Not so sustainable? Images of bioeconomy by future environmental professionals and citizens

This two-part study explored future environmental professionals' and citizens' views of bioeconomy and compared them to the official definitions. Essays written by future environmental professionals (N =47) were analysed using thematic analysis. Four dimensions of the bioeconomy visions were identified: drivers vs barriers, change in technology vs lifestyles, biological vs any sustainable resources and change as sustainable vs risky. The quantitative survey of Finnish citizens (N = 1020) was analysed with exploratory factor analysis and linear regression. Five dimensions emerged: bio-based resources, social and economic sustainability, environmental degradation, non-material values and scientific and technological advancement. The majority of respondents imagined a moderate increase in the use of bio-based resources and the scientific and technological advancement. The majority imagined no change in the social and economic sustainability and non-material values. The respondents were divided rather equally into those who imagined environmental degradation to worsen, those who imagined it to improve, and those who imagined it to stay the same. These findings demonstrate that citizens and future environmental professionals are critical of the environmental sustainability of bioecononiy, and that they perceive lifestyle changes and non-material values as a part of bioeconomy, which are not currently captured by official bioeconomy policies. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.