On 8 November 2022, the first Bioeconomy Austria network reception took place at the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna in the presence of Minister of Agriculture Norbert Totschnig and Minister of Climate Leonore Gewessler. Only five months after the start of the project, more than 150 partners from regional clusters and networks, business, research, politics and society have already been involved in Bioeconomy Austria. The first focus of Bioeconomy Austria is on wood as a raw material.
Das Projektteam von Bioeconomy Austria, © Holzcluster Steiermark/Schmid 
Eröffnung von Landwirtschaftsminister Norbert Totschnig & Klimaministerin Leonore Gewessler und Moderatorin Kati Hochhold, © Holzcluster Steiermark/Schmid 
Eröffnung von Landwirtschaftsminister Norbert Totschnig & Klimaministerin Leonore Gewessler, © Holzcluster Steiermark/Schmid 
Networking-Session, Auf dem Bild: Katharina Perfahl, Business Upper Austria, © Holzcluster Steiermark/Schmid 
Florian Kamleitner, ecoplus Projektleiter Bioeconomy Austria, © Holzcluster Steiermark/Schmid
The ministers were enthusiastic about the great interest in the event and for the bioeconomy in Austria. They agreed that a way out of the current dependencies can only succeed by relying on renewable raw materials. Through the Bioeconomy Austria network, important initiatives can be effectively disseminated and cooperation along the entire value chain can be forced. Both Totschnig and Gewessler emphasised that in the network the strengths of the different partners can be bundled and thus new potentials in the field of bioeconomy can be exploited.
Andreas Tschulik, Head of Department at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management, presented the network partners with details of the bioeconomy action plan previously presented by Climate Minister Gewessler and Agriculture Minister Totschnig. The Bioeconomy Austria network is embedded in this plan as a lighthouse project. Veronika Holzer, Head of the Business Unit “Habitat Regions” at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management, addressed the importance and role of the regions for the bioeconomy in Austria. Economic inputs came from Franz Sinabell of WIFO, who addressed the economic significance of the wood-based bioeconomy in Austria. In addition, Tobias Stern, who works at the Institute for Systems Science, Innovation and Sustainability Research at the University of Graz, ventured a look into the future of the wood-based bioeconomy and addressed the potentials, risks and challenges. All the speakers’ presentations are available here on the website in German.
But the participation of the network partners in the event was not neglected either: instead of a classic round of introductions, the Bioeconomy Austria project team presented itself in a poster session. There, the network partners had the direct opportunity to contribute ideas and suggestions for their respective project areas in a low-threshold manner. The organisers rounded off the evening with an informal exchange, where the first cooperation opportunities were already explored by the network partners.
We thank you for your active participation and look forward to good cooperation!
The growing Bioeconomy Austria network is open to all interested organisations.