Backing the Bioeconomy for UK's Future Growth and Resilience
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National resilience and economic growth depend on cutting the UK's reliance on imported oil, while scaling new industries that create jobs and strengthen long-term security. Bio-based Solutions use renewable bio-based resources - such as plants and agricultural wastes - to produce products more sustainably. Together, they make everyday products including packaging, clothing, cosmetics, cleaning products, fuels and medicines - a new kind of economy, the Bioeconomy. These alternatives reduce emissions and waste, while building a more self-sufficient, secure and future-ready economy.
The UK now faces a clear choice: build a world-leading bioeconomy at home, or see its science and innovation commercialised overseas. Only one path secures high-value jobs, skills and long-term economic sovereignty.
But current policy, regulatory and tax frameworks often fail to recognise the value of renewable, bio-based resources. This puts Bio-based Solutions at a disadvantage to fossil-based incumbents, locking in continued dependence on imported oil and exposing the UK to price shocks, supply chain disruption and geopolitical risk.
An urgent policy review would level the playing field, unlock investment and accelerate commercialisation. It would strengthen national security, support high-quality jobs, and position the UK as a global leader in the bioeconomy.
This is not only a climate issue - it is a modern industrial strategy and national resilience imperative. The UK has the science. Now it needs the policy to match.
You can also go further: download our template to write directly to your local MP, request a meeting, or ask them to raise a question in Parliament.
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The problem is not the science. The technology to replace fossil oil resources with bio-based resources works, and is deployable now. The flaw is in how the system around it is governed.
The problem is not the science. The technology to replace fossil oil resources with bio-based resources, works, and is deployable now. The flaw is in how the system around it is governed.
Higher compliance costs and policy uncertainty push investors towards fossil-based products or overseas markets.
Businesses remain locked into fossil resources because current policy signals favour the status quo.
Companies relocate abroad. Skilled jobs are lost. Over 4,000 skilled jobs and up to £500 million in annual economic value have already been foregone. Continued fossil reliance decreases our ability to reach Net Zero.
Almost everything we use in our daily lives has carbon in it. From shampoo to clothes, mobile phones to medicines.
For more than a century we have sourced that carbon, overwhelmingly, from fossil oil and gas. It is cheap, abundant and concentrated, and our modern daily lives are built around it.
However, we now know that using fossil resources leads to climate change, and oil is becoming more expensive and less secure, both politically and environmentally.
The urgency extends beyond climate. Continued dependence on fossil carbon exposes the UK to major economic risks. A single price shock - triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 - cost the UK £183 billion over four years, roughly equivalent to the entire cost of the net zero transition to 2050. Ongoing geopolitical instability continues to demonstrate how reliance on fossil resources threatens both environmental goals and economic stability.
Bio-based carbon, from bio-based resources such as plants, microbes and organic waste, offers a renewable alternative to fossil resources. This is not science fiction. Already today, we can produce bio-based alternatives to almost all oil-based ones. The UK has world-leading Bio-based Solutions research and innovation.
The science is proven. The technology works. The bottleneck is policy, not capability.
The UK does not lack innovation - it lacks joined-up rules. Companies trying to make Bio-based Solutions have to deal with different rules for where materials come from, how they are made, what the product is, and what happens to it at the end of its life. These rules often do not match up. This makes it slower, more complicated and more expensive to bring new Bio-based Solutions to market.
So while the UK does support innovation, the wider system - regulation, taxes and waste rules - does not always work together. This creates a "valley of death" where good ideas struggle to become real products people can use.
Carbon stored underground for millions of years is released, increasing CO2 in the atmosphere, leading to climate change.
Plants absorb CO2 as they grow, so when it is released again, it is part of a natural cycle.
Bio-based Solutions are everyday products made from natural, renewable bio-based resources such as plants, microbes and agricultural wastes, instead of fossil resources like oil, coal or gas. In simple terms, they use carbon from nature rather than carbon taken from underground.
Many Bio-based Solutions are created using engineering biology - a technology where scientists use microbes to produce useful everyday products without using fossil resources.
You may already come across Bio-based Solutions without realising.
Bio-based Solutions can help:
Lost every year, that could be in the UK's pocket.
The problem is not a lack of innovation.
It is a lack of unified policy.
The Government has already committed £2 billion over 10 years to engineering biology and the wider bioeconomy. To turn that commitment into UK industrial leadership rather than research alone, we propose the following five steps.
One minister, one brief, one door for industry.
Ensure policies, regulations and taxation support - rather than disadvantage - Bio-based Solutions.
Align carbon accounting, lifecycle assessment and emissions reporting to reflect the benefits of Bio-based Solutions.
Bio-based Solutions specifications in government contracts by default.
Co-funded capital for the first commercial bio-refineries here.
Three worked examples of what a coherent Bio-based Solutions policy unlocks in practice. Click to expand.
The UK produces about 12 million tonnes of packaging waste each year, and nearly half of plastic packaging still is not recycled. Much of it is burned, releasing millions of tonnes of carbon emissions. Recycling works especially poorly for things like plastic films and small items, meaning a large share still ends up as waste. This creates a strong need for new, more sustainable packaging materials.
The UK Government has already recognised this. It has invested hundreds of millions of pounds into developing bio-based materials made from things like plants, seaweed and waste biomass. This sector could grow into a £4.2 billion industry, creating tens of thousands of skilled jobs while helping cut emissions.
Innovation is happening - but policy is getting in the way. New bio-based packaging is more expensive to produce right now. Instead of helping it compete, current rules can actually make it even harder to adopt.
This misalignment is already having consequences: thousands of skilled jobs lost, hundreds of millions in economic value foregone each year, and companies relocating investment overseas.
The UK wants to become a global leader in cutting-edge industries by 2035, including engineering biology to create Bio-based Solutions. This fast-growing sector could be worth trillions globally, and the UK has committed £2 billion in research funding to support it.
Despite this ambition, the UK's regulatory system has not kept up. Many of the rules used to approve new materials and chemicals were designed for traditional fossil-based products, not modern Bio-based Solutions. As a result, these alternatives face more complex, slower and more expensive approval processes.
Right now, they are not getting them.
The difference is striking. For example, for bio-based chemicals used in cosmetics, the bio-based ingredient must go through more approval stages, takes roughly twice as long to reach market, and costs about twice as much to bring through approval compared to its fossil-based equivalent.
This means Bio-based Solutions are slower and more expensive to bring to market than traditional alternatives.
These barriers are not just theoretical - they are already affecting the economy:
Across the sector, the total impact could reach tens of billions of pounds annually.
UK food security is under growing pressure. We rely on imports for around 46% of the food we consume, including key protein sources like soy used in animal feed. This makes us vulnerable to global shocks, supply disruptions and rising prices. At the same time, livestock farming uses large amounts of land and is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. Together, this creates a clear need for more sustainable, resilient and homegrown ways to produce protein.
Alternative proteins - including plant-based foods, fermentation-derived ingredients and cultivated meat - offer a way to produce protein with much lower environmental impact. They can reduce emissions, use less land and water, and strengthen UK food security. The UK already has world-class research and a growing number of innovative companies in this space. With the right support, this could become a major new industry, creating skilled jobs and driving economic growth.
Innovation is happening, but companies are finding it difficult to scale and commercialise in the UK. High production costs, slow and complex approval processes, and unclear policy signals are holding the sector back. Meanwhile, other countries are moving faster to attract investment and support growth.
These barriers are already having consequences. Companies are choosing to grow and invest in other countries, funding is flowing overseas, and the UK risks missing out on a fast-growing global market. This means fewer jobs, less innovation, and a slower transition to a more sustainable and secure food system.
How you can get involved and support the transition to a bio-based future
Thirty seconds on the Parliament site is the single most useful thing you can do today. After that, pass it to three people who might also join the BioRevolution.
Sign the petitionCoalition membership is free at launch. We ask for a public statement of support, a named executive sponsor and a commitment to driving change.
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We have a short brief ready for MPs, peers and councillors. It covers the five asks, local jobs impact and a suggested parliamentary question.
Request the briefing