By Kaveh Zahedi, Director of the Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment, FAO, and Ben Durham, Chief Director: Bio-innovation, National Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, South Africa

An insect farm that turns unavoidable food waste into protein-rich animal feed – or clearing forested land for biofuel production – both could be considered part of bioeconomy, an economic system that uses renewable biological resources, such as plants, animals, and microorganisms, to produce food, feed, materials, and energy. But only one is actually sustainable, according to the High-Level Principles as agreed by the Group of 20 (G20) members under Brazil’s presidency in 2024.

Understanding the difference starts with metrics: we need to know how to measure bioeconomy products in terms of their benefits and tradeoffs in a consistent and fair manner so that what is measured in one country provides the same confidence to consumers as a product produced and measured in another. And then, crucially, we need to agree on standards for such measures that can guide trade between countries. Because trade is a strong incentive for producing genuine and legitimate bioeconomy goods that become environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable.

Back in 2013, South Africa was the first African country to adopt a national strategy for a sustainable bioeconomy, betting on biobased innovations as a growth engine for the economy. Anaerobic digestion, in which bacteria degrade organic waste without oxygen, producing biogas and a nutrient-rich soil conditioner, is one of the country’s success stories, with more than 700 biodigesters installed throughout the country in 2018. Meanwhile, the sugarcane and forestry industries are expanding their search for biobased solutions, and there are over 300 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) harnessing biotechnologies for commercial application.

This year, as South Africa holds the G20 Presidency, its bioeconomy leadership is in the spotlight. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), 23 countries have bioeconomy strategies to date, and the EU, the East Africa Community (EAC), and the Nordic Council of Ministers have made sustainable bioeconomies part of a regional approach.

This reflects a growing global embrace of bioeconomy. Indian bioeconomy, from bioindustry to biopharma and biological inputs for agriculture, charts a roadmap to reach USD 300 billion by 2030 and is projected to generate 35 million jobs by 2030. In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), bioeconomies contribute between 8% and 20% of total added value. Eight percent of the workforce in Europe is already employed in bioeconomy, particularly in agriculture and food products. One thing holding back global momentum is the lack of a consistent and transparent way to measure a sustainable bioeconomy at local, national, and global scales.

Because when there are no globally agreed-upon metrics and indicators for sustainable bioeconomy, the risk is that the term can be used to promote practices that cause more harm than good. Without common parameters and principles, countries could build bioeconomies that do not consider impacts to cross-border sustainability, augmenting global inequalities. Global indicators are how we set practical boundaries for what “counts” as sustainable across contexts.

Global biomass demand will rise roughly 50% above 2012 levels by 2050 for food, feed, and biofuels, according to FAO’s Bioeconomy Toolbox research. But a monitoring and assessment framework is only helpful when it reflects the diverse nature of countries’ contexts. No two bioeconomies look alike. Priorities differ. In many African countries, for example, wood processing is an under-realized priority that could add USD 572 billion and 29 million jobs by 2050. Nevertheless, the forest-based health sector is growing rapidly, with global demand for medicinal and aromatic plants increasing by 22% between 2000 and 2020. In the Sub-Saharan context, Ghana’s Griffonia simplicifolia and Voacanga Africana are multipurpose medicinal plants seeing high international demand; the trade of red stinkwood, Prunus africana, which comes from wild sources and is used for medical treatment, is valued between USD 100 million and USD 200 million a year.

As regards international bioeconomy markets and trade, interoperable indicators support transparency. Comparable, product-level indicators delineating origin, carbon intensity, land-use performance, and decent work are the currency of trust for customs, certification, procurement, investment, and finance. On average, 28.6% of exports in Latin America and the Caribbean are bio-based, and a quarter of household consumption draws on bio-based products. As markets expand, the stakes rise.

So what does it all mean? It means the world needs a science-based and harmonized framework for assessing the sustainability of bioeconomies. It is about building a common scoreboard that allows decision makers to choose indicators that matter.

This is precisely where the G20 can lead. In 2024, under the Brazilian Presidency, the G20 launched the G20 Initiative on Bioeconomy and for the first time agreed on ten voluntary, non-binding High-Level Principles. Momentum is building. Guided by these Principles, FAO and the G20 Presidency of South Africa are launching a prioritization approach and accompanying database that offer a wide and comprehensive range of indicators that users can draw from in ways that respect local context and promote sustainable development. This is our first step towards helping countries and the global community to ensure that bioeconomy delivers on its promise for a more sustainable and resilient world.

Why now? Because global momentum is real and must be responsibly steered. With a new cohort of national bioeconomy strategies and industry blueprints taking shape, now is the moment to ensure they are anchored in sustainability, equity, and resilience.