Germany wants more bio-based drop-in plastics in retail packaging by 2029. The goal appears in the Federal Government’s action plan, Sustainability for a Modern and Future-Proof Germany. The plan sets out 20 missions. One targets bio-based packaging material.
The plan notes that plastics and plastic packaging depend largely on fossil resources. Their production causes climate-damaging emissions. Avoidance, reuse and recycled content are named as options. Bio-based plastics, made partly or fully from renewable raw materials, are another alternative.
The focus is on drop-in plastics. These are chemically and molecularly similar to conventional plastics. That means they can be used and recycled in the same way.
To speed up uptake, the government wants faster scale-up of research results and quicker transfer to industrial scale. It also plans to draw on regional value chains. Resource efficiency, recyclability and site-specific use should guide how the materials are applied.
Land use is addressed directly. The plan states that agricultural raw materials for bio-based plastics must not threaten food and feed security. Farm businesses could gain new value-added opportunities, but only if land competition is avoided and food production stays economically viable. Land needs could shrink through higher material efficiency, the use of by-products and waste, and effective recycling.
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment is implementing the mission with the Federal Ministry of the Environment, Climate Protection, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. It falls under the field of action on strengthening and establishing companies sustainably, nationally and internationally. It also contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goal 12, on sustainable consumption and production.
The plan includes other business-related measures. These cover simpler sustainability reporting under the German Sustainability Code, stronger product repair and sustainability standards in public procurement.
