9 Social Groups in BIOLOC Hubs Social Groups in BIOLOC Hubs At the core of BIOLOC lies a simple premise: the green transition must also be a just transition. Technology and innovation alone are insufficient if they fail to address the needs of communities most at risk of exclusion. Across twelve regional hubs, BIOLOC has worked directly with groups facing persistent barriers to education, employment, and social participation, ensuring that the circular bioeconomy (CBE) contributes to both sustainability and inclusion. Each hub began with a bottom-up assessment of its local context—conducting interviews, analysing socioeconomic realities, and engaging stakeholders to answer a key question: who is being left behind, and how can they be integrated into the CBE? This process revealed four categories of groups facing structural disadvantages, though their profiles differ across regions. Roma families in Bulgaria and Slovakia, together with migrants and refugees in the Netherlands and newcomers in rural Aragón (Spain), face entrenched discrimination, language barriers, and exclusion from labour markets and services. 2
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