Design and Sustainability Assessment of Innovative biomass production systems and value-chains in the Bioeconomy

Developing the bioeconomy features high on the European policy agenda to tackle societal challenges such as climate change, the phasing out of fossil resources or the advent of the much needed ecological and energy transitions.

However, transitioning into an economy based on regionally available biological resources will substantially increase the demand for biomass from forestry and agriculture, and may incur adverse effects on biodiversity, greenhouse gas emissions or water resources.

Comprehensive, rigorous and transparent assessment procedures are thus required to ensure that the bioeconomy will deliver on its sustainability promise.Assessment methodologies have so far failed to embrace the various dimensions of sustainability and the multiple facets and stakeholders of bioeconomy systems.

This lack of an integrated, holistic approach constitutes the key scientific question that DESTINY will address, by developing novel methods and tools as well as demonstrating how they can be mobilised to maximise systems performance in a range of generic value-chain cases-studies.

Since such concepts mobilise a number of disciplines from agronomy and engineering to economics, political and social sciences, a novel type of scientist is warranted : the bioeconomist.

The DESTINY doctoral network will train this new generation of researchers and practitioners through a multi-disciplinary curriculum, equipping 15 Doctoral Candidates with the knowledge they need to design and assess novel biomass production systems and bio-product value-chains.

In their research programme at the crossroads between bioeconomy and sustainability science, these candidates will design sustainable bioeconomy systems for Europe, factoring in social, economic and governance aspects.

DESTINY graduates will bridge a well-evidenced gap on the labour market for the bioeconomy and will secure jobs in the agricultural and forestry sectors, the bioeconmy industry, academia, consultancies and governments.