WBA Views on Ireland’s Draft Bioeconomy Strategy 2026–2030

Ireland is taking an important step forward in the development of its bioeconomy with the Draft Bioeconomy Strategy 2026–2030 – BioScale 2030: Advancing a Sustainable Bioeconomy for Ireland.

The strategy sets out Ireland’s ambition to develop a sustainable and competitive bioeconomy that supports climate action, strengthens regional and rural development, improves resource efficiency, creates new economic opportunities and protects biodiversity and natural ecosystems. 

The World Bioeconomy Association (WBA) has analysed the draft through the BioStrategy Atlas and contributed its recommendations to Ireland’s public consultation.

A balanced approach to the bioeconomy

The BioStrategy Atlas assessment finds that Ireland’s draft strategy brings together three fundamental dimensions of the bioeconomy:

Bioresources – sustainable and cascading use of land, marine and secondary biological resources.

Biotechnology – industrial biotechnology, fermentation, biorefineries and biomanufacturing, supported by infrastructure, innovation, skills and pathways towards commercial deployment.

Bioecology and society – climate action, circularity, biodiversity, natural capital, regional development and community participation.

All three dimensions are clearly reflected in the strategy. The result is a balanced approach connecting sustainable biological resources with industrial innovation and place-based societal outcomes. 

From strategy to commercial scale

WBA broadly supports the direction of the strategy. A central challenge now is to translate Ireland’s strong research, innovation and biological-resource base into commercial and sustainable impact.

WBA recommends particular attention to:

• Accelerating pilot-to-commercial scale, with clearer pathways from successful demonstration projects to first commercial deployment.
• De-risking first commercial investments, including biorefineries, biomanufacturing and other bio-based production facilities.
• Maximising value from biomass, applying cascading and circular-use principles and prioritising residues, by-products and organic side streams where appropriate.
• Strengthening biotechnology and innovation, building on Ireland’s capabilities in biotechnology, fermentation, bioprocessing, agriculture, marine resources and life sciences.
• Creating markets for bio-based solutions through standards, Green Public Procurement and access to international markets.
• Measuring what matters, including investment, value creation, employment, resource efficiency, fossil-carbon substitution, emissions reduction and impacts on natural capital.
• Enhancing international collaboration to connect Irish companies, researchers and regional initiatives with investment, knowledge, technologies and markets internationally.

Connecting the whole value chain

A successful bioeconomy requires more than advancing individual technologies. Sustainable scale-up depends on feedstock, technology, finance, infrastructure and market demand developing together. This whole-value-chain approach was a central message of WBA’s consultation contribution. 

Ireland’s five proposed key sectors – Agri-Bioeconomy and Circular Nutrients, Biobased Construction, Blue Bioeconomy, Biomanufacturing and Biobased Materials, and Circular Food and Organic Wastes – provide a strong foundation. WBA particularly sees opportunities at the interfaces between these sectors, where biological resources, side streams, biotechnology and biorefineries can be combined to create higher-value products and new industrial value chains. 

Creating value within ecological boundaries

Ultimately, bioeconomy success should not be measured by how much biomass is used, but by how much sustainable economic, environmental and societal value is created from biological resources while maintaining ecological boundaries.

Ireland has an opportunity to demonstrate how bioresources, biotechnology and ecological sustainability can reinforce one another, creating new business opportunities and quality employment while contributing to climate action and stronger rural and coastal economies.

WBA stands ready to support Ireland through international cooperation, knowledge exchange and connections across the global bioeconomy community.