Transformation Towards a Sustainable Regional Bioeconomy—A Monitoring Approach

Abstract

AbstractThe concept of the sustainable bioeconomy aims to ensure the well-being of both current and future generations while staying within environmental boundaries. However, achieving this goal will require significant changes to existing resource systems, business models, governance systems, and more. Current approaches to monitoring the transformation towards a sustainable bioeconomy lack a regional perspective that incorporates all three sustainability dimensions. To address this gap, we aim to provide an integrated evaluative framework for assessing regional transformation processes towards a bioeconomy. The recent decision to phase-out coal power in Germany presents a unique opportunity to understand the socio-technical dynamics and implementation options for the transformation to a sustainable bioeconomy region in the current lignite-mining region “Rheinisches Revier”.