract bioactive peptides from poultry ing, where the capsule and used coffee plasticizers, for complex esters used in and fish by-products. are recycled together into compost, the lubricants sector and in pharma/ with significant reduction of waste and cosmetic formulations, herbicide as greenhouse gas emissions. well as being used in the formulation of plant protection. Some carboxylic acids and their esters and glycerine are well-known products commonly used in cosmetics applications.  PLASTICIZERS  Plasticizers for specialty elastomers MICROBIOPASSPORT, A TOOL TO and PVC, as well as an innovative type MEASURE THE IMPACT OF FOOD ON INTESTINAL HEALTH of bio-extender oil for general purpose  elastomers. The Microbiopassport is the first pat- ented tool for gut microbiota analysis, LUBRICANTS which translates in user-friendly way They represent an ideal solution for the complex output obtained by the next machinery operating in ecologically generation sequencing characterization sensitive areas (such as agricultural, of the intestinal microbial ecosystem and its pervasive effects on human forest, marine or urban), offering ad-  vantages in terms of performance and health. The Microbiopassport is being in terms of the environment and safety DIGESTATE PELLETS used by several food companies to as- in case of dispersion in the ecosystems. sess the efficacy of their food products. Organic fertilizer rich in nutrient ele- ments such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, produced by anaerobic digestion of agricultural biomass. 30

3. BIOECONOMY IN EVERYDAY LIFE    BIO-INNOVATION IN RECIPES BIOETHANOL MULCHING FILMS Use of natural products to replace prod- Renewable biochemicals and ener- Biobased and biodegradable mulching ucts derived from chemical synthesis gy source made by fermenting the film provides an agronomically and processes, to support the diversifica- sugar and starch components of environmentally efficient alternative to tion of products and diets (snacks and plant by-products - mainly sugarcane traditional plastic mulching film. They sweets using derivates of an algae called (bioethanol). Next generation of biofuel biodegrade in the soil so they do not “Spirulina” rich in essential nutrients from lignine or other biomass as algae. have to be removed at the end of the like proteins, vitamins, minerals, essen- growing season and allow an efficient tial amino acids and Omega 3 and 6). control of weeds and the obtaining of equivalent agronomic yields in terms of quantity and quality.   PORTABLE ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS FOR OLIVE OIL QUALITY CONTROL INNOVATIVE PLASTER WITH LOW  The portable electronic systems allow ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT quick and in-situ analysis of olive oil BIONSENSOR FOR BACTERIAL CON- • Support-tape made from biores- quality (free acidity and total phenol CENTRATION MEASUREMENT in-films; these substances are derived content). from potato starch (100% bio-com- • Based on impedance analysis and A portable device for quick and in-situ postable). optical transmission measurements. analysis of bacterial concentration in • Central pad containing no preserva- • Battery operated. liquid and semi-liquid food samples. tives. • Use of non-toxic reagents. • Based on impedance analysis. • Innovative adhesive solvent-free and • Quick response (30 sec for free acidity • Embedded mini-thermal chamber. without natural rubber latex. and 10 min for total phenol content). • High sensitivity. • Packaging made of recycled card- • Quick response: 3 to 12 hours depend- board. ing on the sample bacterial concentra- tion. Successfully tested with many types of food-samples: ice-cream, raw milk, water, beer. 31 4 4 THE SOCIAL DIMENSION OF THE BIOECONOMY To meet the bioeconomy challenge of “reconnecting The bioeconomy, due to its intrinsic characteristics, economy, society and environment” it will not be suf- has the potential to achieve a more profound integra- ficient simply to employ biomass for industrial applica- tion between economic, environmental and social ob- tions or to use regenerative instead of fossil raw ma- jectives. However, this is possible only through invest- terials. It does not mean simply integrating biological ment in new capacities of consensus building for public knowledge into existing technology. and private sectors: To meet the challenge, a transition must take place also ýýon the part of companies through business mod- from a social point of view, stimulating social aware- els which involve costumers, workers, users and ness and dialogue, as well as better supporting innova- stakeholders affected by their activities (primar- tion in social structures leading to more conscious be- ily citizens) in a common vision concerning sus- haviour. Greater knowledge of what is being consumed tainability; while the development of new products, - especially food products and processes - would lead to services and investments related to the bioecono- improvements in health conditions and lifestyle, stimu- my creates new economic value, jobs, relations and lating a demand pull on sustainable innovation by com- collaborations, it should also be clear that the bio- panies. For this reason, it is crucial to further develop economy is able to meet social needs and is aimed ecolabeling. at improving human well-being, enhancing an indi- viduals’ capacity to act. This transition process in the economy and society needs to take place in a holistic way, and in order to exploit the ýýon the part of the government, through a diffused major potential benefits of this process, citizens must adoption of a participatory and place-based ap- become the key players in the necessary social trans- proach which conveys a new concept of a territory formation that the bio-based economy can stimulate. as a space of endogenous material and immateri- al assets, and networks of economic, social, cul- Social dialogue and an understanding of the challenges tural, institutional relationships and interactions; and opportunities of the bioeconomy play a decisive role the bioeconomy is an opportunity to reassemble in the demand for new products and services, and hence fragmented knowledge and capabilities into new for the associated innovations and technological devel- stocks and flows of productive knowledge, building opments. Actions such as public procurement need to on new innovation processes; this will also help to- be turned into participatory actions allowing commit- wards creating a common identity among people in ment, understanding and potential for replication. the territories. 33 5 5 LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK, FUNDING MEASURES AND MARKET PULL MEASURES The bioeconomy has strong synergies with many Competitiveness (NOP I & C) and through strategic plans EU and National strategic plans, norms and funding funded by public resources from cohesion policy, nation- measures which give opportunities to improve action al and regional ordinary funds, and private resources. plans and specific measures for the bioeconomy. In brief, the legislative and funding framework is com- With reference to the Bioeconomy, two strategic plans posed as follows: have been defined: the Agrifood and Biobased econo- my, both of which are the pillars of this strategy. They 5.1 NATIONAL SMART derive from an interactive process of cooperation be- SPECIALISATION STRATEGY tween the public sector and a private sector defined entrepreneurial discovery process. The Italian Bioeconomy Strategy is part of the imple- mentation process of the National Smart Specialization The Italian Bioeconomy Strategy lays down the policy Strategy (SNSI). The Smart Specialisation Strategy aims framework for these two action plans that are related to identify priorities for investment in research, develop- to the main spheres where the bioeconomy and the bi- ment and innovation that complement the resources and otechnologies have the greatest impact. productive capacity of territories to build comparative advantage and sustainable growth path in the medium 5.2 EU DIRECTIVES and long term. In the programming period 2014-2020, Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Speciali- Circular Economy Package. In December 2015, the EU sation [RIS3] are an ex ante conditionality for the use of adopted the Circular Economy Package “Closing the European Structural and Investment Funds’ resources loop - An EU action plan for the Circular Economy”14 devoted to the thematic objective “strengthening re- defining ambitious targets and a timeline to reduce the search, technological development and innovation”. pressure on natural resources and boost the market for secondary raw materials. The Circular Economy The SNSI is implemented through specific initiatives of package introduced specific economic instruments the National Operational Programmes 2014-2020 for Re- and promoted industrial symbiosis, incentivizing other search and Innovation (NOP R & I) and for Enterprise and mechanisms to reduce future waste generation under 14 ec.europa.eu 35

5. LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK, FUNDING MEASURES AND MARKET PULL MEASURES a circular bioeconomy philosophy (e.g. design for recy- European Adaptation Strategy17 that, among other ob- cling, reduced packaging). jectives, promotes adaptation measures in key vulner- able sectors including green infrastructure and coastal Marine Strategy Framework Directive D.lgs n. 190/2010 zone management to increase the resilience of urban, (MSFD). The aim of the Directive is to achieve Good En- rural and coastal areas. vironmental Status (GES) for the EU’s marine waters by 2020 and to protect the resource base upon which ma- 5.3 ITALIAN LEGISLATION rine-related economic and social activities depend. The Marine Strategy is the principal instrument to establish The Environmental Annex to the Stability Law 2014 and promote an approach founded on sustainable de- «Measures for promoting the green economy and limit- velopment based on preserving and protecting marine ing the excessive use of natural resources»18 defines the biodiversity and finding solutions to current problems important milestones for future Italian environmental such as marine litter, pollution from contaminants, and strategies. The main focus is on the green economy and the sustainability of fisheries. the circular economy, in particular through: Green Pub- lic Procurement (GPP) with environmental minimum Climate change strategy is a big challenge for the me- criteria for new purchases by the public sector defined dium and long term future. In the meantime, it requires also by Labelling and Certifications (Emas, Ecolabel, En- the transformation of the energy system in order to re- vironmental Footprints, Made Green in Italy); incentives duce GHG emissions into the atmosphere by increasing for the purchase of post-consumption materials, the the share of clean and renewable energy, as well as the management of specific waste fractions (including com- reduction of the energy intensity of the overall system. posting) and incentives to increase the share of collect- On the other hand, it implies increasing the resilience ed waste; creation of a Natural Capital Committee, that and adaptive capacity to cope with climate change im- can provide data on natural biomass consumption and pacts. The EU legislative framework for the first aspect monitor the impact of public policies on natural resourc- (mitigation) is given by the Climate and Energy Pack- es and ecosystem services conservation; the establish- age15 by 2030, that strengthens the Paris agreement ment of a system of Payment for Ecosystem and Envi- which entered into force in November 2016, as well as ronmental Services and the production of a catalogue on the 2050 Low-Carbon Economy16. With regards to the Environmental Harmful and beneficial Subsidies. second pillar (adaptation), in 2013 the EU adopted the 15 ec.europa.eu 16 ec.europa.eu 17 eur-lex.europa.eu 18 gazzettaufficiale.it 36

5. LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK, FUNDING MEASURES AND MARKET PULL MEASURES One the most important aspects of the Environmental 7. SDG15 - Protect, restore and promote sustainable Annex is the update to the Sustainable Development use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage National Strategy, built upon the 2030 Agenda for Sus- forests, combat desertification, and halt and re- tainable Development19 adopted by the UN in Septem- verse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. ber 2015. Among the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN agenda, some of them are strictly re- The Green Public Procurement (GPP) National Action lated to the bioeconomy: Plan (NAP)20 document outlines the strategy for the dif- fusion of GPP in Italy, the commodity categories, the

1. SDG2 - End hunger, achieve food security and im- reference environmental targets to be attained -both proved nutrition and promote sustainable agricul- qualitative and quantitative - and the general method- ture. ological aspects.

2. SDG7 - Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sus- Based upon the Code of Public Contracts21, the GPP tainable and modern energy for all. NAP aims to spread and implement nationwide the adoption of sustainable purchases in Italy.

3. SDG8 - Promote sustained, inclusive and sustain- able economic growth, full and productive employ- The above mentioned Environmental Annex estab- ment and decent work for all. lished, from 2016, the compulsory commitment for the Italian Public Administration to the Code. Italy thus be-

4. SDG9 - Build resilient infrastructure, promote in- came the first country in the world to adopt such an ob- clusive and sustainable industrialization and foster ligation. The new Code of Public Contracts22 has further innovation. reinforced the statement by defining more specifically the Environmental Minimum Criteria (EMC) for the el-

5. SDG12 - Ensure sustainable consumption and pro- igibility of applicants to participate in public tenders. duction patterns. Since 2011, a number of Decrees from the Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea have been issued to define

6. SDG14 - Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas EMC by commodity category. and marine resources for sustainable development. 19 sustainabledevelopment.un.org 20 Approved through Interministerial Decree 11 April 2008 and updated with the Decree 10 April 2013 21 D. Lgs. 12 April 2006, n. 163 22 Decree 18/04/2016, n. 50 37

5. LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK, FUNDING MEASURES AND MARKET PULL MEASURES With reference to waste, legislative decree 152/2006 natural resources within sectoral policies, while the sets the same 65% target on municipal waste as the National ratification of Nagoya Protocol, on Access to EU within the Circular Economy package. The “Na- Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing tional Program for Waste Reduction”23 also considers of Benefits Arising from their Utilization, is still in pro- the target of 50% share of “green purchases” by the gress (although in 2014 the EU Regulation 511/2014 “on public sector, and defines specific measures for biode- compliance measures for users of the Nagoya Protocol gradable waste, valorization of agro-industry byprod- Arising from their Utilisation in the Union“ entered in ucts and minimizing food waste. Specifically, regarding force at EU level). composting, the recent Decree of Ministries Council Presidency on 7 March 201624 defines the requirements The National Marine Strategy D.lgs n. 190/2010 was for the Italian regions in terms of organic waste to be enacted to transpose the Marine Strategy Framework treated through composting. Directive at national level and with the aim of achieving the Good Environmental Status for the Italian marine The updates of the “National Energy Strategy” and the waters within a sustainable development perspective. “National Plan for Climate and Energy” will provide DM 17/10/2014 specifies the requirements and targets the framework within which the different sources of necessary to achieve the GES, whilst the DM 11/02/2015 energy will develop in order to achieve the targets on defines the indicators associated with the GES and reg- GHG emission reduction and renewable energy share. ulates the drawing up of the monitoring programs nec- In addition, Italy has adopted a “National Adaptation essary to evaluate it. Strategy”25 and is putting into place the “National Ad- aptation Plan”. The bioeconomy can play a significant 5.4 FUNDING PROGRAMMES role in both senses, in terms of providing clean energy sources and ensuring a long-term conservation of nat- Many programs at EU, national, regional and local lev- ural resources and ecological systems, also through el can fund and contribute to regulating bioeconomy ac- nature-based solutions. tions. However, it is necessary to improve the integration of programming in a common strategic framework and The National Biodiversity Strategy (NBS), adopted in strengthening the capability of financial mechanisms to October 2010, aims to merge and integrate biodiver- ensure the long term stability of bio - investments - beyond sity conservation targets and the sustainable use of the programming period of public administration budgets. 23 minambiente.it 24 gazzettaufficiale.it 25 minambiente.it 38

5. LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK, FUNDING MEASURES AND MARKET PULL MEASURES This function should be performed by the Cohesion face for agro-energy and bio-based industries. Region- Policy Funds that make resources available along sev- al EARDF programs identify also specific KETs (green en (plus three) year programming periods in themat- biotechnologies and “omics”, precision farming, nano- ic objectives and with investment priorities consistent technologies) such as drivers for innovation and com- with the bioeconomy development. Cohesion Policy petitiveness of local systems. Funds, according to their rules, are therefore allowed to support investments structured and amortized over The table below illustrates the funding opportunities the medium to long term by integrating and stabilizing opened up by the Cohesion Policy resources for the bi- resources from the ordinary national policy, in order to oeconomy in Italy. 7 create a funding matrix in which programming and fi- nancial needs are blended. At European level, a very important role could be played also by direct funding grants from the European Com- The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Develop- mission or its executive agencies, such as Horizon 2020 ment (EAFRD), for instance, focuses on new value that with its three pillars – Excellent Science, Industrial chains based on the smart and integral use of agro Leadership, and Societal Challenges – and two specific waste and specialized crops for industrial uses to be objectives – Spreading Excellence and Widening Par- grown on marginal lands, creating the necessary inter- ticipation and Science with and for Society – which add 60% 7 Italian Budget for Cohesion Policy in the programming period 2014-2020 Total resources in million EUR 122.866,10 32% (EU and National contributions) European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIFs) European Territorial Cooperation programmes 6% Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) 1% 1% Complementary Programmes Action Plans for Cohesion Italian Development and Cohesion Fund (FSC) Source: Agency for territorial cohesion elaboration on data from 2014-2020 Partnership Agreement 39

5. LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK, FUNDING MEASURES AND MARKET PULL MEASURES an important funding system (EUR 77.028 billion26). itiveness. The core of Industry 4.0 (I 4.0) is to connect The societal challenge 2 “Food Security, Sustainable physical and digital systems, complex analyses of big Agriculture and Forestry, Marine, Maritime and Inland data and real-time settings through use of smart ma- Water Research and the Bioeconomy” specifically ad- chines, inter-connected and connected to internet. The dresses the main topics of bioeconomy (“using better plan provides intense financial support to enterprises what we already use” and “using well what we don’t through hyper-depreciation and super-depreciation use yet”) with a total budget amounting to EUR 3.851 schemes (an increase in the rate of depreciation to billion27, in the period 2014-2020. Some priorities of the 250% or 140% for innovative digital investments), tax Bioeconomy are also supported by the societal chal- credit for research and development and innovation lenge 3 and 5 and the NMPB pillar of Horizon 2020. expenditure (up to 50% of incremental expenditure), Another part of the Horizon 2020 budget available for support of I 4.0, Venture Capital and Start-ups (30% bioeconomy is implemented by one of the seven pub- tax deduction for investments up to EUR 1 million in lic private partnerships (PPPs) operating under Hori- start-ups and innovative SMEs, 30% tax deduction for zon: the Bio-Based Industries (BBI) Joint Undertak- investments up to EUR 1 million in start-ups and inno- ing. It aims to develop new bio-refining technologies vative SMEs, etc.). to sustainably transform renewable natural resources (waste, agriculture residues) into bio-based products, A very significant role could be played by National Tech- materials and fuels. nological Clusters as defined by the Italian Ministry for Education, University and Research in the National Other opportunities could be supported also by nation- Research Plan 2015-2020. Clusters have been set up to al and regional ordinary budget, tax incentives, such as create permanent dialogue platforms between public Patent boxes, and private investments. research network and enterprises. Clusters directly linked to bioeconomy (Agrifood29, Green Chemistry30, At national level, the new Industry 4.0 plan28 provides Smart Factory31, Blue Growth and Energy (the latter two opportunities for enterprises of the Bioeconomy do- both under implementation) are priority areas of inter- main for enhancing research, innovation and compet- vention in the framework of the National Research Plan. 26 Estimated final amount in million euro and in current prices (2013) - ec.europa.eu 27 See note n. 19 28 sviluppoeconomico.gov.it 29 clusteragrifood.it 30 clusterspring.it 31 fabbricaintelligente.it 40

5. LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK, FUNDING MEASURES AND MARKET PULL MEASURES MAJOR EUROPEAN R&I PROJECTS COORDINATED BY ITALY FUNDED IN THE FRAMEWORK OF H2020 (SOCIETAL CHALLENGES 2, 3, 5) IMPORTANT FOR THE BIOECONOMY PROJECT PROJECT PARTICIPANT LEGAL INSTRUMENT/ PROJECT TITLE PROJECT ACRONYM SIGNATURE NAME FUNDING DATE SCHEME/TOPIC Agricolus Decision Support Agricolus DSS 15/02/2016 TEAMDEV SRL SME-1 System A resource-efficient AGS 17/12/2015 POLIBIOTECH SRL SME-1 granulation process for advanced formulation of any compound in food and pharma production BIOSKOH’s Innovation BIOSKOH 22/04/2016 BIOCHEMTEX SPA BBI-IA-FLAG Stepping Stones for a novel European Second Generation BioEconomy BLUEMED BLUEMED 27/09/2016 CONSIGLIO CSA NAZIONALE DELLE BG – 13 - 2016 RICERCHE Cost-effective CO2 CELBICON 04/02/2016 POLITECNICO DI RIA conversion into chemicals TORINO ISIB-06-2015 via combination of Capture, ELectrochemical and BI-ochemical CONversion technologies COMPostable capSULE for COMPSULE 28/10/2015 POINT PLASTIC SRL SME-1 instant coffee delivery based on an innovative chemical functionalization of biobased plastics Valorisation of corn CORNposite 27/02/2016 CORN VALLEY SRL SME-1 processing by-products into plastic bio-composites *Data updated Dec 31st, 2016; partial 2016 results 41

5. LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK, FUNDING MEASURES AND MARKET PULL MEASURES PROJECT PROJECT PARTICIPANT LEGAL INSTRUMENT/ PROJECT TITLE PROJECT ACRONYM SIGNATURE NAME FUNDING DATE SCHEME/TOPIC Optimum, sustainable DryCoolerSeeds 25/11/2015 MARCOLD GROUP SME-1 solution for seed drying and conservation Design of an agricultural ECO-LOGIC GREEN 22/07/2015 SOCIETA' AGRICOLA SME-2 greenhouse for intensive FARM SERENISSIMA S.S. growing of microalgae in fresh / sea water with a syngas production plant and organic farming of chickens and pigs outdoors. A feasibility study to EggPlant 29/02/2016 EGGPLANT SOCIETA SME-1 investigate and verify the A RESPONSABILITA commercial and industrial LIMITATA viability of a wastewater processing solution to generate bioplastics from agri-food and municipal wastewater sources. Food treatment process EMILK 20/08/2015 LASERLAM SRL SME-1 based on high voltage nanopulsed electric discharges in liquid phase Effective Management EMPHASIS 19/02/2015 UNIVERSITA DEGLI RIA of Pests and Harmful STUDI DI TORINO SFS-03a-2014 Alien Species - Integrated Solutions Flagship demonstration of FIRST2RUN 10/06/2015 NOVAMONT SPA BBI-IA-FLAG an integrated biorefinery for dry crops sustainable exploitation towards biobased materials production Linking genetic resources, G2P-SOL 05/02/2016 ENEA RIA genomes and phenotypes of SFS-07b-2015 Solanaceous crops *Data updated Dec 31st, 2016; partial 2016 results 42

5. LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK, FUNDING MEASURES AND MARKET PULL MEASURES PROJECT PROJECT PARTICIPANT LEGAL INSTRUMENT/ PROJECT TITLE PROJECT ACRONYM SIGNATURE NAME FUNDING DATE SCHEME/TOPIC First industrial use of GeoFood 21/05/2016 CIBAS DI POLI FABIO SME-1 bio and ecocompatible & C SAS geopolymers produced from metakaolin to manufacture tanks for wine, beer, vinegar and olive oil production and storage via 3D printing technology Drone-based integrated GIDROM 26/08/2015 ABO DATA SRL SME-1 monitoring system for early detection of crop pathology and pest control in high tech greenhouse agriculture. Demonstration of solvent GreenSolRes 29/07/2016 GFBIOCHEMICALS BBI-IA-DEMO and resin production from ITALY SPA lignocellulosic biomass via the platform chemical levulinic acid Jellyfish Barge - A floating JFB 20/05/2015 PNAT SRL SME-1 greenhouse Mobile wireless Device MEDIuM 19/11/2015 INFORMATICA SYSTEM SME-1 microcantilever-based S.R.L. biosensor to identify and measure the aflatoxin B1 in animal food and M1 in the milk-chain A sustainable organic MICRO4BEE 22/02/2016 MICRO4YOU SRL SME-1 solution to the decline of bees Integrated and innovative MycoKey 09/02/2016 CONSIGLIO RIA key actions for mycotoxin NAZIONALE DELLE SFS-13-2015 management in the food and RICERCHE feed chain *Data updated Dec 31st, 2016; partial 2016 results 43

5. LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK, FUNDING MEASURES AND MARKET PULL MEASURES PROJECT PROJECT PARTICIPANT LEGAL INSTRUMENT/ PROJECT TITLE PROJECT ACRONYM SIGNATURE NAME FUNDING DATE SCHEME/TOPIC Vegetable ozone therapy for O3MET 15/09/2015 MET s.r.l. SME-1 the defence of greenhouse crops Advanced solutions for OLEUM 08/07/2016 ALMA MATER RIA ensuring the overall STUDIORUM - SFS-14a-2014 authenticity and quality of UNIVERSITA DI olive oil BOLOGNA From plants for plants: Plants for Plants 04/12/2015 LANDLAB SRL SME-1 enhancing crop potential and resilience through reliable new generation biostimulants Pest Organisms Threatening POnTE 29/10/2015 CONSIGLIO RIA Europe NAZIONALE DELLE SFS-03a-2014 RICERCHE Professional support to the ProBIO 16/02/2015 AZIENDA SPECIALE CSA uptake of bioeconomy RD INNOVHUB - STAZIONI ISIB-08b-2014 results towards market, SPERIMENTALI PER further research and policy L'INDUSTRIA for a more competitive European bioeconomy PROVIding smart DElivery PROVIDE 27/05/2015 ALMA MATER RIA of public goods by EU STUDIORUM - ISIB-01-2014 agriculture and forestry UNIVERSITA DI BOLOGNA Increasing grain quality QUALIGRAIN 01/10/2014 LA SANFERMESE SpA SME-1 through advanced oxidation treatment during storage Fermentation processes RAPSODY 27/01/2015 METHODO CHEMICALS SME-1 for functional foods from SRL RAPeseed, Sunflower and Other EU matrices Devoted to Young animals. Zero- miles model boosting safety and competitiveness of livestock sector *Data updated Dec 31st, 2016; partial 2016 results 44

5. LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK, FUNDING MEASURES AND MARKET PULL MEASURES PROJECT PROJECT PARTICIPANT LEGAL INSTRUMENT/ PROJECT TITLE PROJECT ACRONYM SIGNATURE NAME FUNDING DATE SCHEME/TOPIC RESources from URban BIo RES URBIS 01/01/2017 Research Centre RIA waSte for Protection of CIRC 05-2016 Environment and Cultural Heritage, UNIVERSITÀ “LA SAPIENZA” DI ROMA Innovative oxygen-free wine RiCaMo 22/06/2016 ENTER S.R.L. SME-2 bottling process RLTProFood - Remote RLTProFood 02/09/2015 IODA SRL SME-1 Lighting Technology for processing and production of food Novel Ozone and Thermal SCHOCKO3 25/05/2015 FIORDELISI SRL SME-1 Shock Conservation Process for Vegetables A compact, unmanned, Sea Litter Critters 12/02/2016 IRIS SRL SME-1 renewables-powered and self-sufficient vessel able to pick up marine litter and to treat it on board for volume reduction and energy recovery Short supply chain SKIN 23/09/2016 UNIVERSITA DEGLI CSA Knowledge and Innovation STUDI DI FOGGIA RUR - 10-2016 Network Scale-up of low-carbon SMART-PLANT 01/06/2016 UNIVERSITÀ IA footprint material recovery POLITECNICA DELLE WATER 1b-2015 techniques in existing MARCHE wastewater treatment plants Submersible Tension Leg SubCage 17/12/2015 REFA MED SRL SME-1 Fish Cage for Mariculture in Unsheltered and Offshore Areas *Data updated Dec 31st, 2016; partial 2016 results 45 6 6 CHALLENGES AND ACTION PLAN FOR THE ITALIAN BIOECONOMY The strategy aims at interconnecting the main bioec- Looking at the overall long term objective, the strategy onomy sectors, creating longer, more sustainable and defines some guiding principles and specific targets in locally routed value chains. the vision; then presents an analysis of problems and opportunities for each sub-sector and, in particular, for As a consequence, it would allow Italy to increase its the interconnections among them. As a result of this competitiveness and role in promoting sustainable analysis, a research agenda, and some support meas- growth in Europe and in the Mediterranean basin. It ures to overcome obstacles are defined. promotes the integration of research and innovation needs and opportunities, policy, business, and cultural GENERAL OBJECTIVE attitude into a single systemic vision for the bioecono- To increase current Italian bioeconomy turnover (cur- my which is in line with the development model of the rently about EUR 250 billion/y) and jobs (about 1.7 M) by circular economy. A circular economy approach also 20% by 2030, while increasing the level of circularity in fosters sectorial integration in a long-term perspective. the economy. 47

6. CHALLENGES AND ACTION PLAN FOR THE ITALIAN BIOECONOMY VISION a TO MOVE “from sectors to systems”... d TO MOVE “from concept to reality”... ...by interconnecting effectively the main bioeconomy ...via i) a more coherent political commitment towards sectors, across sustainable value chains, embracing the the bioeconomy, ii) efficient alignment between re- production of bioresources (i.e., Agriculture, Livestock, gional, national and EU policies through coordination Aquaculture, Forestry, Marine systems) their process- of relevant stakeholders via the national technology ing and valorization of final products (i.e. the food and clusters, iii) investments in targeted programs for R&I drinks industry, wood, paper, leather, textiles, chemical education, training, iv) engagement in a public dialogue and pharmaceuticals industries, and the energy sector), while increasing social awareness through the profes- by leveraging traditional sectors deeply rooted in the ter- sional and efficient communication of the benefits of ritory, as well as the public and private stakeholders in the bioeconomy, and v) tailored actions for market de- local communities. velopment. b TO CREATE “value from local e TO PROMOTE THE “Bioeconomy in biodiversity and circularity”... the Mediterranean area”... ...by valorizing the marine and rural biodiversity across ...via the implementation of the PRIMA and BLUEMED new values chains that will implement sustainable and initiatives (as well as the related macro-regional initi- circular production models, but also through the re- atives on blue growth of the area such as EUSAIR and conversion of abandoned lands/industrial sites or the WEST MED), aiming at a long-term coordination of Eu- identification and exploitation of biowastes, effluents ropean and non-EU countries of the area towards R&I and civil wastewater. activities in the field of bioeconomy. Such trans-national synergies and complementarities provide added value to regional, national and EU investments, while promoting c TO MOVE “from economy to Mediterranean primary production and industry l within sustainable bioeconomy” ... a perspective of enhanced social cohesion and political ...by i) respecting natural harvest cycles and regener- stability, a healthier environment and new occupational ation growth rates, ii) preserving ecosystem services opportunities. also through compensation measures and the limita- tion of pollution and waste generation. 48

6. CHALLENGES AND ACTION PLAN FOR THE ITALIAN BIOECONOMY 6.1 THE CHALLENGES  PROBLEMS  OPPORTUNITIES Agriculture ȊȊAbandonment of forests belonging to national ȊȊIncreasing the surface area of and regional heritage with consequent biodiver- forests managed according to sity depletion; independent Sustainable Forest Management schemes; ȊȊEcosystem degradation due to climate change; ȊȊSustainable exploitation of valuable national ȊȊLack of strategies for the management, genetic raw materials according to the existing forest improvement and valorization of autochthonous certification schemes, Life Cycle Analysis, etc., forestry production; for the production of energy as well as added value products within the biorefinery concept ȊȊLimited reliability and completeness of existing and following a “cascade approach”; national statistics on forest resources, including a National Agriculture and Forest Sink register; ȊȊDevelopment and production of high value certi- fied new wood products, wood-based materials, ȊȊNational wood processing industry based on composites and bioenergy from sustainably imported raw materials and the production of managed forests; medium/low level products; ȊȊBusiness innovation with local value chains ȊȊHigh risks connected to possible imports of ille- deriving from forest products, like mushrooms, gally or non-responsibly managed wood; truffles, herbs, cork etc. as a contribution to rural development opportunities; ȊȊLack of education and training of forest company managers in new business opportunities and ȊȊFurther development of chain of custody certifi- management. cation of forest-based value chains. 49

6. CHALLENGES AND ACTION PLAN FOR THE ITALIAN BIOECONOMY  PROBLEMS  OPPORTUNITIES Food industry ȊȊHigh level of product counterfeiting ȊȊValorization of “typical/quality” foods and imitations; (DOP, IGP, STG, etc.); ȊȊWeak connection with the primary ȊȊCreation of knowledge, technology and regulations production sectors; for the production of food and feed ingredients from local fruit, vegetal and meat industry by-products; ȊȊLow efficiency of food making chains with high resource consumption and ȊȊMore extensive valorization of food waste with the produc- excessive production of by-products/ tion of valuable biobased chemicals, materials, energy, waste (≈15 M T/y); feed, fertilizers and compost; ȊȊInability to exploit by-products and ȊȊPromotion of networking among small industries for the production residues due to unsuitable development of novel, longer or more robust supply and terms and conditions set by national value chains at regional or multi-regional level; legislation; ȊȊEntering new markets created through the new interna- ȊȊSmall size and fragmentation of supply tional economic context - also embracing emerging and value chains. developing countries. 50

6. CHALLENGES AND ACTION PLAN FOR THE ITALIAN BIOECONOMY Forest  PROBLEMS  OPPORTUNITIES and wood ȊȊLimited profitability of farms due ȊȊDiversification of rural incomes adding value processing to their small average enterprise to local production and products/food; size and low revenues (lack of policies to protect farmers’ in- ȊȊIncreased integration with other economic sectors; come in the current value chains); ȊȊDiscovering, protecting and valorizing the rich local biodiversity ȊȊAbandoning of rural areas char- and agricultural ecosystem services through empowerment of acterized by unsatisfactory living local communities; conditions and logistics services; ȊȊIntegrated land-use planning including abandoned, marginal ȊȊPrice volatility and increasing and contaminated lands; competition at worldwide level; ȊȊReuse or valorization of agricultural residues for the production ȊȊLack of innovation in agriculture of bioproducts, fertilizers and bioenergy; to respond to climate change and alien pests/plants; ȊȊDigitalization for increasing productivity and big-data access for improving agronomic techniques; ȊȊWeak and poorly organized value chains in the face of a highly com- ȊȊUse of adapted local crops/varieties to face climate change and petitive international landscape; promote low-input cultivations; ȊȊDepletion of soil organic matter ȊȊCreation of new markets at global level to support Italian lead- and water scarcity; ership in the sector; ȊȊSoil and watershed pollution; ȊȊSetting up Italian bioeconomy business models and products as global benchmarks, as well as references for good practices; ȊȊLack of effective communication, education and training of farmers ȊȊIncreased the attractiveness of the agro-food sector for the new about new business opportunities generations, thanks to novel professional and entrepreneurial and innovation management. opportunities within a bioeconomy perspective. 51

6. CHALLENGES AND ACTION PLAN FOR THE ITALIAN BIOECONOMY  PROBLEMS  OPPORTUNITIES Marine bioeconomy ȊȊUnsustainable fishing and underexploit- ȊȊBoosting environmental safe marine ed marine aquaculture; aquaculture (also offshore) and develop- ment of novel or more robust local aqua- ȊȊSea productivity adversely affected by culture supply chains; pollution (chemical pollutants, litter, etc.), invasive species and climate ȊȊIntegrated exploitation of marine biological resourc- changes; es and fishery/aquaculture by-products and waste for producing pharmaceutical, cosmetic and nutraceutic ȊȊIncreasing import of fish from areas products along with biobased chemicals, materials and with low environmental regulation and fuels; monitoring; ȊȊSustainable exploitation of deep sea biosystems and ȊȊLack of solutions to replace the use of land/sea nexus; fish oil and/or feeds of fish origin to feed farmed marine fish; ȊȊPromotion, conservation and sustainable valorization of the beauty of marine landscapes ȊȊEnvironmental pressure on coasts stemming from tourism and recreation ȊȊNew business models for connecting tourism to ecosys- activities and urbanization. tem valorization. 52

6. CHALLENGES AND ACTION PLAN FOR THE ITALIAN BIOECONOMY  PROBLEMS  OPPORTUNITIES Biobased industry ȊȊLimited and discontinuous availability of low ȊȊAvailability of former oil refineries/ cost sustainable feedstocks; industrial sites that can be partially converted into biorefineries; ȊȊLimited market for national biobased prod- ucts, also due to their higher cost with re- ȊȊAvailability of efficient collection systems for organic spect to “traditionally or chemically synthe- waste and of large quantities of national biowaste sized” and/or “petrol-based” products; (i.e., Food industry by-products and waste: ≈ 15 M T/y; agriculture residues: ≈ 10 M T/y; livestock ȊȊLack of transparency and information on the effluents: ≈ 150 M T/y; Wastewater sludge: ≈ 3 M T/y; real social and natural capital costs of the Municipal organic fraction: ≈ 6 M T/y); production and use of petrol-based products; ȊȊAvailability of abandoned/marginal lands for the ȊȊSpread of products that do not comply to production of autochthonous or planted industrial international standards and labeling on biomass; biobased and biodegradable products, and in- sufficient clarity/transparency in the labeling; ȊȊAvailability of successful case studies on biobased products developed in Italy (i.e. shopping bags) and ȊȊHuge and risky investments needed for price premiums for environmental sustainable prod- research and buildup of industrial flagship ucts (Made green in Italy); investment and infrastructure for the bioec- onomy; ȊȊAvailability of prominent national microbial collec- tions and of a large number of very creative and ȊȊLack of regulations and specific end- of- innovative research groups, start-ups, spin-offs waste criteria regarding industrial biowaste working in the sector; (need to enhance the knowledge of contami- nants fate and to determine the criteria which ȊȊAvailability of a large network of biomethane have to be fulfilled for waste to be accepted producing facilities (mainly fed with biowaste) and by industry); wastewater purification plants that can be integrat- ed into the system of biorefineries (possibility of ȊȊIncentives with potential distorting effects on enhancing existing and underutilized plants that can specific value chains. be renewed in a circular perspective). 53

6. CHALLENGES AND ACTION PLAN FOR THE ITALIAN BIOECONOMY Contribution  PROBLEMS  OPPORTUNITIES to the Euro- Mediterranean ȊȊ Weak cooperation among European and ȊȊAvailability of a large amount of valuable Bioeconomy non-Member States of the area with a biomass and of by-products and waste limited integration of knowledge and streams from local agriculture, livestock efforts across sectors and countries; production, forestry and food industry; ȊȊInability of some local societies to pro- ȊȊAvailability of the international cooperation program PRI- vide affordable food, good quality water MA and the BLUEMED Initiative addressed to improve the and to ensure healthy seas also due to sharing and the joint exploitation of knowledge, technol- adverse climate context, demographic ogies, capacities, and investments in the agrifood sector trends and social, political and econom- and marine bioeconomy to guarantee local food security ic instability; and safety, employment and economic growth in line with the Migration compact and EU strategy for external action ȊȊLack of financial resources for on migration; cross-border/transnational pro- grammes providing actual sharing/joint ȊȊAdvocacy for enhancing public understanding of the so- exploitation of technologies, feedstocks cio-economic and environmental value of the bioeconomy and value chains. in the Mediterranean. 54

6. CHALLENGES AND ACTION PLAN FOR THE ITALIAN BIOECONOMY 6.2 THE STRATEGY ýýSupporting the alignment of EU, national, region- al policies, regulations and coordination of local The Italian Bioeconomy has enormous potential for stakeholders growth if the above-mentioned challenges are ad- dressed and turned by each sector into improved, re- ýýEnsuring that the bioeconomy reconciles techno- source-efficient and environmentally sustainable pro- logical advances and progress without undermin- duction processes able to guarantee improved supplies ing environment conservation and the resilience of of new, safe and high quality foods and bio-based prod- the ecosystems; ucts and services - including bioenergy, via competitive and low carbon supply chains. ýýPromoting knowledge-based economic activities and policy making; The bioeconomy embraces broad value chains, hence stronger interactions are necessary between public ýýSupporting cross-disciplinary education and train- and private stakeholders, different sectors and disci- ing for researchers as well as for technical careers; plines from the harvest to the various final products. Furthermore, interconnecting the bioeconomy sectors ýýCatalyzing informal learning, tertiary education also means facilitating cooperation among education and technology/knowledge transfer to support the providers, researchers, innovators, communicators jobs in the wider bioeconomy domain; and representatives of consumers in order to create the socio-economic and technological context for the ýýPromoting the Bioeconomy in the Mediterrane- effective implementation of the required cross-cutting an area via the implementation of PRIMA and interdisciplinary innovation. BLUEMED initiatives addressed to improve Medi- terranean primary production and bioindustry po- The present strategy aims at producing new knowl- tential, thus creating new jobs, social cohesion and edge, technologies, services, capacity building, but political stability in the area. also regulations and public awareness, and more spe- cifically at: 6.3 THE R&I AGENDA ýýIncreasing circularity in the economy; The main R&I needs and opportunities for boosting the Italian Bioeconomy are reported below. The list is based ýýBoosting sustainable and locally routed econom- on the results of the interactive process with the stake- ic growth by bridging gaps between research and holders followed for the preparation of “Agrifood” and economic sectors, including an emphasis on Small “Biobased economy” action plans in the framework of im- Medium Enterprises (SMEs); plementation of National Smart Specialization Strategy. 55

6. CHALLENGES AND ACTION PLAN FOR THE ITALIAN BIOECONOMY PRIORITY Sustainable agriculture and forestry ýý Developing “low input” agriculture practices in order a. To boost sustainable and resilient primary to reduce water use, watershed and soil pollution; production through actions and R&I aimed at: ýýImproving strategies (sensor, networks, DSS, etc.) for rational water use in and by agriculture; ýýImplementing more effective models of agricultur- al and forestry production, such as climate smart ýýImplementing agricultural, farming and forestry agriculture and forestry, precision farming, ecolog- systems to prevent overexploitation of soil; ical intensification, agroecology and regenerative agriculture to improve the productivity and resil- ýýPromoting connectivity along the product chain; ience of animals and plants; ýýReducing gas emissions through decreasing the ýýUsing biodiversity and modern genetic programs to use of fertilizers; improve the resilience of animals and plants to bi- otic and abiotic stresses; Boosting organic farming ýýIncreasing photosynthesis and carbon dioxide (CO2) and livestock; sequestration; ýýImproving water use and management in and by ýýImproving the understanding of role microorgan- agriculture; isms on crops and exploiting beneficial effects of plant microbiota; ýý Exploiting the role of agriculture (including urban and peri-urban agriculture) and forestry in the circu- ýýValorizing and reusing agricultural and forest resi- lar bio-based society, and controlling contaminants. dues, also for the production of bioproducts, bioen- ergy and biofertilizers; b. To improve resource management and effi- ýýExploiting valuable national forest raw material ciency through actions and R&I aimed at: for the production of energy along with high value certified new products, materials and composites derived from wood. 56

6. CHALLENGES AND ACTION PLAN FOR THE ITALIAN BIOECONOMY and the transfer of good practices; c. To improve multiple functions and benefits of land, rural and abandoned areas through ac- ýýPreserving and valorizing traditional knowledge for tions and R&I aimed at: local management practices. ýý Boosting the link between the ecological and the so- e. To contribute to improving the primary pro- cio-economic value of agriculture and forestry systems duction in the Mediterranean area through (e.g. by substantiating authenticity and traceability); R&I/actions, also promoted by the PRIMA ini- tiative, aimed at: ýý Innovative use of abandoned and marginal lands also through multi-purpose nature–based solutions, pre- venting soil erosion and hydrogeological disasters; ýýPreserving and implementing sustainable biodi- verse crops and livestock, to offer a broad choice ýý Creation of locally integrated agro and forestry indus- of genotypes addressing the needs of multi-ethnic trial supply chains for a better valuing of product qual- societies in the Mediterranean basin; ity and a stronger contribution to rural development. ýý Developing molecular techniques and markers to fa- cilitate the control and the selection of crop/livestock d. To improve human and social capital and so- genotypes, including microbial companion (beneficial cial innovation through R&I/actions aimed at: microbiomes), suitable for sustainable production in a changing Mediterranean environmental context; ýýEnhancing the skills, the human and social capital ýýDesigning a consumer-responsive Mediterranean of farmers, foresters and other actors of the rural agricultural production system, and raising con- economy, also through education and digital based sumer awareness towards its high standards, to technologies; promote consumption of healthy food endowed with intrinsic (e.g., absence of contaminants, improved ýýInvolving young land managers in less favoured taste and nutrient content) and extrinsic (sustain- Italian regions in the adoption of good practices, ability, welfare, ethics, culture) quality attributes; thus creating possibilities for expanding farming and supporting knowledge sharing; ýýProviding integrated pest management solutions, aided by novel control tools, to prevent diseases ýýSupporting a generation of entrepreneurs in the impacting on crops and livestock in the context of agri-food and forest-wood sectors in less favored the Mediterranean climate change. Italian areas also through educational programs 57

6. CHALLENGES AND ACTION PLAN FOR THE ITALIAN BIOECONOMY PRIORITY A sustainable and competitive agri-food sector for a safe and healthy diet ýýImproving cultivation processes for the proxy per- a. To improve healthy diets and people’s health sonalized nutrition and increasing the nutritional through actions and R&I aimed at: quality of agri-foods; ýýExploiting alternative food sources (insects, algae ýýEvaluating, educating and exploiting national con- etc.) and novel food microbes. sumer preferences, attitudes, needs, behaviour, lifestyle and education, and communication; b. To improve food safety, security, defense, and ýýTackling obesity through food formulations/substi- integrity though actions and R&I aimed at: tutions, changes in retail and catering practices, and changes in consumer behavior; ýýDeveloping rapid at-line or on-line detection tools ýýDeveloping smart nutrition solutions (e.g. with im- for food and feed safety (vs pathogens, allergens, proved nutrient bioavailability) for the next decades toxins, chemicals, nanomaterials, etc.) and inte- to establish how food production technologies, new grating such tools in risk analysis protocols; delivery methods, and ICT approaches might be used to provide smart personalized (e.g. metabo- ýýEstablishing the vulnerability of food and feed to type tailored) nutrition solutions and health care; fraud, counterfeiting or intentional contamination or adulteration in order to develop risk prevention, ýýFurther exploiting knowledge on gut microbiome to protection, and mitigation strategies for food busi- define consumer needs for a healthy diet; ness operators; ýýIdentification and production of new “typical/quali- ýýDeveloping innovative packaging and smarter sup- ty” foods (DOP, IGP,STG, etc.) and promoting meth- ply chains to support efficient delivery to consum- ods to defend their authenticity and traceability; ers and prolonged shelf—life, reducing waste pro- duction; ýýPreventing, detecting and remediating biotic and abiotic contamination of food/feed products; ýýDeveloping tools (ICT, devices, apps etc.) for smart food utilization and domestic food management. 58

6. CHALLENGES AND ACTION PLAN FOR THE ITALIAN BIOECONOMY works for food SMEs, especially micro-SMEs and c. To boost sustainable, competitive, and inno- traditional food producers; vative food manufacture through actions and R&I aimed at: ýý Involving public authorities, the private sector and civil society in policy design and implementation, facilitating sustainable production choices and business strategies. ýý Improving the efficiency of the food making value chains (i.e., lowering raw material losses, by-prod- ucts and waste production, and water and energy e. To contribute to improving food produc- consumption and improving food preservation, distri- tion and safety in the Mediterranean ba- bution and logistics), by integrating them with Indus- sin through R&I/actions, also promoted by try 4.0 tools and key enabling technologies solutions; PRIMA, addressed at: ýý Creating knowledge, technology and regulations for the production of food and feed ingredients from local ýý Adopting sustainable technologies to valorize low cost fruit, vegetal and meet industry by- and co-products; by-products of the Mediterranean agroindustry, with evidence based proved safety, as new ingredients for ýý Integrated exploitation of food (processing) waste affordable tasty food with functional properties; with the production of added value bioactive products, biochemicals, biomaterials (packaging) and biofuels. ýýGenerating innovative food-grade nano-biotech- nologies to preserve stability and improve bioavail- ability of bioactive molecules extracted by Mediter- d. To boost food policies, supply chains, markets, ranean species and incorporated in functional food; and communities though R&I/actions aimed at: ýý Providing eco-innovations for efficiency and the val- orization of side-products in Mediterranean agro- ýý Promoting short local food chains for health and con- food value chains, by integrating different production trast non-market based networks of food provisioning; systems, sharing infrastructures and logistic solu- tions, in order to maximize yields and reduce wastes; ýýDeveloping food products and promoting ethno food marketing, taking account of migration and ýýDesigning innovative business models for quality changing demographics in the country; and sustainability, at territorial level, involving food producers, services and tourism industry focused ýýDeveloping innovation support systems and net- on the valorization of the Mediterranean culture. 59

6. CHALLENGES AND ACTION PLAN FOR THE ITALIAN BIOECONOMY PRIORITY Bio-based industries ýýFostering the demand for bio-based products from a. To boost production of biobased products and a consumers’ perspective through gathering evi- biofuels in the framework of a circular econ- dence on consumers’ practices in relation to bio- omy through actions and R&I aimed at: based products and how these may form new mar- ket places and develop new innovative and inclusive business solutions using bio-based services; ýýMapping the biomass supply - including novel and alternative feedstocks (biowaste, CO2, marine bio- ýýDeveloping a coherent policy framework and reg- logical resources) building on existing knowledge, ulations promoting biobased products, education, approaches and tools; training, information and communication in the bi- obased sector. ýýBoosting the valorization of organic waste and ef- fluent organic matter to obtain high added value bioproducts; b. To foster “Demonstration plants/test beds for cascading use of biomasses” through R&I ýýExploring new, innovative, energy saving logistics and actions aimed at: and preservation/stabilization strategies for differ- ent types of biomasses/biowaste; ýýCreating an optimal network of laboratories, micro- ýýImproving flexibility in terms of feedstock and prod- bial collections, etc. supported by new infrastruc- ucts produced by bio and chemical processing inte- ture to form test beds that can develop process gration, and downstream processing, of the current technologies and new products in a demo-scale biorefining processes and schemes, schemes (in- that underpin the development of biorefineries (in- cluding existing biomethane producing facilities); dustrial scale) for maximising biomass use; ýýUsing cost-benefit analyses of bio-based products ýýFacilitating Spin-off/Start-up policies, Partners vs traditional products on a global scale and evi- Integration, IPR policies and the access to Pilot dence to establish how alternative uses of renewa- plants and Demonstrators; ble resources can influence carbon emissions and natural capital stock; ýý Facilitating the use/conversion of former oil refiner- 60

6. CHALLENGES AND ACTION PLAN FOR THE ITALIAN BIOECONOMY ies/industrial sites but also biogas/wastewater fa- biorefineries (numbers and types) available in the cilities for the implementation of novel biorefineries. whole Mediterranean basin; ýýPromoting cooperation between laboratories, in- c. To contribute to boosting a Mediterranean bi- frastructures, biorefineries and key private and obased Industry through R&I/actions aimed at: public stakeholders of the EU MS and non-EU countries of the area; ýýMapping: A - local biodiversity and biomass (types ýýPromoting local education, training, information and volumes, including biowaste); B - logistics and and communication in the biobased sector and on biomass preservation/stabilization facilities; C - its potential in the area. 61

6. CHALLENGES AND ACTION PLAN FOR THE ITALIAN BIOECONOMY PRIORITY Aquatic living resources and marine and maritime bioeconomy interactions with commercial fishery activity in re- a. Boosting sustainable exploiting of marine re- mote coastal and rural areas; sources though actions and R&I aimed at: ýýExploiting marine biomass as well as by-prod- ucts and waste deriving from fishery and aquacul- ýýPromoting the production and processing of sea- ture value chains within an integrated biorefinery weed, jellyfish and phytoplankton as possible scheme (e.g. for producing pharmaceutical, cos- sources of human edible proteins, fine chemicals, metic and nutraceuticals); energy, bio-based materials, methane low rumi- nant feed stocks; ýýExploiting the deep sea biosystems sustainably; ýýExploiting sustainably the large micro and meso ýýImplementing new bioeconomy business models at plankton stocks for producing high value substanc- the land/sea interface; es (e.g. pharmaceutical, cosmetic, nutraceuticals, etc.) and biobased products as well as enzymes for ýýImplementing multiple purpose offshore produc- technological applications; tion sites, integrating bioresources and energy pro- duction into a “building with nature” approach. ýýImproving the resilience, ecological compatibility, robustness of the main aquatic production species using smart breeding programs based on genom- b. To protect and valorize marine environment ics and precision phenotyping; through R&I/actions aimed at: ýýIncreasing the sustainability of fishery and marine aquaculture also including ethical and ecological ýýPromoting biomonitoring and bioremediation of aspects; existing plastics and microplastics, contaminated sediment systems, mitigation of new pollutants ýýFostering fisheries as a recreational activity with- and development of marine degradable bio-based in an ecotourism approach also by strengthening plastics to limit/prevent marine litter and pollution; 62

6. CHALLENGES AND ACTION PLAN FOR THE ITALIAN BIOECONOMY ýý Analysing marine ecosystem resilience and re- ýýTurning the Mediterranean biodiversity into bio- gime shifts in relation to climate change and other based products for industry; natural or anthropic pressures, and develop miti- gation strategies; ýýPursuing the ecosystem based management of fisheries in a multispecies context impacted by cli- ýýPromotion, conservation and sustainable valoriza- mate change, to implement the Common Fisheries tion of the beauty of the marine landscapes; Policy also by means of a Geographic Information Systems-fishery system; ýýPromotion and sustainable blue renewable energy production. ýý Supporting the innovation perspective in aquaculture identifying key species for farming, management strategies for platforms, feed design, diseases; c. To contribute to boosting a MED marine bio- economy through the BLUEMED R&I/actions ýýAddressing environmental fate and distribution of aimed at: emerging pollutants to implement appropriate re- mediation actions; ýýPromoting an integrated, multi-disciplinary knowl- ýýExploiting the bioeconomy potential of the land/sea edge for better assessments and forecasts of the interface and of the multiple purpose offshore pro- Mediterranean Sea ecosystem and biodiversity, duction sites, integrating bioresources and renew- and deeper understanding of its vulnerability, re- able energy production. silience and risks, as well as of the strategies for it preservation and sustainable valorization; 63

6. CHALLENGES AND ACTION PLAN FOR THE ITALIAN BIOECONOMY 6.4 SUPPORT MEASURES d. guaranteeing the policy coordination among public authorities, with particular attention to In order to unlock the innovation potential of the Ital- the implementation of European policies ad- ian Bioeconomy, it is fundamental that the above R&I dressed to waste prevention and minimization, Agenda is flanked by accompanying measures aimed at in order to encourage full exploitation of the re- creating the framework conditions to boost it by creat- sources and circularity. ing competitiveness and productivity, alongside initia- tives to increase corporate social responsibility and so- 2. Exploring demand-side innovation policy tools such cial awareness on the role of bioeconomy in a changing as standardization, to implement strict targets for climate and ecosystem. Such accompanying measures the separate collection of organic waste, labelling, will be adopted and implemented together with the R&I and public procurement. A life cycle thinking and actions listed above. They are aimed at: ecodesing approach should steer the transition, in order to find the right balance between fossil based

1. Ensuring strong coordination among the ministries, products (that give an important contribution in the other public administrations, industries and firms durable goods sector) and bio-based products, es- and national technological clusters of the bioecon- pecially in sectors where environmental concerns omy domain, in order to define a proper and coher- are higher, i.e. by connecting environmental con- ent legislative framework, and minimize duplication cerns with low-impact solutions which are availa- and fragmentation. A permanent working group on ble and ready to be implemented; bioeconomy composed of representatives of such organizations will be established with the task of: 3. Stimulating demand for bioeconomy products and services through enforcing green public procure- a. monitoring the implementation of the bioecon- ment, promoting communication and information omy strategy; to consumers to increase their awareness of bio- based products, highlighting their positive impacts b. proposing new measures and actions to im- in social and environmental terms (green jobs, so- prove the bioeconomy system - also evaluating cial acceptance, reduced GHG emissions, lower ex- the social and environmental impact of subsi- traction rate of non-renewable resources, benefits dies on non- renewable resources; for land and terrestrial ecosystem and biodiversity conservation), adjusting fiscal measures and pol- c. implementing and coordinating international icies in order to increase private demand for bi- initiatives to boost the bioeconomy in the Med- obased products; iterranean basin; 64

6. CHALLENGES AND ACTION PLAN FOR THE ITALIAN BIOECONOMY

4. Creating, through a cooperation with the stake- in water and land receptors) of waste management holders, a bioeconomy marketplace in order to and allow a lowering in the costs of environmental match the demand and supply of biomass, technol- services for citizens and for local administrations; ogy, and services; a database to collect and share data on biomass and biowaste actual and poten- 7. Involving local administrations in defining strategies tial availability, technological processes, research to create organic waste and effluent organic matter project, in order to put into practice and showcase value chains by promoting the adoption of integrat- industrial symbiosis, technological innovation and ed treatment processes that combine purification best practices; and valorization;

5. Revising academic and advanced-education pro- 8. Promoting consumer empowerment through pro- grams in the context of new economic and produc- fessional and pertinent information and communi- tive scenarios while creating initiatives for the edu- cation of the impact and benefits of the bioeconomy; cation and professional training of new bioeconomy specialists, through programmes for technical 9. Supporting corporate social responsibility by pro- schools, academic courses and programmes, and posing a methodological framework for enterpris- executive masters on bioeconomy - also in partner- es to highlight the bio-based content and features ship with private actors and industrial players; of bioeconomy processes and products through the application of life-cycle assessment, extended ac-

6. Valorizing sustainable urban biowaste production counting and green reporting to evaluate the net by ensuring that separately collected urban bio- costs of the bioeconomy production including the waste is used for compost and/or anaerobic diges- carbon balance and the environmental footprint, tion, as well as valorizing biological wastewaters for and promoting voluntary labelling or other certif- the realization of high added-value products. Such icate schemes which are easy-to-understand by measures would minimize the environmental im- final consumers and verified and managed by in- pact (GHG emissions, local pollutants and discharge stitutional bodies. 65 7 7 IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING Measuring bioeconomy performance through indica- Indicators have been selected in function of data avail- tors is a complex activity. The bioeconomy involves a ability. There is a general problem of data gaps and wide number of different products, commodities, inter- quality homogeneity, especially at the most disaggre- mediate goods and technologies and it is an economy gated data levels. In some cases, it could be difficult in evolution. to find data for all bioeconomy subsectors or to distin- guish between bio-based and non bio-based products A great part of its future development will emerge from and sectors. Therefore, also the construction of mon- the convergence and transformation of markets and itoring tools is subjected to an evolutionary process of industries and from the creation of new markets, phe- data availability to meet public awareness and assess- nomena for which statistical data and indicators are ment needs. 9 currently unavailable. In addition to this, there is still a high rate of uncertainty on the constituents of the bio- Another set of indicators is implemented on the sus- economy value chain. tainability dimension of the bioeconomy in order to improve the social dialogue on these issues. They also However, it is possible to try to relate the overall ob- refer to EU initiatives33 for evaluating and monitoring jective to a tentative set of EU key performance indica- the EU bioeconomy. 10 tors (KPI)32 to monitor the bioeconomy developments on the supply and demand side. These indicators refer to Eurostat and national data and allow for the imple- mentation of benchmarking analysis once they become common indicators. 8 32 Selected indicators are based on results of BERST project consortium, “BioEconomy Regional Strategy Toolkit”, Criteria and Indicators describing the Regional Bioeconomy, Cambridge (UK), 31 October 2014 and Correlation of I&M with the developed Criteria, Mol (Bel- gium), 3 December 2014. 33 Indicators on sustainability dimension are based on the results of Sat-BE consortium, “Systems Analysis Tools Framework for the EU Bio-Based Economy Strategy”, Overview of the systems Analysis Framework for the EU Bioeconomy, 9 November 2013 and Tools for evaluating and monitoring the EU bioeconomy: Indicators, 31 December 2013. 67

7. IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING 8 KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AT NATIONAL AND REGIONAL LEVEL CRITERIA INDICATORS Agricultural biomass production [kg/capita] - import of agricultural biomass BIOMASS Blue biomass production [kg/capita] - import of blue biomass AVAILABILITY Forestry biomass production [kg/capita] - import of forestry biomass Waste biomass production (including OFMSW) [kg/capita] - import of waste biomass Firms in total bioeconomy sectors [% of total firms] PRODUCTIVE Firms in bioeconomy subsectors [% of total firms] STRUCTURE Innovative start up in total bioeconomy sectors [% of total innovative start up] Innovative start up in bioeconomy subsectors [% of total innovative start up] EMPLOYMENT Employment in total bioeconomy sectors [% of total employment] STRUCTURE Employment in bioeconomy subsectors [% of total employment] Tertiary education [% of total population] R&D employment in total bioeconomy sectors [% of total employment] HUMAN R&D employment in bioeconomy subsectors [% of total employment] CAPACITY University courses in bioeconomy sectors [% of total university courses] Research Institute in bioeconomy sectors [% of total Research Institutes] IPRs (patent, trademark, design) applications in total bioeconomy sectors [number of application per 1000 employees] INNOVATION IPRs (patent, trademark, design) applications in bioeconomy subsectors [number of application per 1000 employees] Private R&D expenditure [index (EU=1)] INVESTMENT Public R&D expenditure [index (EU=1)] Population growth [% year] DEMOGRAPHICS Population 15-65 years [% of total population] GDP (PPP) [index (EU=1)] Exports of total bioeconomy sectors related goods [% of total exports] Exports of bioeconomy subsectors related goods [% of total exports] MARKETS Imports of total bioeconomy sectors related goods [% of total exports] Imports of bioeconomy subsectors related goods [% of total exports] 68

7. IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING 9 LEGEND FOR BIOECONOMY SECTORS PRIMARY BIOMASS SECTORS PULP & PAPER FOOD AND FEED PROCESSING TEXTILE & CLOTHING CONSTRUCTION ENERGY CHEMICAL & POLIMERS AND BIOREFINERY BIOTECHNOLOGY 10 SUSTAINABILITY INDICATORS SUSTANAIBLE OBJECTIVES INDICATORS PRINCIPLE Ensuring food security Social Change in food price volatility, Change in macronutrient intake/availability, Change in malnutrition or risk of hunger Managing natural resources Environmental/Social Change in freshwater availability, Level sustainbly of water pollution, Change in land use instensity, Rate of biodiversity loss, Secondary material price changes, Organic waste diverted from landfills Reducing dependence on Economic/Environmental Final energy consumption, Energy non-renewable resources intensity of the economy, Share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption Coping with climate change Environmental/Social Change in greenhouse emissions, Level of emission of air pollutants Enhancing economic growth Economic/Social Change in Employment rate, Job creation in skilled/unskilled labour 69 8 8 ACTORS INVOLVED AND ROAD MAP The Bioeconomy Strategy was promoted by the Italian Additional Stakeholders of the Italian Bioeconomy will Presidency of Council of Ministers. The entities involved provide their inputs. They were consulted in previous in its implementation are the: workshops and will be consulted in the near future via dedicated workshops. Citizens and all those interested i) Ministry for Economic Development (co-coordinator) in the topic will be invited to express their views via a website. ii) Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry A detailed plan with timetables for the measures will be iii) Ministry of Education, University and Research prepared in the context of setting up the implementa- tion plan for the strategy. Most of the measures should iv) Ministry of the Environment, Land and Sea get started in 2017. Strategy implementation will be supported by a bioeconomy panel, which is to be set up. v) Committee of Italian Regions vi) vi) Agency for territorial cohesion vii) Italian Technology Clusters for Green Chemistry Agri- Food and Bluegrowth THE WORKING GROUP ESTABLISHED FOR THE EDITING OF THIS DOCUMENT WAS COMPOSED BY: Paolo Bonaretti, coordinator - Presidency of Council of Ministers Stefano Firpo and Cinzia Tonci, co-coordination - Ministry for the Economical Development Oscar Pasquali and Fabio Fava, scientific coordination - Ministry of Education, University and Research Luca Bianchi - Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry and Riccardo Aleandri (CREA - MIPAFF) Francesco La Camera and Giacomo Pallante - Ministry of the Environment, Land and Sea Raffaele Liberali and Francesco Cellini - Committee of Italian Regions Ludovica Agrò, Daniela Carosi and Federica Tarducci - Agency for territorial cohesion Giulia Gregori - Italian Technology Clusters for Green Chemistry (SPRING) Maria Cristina Di Domizio - Italian Technology Cluster for AgriFood (CLAN) AND WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE TECHNICAL EXPERTS: Annalisa Zezza (CREA - MIPAFF), Fabio Eboli (MATTM - Technical Assistance Unit Sogesid), Vittorio Maglia (Cluster SPRING) and Stefania Trenti (Intesa San Paolo Research Department). Thanks to Serena Borgna (APRE) for the Horizon 2020 projects list. 71 BIT Bioeconomy in Italy