Green Week

Green Week

Green Week is Europe's biggest annual conference on environment policy, bringing together participants from government, industry, non-governmental organisations, academia and the media for a unique exchange of ideas and best practices


Latest articles

This year, the European Commission’s Green Week, the biggest annual event on Europe's environmental calendar, is dedicated to green jobs. From 29 May to...


Ever thought of a green career? This year, the EU's Green Week will look at the new types of jobs that a greener and cleaner economy can bring, and will discuss the new kind of skills people will need....


With over 40 % of the EU population living in coastal regions, and many new and traditional sectors dependent on our seas and coastal environment, local communities in these areas have a key role to play in building a more sustainable future. Over the last eight years, the European maritime...


A green economy offers new job opportunities. Ensuring that current and future workers have the right skills is essential for the successful transition to a circular economy, and requires significant investment.


As the EU steps up efforts to encourage the circular economy, cities across Europe need look no further than Ljubljana for inspiration on how to reduce waste and use resources in a smarter way.


Nature is the bedrock of a green economy and any sustainable future. It makes our air cleaner, reduces the danger of floods, restores our ecosystems, and helps fight climate change. Innovative financial instruments can trigger more private and public investment needed to keep our countryside...


How can EU funding help hotels in Spain or small companies in the Czech Republic save on energy bills and cut greenhouse gas emissions? One answer is Private Finance for Energy Efficiency, a new initiative that supports energy efficiency improvements by businesses, individuals and public bodies...


Today's investments in the 'circular economy' will pay off in the years to come, as innovative eco-design, repair, recycling and reuse technologies generate new jobs and business opportunities.


Investing in nature protection – for example to fight water pollution or to implement sustainable farming practices – is often seen as too long term or risky for private companies acting alone. The EU’s new Natural Capital Financing Facility aims to change this.


Since coming into force, the European Union’s Timber Regulation has helped to combat the illegal timber trade and ensure that wood comes from legal sources around the world.


Two new European Red Lists, providing the most detailed scientific evidence ever assembled on the state of Europe’s birds and marine fishes, were unveiled during Green Week 2015.


The idea that nature and human health are closely linked seems obvious; but translating this into policy is a challenge. Green Week 2015 heard new evidence about the need for environment and health departments to work together to find solutions.


Protecting and restoring ecosystems is vital for our long-term prosperity, and natural capital is an area with high potential for innovative investment. Green Week 2015 showcased some successful blending of biodiversity and economic objectives, while also seeking ways of drawing more funds towards...


In 2011, the EU adopted an ambitious strategy with six targets to halt the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services by 2020. Five years before the target date, and with a mid-term review due in the coming months, Green Week panellists called for a common recognition of the challenges ahead and for...


Green, healthy cities attract investment for innovation and can act as hubs for creativity and wealth creation. A Green Week panel considered some of the nature-based solutions devised by leading cities to tackle problems such as flooding and air, soil and water quality.


At a curtain-raiser to the week's events, a Green Week audience heard many constructive suggestions about moving beyond the current conflict between man and the environment. Could a “new world view” help redress the balance?


Natura 2000 is more than a network to protect areas of high biodiversity value: it is also a framework enabling communities to benefit from the ecosystem services they host. Green Week showcased examples of sustainable economic activities carried out in harmony with nature.


The European Union is the world’s biggest trading bloc. A Green Week Panel debated the impact that trade and Europe’s consumption of goods and natural resources are having on biodiversity across the planet.


Communicating complex concepts like biodiversity is not always easy, and getting people involved in protecting it is an even greater challenge. Green Week looked at ways of converting awareness of the importance of nature and biodiversity into more widespread engagement to protect it.


Private companies have a key role to play in protecting our natural capital. Green Week showcased a number of innovative technologies and good practices that are helping the EU reach its 2020 Biodiversity Strategy targets.


The EU’s natural habitats and biodiversity face multiple pressures. A Green Week session on ‘The future of nature’ assessed the latest trends, broadly agreeing that while there has been some progress, greater commitment will be needed.


Water covers 70 % of the Earth and many of Europe’s natural riches lie in the seas around its coasts. A Green Week session heard about efforts to build environmental safeguards into an expanded blue economy.


Green Week 2015 opened with a lively debate about the urgency and the challenges of protecting nature in Europe.


What can business do to speed up the transition towards a more sustainable society? And how can it be made profitable for them? Experts discussed recent innovations and experiments, as well as the challenges still to come, during the Green Week session on ‘New business models for sustainable...


Has progress towards a better environment ground to a halt? If so, what and who can trigger the changes needed? Is a ‘New Environmentalism’ likely to win the middle ground between the sceptical and the converted, and inspire the public's imagination? Green Week 2014 opened with a summit that brought...


The transition to a circular economy requires private and public sectors to work together, as well as international, national and local-level initiatives and policies. The Green Week session on ‘Circular economy: scaling up best practices worldwide’ was on the lookout for successes, examples and...


High population density means that cities can be more resource-efficient than smaller agglomerations, with lower pollution and emissions per inhabitant, acting as hubs for innovation.


What obstacles prevent the EU from becoming a circular economy? How can we use targets, taxes, industrial policy and other instruments to address them? These were the issues discussed at the Green Week session on ‘Creating the framework conditions for a circular economy’.


Influencing the way people behave, so as to lessen their impact on the environment, is a complicated business. Money matters, but is not the only incentive.


A circular economy in Europe will need a skilled workforce, trained and equipped for greener jobs.


Moving to a circular economy requires systemic change, affecting all stakeholders in the value-chain, and substantial innovations in technology, organisation, and society as a whole. Green Week opened with an introductory session that set the framework for the discussions to come.