Strengthening foresters’ skills in biodiversity friendly forest management

The activities that can be funded are the following:

• A preliminary identification of training needs among relevant actors on biodiversity friendly forest management, at national or regional scale, in line with the EU’s forest biodiversity ambitions;
• Based on the identification of training needs:
  • The organisation and execution of trainings including through field trips and courses (online or in-person);
  • The preparation and distribution of training manuals in English, French, and German.

Applicants should have an expert understanding in biodiversity friendly forest management and a proven track record in respective training activities. Applicants should also have a good understanding of the wider EU forest policy context.

Specific consortium requirements: The applicant must be either forest agencies, administrations and/or forest organisations covering directly and/or through their membership at least two- third of the EU Member States.

Maximum EU contribution: €1.0 million

New European Bauhaus – Supporting local strategies for an efficient and balanced use of space towards sustainable, beautiful and inclusive neighbourhoods.

Sufficiency and adaptation of buildings and spaces is a new area of work in the European Commission. This call aims to showcase with examples and data that would help confirm the conclusions of the report and demonstrate ways forward that can be replicated in other areas of the EU and beyond.

This call is made in synergy with the New European Bauhaus (NEB) initiative and will contribute to the Roll-Out component of the NEB Facility. It is also relevant in the context of the Affordable Housing initiative.

This specific priority aims to support at least four small and medium sized municipalities from the eligible countries (see section 6) in setting up individual short/medium-term plans for providing quality affordable housing through the transformation of existing building stocks and spaces in urban, peri-urban and rural neighbourhoods focusing on sufficiency and adaptability measures.

Specific consortium requirements: The consortium shall include at least four small and medium-size local authorities 15, from four different EU eligible countries.

Maximum EU contribution: €4 million

Strengthening the fight against environmental crime in the EU and supporting the implementation of the new Environmental Crime Directive

Combatting environmental crime is of both political and legal importance (strengthening the rule of law). In this context, relevant objectives include developing and establishing tools for enhancing specialisation, cooperation and communication between all the competent authorities within and between Member States involved in enforcement of environmental crime legislation.

The project must include the following activities:

• Preparing training materials targeting enforcers specialised in preventing and combatting environmental crime (e.g., investigators, police officers, prosecutors and judges).
• Preparing a guidance document on factors to be considered for assessing individual crime categories covered by the new Environmental Crime Directive such as on whether the damage or likely damage is substantial, whether the conduct is likely to cause damage, and whether a quantity is negligible or non-negligible.
• Preparing and providing a set of methodologies and / or tools to support the Member States’ competent authorities to collect the statistical data as set out in Article 22 of the new Environmental Crime Directive.

Furthermore, the project must also cover at least three of the following activities, to the applicants’ choice:

• Organising and delivering trainings to enforcers specialized in preventing and combatting environmental crime (e.g., investigators, police officers, prosecutors and judges) by using the training materials prepared under previous point (a), in support to competent authorities.
• Analysing the effectiveness of existing investigative tools, including the methodologies for their use, for combatting environmental crime.
• Developing new practical investigative tools for environmental criminal offences (both on detection and investigation) in view of supporting competent authorities.
• Preparing a guidance on earth observation techniques and other newest technologies (e.g. AI) for preventing and combatting individual environmental crime categories covered by the new Environmental Crime Directive, and ensuring compliance with EU environmental law.
• Preparing guidance in support to competent authorities on defining and differentiating the scope of administrative and criminal law enforcement measures regarding environmental offences.
• Organising workshops or conferences on supporting the implementation of the new Environmental Crime Directive or on combatting environmental crime overall, to identify and share best practices and useful information.

Specific consortium requirement: The consortium must include at least one EU network of environmental practitioners (e.g., of prosecutors, inspectors, judges, police and other enforcement officers).

Maximum EU contribution: €1.5 million

Participation of consumer organisations and environmental NGOs in the implementation of the Eco-design for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR)

The objective of the proposed project is twofold:

• First, to ensure that the views of European consumer organisations and environmental NGOs are well represented in the preparatory process leading to developing delegated acts for ecodesign requirements and implementing acts, under the new Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR).

The first strand of work involves identifying, elaborating, and channelling the contribution of consumer and environmental NGOs and other non-profit organisations to the preparatory work on ESPR implementation.

• Second, the proposed project will also cover standardisation activities related to ESPR product groups, including standardisation activities related to ecodesign and energy labelling.

The second strand of work involves the following:

• Monitoring of (i) horizontal and product specific standardisation activities related to eco-design, energy labelling, and (ii) other standardisation activities related to ESPR product groups.
• Participation in and contributions to the Technical Committees and related Working Groups in the European and International Standardisation Organisations at different levels of the standardisation process.
• The deliverables will include regular progress reports, research reports, position papers, compatibility analyses, input into standardisation requests, guidelines, etc.
• Ideally, a joint participation of environmental and consumer NGOs is desired to ensure due consideration of both environmental and wider consumer and end-user perspectives.
• The estimated/indicative grant amount to implement this second strand of work is €1.2 million.

Specific consortium requirements: To ensure a wide representation of European consumer organisations and environmental NGOs in the framework of relevant meetings at different stages of the legislative process, the applicant must be a single NGO /non-profit organisation or a consortium of NGOs and non-profit organisations, covering through their membership at least two- thirds of the EU Member States in the field of European consumer organisations and/or environmental NGOs.

Maximum EU contribution: €3 million

Capacity building on results-based payment schemes for the restoration of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes and implementation of the Nature Restoration Regulation

This proposed project will establish a peer-to-peer network, connecting public authorities, experts and practitioners from all Member States with a different level of experience in setting up RBPS. It will support Member States in setting up, piloting, monitoring, and evaluating their own RBPS by taking stock of existing schemes and bringing together environmental and agricultural authorities (including CAP managing authorities and paying agencies), biodiversity experts, farmers and other land managers, and farm advisors.

The project should leverage Knowledge and Innovation Systems (e.g. AKIS) to enhance the dissemination of best practices in the implementation of results-based payment schemes.

The project will also organise seminars, workshops, and field trips to successful demonstration RBPS sites. The project will undertake surveys with farmers in participating Member States to identify their interest and financial needs to implement the schemes on the ground.

The consortium needs to include the relevant expertise in terms of management of natural ecosystems, ecology of the target groups of organisms (including farmland birds, pollinators, and grassland butterflies), grassland management, and agriculture. It is expected that the public authorities in charge of managing and supporting schemes for biodiversity restoration, as well as authorities in charge of budgetary control, are involved in the networking activities organised by the consortium.

Specific consortium requirements: Applying consortia shall include at least two entities from EU member states that have been involved in setting up and managing RBPS at national or regional level across different Member States. Those entities might be public agencies, and/or public authorities, and/or well as research bodies.

Maximum EU contribution: €1 million

Support for Circular Business Model Mainstreaming – Boosting the single market for sustainable products and services

Knowledge creation and sharing:

• Efficiently collect and analyse existing knowledge (such as best practices, CBM theory, enablers and barriers to CBMs) and develop new content (such as sectoral guidance, checklists, tools) for SMEs, microenterprises and small mid-caps to help them become more circular. The outputs should be targeted to specific fields of activity/sectors or products and address the needs, and particularities of SMEs, SMCs and microenterprises. The activity could also include mapping of funding/financing support available for circular transitions/sustainability matters on EU and/or national level to support companies to identify and benefit from available financing/funding.
• Efficiently collect and curate (including via digital tools/data scraping) CBM theory and best practices and translate the theory into practical, easy-to-use guidance for businesses and business support organisation to share e.g. in presentations, guidelines, or tools and make them available free of charge including via existing platforms/networks such as the European Cluster Collaboration Platform or the EU Circular Economy stakeholder platform.

Pilot sector demonstrations: Gather tangible examples from selected pilot sectors such as furniture or textiles and utilise them to generate usable step-by-step analysis and targeted recommendations to guide companies in adopting CBMs – identifying viable circular approaches and successfully transforming their business model or products to become more circular.

Capacity building and advisory support:

• Develop, deliver and fine-tune training and provide practical hands-on guidance (checklists, information materials, tools) to support the identification/creation of and successful transition to CBMs including targeted approaches for SMEs, SMCs and microenterprises and ‘train-the-trainers’. All outputs should be available for/shared with – free of charge – any relevant/interested organisation such as the as the European Cluster Collaboration Platform or the EU Circular Economy stakeholder platform.
• Organise training for EEN sustainability advisers in EEN hubs towards on-the-ground training/targeted business advisory on circular business model creation/identification as well as uptake/transformation. This can also include guidance on how to proactively identify and approach companies with a potential to apply circular practices.

Networking and outreach: Identify useful networks, hubs, sector organisations and other intermediaries that could further expand outreach and spread the information and tools developed within relevant sectors/economic operators in addition to EEN, ECESP or the ECCP.

Feedback and impact assessment: Utilise the piloting work/advisory role of EEN or other multipliers to get structured feedback from business, in particular SMEs, microenterprises and SMCs on barriers, concerns and challenges related to circular transitions. Develop project indicators to measure progress.

Multi-country and multi-sectoral consortia will be encouraged.

Maximum EU contribution: €0.6 million

Climate Proof Pollution Alert model: relevant for the Water Resilience Strategy and Zero Pollution geared to transboundary cooperation on water pollution incidents

Here below the list of activities and outputs to deliver under the project:

• Development / procurement, installation and testing of Climate proof Pollution Alert Modelling and tracing system.
• Capacity building activities targeted to water authorities and related to the Climate proof Pollution Alert Model system principles and functioning.
• Dissemination of the Climate proof Pollution Alert Model and its functioning.
• Enabling of replication of the model in other Basins.
• Information to interested water authorities, environmental protection organisations, drinking water companies etc in other European transboundary river basins.
• Report on its functioning.

Specific consortium requirements: To be eligible, the consortium shall include partners from at least 3 different eligible countries and must include water authorities (or their grouping and associations) in charge of the management of River Basin Management Plans (which must include water bodies being part of the same transboundary/international water course) and established in at least one of the eligible countries.
Maximum EU contribution: €0.7 million