New Uses Council (NUC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the development of a strong, global bioeconomy that benefits all the various stakeholders, while achieving environmental sustainability. Traditionally the focus has been on promoting high-value biobased products and diverse feedstocks, thereby creating synergies and linkages between farmers, processors, companies, researchers and end-users.

NUC has worked to fulfill this mission for 17 years in a variety of organizational structures and locations. The organization traces its roots to the Chemurgic Movement of the early 20th century in which visionaries such as George Washington Carver, EI DuPont, and Wheeler McMillan promoted an agricultural and forestry-based economy.

Today, NUC operates as an ad hoc advocacy group of concerned citizens who are excited about the potential of biofuels and biobased products, and are focused on making sure that the bioeconomy benefits the whole spectrum of stakeholders.

The dream lives on...

Some of the highlights:
Over the years, NUC has been involved in many exciting activities that are paving the way for the biobased products economy of the future. Some noteworthy accomplishments have been:

• New Uses Council's unique board of directors has helped influence public policy with the increase of funding for new uses in the 2002 Farm Bill and the inclusion of the first ever Energy Title. Board members were also deeply involved in ensuring that biofuels gained needed support in the Senate Energy Bill. NUC active members have testified at legislative sessions in virtually every U.S. state and in Washington, DC. Major decisions regarding private biobased investments, government policy, and research initiatives are being made better thanks to incorporating the information and perspective provided by the NUC.
  
  
• NUC has merged three nonprofit organizations into the organization, giving a broader, more thorough base of participants and a more unified voice. The merged organizations are: The United BioEnergy Commercialization Assoc. (UBECA), the National BioEnergy Industries Association (NBIA) and Global Biorefineries.
  
  
• NUC is serving as a prominent information source for biobased products and is developing cutting edge methods to utilize the Internet as part of this outreach mission. NUC is partnering with the Biobased Information System® to provide daily business news links to other global initiatives and to network with other organizations.
  
  
• NUC has jointly organized conferences with organizations such as Association for the Advancement of Industrial Crops (AAIC), Purdue University Center for New Crops and Plant Products, the Jefferson Institute, and government agencies.