06/02/2024
C4B Launches Circular Bio-Based Business Models Initiative
C4B aims to create circular bio-based business models that promote collaboration among primary producers and develop innovative and fair business solutions to support the growth of the bioeconomy.
The purpose of C4B is to accelerate the development of rural communities and their economic viability by developing new fair and sustainable business models for different agricultural and forestry value chains. C4B models balance power and profits in bio-based value chains and enhance cooperation among farmers, foresters, and industry. This project aims to analyze EU-based bio-based value chains holistically, considering technology, business environment, producers’ behavior, contractual agreements, ownership, and sustainability.
On the first of January 2024, the C4B project – Circular Bio-Based Business models to create high-value Bio-based products in integrated value chains – was officially launched. The project has been granted €3,994,894.36 from Horizon Europe Framework Programme (HORIZON) to address the topic HORIZON-CL6-2023-CircBio-01-9 Business models that balance the share of power and profit in the bioeconomy. The C4B initiative aims to promote a diverse range of collaborations among primary producers and innovative business models for creating high-value bio-based products in vertically integrated value chains. To achieve this goal, the initiative has set specific objectives including:
1) Building a C4B Stakeholders’ Panel and implementing the multi-actor approach to co-create solutions and innovations. This will enhance the capacity of businesses and individuals to implement bioeconomy measures and empower the Agricultural Knowledge and innovation systems in Europe.
2) Advancing the understanding of bio-based value chains by conducting a holistic analysis that considers technological factors, business models and environment, primary producers’ behavior, contractual agreements, ownership, fairness, power balance, and sustainability.
3) Developing, simulating, and promoting fair, scalable, and replicable business models for different primary production sectors that support the vibrancy and economic viability of rural communities.
4) Creating indicators to evaluate the impact on farmers, foresters, and rural actors and assess the sustainability benefits of the innovative business models.
5) Demonstrating the scalability and replicability of the C4B fair and sustainable business models in different business settings and geographical areas, ultimately driving the adoption of the results developed in the project.
6) Promoting bioeconomy-related interventions in the new common agriculture policy.
7) Ensuring wide visibility of C4B, raising awareness of bioeconomy-related interventions, promoting the replication of new fair and sustainable businesses, and fostering the multiplication of their economic, social, and environmental benefits throughout Europe. Primary production plays a crucial role in the circular bioeconomy of Europe in agriculture and forestry. However, primary producers are not fully involved in the circular bio-based economy, and they don’t receive fair benefits along the value chain, which puts them at a disadvantage.
There is a pressing need for fair and sustainable business models that promote rural entrepreneurship and foster successful rural businesses.
These models can create opportunities for primary producers, which will help them be a part of the circular bio-based economy.
