This year the Nature-based Solutions Task Forces are committed to collaborating towards a more standardised effort to establish NbS more sustainably. We believe that standards can be one important tool for mainstreaming NbS. The mainstreaming of efforts to standardise NbS falls in line with emerging policy agendas such as the EU Green Deal or the European Recovery Plan and will be instrumental to more effective upscaling of NbS. We think that the NetworkNature Task Forces play a pivotal role in scaling and replicating NbS. The collaboration in the Task Forces involves countless experts in the field, creating a vast momentum.
Earlier this year, during the first Task Force Day 2024, we dedicated several session to the topic standardisation, underlining the landscape of actions and actors, bridging between the IUCN Global Standard, European standardisation efforts and the HS Booster, a CSA that supports European projects on their way to bring research results closer to market solutions. The collective efforts of public funded projects must be further aligned for maximum impact to bridge the gap between research and market needs. If we achieve this, we may succeed in a widespread role out of NbS.
The introduction provided participants with a better understanding of how standardisation is a global effort to advance local solutions. The breakout workshops then introduced the answers to the question how one can make full use of this opportunity?
Holger Robrecht, Deputy Regional Director, ICLEI European Secretariat, introduced the session on standardisation highlighting the impact and importance of standardisation in the context of Horizon Europe R & I Projects.
“In face of the scale and pace of the polycrisis: whereas Horizon Europe helps to move from knowledge to innovation, we still suffer from transferring innovation to wide application at the scale and pace needed and create markets – here for NbS. To this end, we need to close the knowledge value chain from research to innovation to market - – best orchestrated by the strong NetworkNature platform.”
Indeed, over the years, the Task Forces have demonstrated themselves to be committed and ambitious group which co-creates impact for NbS implementation.
The session provided the momentum to start working more closely with the HS Booster in 2024. We organised four follow-up workshops in which the Task Force members could learn more about European and international activities and share their experiences and expectations. Those present relayed their commitment to the task at hand—namely, reaching relevant stakeholder groups to drive ambitious and inclusive ideas to pace and scale. This series concluded in June 2024 and the result report will be shared after the summer break.
Moving forward, the HS Booster will continue to support the work of NetworkNature by sponsoring Giacomo Ricco, technical project manager at UNI, to join our second Task Force meeting in which we will explore the options to launch a CEN Workshop Agreement.
Through the CEN Workshop Agreement, our aim is to address the next steps in NbS standardisation in an inclusive manner, building on the strong expertise in NetworkNature. European standardisation actions are bringing together stakeholders from academia, research and industry. This approach is essential for the success of an effective NbS role out, an aspect NetworkNature is aware of and actively fostering.
If you want to join this effort make sure to attend the Task Force meeting on 24 September in Brussels.
Learn more and join this crucial work!