Rethinking bioeconomy innovation in sustainability transitions

Over the past two decades, a new research field dealing with “sustainability transitions” has emerged, analyzing the transformation of socio-technical systems towards more sustainable futures. While there is consensus on the crucial role of the bioeconomy in sustainability transitions research, we argue that the true potential of many bioeconomy innovations is not yet sufficiently recognized and assessed. Much of the literature on the bioeconomy focuses on the bio-based substitution of environmentally harmful goods, neglecting the disruptive potential of innovative biotechnologies. In this commentary, we present some examples on advanced biotechnology and we invite sustainability transitions scholars to rethink their notion of bioeconomy innovations.