Welcome to the Bio-based and Biodegradable Industries Association (BBIA).

The BBIA exists to champion the industrial bioeconomy to accelerate the development and adoption of bio-based and biodegradable materials and products through advocacy, collaboration, and education.

We do this to reduce the impact of human consumption on the planet.

The health of the planet we all call home is under threat, with earth’s natural systems and boundaries being increasingly breached on a daily basis. Human health and well-being are intricately linked to the health of the planet, which is currently suffering from reduced air and water quality, climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution from plastics and toxic substances. At our present consumption rate, by 2030 we will need two planets to meet both our resource needs and absorb societies waste.

The climate emergency is one of the greatest societal challenges of our time, caused primarily by the human induced release of greenhouse gases from fossil resources, into the atmosphere. As greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, so does the temperature of the planet we all call home. In parallel, human induced environmental degradation has been caused by the widespread release of toxic microplastics and chemicals (such as PFAS) into nature, which have now infiltrated every environment known to mankind – having been found in clouds and rain , drinking water , and even human tissues – causing an increased risk of cancer, liver damage, compromised immune function, developmental disorders and hormonal disruption .

In the meantime, the recycling of environmentally damaging plastics and chemicals, is not, and has not, been happening at rates that are relevant to the global economy.

Looking at the rapid acceleration of climate change, environmental degradation, and the growth of the global population, the need for sustainable products, processes and solutions is evident. We live in a time that calls out for change – for sustainable solutions to ever more severe problems.

For a step change to happen, we need a revolution – much like that of the industrial revolution of the 18th century which modernised the world of today. But this time, we need a bio-based revolution…one that works with nature, and not against it. Enter the bio-revolution, driven by the bioeconomy.

The bioeconomy is an economic system in which biological resources, such as plants, animals, and microorganisms, and their byproducts are used to produce a wide range of products, including chemicals, where waste from one process becomes a resource for another. The industrial bioeconomy, bio-based and bio-degradable materials offer a realistic opportunity to significantly reduce our reliance on fossil resources. However, a truly circular bioeconomy has two main challenges to overcome – cost and adoption. The latter, being the solution to the former.

The BBIA exists to champion the industrial bioeconomy to accelerate the development and adoption of bio-based and biodegradable materials and products through advocacy, collaboration, and education.