The ROBIN consortium invites regional and local authorities across the European Union to participate in the beta testing of the ROBIN Toolbox. Selected authorities will have the opportunity to be among the first to use innovative tools and methodologies that can enhance policy implementation regarding bioeconomy.  

Benefits of Participation 

• Gain early access to tools that can enhance bioeconomy policy implementation, 

• Network and collaborate with peers across the EU and share best practices, 

• Influence the development of the ROBIN tools to fit better your needs and requirements, 

• Receive recognition on the project website and dissemination activities (e.g., social media posts on LinkedIn) 

Also, a Certificate of Participation will be provided to all participants. 

Participation Modalities 

The testing is organised as an online workshop of a maximum of 2 hours. The online workshop will take place twice, once on December 12th 2024 and then on January 16th 2025. You may choose any date that fits your schedule better. During the online workshop, we will present you with the Toolbox, and then you will be invited to use it and provide us with feedback to improve it. The agenda of the workshop is available here: https://tinyurl.com/3ya9ujsu. We will also try to match you with a physical event near your region if possible. 

Eligibility Criteria 

1. a regional or local authority within an EU Member State or an associated country. 
2. interested or/and active in bioeconomy or circular economy development as a policy priority. 
3. represented by a person involved in the design and/or implementation of related policies. 

Timeline 

• Application Deadline: 2nd of December 2024 

• Online Beta Testing workshop: 12th of December 2024 (and 16th of January 2025) 

For more details about the ROBIN project and the Toolbox, please visit our website here: https://robin-project.eu/.  

For more information on the beta testing and the open call, inquiries or further assistance, please contact us at politis@qplan-intl.gr  

Apply here: https://forms.office.com/e/sccAHwr7VB

Are you an expert from research, industry, policy or civil society, with knowledge and experiences in plastics, construction, textile, or chemical sectors? Then, you shouldn’t miss the “Pathway to DESIGN the circular bio-based transition” closing event, organised by SUSTRACK!

The conference will be held online on 25^th of September 2024, 10:00 – 12:00 CEST and is aimed to present an overview of:

• the main takeaways from the “Pathway to DESIGN the circular bio-based transition” series of workshops. These events involved more than 175 stakeholders, presenting 20 case studies, and resulted in the mapping of the most relevant challenges, good practices and recommendations along policy, environmental, social and economic dimensions for the transition to a circular bio-based economy;
• SUSTRACK methodologies and tools to monitor the transition to circular bio-based economy;
• the SUSTRACK dynamic scenario-based tool (GEM model), which carries out a systemic analysis of existing trends and proposed intervention, simulating transformative modelling scenarios to inform decision making towards sustainability for industries and policy development;
• SUSTRACK contributions to EU policy in Bioeconomy.

The “Pathway to DESIGN the circular bio-based transition” closing event will provide you with actionable knowledge in terms of inspirational good practices, challenges, barriers and recommendations in the textile, construction, plastics and chemical sectors, and will collect your perspective through interactive sessions to shape and fine-tune SUSTRACK methodologies and tools, better responding to industry and policy needs. It will also provide policy recommendations to inform the revision of the European Bioeconomy strategy.

Have a look at the preliminary agenda and don’t miss the opportunity to share your perspective, make your voice heard to DESIGN your journey towards sustainable transition.

Interested? Save the date and register here! 

Welcome to BIOSCHAMP FINAL EVENT, an oportunity to discover the work of over four years and the present and future of the mushroom sector!

During over four years BIOSCHAMP project has aimed to develop an integrated approach to tackle the mushroom cultivation challenges: an alternative and sustainable low-peat casing for the mushroom industry, reducing the need for pesticides and contributing to improving the productivity, sustainability, and the profitability of the European mushroom sector.

After all this time, the project will celebrate it’s FINAL EVENT! A great opportunity to discover the results of the project and the present and future of the mushroom Industry by the hand of some of the best experts on the sector. An opportunity that you can’t miss!

Are you an expert from research, industry, policy or civil society, with knowledge and experiences in plastics, construction, textile, or chemical sectors? Then, you shouldn’t miss the series of workshops “Pathway to DESIGN the circular bio-based transition” organised by SUSTRACK!

These workshops are aimed to:

• Dive deep into the policy, environmental, societal, and economic dimensions of the transition from a linear fossil-based economy to a circular bio-based one;
• Co-create tailored policy recommendations, paving the way for future policy developments at regional, national and European level.

The “Pathway to DESIGN the circular bio-based transition” workshop series will culminate in the online “DESIGN conference”, foreseen in September 2024 and aimed at transforming the workshops’ outcomes into policy recommendations for industrial and political stakeholders to support the transition towards a circular bio-based economy.

The series of events will be held online in the first two weeks of July:

• CHEMICAL sector: 4th of July 2024; 10:00 – 11:30 CEST – Agenda
• CONSTRUCTION sector: 10th of July 2024, 10:00 – 12:00 CEST – Agenda
• TEXTILE sector: 11th of July 2024, 10:00 – 12:00 CEST – Agenda
• PLASTICS sector: 12th of July 2024, 10:00 – 11:30 CEST – Agenda

You can participate in one or more workshops: all you need to do is register here and select your preference.

Each workshop will be organised in different sessions:

• Overview by SUSTRACK of selected sectorial value chains, providing process description, market information, and relevant policy instruments as a starting point for the debate and presentation of inspirational case studies by the voices of invited experts, who will share their perspectives, good practices and challenges/barriers they are facing in the transition towards circular bio-based economy:
  • CHEMICAL sector case studies: Methanol from waste, Bio-MEG from forest and agricultural resources
  • CONSTRUCTION sector case studies: Cross-laminated timber, Biochar as an additive in concrete, Hemp insulation
  • TEXTILE sector case studies: Wool, Man-made cellulosic fibres (e.g., Lyocell)
  • PLASTICS sector case studies: Polylactic acid, Polypropylene from used cooking oil
• Interactive session to discuss the policy, environmental and societal, economic dimensions of the transition towards circular bio-based economy in the case studies’ value chains and in the sectors.

Don’t miss the opportunity to share your vision, make your voice heard and to be inspired in your journey towards sustainable transition.

Interested? Register here to one or more workshops and save the dates to join us!

Short survey on Social Innovations

The 3-CO project is looking for anyone’s support to develop a list of beneficial social innovations in various sectors, ideally in the bioeconomy, with a large geographic spread. These will be included as best practice examples in three brochures that will be communicated to consumers and civil society, private businesses and public bodies to support the switch towards socially and environmentally responsible behavior. Based on your contribution 3-CO will also develop policy recommendations on social measures to support better-informed decision-making processes, social engagement, and innovation.

What exactly is social innovation and how does it support sustainability and social change?

3-CO defines Social Innovations (SI) as new ideas (products, services, new organizations and models) that simultaneously meet social needs (more effectively than alternatives), create new social relationships or collaborations, and foster sustainable consumption and production patterns.

Typical examples for SI include non-profit projects such as upcycling/recycling/waste collection initiatives, sharing or donation of goods or food, mutual aid, open-source software, or business initiatives/social enterprises, fair trade companies, social impact bonds. For more examples, check the 3-CO article on social innovation here.

It takes only a couple of minutes to complete this survey. Thank you for your participation and support!