"Green Deal Projects Support Office" Newsletter Issues

Welcome to the health issue of the newsletter (07/03/2024)

In this edition we spotlight updates from six projects from the Food and Health working group that are reshaping the health sector to better support the green transition: ALTERNATIVE, LIFESAVER, PANORAMIX, PROMISCES, SCENARIOS and ZeroPM.

Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances (PFAS) (11/03/2024)

PFAS are a vast and complex group of synthetic substances that accumulate over time in humans and in the environment.

Several Green Deal Call-funded projects are developing solutions to reduce the negative environmental effects of these chemicals. Find out below about the projects' research activities, which include PFAS detection, distribution, treatment, and strategies to tackle these pollutants in a more holistic way.

PROMISCES | SCENARIOS | ZeroPM | PANORAMIX

Protecting Europe's water (11/03/2024)

Discover more about some of the water-related activities of the Green Deal Call-funded projects, which include: proposing water quality indicators, using sensors to monitor water quality, and working together on solutions to help stakeholders protect our soil and water.

ZeroPM | SCENARIOS | PROMISCES

Regulatory Watch (11/03/2024)

ZeroPM has developed the ZeroPM Regulatory Watch spreadsheet, which is updated monthly and tracks upcoming EU initiatives that will have an impact on the regulation of persistent and mobile substances.

Sign up to stay up to date! See the link below for more information.

ZeroPM

Joint project webinars (16/04/2024)

Watch two recent webinars from projects in the Health Working Group:

"In-silico models in toxicology: approaches and evidence" shares with viewers the development and application of computer-based models in toxicology.

"Remediating contaminated sites by persistent, mobile and toxic substances: case studies and results" informs viewers about the projects working in this area, as well as the services offered by the Horizon Results Booster, which supports the dissemination of EU-funded projects' results.

ALTERNATIVE | PROMISCES | ZeroPM | SCENARIOS

Interviews with project experts (16/04/2024)

Several projects have held interviews with their experts and work package leaders to bring us closer to the work they deliver. Here we provide a selection of the videos and articles.

You can also watch a range of project overview videos in order to learn about the projects' missions, purpose and aims.

NeoGIANT | LIFESAVER | ZeroPM

Updates from projects in other Working Groups (15/04/2024)

Take a look at other recent updates from Green Deal-Call-funded projects including articles from the Horizon Magazine on: the NeoGIANT project, which seeks to use winemaking residues to produce antibiotic alternatives; Schoolfood4Change, which is working to improve school meals to counter obesity and embed sustainable food practices; and REACHOUT, which is delivering a program that enables cities to build up their resilience to climate change.

NeoGIANT | REACHOUT | SchoolFood4Change

Latest articles, reports and webinars... (16/04/2024)

Take a look at the GDSO's latest articles, reports and videos highlighting the Green Deal Call projects’ progress and contributions towards Europe's green transition by 2050.

Topics include: low carbon aviation and shipping; climate change adaptation tools; carbon capture and utilisation; and project success stories from the latest Network of Multipliers meeting.

Environmental and climate data in an evolving EU data policy landscape (17/04/2024)

Watch this webinar featuring projects working with environmental and climate data, as they discuss their experiences, share their challenges, offer solutions, and contribute to the evolving EU data policy landscape. If you work in this field, this video will be of interest to you!

Celebrating progress and knowledge-sharing at the GDSO Board of Coordinators (01/05/2024)

We held our annual Green Deal Projects Support Office board of coordinators meeting, and in-person working group meetings in Brussels on 24 and 25th April. Over the two days, Green Deal-funded project representatives from across Europe met with the GDSO team and European Commission policy officers to celebrate project milestones, share insights, and discuss plans for the future.

The event served as a dynamic platform for disseminating learnings and exchanging valuable information, fostering a culture of collaboration and growth within the programme.

Events (15/04/2024)

Check out a selection of upcoming GDSO events including webinars, and network of multiplier events and activities organised by the Health projects.

Quick start tools for citizen engagement (16/04/2024)

Are you interested in leading a climate action group activity? The European Climate Pact has recently released a group of citizen engagement tools that may be of interest. Follow the link below to find out more.

Join the support service for Citizen-Led Renovation (16/04/2024)

Are you eager to learn about citizen-led renovation? Perhaps you would like some support in starting a project or you want to inspire others to take action. Then become part of our support service for Citizen-Led Renovation today.

Success stories and peer-to-peer opportunities (07/05/2024)

30 January, 10:00 - 12:00 CET, Zoom We invite you to join us online to hear about the latest innovations and outputs from the Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call-funded projects and the thematic working groups.

At this webinar you can pose your questions directly to the projects to find out more about their work, discuss with like-minded peers and explore collaborative opportunities to foster meaningful connections.

Welcome to the urban environment issue of the newsletter (07/12/2023)

In this edition we spotlight updates from four projects in the Urban Environment and Mobility Working Group, which are working on improving the sustainability of the built environment: ARV, NetZeroCities, oPEN Lab and PROBONO.

Engaging local communities (07/12/2023)

Successfully engaging communities can be a significantly challenging activity. Sustainable urban energy is not just about the performance of buildings but also making room for social activities at the community level, and cooperating with different stakeholders, users, and developers.

In this update from the ARV project, the key learnings have been distilled from a joint event delivered at #EURegionsWeek 2023 by ARV, oPEN Lab and other EU-funded projects.

Policy publications on Positive Energy Neighbourhoods (07/12/2023)

oPEN Lab has produced a policy brief and a policy paper on sustainable urban development through Positive Energy Neighbourhoods (PENs).

These publications delve into climate-neutral communities and offer insights into cost-effective decarbonisation of EU buildings.

Handbook on capacity-building using living labs (07/12/2023)

Living labs are real-world environments where research and experimentation take place in an open and collaborative manner. They help to ensure that the solutions developed are practical, user-friendly, and address real-world needs.

oPEN Labs has shared a Capacity-Building Handbook as a practical guide to setting up living labs in the context of PENs, which may be of interest to other research projects.

Sharing learnings through twin cities (07/05/2024)

In September, the first cohort of 40 cities were selected to join the NetZeroCities Twinning Learning Programme. They embarked on an important journey of shared learning, best practices, and much more in order to to replicate new approaches to climate neutrality.

The next Call for Twin Cities is due to open in early spring 2024.

Smart charging as an enabler of Green Building Neighbourhoods (GBNs) (12/12/2023)

In the PROBONO project, mobility at the scale of Living Labs is envisioned as an enabler of GBNs. So, how can mobility be efficiently integrated within a GBN?

In this latest article from PROBONO the project explains how vehicle electrification and smart charging approaches can contribute to the development of sustainable neighbourhoods.

Get inspired with the 14 new project success stories (08/12/2023)

Take a look at the first group of success stories from the Green Deal-funded projects now available on the website. These showcase the diverse achievements of the projects as they overcame challenges to embrace innovation, and achieve significant milestones.

Visit the pages to discover inspiring narratives, useful insights and learn from their experiences.

Read and share our latest articles and reports (08/12/2023)

Take a look at our latest articles and report which highlight the progress and contributions from the Green Deal-funded projects, covering clean energy, food waste and sustainable mobility.

Play, pause, learn! (08/12/2023)

If you missed the webinars featuring our projects you can now catch up on the recordings on our website. Watch the videos to learn more from EU-funded projects based on their research:

• Community and bottom-up transitions in energy and climate change adaption
• Demonstrating the circular economy in Europe’s regions
• Clearing the air: research findings on new additions to the EU Air Quality Directive proposal

Follow the link to each webinar below.

ARSINOE: 2nd Open Tenders for Innovations (08/12/2023)

ARSINOE has announced the launch of its second Open Tenders for Innovations.

They are looking for innovative solutions that can help European regions enhance their resilience to extreme heat, water scarcity, drought, water pollution, and floods. If your innovation can mitigate the impacts of these climate challenges on social, economic, and environmental systems, they want to hear from you!

Become a Knowledge Valorisation insider! (20/07/2023)

If you received this email because somebody sent it to you, please subscribe now to avoid missing out on future editions and to be the first to hear about news and upcoming events.

Making research results work for society (20/07/2023)

Missed the stakeholder conference in October 2023? Rewatch the sessions and discover the key takeaways of the event organised by the Commission’s Directorate-General Research and Innovation.

New Codes of Practice on industry-academia co-creation and citizens engagement are here (20/07/2023)

Good news for anyone eager to develop successful partnerships for more value from research. Both codes of practice provide detailed and practical guidance on how to actively engage with other players and valorise knowledge. Dive into the document for important details.

Marine Protected Areas in Marine Spatial Planning (07/05/2024)

European Maritime Day - Svendborg (07/05/2024)

EU-OSPAR joint workshop (07/05/2024)

Board of Coordinators meeting (21/07/2023)

In June we hosted the second Green Deal Projects Support Office Board of Coordinators meeting in Brussels to hear insightful presentations and the latest policy updates. There were great discussions around the progress of the projects and how the Green Deal Projects Support Office can support them.

Find out more about the event from the videos below.

Catch up on our recent webinars (21/07/2023)

The Green Deal Projects Support Office and projects took part in webinars that shared outputs and learnings from the projects on:
• skills for communicating sustainability
• using citizen science for sustainable, resilient, and socially fair communities
• digital technologies for a sustainable food system and
• project success stories

If you missed them you can watch them from the recordings below.

Mobilise stakeholders with climate change adaptation solutions (04/07/2023)

A new “do-it-yourself” (DIY) manual has been released that enables regional and local authorities to better understand how to engage and mobilise stakeholders and citizens to identify and implement effective climate adaptation solutions.

Developed by the Mission Implementation Platform (MIP4dapt) for the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change, the free guide provides the key steps, tools and methods to engage a wide audience of stakeholders with diverse values, beliefs and perceptions.

Coming up in the next edition (18/01/2023)

In the next issue we will focus on the urban environment and the activities of the projects working on this theme to support the green transition for buildings, neighbourhoods and cities.

Welcome to the biodiversity issue of the newsletter (07/12/2022)

The International Day for Biological Diversity is coming up on 22 May. In this issue, we focus on the biodiversity-related Green Deal projects and their activities.

Joining forces to reverse biodiversity loss (30/03/2023)

The European Research Executive Agency has acknowledged four projects funded under the Green Deal Call for their direct input to the Green Deal, the 2030 EU Biodiversity Strategy and the proposed Nature Restoration Law. Find out more about these projects and the important work they carry out to promote biodiversity.

Projects: REST-COAST, WaterLANDS, MERLIN and SUPERB

Advocating for nature-based solutions (30/03/2023)

Nature-based solutions (NBS) highlight the importance of biodiversity conservation for climate change mitigation and adaptation. They are a set of actions that protect, restore and sustainably manage ecosystems, while providing cost-effective environmental, social and economic benefits (read official UNEP definition here).

The Green Deal projects are actively supporting this important initiative and have produced: an online learning Academy; webinars on applying NBS; a portal of case studies; NBS reports and papers, including a focus on marine and coastal ecosystems; and a policymaker's handbook on restoring Mediterranean wetlands. Follow the 'More' link below to access these resources.

Projects: MERLIN, REST-COAST and WaterLANDS

Top 10 improvements for the EU's draft Nature Restoration Law (30/03/2023)

Last year, the European Commission published its long-awaited draft proposal for a Regulation on Nature Restoration, a landmark step in the EU's efforts to protect and restore damaged European habitats.

Several Green Deal-funded projects had the opportunity to analyse and provide their comments on the draft proposal. Read more about what they had to say and the 10 improvements they would recommend.

Projects: MERLIN, WaterLANDS, REST-COAST and SUPERB

Protecting peatlands (17/04/2023)

Attention for peatlands is growing as nature restoration, biodiversity protection and climate change mitigation become increasingly important. Learn about the actions that the WaterLANDS project has been taking to protect peatlands - habitats that are important not only for biodiversity but also for acting as carbon sinks, improving water quality and reducing the severity of flooding.

Project: WaterLANDS

Citizen Voices for the EU Climate Transition (03/05/2023)

Over 15 months the European Green Deal call project “Citizen Voices for the EU Climate Transition” consulted more than 800 citizens and 260 national experts through a series of workshops in each Member State, to develop an EU Roadmap for Climate Transition.

To conclude this project, an online event has been organised to present the Roadmap and give the opportunity to citizens, experts and European Commission representatives to discuss and react to its findings and what action is being or will be taken.

Forest Restoration Talks (10/05/2023)

Join the monthly webinars organised by SUPERB and IUFRO, which explore forest restoration questions from a diverse range of scientific perspectives, alternating their focus between a global and European level.

The series brings together researchers, practitioners, NGOs, policy makers and other interested stakeholders to explore practical forest restoration approaches, experiences and challenges worldwide.

Project: SUPERB

International Day for Biological Diversity (22/05/2023)

Biological diversity is often understood in terms of having a wide variety of plants, animals and microorganisms. However, it also includes genetic differences within each species, for example, between crop varieties and livestock breeds, as well as the variety of ecosystems (lakes, forest, deserts, agricultural landscapes) that host interactions among their members (humans, plants, animals).

Given the importance of public education and awareness about this issue, the UN celebrates the International Day for Biological Diversity annually on 22 May and invites all to take part.

View more in our Events page (03/04/2023)

Head over to our Events page to discover the latest events being organised by our Green Deal-funded projects. You can also find out about other upcoming European-awareness days that are relevant to the five working group themes, such as the International Day of Biodiversity.

New resources added to the website (03/04/2023)

View the latest resources on our website, on topics such as Citizen Science, the Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change and a new interactive map that provides an overview of all 73 Green Deal funded projects.

Coming up in the July edition (18/01/2023)

In the next issue we will focus on knowledge and citizens and the cross-cutting actions from the projects in this working group, which aim to engage and empower people and communities, as well as support behavioural, social and cultural changes for a fair and inclusive transition.

Find out more and contact us (03/04/2023)

Welcome to our first newsletter! (07/12/2022)

Our newsletter will be published every quarter, and it is addressed to all the 73 projects funded under the Horizon 2020 Green Deal call, their staff and networks and also all the readers interested in the Green Deal topics.

An overview of the programme in three minutes (17/01/2023)

These two new videos give a handy overview of the Green Deal and the Green Deal Projects Support Office. Take a look to find out more and share them with your networks.

Visit our new website (17/01/2023)

Our website provides more information about the Green Deal Projects Support Office, including the latest articles on the innovative projects, and contact details of organisations and projects you can connect with.

Don’t miss the opportunity to speak to the inspiring leaders behind these ground-breaking projects.

Find out about the five Working Groups (17/01/2023)

The 73 projects are developing solutions that respond to the climate crisis, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, provide more protection to Europe’s biodiversity and habitats under threat, and accelerate a sustainable socio-economic recovery, leaving no one behind. The Support Office has organised them into five Working Groups:

The contribution of Green Deal projects to the EU Mission on Climate Adaptation (18/01/2023)

The Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change is a concrete element of the 2021 EU Climate Adaptation Strategy and will play an important role in increasing the EU’s resilience to climate change.

Public participation and collaboration through citizen science (18/01/2023)

In our webinar series, cutting-edge developments and innovations from the Green Deal Call projects are highlighted. In this first webinar, we looked at citizen science, the practice of public participation and collaboration in scientific research to increase scientific knowledge.

Science for all – 16 top tips for engaging the public (18/01/2023)

Citizen science is a rapidly emerging mode of research and innovation, and one which the projects funded under the Horizon 2020 Green Deal call are increasingly using to engage citizens in adapting to and tackling climate change.