Ghent (Belgium) will play host to the Sustainable Catering Forum on 9 June 2016, a chance for public procurers, local and regional governments, and caterers, producers and suppliers from across Europe to exchange experiences, form partnerships, and discuss the economic, social and environmental challenges facing food systems in Europe. Guidance and knowledge gathered through the INNOCAT project will be used to shape the interactive programme.

Selected European cities will address participants on purchasing eco-innovative catering and food, touching on such topics as: making school food services healthier and more climate-friendly, minimising the environmental impact of hospital catering services, decarbonising vending machines in universities, reducing food waste and packaging, and facilitating market access for SMEs and small suppliers.

Participants will receive information on new approaches to the sustainable procurement of catering services, details of the latest EU policy developments, and get to preview new and emerging technologies in the sector. Training will also be provided on eco-innovative procurement. Participation is free of charge, with limited funds available to cover some expenses. To register, fill in the online form.

For more information, visit sustainable-catering.eu or contact innocat@iclei.org.Image copyright: Image (Dreamstime) more   20 May 2016 Connecting nature-based solutions and green infrastructure to the EU Urban AgendaNational governments, cities, European institutions and other stakeholders are preparing to work together for a sustainable, innovative and economically powerful Europe that offers a high quality of life in cities, encapsulated in the upcoming EU Urban Agenda. One promising development is the growing importance of nature-based solutions, which are cost-effective solutions to urban problems inspired or supported by nature, and which produce environmental, social and economic benefits in cities.

Urban green infrastructure is one of the main applications of nature-based solutions. Many European cities are developing comprehensive green infrastructure plans, such as Greater Manchester (United Kingdom). Their plan sets a framework for new developments and outlines clear actions to connect urban green spaces and make them accessible to all residents. In the Dutch city of Utrecht, residents in ten districts are invited to propose green infrastructure projects to improve urban quality of life. Creating more attractive neighbourhoods is also an ambition of Trento (Italy), which is using green infrastructure "“ and nature-based solutions more generally - in the redevelopment of a brownfield site which was the former location of a major tire company.

To increase awareness of such solutions it is essential to gather and understand evidence of their impact. An urban policy workshop will take place on 31 May in Utrecht to discuss the potential of using spatial data in local policy making on nature-based solutions, and present the results of a pilot study on Mapping and Assessing Ecosystem and their Services in European cities (MAES). The aim of the workshop is to prepare the ground for a partnership on urban green infrastructure, bringing cities into direct contact with the European Commission and the European Investment Bank. This will help to reduce financial, governmental and regulatory barriers, and generate further discussion of bringing nature-based solutions and urban green infrastructure into the mainstream.

For more information about the event, click here.Image copyright: green green grass (Flickr) by "zoetnet", licensed under CC BY 2.0 more

» Publication Date: 23/05/2016

» Source: Iclei Europe

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