Overview

Final text of EUDR is now published online

The document presents practical examples of how ecolabels are applied in textile procurement to support sustainability objectives. It illustrates how public authorities use certified criteria to address environmental and social impacts across textile supply chains, improve market transparency, and encourage the uptake of responsibly produced textiles within public purchasing frameworks at national and international levels.

InnoMatch supports sustainable innovation by enabling procurers to test tailored solutions. The last Open Call for funding pilot testing and proof of concept demonstrations is now open until the 4th of February. Public authorities can solve environmental, sustainability or energy-related challenges through collaboration with an innovative supplier.

The second NEB in Regions and Cities event, held on 30 September 2025 in Brussels, brought together over 400 stakeholders to showcase how cohesion policy supports the New European Bauhaus. The event showcased project examples, facilitated knowledge exchange and collaboration, and concluded with the announcement of the NEB Prizes 2025 and NEB Boost for Small Municipalities at the European Parliament.

The Mayors of Mechelen, Lappeenranta and Gabrovo, European Green Leaf cities in 2020 and 2021, featured among high-level speakers, including the presidents of the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Committee of the Regions. The ceremony also honoured the winners of the 2025 EU Covenant of Mayors Award for their outstanding leadership and achievements in decarbonising heating and cooling at the local level.

The URBACT One Health for Cities Conference brought together cities, local and European policymakers, experts, researchers and urban stakeholders to address key challenges in implementing 'one health' in urban settings. One Health embraces the interconnections between human, animal, and environmental health, aligning human well-being with ecosystem health, prevention of long-term risks and quality of life.

On 6 December, the European Commission adopted the Horizon Europe work programme 2023-24, announcing €13.5 billion investment for research and innovation action, with the first calls for proposals on Zero Pollution now being open.

Are you passionate about climate action and sustainability? Then this photo competition is for you! The main aim is to celebrate climate action in all parts of Europe and reward citizens who are actively fighting climate change at the local level. Deadline to apply: 28 June!

The European Business Awards for the Environment (EBAE) are now open. The awards celebrate businesses for their eco-innovation and their respect for the environment as a core business principle. And this year there is a new award category for Business and Biodiversity!

Natura 2000 is a Europe-wide netwrok of over 27,800 nature conservation areas. It covers almost a fifth of Europe’s land area and nearly 10% of the surounding seas. The European Natura 2000 Award honours conservation achievements and rewards excellence in the management and promotion of the Natura 2000 network.

The Green Public Procurement (GPP) Helpdesk has launched a short survey to gather feedback from our subscribers on both the News Alert in general and the case studies in particular. We want to hear about your experience with the News Alert. Don't miss the opportunity to give us your feedback!

On 1 December, the Commission launched the largest public consultation ever held on the past, present and future of the EU's Horizon research and innovation programmes 2014-2027. It is open for 12 weeks and contributes to the final evaluation of Horizon 2020, the interim evaluation of Horizon Europe, and lays the groundwork for preparation of the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan 2025-27. The survey is still open for a few more days and Zero Pollution Stakeholders are welcome to provided their feedback at the link:

Business for Nature invites businesses from all sectors, geographies, and of all sizes to respond to a policy consultation and share their views on: 1) Reducing negative direct impacts; 2) The role to be played by SMEs; 3) Addressing environmentally harmful subsidies; 4) Mechanisms to incentivize sustainable use and penalise negative impacts; and 5) Legislation on deforestation and conversion free supply chains.

The Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 set the target to make at least 25 000km of rivers free-flowing again by 2030. This brochure supports all actors involved to achieve this target.

The overall objective of this service is to improve the uptake of new scientific findings in environment policy development and its implementation and to improve the Science-Policy Interface in general.

The Biodiversity Action Plan Monitoring Tool (BAP-Monitor) aims to guide actions to regenerate biodiversity through examples of targets, measures and methods for gathering data, simple scoring system, statistics and graphics.

Capitals Coalition announces the start of the business implementation program for the UN TEEBAagriFood project. TEEBAagriFood – The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity for Agriculture and Food – is a study which aims to provide a comprehensive economic evaluation of the eco-agri-food systems nexus.

Interview with Mr. Paulo Magina, Head of the Infrastructure and Public Procurement Division, and Ms. Erika Bozzay, Deputy Head of the same Division in the Directorate for Public Governance at the OECD, disucssing how public procurement is being transformed into a strategic lever for green, digital, and social policy goals. Drawing on OECD evidence, surveys, and country reviews, the interview discusses key challenges faced by governments, emerging priorities such as digitalisation and sustainability, and opportunities for strengthening cooperation between the EU and the OECD on sustainable public procurement.

Interview conducted with Carolien Brinks, Senior Policy Officer for Sustainable Public Procurement at the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. The Netherlands is currently revising its National Plan for Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP). Key insights from the Strategic Public Procurement Dialogues have served as input for the evaluation of the current National Plan and for developing new approaches to strengthen SPP policy with greater impact.

This interview features Anna Ciutat Coronado, Deputy Director General for the Regulation and Supervision of Public Procurement in Catalonia. The Directorate-General leads the regulation, oversight, and promotion of efficiency, transparency, and integrity in public procurement. Ms. Ciutat Coronado shares insights on advancing efficiency, transparency, and sustainability through the Catalan Strategy for the Improvement of Public Procurement.