BRUSSELS, Belgium. 03 June 2014

Committed to creating a forum to address opportunities and challenges for the biobased economy, EFIB is consistent in attracting an unrivalled calibre of speakers from across the fields of both policy and business. This year’s event, which take’s place during the week preceding European Biotech week, includes a high level plenary with French ministerial address, complemented by the European Commission’s take on the future evolution of the European biobased economy.  These insights will be followed by a discussion, chaired by Ian Hudson, President EMEA DuPont de Nemours International, focusing on the shale gas revolution and its likely impact on investments and market development for both the petrochemical and biobased value chains, featuring representatives from Shell and European Bioplastics.

The closing session, chaired by EuropaBio’s Industrial Biotech Council chair and Managing Board member of DSM, Stephan Tanda, will see biobased market leaders sharing their perspectives on the exciting opportunities for improving the sustainability profile of industrial production. The session will include high level speakers from Coca Cola and Unilever, Natureworks, DSM, Suedzucker, and from the European Commission and the Roundtable for Sustainable Biomaterials.

In addition to the high profile plenaries, the programme features parallel tracks, enabling delegates to build their own agenda choosing from presentations on a range of recent developments.  Delegates can select presentations from the ever-popular innovation track, showcasing the brightest and best new innovations in IB from 2013-2014, or in-depth focus tracks on financing the biobased economy, achieving global scale-up aided by international policy developments and  European feedstock competitiveness and sustainability.

Session highlights include insights from David Harris Kolada of Sustainable Development Technology Canada on policy turned into practice to advance the biobased economy, one of eight case studies from across the world, in a session chaired by Barend Verachtert of the European Commission’s DG Research and Innovation.

The financing roundtable, led by Dirk Carrez, Executive Director of Biobased Industries Consortium will feature perspectives from PNO, Rabobank, EIB, the Biobased Industries PPP and Sofinova Partners to depict how the funding landscape is changing both in Europe and overseas.

In addition, we will take a look at the European Innovation Partnership for Productive and Sustainable Agriculture and how it will contribute to the development of a more competitive and dynamic EU bioeconomy with Virginie Rimbert, representative of the European Commission’s DG Agriculture. 

Also this year, the innovation track showcases how innovation in this sector is accelerating and how value is being added to the bioeconomy through increased investments in Europe by companies such as Verdezyne, Deinove and MetGen. View all the confirmed speakers

“EFIB will once again be the #1 EU event where business meets policy in this transformative and rapidly evolving field. We are delighted to host EFIB in Reims, capital of the beautiful Champagne-Ardenne region, which is itself a thriving European hub for biobased industries and expertise. We  look forward to shaping the future of this exciting sector together with a record number of participants” concluded Nathalie Moll, Secretary General, EuropaBio.

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

Rosalind Travers

Communications manager, EuropaBio

Ph: +32 (0) 478 680 301/ +32 (0) 2 739 1173

E: r.travers@europabio.org

EFIB takes place 30 September – 2 October, Reims Congress Center, Champagne-Ardenne, France.
For the full agenda and for more information visit www.efibforum.com

European Biotech Week takes place from 6- 10 October. For more information visit http://www.biotechweek.org/

About EuropaBio:

EuropaBio is the European Association of BioIndustries. Our members are involved in research, development, testing, manufacturing and commercialisation of biotech products and processes in human and animal healthcare, diagnostics, bioinformatics, chemicals, crop protection, agriculture, food and environmental products and services. EuropaBio also counts a number of National Biotech Associations in its membership who in turn represent more than 1800 biotech SMEs.

Rosalind Travers,

Manager, Communications & National Associations

EuropaBio

Avenue de l'Armée 6
1040 Brussels
Belgium

P: +32 (0) 2 739 1173
GSM: + 32 (0) 478 680 301