Then and Now: 120 Bioeconomy Pioneers look at yesterday, today, inspirations and challenges

Jens Jacobsen

Then: 10 years ago we were busy in MBP Trading building our bioliquid storage facilities in order to be able to supply the Scandinavian demand for bio heating oil. We were based on sourcing from various European by-product sources of vegetable and animal oils

Now: Today the demand for bio heating oil is just one among many of the applications for bio materials that we support. We have seen a big demand for animal feed applications as well as some sophisticated technical applications. In many cases we have turned our suppliers into our customers. Factories needing to sell/dispose of by-products are now using our by-product collection services in Europe as well as in North America. MBP Solutions is specialised in managing by-product streams including ensuring optimal sales, product and market development, legal compliance and management reporting. This creates a lot of value add and interesting jobs for our employees

Inspirations: The products and services we are supplying are basically good and relevant in a sustainable world. It is good for our employees and customers to know that we are part of the solution and not part of the problem.

Challenges: The legal challenges are often quite substantial. Legislation is often not made with by-products in mind and thus becomes open for interpretation. Civil servants are often reluctant to take the right administrative decisions for the environment / or simply common sense, as they lack clear guidance from the legislation. Managing the legal complexity and lack of clarity on a regional and national level is often very challeging. At the same time legal compliance is a must for all professionally managed companies so it is necessary to dedicate the competent resources.