The world has benefited tremendously from the evolution of biotechnology and its applications in industry. Over the past two decades, countries across the globe have substantially increased their economic outputs in an environmentally conscious manner through commercial applications of biotechnology and life sciences. The increasing use of biotechnology in primary production, healthcare and industry has led to a strategic interest in the development of a bio-based economy, or bioeconomy.

Broadly speaking, a bioeconomy is the sustainable production of renewable biological resources and their conversion into food, feed, chemicals, energy, and healthcare and wellness products via innovative and efficient technologies. In addition to biotechnology, the bioeconomy encompasses all industries and economic sectors that produce, manage and utilise biological resources. This includes agriculture, forestry, fishery, food production, healthcare, chemicals and renewable energy.

In addition to being a key contributor to economic growth, the bioeconomy benefits society via breakthroughs in agricultural productivity, discoveries in healthcare and the adoption of sustainable industrial processes, while helping to meet the most pressing global challenges, such as increasing global populations, food scarcity, the depletion of fossil fuels and natural resources, and tightening environmental pressures and climate change. It is thus becoming the focal point of public policymakers, corporate leaders, researchers as well as world governments.