1st Edition

The Circular Bioeconomy Institutional and Production Perspectives

Edited By Małgorzata Pink, Agnieszka Józefowska Copyright 2025
    288 Pages 79 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Founded on different principles to the fossil fuel-based, linear economy, the sustainable, circular bioeconomy requires different social values and institutions and a better understanding of the complexity of the production process. A circular bioeconomy provides a framework for using renewable natural capital to manage land, biodiversity, food, and other industries, with the aim of improving social well-being and environmental safety.

    The contributors to this book analyse the evolution of the economic system towards the circular economy and bioeconomy and its place in the paradigm of sustainable development. They look at institutions and their importance for the bioeconomy and examine the question of the behaviour of market entities – enterprises and consumers – as well as the meaning of social and environmental responsibility for these entities. They also discuss the issues of the product itself: the process of creation, production, processing and the quality of the product, including its environmental impact throughout its life cycle. The authors also refer to the potential pitfalls and threats related to the implementation of the bioeconomy in both socio-economic and environmental contexts. Individual processes and phenomena are illustrated with case studies and the authors' own research.

    The book deliberately fosters an interdisciplinary approach founded on cooperation between economists, management specialists, agronomists, biotechnologists, chemists and soil scientists, who together underline the complexity and importance of the interdependence of the economy, society and the natural environment.

    Part I : Socio-economic contexts of the circular bioeconomy. Idea, institutions and stakeholders

    1. Evolution of the economic system: From a fossil-based economy to the circular bioeconomy

    Beata Pater, Jakub Piecuch, Małgorzata Pink, Radka Redlichová, Vojtěch Tamáš

    2. Institutional environment of the bioeconomy from a theoretical perspective

    Renata Śliwa, Małgorzata Pink

    3. Bioeconomy policies: From global to local perspectives

     Ondřej Konečný, Alice Kozumplíková, Radka Redlichová

    4. Selected management problems in the world of the circular bioeconomy

    Gabriela Chmelíková, Barbara Kiełbasa, Veronika Svatošová, Dżamila Bieńkowska, Jiří Nesiba, Sylvie Formánková

    Part  II: Interdisciplinary links in the bioeconomy: Innovation, environment and product

    5. The circular bioeconomy and innovation 

    Michał Niewiadomski, Piotr Waląg, Małgorzata Pink

    6. Chosen problems of the commodity science in bioeconomy

    Robert Witkowicz, Sławomir Pietrzyk, Dorota Gala-Czekaj, Francois Lategan

    7. Ecosystem services in bioeconomy

    Jiří Schneider, Agnieszka Józefowska

    8. Environmental problems of the bioeconomy

    Tomas Kopta, Angelika Kliszcz, Agnieszka Józefowska

    Part III : Closed circuit. Production, processing and fertiliser

    9. Production for the bioeconomy. Sustainable primary and secondary production of bio-based resources  

    Agnieszka Klimek-Kopyra, Wojciech Szewczyk, Francois Lategan, Stanislav Hejduk, Marcin Kopyra

    10. Biotechnological processes in the bioeconomy

    Anna Gorczyca, Maria J. Chmiel, Maciej Guzik

    11. From biowaste to fertiliser

    Jacek Antonkiewicz, Agnieszka Baran, Tomáš Kopta, Tomáš Lošák, Pavel Ryant

    Biography

    Małgorzata Pink, PhD., Department of Economics and Food Economy, University of Agriculture in Krakow, Poland. She completed her studies in economics and comparative civilization studies, and earned a Ph.D. in economics. She has 20 years of experience in university teaching. In her teaching, she emphasizes the impact of the economy on social welfare and the natural environment. Her research interests include sustainable development, particularly in the context of the circular bioeconomy, and the transformations in socio-economic values that underpin it. Additionally, she is interested in the developing wine industry in Poland and, on a macro level, the market for natural wines. In the administrative field, she has led international projects in the bioeconomy area, including Horizon 2000, and international strategic partnerships.

    Agnieszka Józefowska, Assoc. Prof., Department of Soil Science and Agrophysics, University of Agriculture in Krakow. She is a soil scientist at the Department of Soil Science and Agrophysics, University of Agriculture in Krakow. Her scientific work primarily focuses on soil ecology and its reclamation. In her university classes, she educates students on the impact of human activities on the environment, methods for assessing soil quality, and the multifaceted approaches to environmental protection and sustainable use of natural resources.