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sustainable built environment

: Published: 15 August 2022

PREPSOIL

Inspired by the concept of regenerative tourism, the REGENERA WATER SPORT project aims to develop a methodology that not only renders sport practice climate-neutral and sustainable but also ensures that sport activities actively contribute to the regeneration of the environment.

Project financed by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, from January 20224 to December 2026.

THE PROJECT

THE PROJECT

The project will primarily focus on water sports, aiming to protect and regenerate inland water sources such as lakes, ponds, and rivers. It seeks to develop a 5-Helix Multistakeholder model of governance to implement the REGENERA WATER SPORT framework and ensure coordination among all stakeholders: public authorities, sports clubs, sport tourism companies and operators, environmental associations, and civil society organizations.

The partnership comprises six organizations across five European countries (Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, Finland, and Belgium). Four of these organizations (CEPE, VSZ, ECOF, and LNTI) will act as Pilot Implementation Sites to test the effectiveness of the methodology developed by the academic partner (INEFC). Lastly, the strategic partner (ACR+) will ensure the sustainability and transferability of the project. By focusing on everyday sport, sport competitions, and sport tourism, the impact of this three-year project will be evaluated at two levels.

Firstly, the project's short-term performance will be assessed by evaluating the population reached (290,000), the number of actors involved (90), and the number of regenerative practices implemented (20), benefiting up to 2,000 athletes and sportspersons (professionals, amateurs, tourists, scholars). Additionally, 400 sports leaders, trainers, guides, instructors, and pupils will be trained on the multidimensional aspects of the environmental impact of sport and physical activities on natural water sources.
Secondly, the long-term impact, concerning environmental and social aspects, will be evaluated based on carbon footprint, waste management, water use, biodiversity, social impact, and stakeholder engagement.

ACTIVITIES

ACTIVITIES

ACR+ will ensure the sustainability, mainstreaming, and transferability of the methodology established during the stakeholder mapping and tested in the Vulnerability Assessment and SWOT analysis, ensuring its preservation within organizations beyond the project's lifetime:

Cross-fertilization: Engaging with international actors through the sharing of results and activities will foster a fruitful exchange. Additionally, a board of associated partners will be established and regularly consulted during the project to ensure coherence of initiatives.
Sustainability plan: This plan will ensure that the good practices and activities adopted by the partners are continued after the project ends, including the evaluation of financial and administrative costs.
Capacity building: As mentioned, training will be part of the pilot implementation, transferring good practices and lessons learned to other professionals. These professionals will later implement such practices and share them with their peers.
Transfer roadmap: A tailored roadmap will be created, outlining clear steps for policymakers and facilitating the implementation of the methodology by other actors.
International Forum Conference: Specific know-how will be shared with actors identified through cross-fertilization practices. The results of the project will be announced, presenting it as a new public resource to be used by other sites.

PARTNERS INVOLVED

More information:

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: Published: 08 August 2022

Preparing the ground for healthy soils: building capacities for engagement, outreach and knowledge (PREPSOIL) will support the implementation of the EU Mission A Soil Deal for Europe by engaging actors, creating widespread awareness and fostering knowledge sharing on soil needs’ identification among multiple stakeholders in 19 pedo-climatic regions across Europe.

Project co-financed under the Horizon Europe Programme of the European Union, 2022 – 2025

Highlights

PREPSOIL is looking for Community of Practices focusing on sustainable land management. Community of Practices (CoP) can be defined as a group of people who "share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly“, e.g. farmer groups doing trials, alternative farming and food movements (organic, conservation ag., regenerative etc.), local and regional environmental groups, soil protection NGOs etc. Fill in this online form if you match this description!

THE PROJECT

THE PROJECT

Soil health status awareness and soil literacy are two fundamental steps to ensure healthy living systems in Europe and beyond. Being the physical element on which our living depends for food, water and ecosystem services, the ground where we build our cities and which sustains industrial activities, soil health is of great importance for EU citizens, businesses and institutions. With an estimation of between 60 and 70% of soils being unhealthy across Europe, PREPSOIL aims to increase networking, knowledge exchange and capacity building among European communities at regional and local level through the nurturing of Soil Living Labs, Community of Practices and Soil Ambassadors. Different land use types will be embraced by the activities of Prepsoil: agricultural land and productive forest, natural areas, urban and post-industrial sites.

ACTIVITIES

ACTIVITIES

Through its expertise, ACR+ will ensure the link between the project, and local and regional authorities. It will extend the coverage of the project by soliciting organizations throughout Europe, ensuring the diversity of the approach, and more inclusive results, covering for both rural and urban areas through the engagement if its members. By drawing the attention of local and regional authorities across Europe, ACR+ will raise awareness about the relevance of acting on soil health into the public debate.

PARTNERS INVOLVED

PARTNERS INVOLVED

PREPSOIL´ project leader is Aarhus Universitet (DK), and its project partners are:

ACR+, Association of Cities and Regions for sustainable Resource management (BE)
Stichting Wageningen Research (NL)
Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet (SE)
Institut National De Recherche Pour L'agriculture, L'alimentation Et L'environnement (FR)
Association de Coordination Technique Agricole (FR)
Nibio - Norsk Institutt For Biookonomi (NO)
Leibniz-Zentrum Fuer Agrarlandschaftsforschung (ZALF) e.V. (DE)
European Network Of Living Labs Ivzw (BE)
Lesprojekt Sluzby Sro (CZ)
Stichting Deltares (NL)
Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior De Investigaciones Cientificas (ES)
Instytut Uprawy Nawozenia I Gleboznawstwa, Panstwowy Instytut Badawczy (PL)
Comite Des Organisations Professionnelles Agricole De L Union Europeenne Copa Association De Fait (BE)
Fundacion Fundecyt - Parque Cientifico Y Tecnologico De Extremadura (ES)
Okologiai Mezogazdasagi Kutatointezet Kozhasznu Nonprofit Kft (HU)
Trust-It Srl (IT)
Commpla Srl (IT)
Re Soil Foundation (IT)

More information:

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Project Manager)

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Communication)

: Published: 08 August 2022

The FERPLAY project, Multi-assessment of alternative fertilisers for promoting local sustainable value chains and clean ecosystems, aims to gather, harmonise, select and complement the knowledge on alternative fertiliser value chains and diffuse it to promote the wide-scale production and application of alternative fertilisers with best environmental, social and economic performance as well as technical and regulatory viability.

Project co-financed under the Horizon Europe Programme of the European Union, 2022 – 2025

Highlights

FER-PLAY is conducting quick surveys to understand the needs of producers, end-users of fertilisers and local administrations, and learn their opinion on circular fertilisers. It is available in 6 languages: English, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, German, and French. Take the survey here.

THE PROJECT

THE PROJECT

Fertilisation is key to feeding the growing world population, yet the most common fertilisation scheme based on conventional fertilisers poses threats to the environment (e.g. eutrophication caused by nutrient leaching) and sustainability of the EU food system (due to high dependence on fertiliser imports from third countries). Thus, among the key EU political priorities is to reduce by 20% the use of conventional fertilisers by 2030 and to decrease nutrient losses by 50%. A promising solution for this aim are alternative fertilisers produced from recovered nutrients from secondary raw materials (e.g. bio-waste, sewage sludge). However, their wide scale deployment is hindered by lack of awareness about alternative fertilisation, concerns regarding their technical viability and the disparity of legislations that creates a state of uncertainty. In this context, FER-PLAY is a comprehensive approach to gather, harmonise, select and complement the knowledge on alternative fertiliser value chains and diffuse it to promote the wide-scale production and application of alternative fertilisers with best environmental, social and economic performance as well as technical and regulatory viability. Thus, FER-PLAY employs a unique methodology for mapping the value chains, select the most promising ones and assess their impacts. FER-PLAY engages key stakeholders in co-creation of results and broadly disseminates them. The consortium gathers key players from the whole value chain: alternative fertiliser producers from all the main types of secondary raw materials (producers of digestate- 183 members, of compost- 120 members and of struvite), entities representing conventional (1.5M members), organic (100,000 members) and young (200,000 members) farmers,a Pan-European network with +100 members representing public administrations, supported by waste valorisation and agriculture research institutes, market strategists and communication experts.

ACTIVITIES

ACTIVITIES

ACR+ is a supporting partner for several aspects, including:

Data gathering: documenting alternative fertilisers value chains
Co-creation: organising a co-creation workshop with regional authorities to discuss case studies where authorities have supported alternative fertilisers production/use (two meetings)
Replication: drafting guidelines/policy briefs for replication, and organise capacity building events for regional authorities

PARTNERS INVOLVED

PARTNERS INVOLVED

FERPLAY´ project leader is CETENMA, ASOCIACION EMPRESARIAL CENTRO TECNOLOGICO DE LA ENERGIA Y DEL MEDIO AMBIENTE DE LA REGION DE MURCIA (ES), and its project partners are:

ACR+, ASSOCIATION OF CITIES AND REGIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (BE)
CIC, CONSORZIO ITALIANO COMPOSTATORI (IT)
EBA, EUROPEAN BIOGAS ASSOCIATION AISBL (BE)
NURESYS, NUTRIENTS RECOVERY SYSTEMS (BE)
INAGRO, PROVINCIAAL EXTERN VERZELFSTANDIGD AGENTSCHAP IN PRIVAATRECHTELIJKE VORM VZW (BE)
CETAQUA, FUNDACION CENTRO GALLEGO DE INVESTIGACIONES DEL AGUA (ES)
DRAXIS, DRAXIS ENVIRONMENTAL SA (EL)
DREVEN, DREVEN SRL (BE)
REVOLVE, REVOLVE WATER (BE)
COLDIRETTI, CONFEDERAZIONE NAZIONALE COLDIRETTI (IT)
NATURLAND, NATURLAND - VERBAND FUR OKOLOGISCHEN LANDBAU EV (DE)
ASAJA, ASOCIACIÓN AGRARIA DE JÓVENES AGRICULTORES (ES)

More information:

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: Published: 08 August 2022

The COSME co-funded BRINC project will unlock the potential of cross-border public procurement of innovation (PPI) by acting as an Innovation Procurement Broker and establishing a European hub for PPI in a circular economy. It will develop methodologies and build capacity for cross-border innovation brokering.

Project co-funded by the European Union's COSME programme, 2021 – 2024

WHY INNOVATION PROCUREMENT BROKERS?

WHY INNOVATION PROCUREMENT BROKERS?

Although there is a growing desire among public authorities to use procurement to drive the development and uptake of innovation, Public Procurement of Innovation (PPI) remains underexploited.

Public authorities analysing their needs for innovation, and clearly communicating these, will send a strong signal to suppliers that such demands exist and strengthen their incentives for innovation. Public Procurement of Innovation can be facilitated by Innovation Procurement Brokers (IPBs) as they can assist in a needs assessment and facilitate the market dialogue by locating innovative suppliers that can fill the needs.

The task of the Innovation Procurement Brokers will be to overcome barriers like lack of trust and difficulties to identify public authorities with similar needs. They will coordinate a complex process among several buyers in different countries.

THE PROJECT

THE PROJECT

The project aims to facilitate the identification of public innovation needs, conduct market consultations to identify market capabilities and potential solutions, and help public buyers tap into the innovative capacity of SMEs. The project will enhance the capacity of Public Authorities to engage in cross-border PPI for circular solutions and establish a focal point for engagement between Europe’s leading innovation ecosystems and ambitious public authorities interested in leveraging cross- border PPI to accelerate the circular economy.

Between December 2021 and December 2024, it will develop methodologies and build capacity for cross-border innovation brokering.

ACTIVITIES

ACTIVITIES

BRINC includes 5 modules:

Capacity-Building & Collaboration: Building networks of Public Authorities and Innovation Procurement Brokers, and learning from real PPI processes;
Need Identification: Identifying needs of circular sustainable solutions shared by Public Authorities in several countries;
Market Consultation: Identifying existing and potential solutions within the innovation ecosystems and providing insight in relevant procurement procedure to follow;
Preparation of Procurement procedure: Choosing and implementing procurement procedures as well as facilitating key decisions during the procurement procedure;
Learnings: Capturing lessons learned and formulation of best practices

THE BRINC EUROPEAN HUB FOR PPI IN THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

THE BRINC EUROPEAN HUB FOR PPI IN THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

The BRINC European Hub for PPI in the circular economy will create a focal point for engagement between a) public authorities interested in leveraging collaborative cross-border PPI to accelerate the circular economy on the one hand and b) Europe’s leading cleantech clusters, their SME members and broader innovation ecosystems on the other. It will ensure that investments in innovations by public authorities are accessible to SMEs and drive the innovative development towards a circular economy.

THE BRINC PROFESSIONAL NETWORK OF PUBLIC AUTHORITIES INTERESTED IN PPI

THE BRINC PROFESSIONAL NETWORK OF PUBLIC AUTHORITIES INTERESTED IN PPI

The aim of the Professional Network of Public Authorities interested in PPI is to promote the adoption of PPI by helping public authorities to develop their competences through capacity-building and knowledge-sharing activities, as well as to foster a culture of innovation.

There are 3 ways to engage in the Professional Network:

Lead Buyer: ready to embark on cross-border PPI processes
Follower Buyer – interested in pursuing cross-border PPI in the near future and perhaps piggy-backing on the Lead Buyers
Learning Buyer – need additional capacity building and are simply interested in learning from the experiences of others

The BRINC Professional Network of PA is open to all! Discover the benefits of being a member and how to join here.

Access the BRINC Professional Network of PA on the SOLVED platform.

TRAININGS

TRAININGS

Several trainings already took place, targetting both public authorities and SMEs. These training are:

Trainings for SMEs

Trainings for Public Authorities

Joint training

Intellectual Property Rights and Innovation procurement

PARTNERS INVOLVED

eu co funded rgb en

More information:

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: Published: 08 August 2022

The Interreg Euro-MED Innovative Sustainable Economy mission - featured by the name Community4Innovation - works to boost a fair transition to a circular economy through two governance projects that develop innovative technical knowledge and ensure these new solutions are transferred into public policies. The mission is committed to promoting cooperation with stakeholders from Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries.

Project co-financed under the Interreg Euro MED of the European Union 2023 - 2029

ufm

Highlights

To connect stakeholders from diverse backgrounds and geographies, driving transformative innovation throughout the Mediterranean region, the Innovative Sustainable Economy Community will launch a hub in September 2024.

THE PROJECT

THE PROJECT

There is multi-level growing consensus on the role of transformative place-based innovation to reach the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and create political and operational convergence to accelerate the transition of the Mediterranean region towards a green, blue, circular, and inclusive economy. Innovation investment can be oriented to meet the most pressing challenges of sustainable development, beyond short-term economic growth.

In this context, the Interreg Euro-MED Programme works to boost a fair transition to a circular economy by:

1. facilitating the exploitation and REUSE of knowledge, experiences, and project results towards other stakeholders;

2. facilitating the TRANSFER of results to other stakeholders, Programmes and territories and their mainstreaming into local, regional, national, and European policies; and

3. increasing COORDINATION between stakeholders covering the Mediterranean based on shared knowledge, experiences, and results.

The Innovative Sustainable Economy mission governance projects kicked off in January 2023 and will run until September 2029. In particular, ACR+ is a partner of the Thematic Community Project (featured by the name of Community4Innovation) works to achieve the mission goals by developing and enhancing research and innovation capacities for the uptake of technologies in order to support the transition to a circular economy and consolidate a competitive innovation ecosystem with the 4-helix stakeholders. Therefore, Community4Innovation acts as an engaged and structured community that improves collaboration among projects, stakeholders, and relevant institutions to find solutions for common challenges and promote the transfer of novel practices to other actors and territories for their integration into policies and strategies. Community4Innovation works towards : the activation of a Community of Practice; the mapping of potential target groups, stakeholders, networks, and innovative projects; starting-up and animating the Innovative Sustainable Economy Community Hub; ; organising Mediterranean Innovation Events; providing capacity building; and fostering joint advocacy activities contributing to the implementation of key policies, strategies, agendas, declarations, and action plans for the overall achievement of the SDGs. The Community4Innovation consortium is made by 10 partners from Spain, Italy, Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium, France, and Bulgaria. The Community4Innovation project of the new programming period Interreg Euro-MED 2021-2027 is the successor of the Green Growth Community of the previous programming period Interreg MED 2014-2021, both coordinated by BETA Technological Centre.

ACTIVITIES

PARTNERS INVOLVED

PARTNERS INVOLVED

COMMUNITY4INNOVATION´ project coordinators is BETA, BALMES UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION – BETA TECHNOLOGICAL CENTRE (ES), and its project partners are:

REVOLVE, (ES)
DYNAMIC VISION
CENTRE FOR ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT AND RESOURCES, (BA)
ACR+, ASSOCIATION OF CITIES AND REGIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (BE)
UNIVERSITY OF SIENA – DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICAL SCIENCE, EARTH AND ENVIRONMENT, (IT)
MIO-ECSDE, MEDITERRANEAN INFORMATION OFFICE FOR ENVIRONMENT, CULTURE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (EL)
BUSINESS AND INNOVATION SEA CLUSTER – TOULON VAR TECHNOLOGY, (FR)
WASTE AGENCY OF CATALONIA* – MEDWAVES, THE UNEP/MAP REGIONAL ACTIVITY CENTRE FOR SCP, (ES)
GREEN SYNERGY CLUSTER, (BG)

* ACR+ member

MISSION ASSOCIATED PARTNERS

MISSION ASSOCIATED PARTNERS

UNION OF MEDITERRANEAN CONFEDERATIONS OF ENTERPRISES, (TN)
MEDCITIES ASSOCIATION (ES)
ENERGY CITIES, (ES)
AGENCY FOR SUSTAINABLE MEDITERRANEAN CITIES AND TERRITORIES, (FR)
EUROPEAN PUBLIC LAW ORGANIZATION, (EL)
UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME / MEDITERRANEAN ACTION PLAN – BARCELONA CONVENTION SECRETARIAT, (EL)
MINISTRY OF DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENTS, (EL)
CIRCLE OF MEDITERRANEAN PARLIAMENTARIANS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (EL)
ARAB NETWORK FOR ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT (EG)
NATIONAL INTER-UNIVERSITY CONSORTIUM FOR MARINE SCIENCES (IT)
THE BALKAN FORUM (XK)
UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS NETWORK MEDITERRANEAN (IT)
APULIA REGION (IT)
ASSOCIATION OF RURAL INITIATIVES OF CATALONIA (ES)
BARLETI INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (AL)
EUROREGION PYRENEES MEDITERRANEAN EGTC (FR)
INGENIO [CSIC-UPV] (ES)
MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND ECONOMY (AL)
REGIONAL COUNCIL OF SHKODER (AL)
ENEA ITALIAN NATIONAL AGENCY FOR NEW TECHNOLOGIES ENERGY AND SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (IT)
THE MALTA COUNCIL FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MT)
MA OF THE OPERATIONAL PROGRAM FOR SUSTAINABILITY AND EFFICIENCY IN THE USE OF RESOURCES (PT)
RUDER BOSKOVIC INSTITUTE (HR)
GENERAL DIRECTORATE FOR EUROPEAN FUNDS OF THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND CIVIL SERVICE (ES)

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ACR+ News

REGENERA

THE PROJECT

PREPSOIL

Highlights

THE PROJECT

FERPLAY

Highlights

THE PROJECT

BRINC

WHY INNOVATION PROCUREMENT BROKERS?

COMMUNITY4INNOVATION

Highlights

THE PROJECT