Policy dialogue on a bioeconomy for sustainable development in the Baltic Sea region

This report summarizes a 2019 policy dialogue in Tallinn, Estonia, focused on establishing a sustainable bioeconomy in the Baltic Sea region by 2050. Key findings highlight energy as the primary driving sector and identify five essential enabling factors: clear policy goals, innovation support, demand generation, cross-sector cooperation, and circularity. The report also notes regional differences in policy implementation, with Estonia and Latvia using national strategies while Poland and Lithuania use sectoral policies. Finally, it reflects on the pilot methodology, suggesting that future workshops should use more tailored visions and group participants by economic sector rather than organization type.

• Energy was identified as the primary sector driving sustainable development in the Baltic Sea region by 2050, encompassing biomass-based energy as well as solar and wind power. Participants noted that energy is integral to a circular economy where it can be generated as a byproduct.
• A sustainable bioeconomy in the region is characterized by three main requirements: increasing the value added of bio-based products (moving beyond raw biomass), shifting focus from global to local scales, and addressing the consumption dimension through education to change consumer thinking, particularly in the context of an aging population.
• Five critical enabling factors for a sustainable bioeconomy were identified: the development of specific policy goals (such as circular or zero carbon economies), support for research and innovation through long-term predictable funding, ensuring demand via public procurement and education, cross-sector and regional cooperation, and integrating circularity to manage bio-resource availability and biodiversity.
• Policy approaches to the bioeconomy vary across the Baltic Sea region; Estonia and Latvia have implemented national bioeconomy strategies to 2030, whereas Lithuania and Poland utilize sectoral policies in areas such as agriculture, forestry, and innovation instead of a single national strategy.
• The pilot methodology used in the Tallinn dialogue revealed several weaknesses: the pre-selected global sustainability vision (SSP1: Taking the Green Road) was too general for participants, grouping participants by organization type led to overly broad and similar results, and the primary structuring question focused on enabling factors rather than specific sequential actions.

APA

Canales, N., Gladkykh, G., Bessonova, E., Fielding, M., Johnsson, F. X., & Petersson, K. (2020). Policy dialogue on a bioeconomy for sustainable development in the Baltic Sea region. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/200129b-mash-fielding-workshop-bioeconomy-talinn-pr-1912h.pdf

Chicago

Canales, Nella, Ganna Gladkykh, Ekaterina Bessonova, Matthew Fielding, Francis X. Johnsson, and Kaja Petersson. Policy dialogue on a bioeconomy for sustainable development in the Baltic Sea region. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2020. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/200129b-mash-fielding-workshop-bioeconomy-talinn-pr-1912h.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Canales |first1=Nella |last2=Gladkykh |first2=Ganna |last3=Bessonova |first3=Ekaterina |last4=Fielding |first4=Matthew |last5=Johnsson |first5=Francis X. |last6=Petersson |first6=Kaja |title=Policy dialogue on a bioeconomy for sustainable development in the Baltic Sea region |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=January 2020 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/200129b-mash-fielding-workshop-bioeconomy-talinn-pr-1912h.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{canales2020policy, author = {Canales, Nella and Gladkykh, Ganna and Bessonova, Ekaterina and Fielding, Matthew and Johnsson, Francis X. and Petersson, Kaja}, title = {{Policy dialogue on a bioeconomy for sustainable development in the Baltic Sea region}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2020}, month = jan, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/200129b-mash-fielding-workshop-bioeconomy-talinn-pr-1912h.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }