This year the LIFE programme celebrates its 25th anniversary. In order to commemorate LIFE’s achievements during this time, the European Commission has selected 15 outstanding LIFE projects as nominees for the Green Awards. The awards are for the most outstanding completed LIFE projects since 1992.
The winners in each of the categories (Environment, Nature & biodiversity and Climate Action) will be announced on 30 May 2017 at the Green Awards ceremony during EU Green Week in Brussels. There will be two Green Award winners in each of the three categories (i.e. six winners in total).
The winners will be selected by means of a public vote on Facebook. Voting is open from now until 10 May 2017.
The nominees for the Green Awards were selected by a jury, based on a number of criteria, including long-term sustainability, communication potential and broader impact on national, European or global level. They were additionally scored on innovation, transferability, environmental benefits and conservation status.
The nominated projects are (by category and in alphabetical order):
Environment
BREAD4PLA showed how waste plastic and bread generated in bakeries can be turned into biodegradable packaging material for bakery products.
EWWR demonstrated waste prevention, reuse and recycling methods all across Europe, and initiating the popular European Week for Waste Reduction and other awareness-raising activities.
From Roof to Road showed how waste bitumen from roofing felt, which is usually landfilled or burned with the release of pollutants, can be reused in asphalt to build or repair roads.
LOWaste demonstrated an effective way of developing a local market for second-life goods, by bringing together waste operators, small reuse and recycling platforms, artisans and SMEs engaged in the manufacture of products from recovered materials.
SOL-BRINE demonstrated how brine can be recycled in desalination plants on water-scarce Mediterranean islands, turning a potential threat to aquatic habitats into useful water and dried salt.
Nature & biodiversity
AlterIAS developed a code of conduct to reduce the economic damage and loss of biodiversity caused by invasive alien plant species in Belgium; as a result, nurseries stopped selling many invasive exotic plants and recommended native species instead.
Andalusian Lynx Introduction made a very significant contribution to the recovery of Iberian lynx, through land stewardship agreements and conservation actions, resulting in the IUCN taking the species off its 'critically endangered' list.
BurrenLIFE pioneered a novel approach to farming and conservation, and by demonstrating this on 20 farms it developed a costed blueprint for protecting the unique landscape of the Burren and tackling the most pressing issues affecting this rural region of Ireland.
Save the Raptors established nine new breeding pairs of the endangered imperial eagles in Bulgaria, bringing the total breeding population to 25 pairs, and also created local jobs in a region with the highest unemployment rate in the country.
SloWolf deployed innovative genetic methods to identify individual wolves and developed management plans in Slovenia to help people co-exist peacefully with wolves.
Climate action
ACUMEN, which demonstrated how methane from closed landfills can be captured and used to generate energy, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
AgriClimateChange developed a tool for calculating greenhouse gas emissions and energy use on farms, which it used to demonstrate sustainable practices that lowered carbon footprint without affecting farm productivity.
ClimaBiz enabled businesses in Greece to take advantage of opportunities linked to climate change, by developing innovative tools to estimate in monetary terms the costs of climate change for businesses and the necessary investment costs of adaptation.
DYEMOND SOLAR demonstrated an innovative method of producing non-toxic dye-sensitised solar cells, which led to environmental improvements in solar cell manufacturing and the creation of many jobs in Sweden.
SLIDE IN utilised old tram networks in two Swedish cities to demonstrate a novel electric bus system, in which the overhead wires recharged on-board batteries while the buses were in use.
Source: © European Union, 1995-2017