Many of the top policymakers, leaders, and stakeholders in the bioeconomy gathered in San Francisco this week for ABLCNext. The Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group's (BRAG®) Executive Director Kathleen Roberts participated in the opening panel of the conference, "US Elections, What Happened, What Now," where she and other trade group leaders discussed likely impacts on the bioeconomy with the swing toward Republicans in federal and state races. Regarding the outlook for reform of TSCA with the new Congress, Roberts stated "given the complexity of the existing TSCA regulations and the limited time for the new leadership in Congress to make their mark before the next election season arrives, it seems unlikely that anyone would choose TSCA reform as his/her champion cause. That being said, biobased industry representatives should engage in conversing with key D.C. stakeholders in an effort to ensure their elected officials understand the ramifications of TSCA on their businesses."

ABLCNext progenitor Biofuels Digest revealed the "30 Hottest Companies in Biobased Chemicals & Materials for 2014-15," the "50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy for 2014-15," and the "40 Hottest Smaller Companies in the Advanced Bioeconomy for 2014-15" at a reception and awards ceremony on Monday night, November 10, 2014. In recognition of their innovative technologies and thriving business models, BRAG members BASF (fourth), Elevance (seventh), and Novozymes (11th) all placed in the top 15 on the biobased chemicals list, and showed strongly on the bioenergy list, with Novozymes at fourth, BASF at 15th, and Elevance at 25th.