Colombia has a big opportunity to take advantage of the global trend of the biobased and circular economy. This trend is relatively new but the Colombian market already is aware of the importance of preserving and protecting the vast biodiversity that the country has: Colombia registers 50,0000 species and protects 31 million hectares (15% of the national territory).
Colombia is the second most biodiverse country in the world and can become a leader in the industry because:
- The cosmetics and household care product sector are changing to include natural ingredients. ProColombia expects that by 2032, Colombia can become the leader in LatAm in the production and export of high-quality cosmetics and household care products based on natural ingredients.1
- The Nature-based Colombian market is increasing at a rate of 18%, illustrating that Colombians are shifting towards using sustainable and inclusive products that help to protect Colombian biodiversity and support communities.
- The implementation of the modern biotechnology in the rural areas of Colombia would allow to increase agricultural and livestock productivity in a more sustainable way, and therefore meet the demand for food required by the population.2
- In terms of the food sector, Colombia has a good reputation worldwide thanks to the quality of its products and multiple natural ingredient sellers have the interest that Colombian companies become ingredient suppliers to replace expensive inputs from other countries.3
- In the chemical industry, Colombia has a big opportunity to commercialize natural ingredient: Biological medicines, biosimilar medicines, and blood products.4
- Colombia already has different commitments in terms of sustainability and climate change, creating a vibrant environment for projects in this industry to thrive:
- Reduce CO2 emissions by 20% by 2030
- Reduce the use of packaging material by 30% by 2030
- Increase in water productivity of 15% by 20305
To shift towards a circular economy Colombia must work in certain aspects to facilitate the promotion of new jobs, which translates to new opportunities of economic development:
- Education and training: Consumer’s culture must change. Therefore, education plays an important role in creating responsible consumers who make decisions to protect the environment and support local communities.
- Society: the modern society every day is more aware of the environmental problems the world is facing right now caused from the normal activities of the companies. But also, they feel more involved in terms of the type of products they consume and thus they feel more responsible. However, there is a proportion of the Colombian society that still does not feel part of the solution or the problem.
- Technology: The current technology used in projects in the industry is limited. Therefore, it is important to encourage, acquire and develop new technologies that favor recycling and reusing materials at the end of their life cycle.
- Regulation: It is relevant to precise the needed measures that guarantee the shift towards sustainability. These measures need to include monetary incentives as well as non-monetary incentives from the government and to the final consumers. In that way, all the main actors are involved in the process.
Expected development outcome
Overcoming the challenges that Colombia faces in terms of Biobased and circular economy can bring significant social and environmental benefits.
- Improve the economic wellbeing of individuals, due to the creation of new sustainable businesses in sectors such as mobility and digitalization. In Colombia, the circular economy can create between 100 K to 1 million jobs
- Generate a positive environmental impact, since it allows to achieve environmental goals and to use more sustainable and inclusive raw materials available in Colombia, thanks to its great biodiversity in terms of flora and fauna.
Currently in Colombia, there is an optimal environment for biobased projects and circular economy to thrive.
- Colombia seeks to reach the environmental goals to actively participate in international organizations such as OCDE. Therefore, Colombia expects to implement the suggestions and recommendations to initiate the transition towards a sustainable economy6.
- There has been an evolution in terms of environmental regulation that encourages sustainability as a fundamental factor to increase the country’s competitiveness. Within this regulation, one can find the “Plan Nacional de Desarrollo 2018-2022”, “Política Nacional de Crecimiento Verde”, “Estrategia Nacional de Economía Circular”, among others.