BERST
BioEconomy Regional Strategy Toolkit
The project BioEconomy Regional Strategy Toolkit (BERST) was funded under the FP7 programme for a duration of 24 months.
The term "Bioeconomy" means an economy based on smart use of biological and renewable resources from the land and sea, as inputs to food and feed, industrial and energy production. It also covers the use of biowaste, and of bio-based processes for sustainable industries. The implementation of the European bioeconomy occurs under the impulsion of entrepreneurs (ranging from carbon-based industries to farmers and foresters) and political authorities, assisted by knowledge workers (R&D). The drivers are (1) the search for alternative resources for fossil fuels, (2) the response to climate warming by becoming as CO2 neutral as possible and (3) the industrial demand for new functionalities offered by biobased materials and chemicals. Regions can also be guided to find ways to support, encourage and enhance concrete actions towards the bioeconomy by current and potential entrepreneurs within a bioeconomy.
The aim of this project was to take into account the bioeconomy potential and strategies of a range of different regions in Europe, and therefore to gain understanding of the possibilities and challenges related to the enhancement of biobased economies.
The project was led by Stichting Dienst Landbouwkundig Onderzoek (DLO) from the Netherlands. The Agency for Renewable Resources (FNR) was a partner in the project, along with 13 other partners from eight countries.
Results
Within the BERST project:
Further information can be found on the official project website.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement No 613671.
