Editorial: Innovation, Sustainability Transitions, and the Bioeconomy

Dr. Sebastian Losacker, together with Prof. Teis Hansen and Prof. Daniel Schiller, has published a new editorial entitled “Exploring the geography of innovation and sustainability transitions in the bioeconomy.”

In this editorial, the authors introduce the special issue on the geographies of innovation and sustainability transitions in the bioeconomy and position the bioeconomy as a politically driven transformation project with both regional and multi-scalar implications. The special issue has been published in the journal ‘Progress in Economic Geography’ and can be accessed here.

The special issue comprises six articles that shed light on different perspectives on the geographies of innovation in the bioeconomy. Building on these insights, the editorial team outlines three key directions for future research:

1. Developing a more nuanced understanding of innovation in the bioeconomy, one that incorporates digital and controversial      innovations as well as place-specific (re)valuation processes.
2. Examining the multi-system nature of bioeconomy transformations across      sectors, industries, and land uses.
3. Adopting global perspectives on bio-based value chains, particularly regarding geopolitical dynamics and questions of justice.

Finally, the authors advocate for methodological and epistemological pluralism to better capture the complex and spatially uneven dynamics of the (global) transition towards the bioeconomy.