The EU Bioeconomy Strategy Puts Bio-Based Materials Centre Stage

The EU Bioeconomy Strategy is a clear signal of positive momentum: scaling bio-based solutions, building lead markets, supporting capital flow, and improving the tools needed to compare materials fairly.

The European Commission published the new EU Bioeconomy Strategy on 27 November 2025, setting a 2040 vision in which bio-based materials and products are widely deployed across the EU.

In practical terms, the Strategy is built around four blocks:

• Scaling innovation and investment from lab to industrial deployment
• Developing lead markets for bio-based materials and technologies
• Securing long-term prospects for the bioeconomy through sustainably sourced biomass
• Harnessing global partnerships to scale solutions and competitiveness

For packaging and materials players, the message is direct: Europe wants to accelerate industrial scale-up and market uptake of bio-based solutions – while keeping sustainability and circularity at the core.

Sulapac is well aligned with the EU’s circularity principles for bioeconomy: reducing the need for primary biomass, keeping materials in use through multiple cycles, and emphasising residues and by-products. Most of our materials are already made with by-products (wood from industry side streams), and we have built closed-loop systems with our partners. We are also pioneering the use of recycled biopolymers in materials used in cosmetic applications.

 

The EU Bioeconomy Strategy signals a stronger position for bio-based materials within the PPWR framework

The Strategy explicitly identifies bio-based plastics and polymers as a lead market with the potential to reach economies of scale. Notably, the Commission states it will support the recognition and uptake of bio-based plastics in the implementation of PPWR, and assess whether EU-wide definitions could support certification and the scaling of bio-based polymers. In addition, the potential introduction of bio-based content requirements for certain products placed on the EU single market has been reported as a possible action.

Another concrete initiative is a planned update of Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) methods. The aim is to better account for biogenic carbon, add indicators such as microplastics and biodiversity, and accelerate standardisation.

A more standardised approach to definitions and certification, combined with improvements in how environmental performance is assessed and communicated, can be expected to reduce administrative effort and support more fact-based decision-making across the value chain. More broadly, the Strategy signals a more predictable direction for consumer goods brands, plastic packaging manufacturers, and biomaterial suppliers alike.

 

Access to capital is a prerequisite for a thriving EU bioeconomy

Finally, the Strategy recognises today’s financing and scale-up challenge – an unfortunate reality for many innovative companies today – and proposes tools such as a Bioeconomy Investment Deployment Group to help mobilise investment. The Strategy explicitly references first-of-a-kind biorefineries, advanced fermentation facilities, and bio-based materials manufacturing.

Smooth access to capital is crucial to capitalise on Europe’s innovation capacity and turn R&D investments into commercial success and stronger global competitiveness for the EU.

If you’d like to discuss what the BioEconomy Strategy could mean for your packaging roadmap, and how to best incorporate bio-based materials into your offering, please get in touch. Together we can bring the Strategy to life and accelerate the EU’s green transition, climate goals, and resource independence.