
Opening speech by François de Bie, Chairman of European
During 3/4 December, already for the 14th time, the European Bioplastics Conference opened its doors in Berlin bringing together 400 senior executives from across the bioplastics value chain. The participants included brands, policy makers, academia, producers and NGOs. After another year of innovations, and with bioplastics still high on the political agenda, it was not surprising that the conference, once again, lived up to its reputation as the leading business and networking platform for the global bioplastics industry.
In a packed and sold-out conference hall, François de Bie, Chairman of European Bioplastics (EUBP), set the scene for the upcoming exciting presentations and discussions of the next two days. Reflecting on the highlights of the past year, de Bie said: ”European Bioplastics and the entire bioplastics industry is looking back at yet another successful year with outstanding and inspiring innovations”. With regards to his expectations for the next year, he added: “It is a pivotal time for our industry, as the European Union is serious in developing from a linear to a circular economy. This provides us with a unique growth opportunity. The new EU Commission recently announced a Green Deal for Europe, and bioplastics will play a crucial role in helping to achieve it”.
During the conference’s policy session, a week before the official publication of the Commission’s European Green Deal on 11 December, Werner Bosmans from the European Commissi