Dear Colleagues,

A wind of change is blowing all over Europe!

The “Fridays for the future” generation has succeeded in bringing climate change to the center of the political debate, heating the hearts of many, and bringing millions of people into the streets.

The European Commission has made the issue of climate emergency one of its top priorities, ensuring the end of carbon emissions by the middle of the century. At the same time, the “Green New Deal” is the hallmark of a European Union aiming at becoming the first climate neutral continent. For this to happen, radical changes are needed so as to guide the transition out of a linear and carbon-based economy into a circular bio-based one.

The transition needs to occur in a participatory way, which requires a collective effort from all layers of society, strengthening the links among policymakers, companies, and civil society. The role of research is more critical than ever at this dynamic moment in time. Changes, especially when radical, are never smooth rides. The transition towards an inclusive circular bioeconomy needs clear guidance and a sense of direction to provide to citizens and companies. The science–policy bridge is fundamental in providing such guidance and spreading its benefits to all segments of society.

Among the 114 definitions of the circular economy proposed (Kirchherr, Reike and Hekkert, 2017), it can be stated that the circular economy—defined “as a regenerative system in which resource input and waste, emission, and energy leakage are minimised by slowing, closing, and narrowing material and energy loops” (Geissdoerferp et al. 2017, p. 759)—has been enriched by the contribution of the bioeconomy sector, given that a sustainable bioeconomy represents the renewable “segment” of the circular economy (EC 2018). 

The bioeconomy and the circular economy both aim at defining new and more sustainable production and consumption models, able to reduce to a minimum the carbon footprint of human activities. Both the circular economy and the bioeconomy share the principle of zeroing the use of fossil carbon through (1) eco-efficiency in production and consumption (the circular economy approach) and (2) fossil carbon substitution with bio-based carbon (the bioeconomy approach). These are different but complementary approaches, and in this sense, the bioeconomy adds a green pathway to the circular economy. Moreover, the cascading use of resources strengthens the link between these two concepts, binding them into a new concept of the circular bioeconomy. As stated in EU policy (2018), the circular bioeconomy may be a good channel to put forward sustainable new production and consumption models (Schaltegger et al., 2016; Bolton and Hannon, 2016; Inigo and Albareda, 2019). However relevant, the interplay between these two dimensions (the circular economy and bio-based products) remains a concept that is under-investigated, as is the role that different players may play in the transition.

To shed new light on how a circular bioeconomy may be achievable, this Special Issue calls for high-quality papers, aiming at investigating the role of all actors involved in the transition from all possible angles and through a large array of perspectives and methodologies. This will enrich our understanding and provide policy guidance.

Prof. Dr. Andreas Pyka
Prof. Dr. Massimiliano Mazzanti
Prof. Piergiuseppe Morone
Prof. Dr. Nicolas Befort
Guest Editors

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• Circular economy
• Bioeconomy
• Socio-economic transitions
• Sustainability
• Green innovations/sustainable innovations
• Innovation diffusion
• Environmental policies