The Croatian Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development in cooperation with the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, Priority Area 8 Competitiveness of enterprises, organised an hybride event “Future of the Danube Region: Green Transition and Circular Bioeconomy – Enhancing the Competitiveness and Sustainability of Enterprises – Climate neutrality, Raw material supply and New business models“ on Thursday, September 21st, 2023, in Zagreb.
Ana Dijan, new Coordinator of Working Group “Circular Bioeconomy – to support the competitiveness of of enterprises” moderated the event.
At the conference, good practices and projects from the area of circular bioeconomy were presented. It was pointed out that the Danube region is an attractive area for the development of projects from the area of circular bioeconomy . The biggest challenge are financing opportunities. Namely, most European support programs are directed towards research and innovation, and much less towards commercialization and sustainable value chains. It was emphasized that the involvement of private investors and banks in the circular bioeconomy in the Danube region is mainly connected with large “biorefineries – green infrastructure projects” that are beyond the reach of small and medium-sized enterprises, and which are considered the carriers of economic development.
The conference was closed by State Secretary Hrvoje Bujanović and State Secretary Patrick Rapp. State Secretary Bujanović emphasized the importance of the Danube Strategy for the Republic of Croatia and briefly presented the measures by which the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development strives to encourage sustainable growth based on efficient use of resources, circular economy, clean industries and new technologies. State Secretary Patrick Rapp thanked the hosts for organizing the conference, emphasizing that especially in the area of the circular bioeconomy, the level of application and implementation in the Danube region varies greatly, and that conferences of this type are in line with the need to share experiences, good practices, as well as joint work on projects for the development of new solutions, specific for each individual country of the Danube region.
Please find the documentation:
Programme:
EUSDR_PA8_Circular Bioeconomy Conference_Zagreb_20230921
Presentations:
Dijan_Intro_CircBio_Zagreb_2023
Torfi_Presentation Danube Region
Dr. Sebastian Awiszus_Urban and Industrial Circular BioeconomyAna
<Tajana Radic_Croatian Chamber of Agriculture
Fotos:
