Harnessing the power of biology to scale new sustainability and climate solutions across industries
The sustainable bioeconomy, a new deep-tech sector, sits at the intersection of life sciences and the green economy. This nascent but growing industry harnesses the power of biology and related natural sciences to bring new sustainability and climate solutions to industries that rely heavily on petroleum and other non-renewable resources while providing high-quality opportunities for New Yorkers of all backgrounds. From construction materials to alternative proteins and urban farming to new proteins and devices for the life sciences, the sustainable bioeconomy has the unique yet untapped ability to make core pillars of the city economy greener and more sustainable.
The sustainable bioeconomy leverages a new generation of technologies; however, this deep-tech industry will create high-quality opportunities for New Yorkers from fields like design, fashion, architecture, food, and beauty.
Projected sustainable fashion jobs in NYC by 2040
Projected sustainable food jobs in NYC by 2040
Projected sustainable fashion jobs in NYC by 2040
Size of the global bioeconomy
Projected sustainable food jobs in NYC by 2040
Six key innovation verticals represent the core areas of the sustainable bioeconomy. These verticals, though related, represent distinct focuses within the sustainable bioeconomy, each with its own high-quality job opportunities, technologies, and end markets.
Materials: The development of new, more advanced, and sustainable materials for industries ranging from textiles for fashion to building materials for construction
Food: The use of nature-inspired alternatives to traditional food manufacturing processes, such as alternative proteins, and reuse of food waste to build new recycled products
Agriculture: The application of biobased solutions to improve agricultural production from farming to distribution while repurposing waste from crops as inputs for new climate solutions
Home, Medical, and Personal Care: The creation of inputs for beauty, cleaning, and other personal products that replace ingredients with more sustainable bio alternatives
Energy: The conversion of natural or synthetic biomass into new forms of energy that utilize natural processes to power our world
Environment: The synthesis of new products that use or are derived from naturally occurring biosystems and processes to help heal and protect the natural world in NYC and beyond
As a leader in technology, the green economy, and life sciences—and as a global headquarters of diverse industries—New York City is setting the pace for a new era in sustainable innovation.
This initiative expands on NYCEDC’s efforts to build the green economy through initiatives like the Green Economy Action Plan and the life and health sciences industry through the $1.1 billion LifeSci NYC investment and will bring together the two industries to build a more innovative and resilient economy of the future.
New York City’s Strategic Edge
As a leader in innovative industries, NYC is primed to become the global capital of the sustainable bioeconomy.
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Gotham Foundry: A New Hub for Regenerative Materials Innovation
NYCEDC contingently awarded $45M to Gotham Foundry, a consortium between Columbia University, CUNY’s Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC), SUNY’s Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), and Genspace, a community biolab based in Sunset Park, to build a state-of-the-art materials innovation hub:
- Will support the commercialization of the next generation of sustainable materials and make NYC the epicenter of materials innovation
- Anchored by an approximately 25,000-square-foot on Columbia University’s Manhattanville campus in West Harlem
- Currently operating at Harlem Biospace; will open its long-term innovation hub in 2030
BATWorks
BATWorks is a cutting-edge climate innovation hub located at the Brooklyn Army Terminal (BAT) in Sunset Park:
- Led by the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) and Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC), and with The City University of New York (CUNY) and New York University (NYU)
- Anchoring a growing ecosystem for new climate technologists, entrepreneurs, and talent working to develop, pilot, and deploy new solutions to combat the effects of climate change
- Beginning in 2026, BATWorks will continue to operate Pilots at BAT, a program that provides business support and real-world testing environments for biobased material startups
Additional Projects
Gotham Foundry is one of several projects that will help cement NYC’s place as a leader in the sustainable bioeconomy. Other projects include:
- Genspace: To help New Yorkers enter the sustainable bioeconomy, NYCEDC and Genspace partnered to launch the Break into Biotech program. This specialized program is designed to equip adult learners with minimal experience in health and life sciences with the necessary skills to work in a laboratory setting. To date, participants have researched sustainable dyes, nanotechnology for textiles, and mycelium biobased fabrics.
- Aanika Biosciences: In 2023, NYCEDC invested $800,000 in Aanika Biosciences, which creates custom microbial barcodes which can help track, trace, and authenticate products throughout the supply chain. The company has leveraged its proprietary and regulatory-approved tagging technology to underwrite insurance coverages in the food and agriculture sector and is conducting major pilots with agricultural companies across the world. Aanika is headquartered in Manhattan, with manufacturing conducted outside of the five boroughs, highlighting the potential for New York City to be the epicenter of innovation within the sustainable bioeconomy as solutions are scaled across the globe.
- Mass Timber: As part of the City’s decarbonization efforts, NYCEDC is operating the New York City Mass Timber Studio, a technical assistance program to support active mass timber development projects in the early phases of project planning and design. The Studio’s first cohort in 2024 consisted of seven projects spanning all five boroughs and with diverse building typologies and scales—from community centers to multi-family residential and adaptive reuse developments.
As a global capital of the green economy, life and health sciences, fashion, food, construction, and tech, New York City is well positioned to lead as the world looks for new solutions to combat the climate crisis. New York City is uniquely positioned to cultivate the next generation of entrepreneurs and technologies that capitalize on the ingenuity and innovation of each sector to push the frontiers of modern science. As the sustainable bioeconomy evolves, NYCEDC, in partnership with industry, academia, and the startup ecosystem, will continue to galvanize the next generation of bio-based climate solutions.
Get in Touch
Reach out to the team at NYCEDC to learn more about this growing industry.
