GoGreen – Local Action for the EU Green Deal

"<< Background >>The urgent need to transition to a sustainable society has been underscored by extreme climate events, resource scarcity, and environmental degradation. In response, the European Union has launched the European Green Deal, a comprehensive roadmap with ambitious goals and funding to support this transition. However, every partner from the consortium experienced that, in one way or another, many of the organizations at the forefront of climate adaptation face significant challenges that hinder progress. These include:- limited training and knowledge among technicians and decision-makers-conflicts among diverse stakeholders, insufficient financial resources,-resistance to change from citizens and businesses- difficulties in measuring and monitoring progress.Without addressing these obstacles, local governments struggle to align their initiatives with the Green Deal’s objectives effectively. GoGreen is thus designed to capacitate public officers, policymakers, and consultants whose expertise directly or indirectly influences environmental decision-making, such as advisors to public administration and experts from NGOs, to better understand and implement the EU Green Deal, improving their environmental performance.<< Objectives >>The GoGreen aimed to strengthen capacity and train decision-makers by:• Supporting personnel in acquiring and developing key competences and knowledge in environmental governance.• Providing evidence-based solutions to enhance local sustainability initiatives and decision-making.• Facilitating co-learning through experience-sharing, discussions, and collaborative problem-solving.• Creating a network of ‘green local action’ ambassadors to implement and replicate best practices across regions.• Disseminating the implementation of the EU Green Deal at a local level, fostering awareness and action within communities.Essentially, by creating a ""ready-to-go action kit"" to give confidence, empower, and inspire local actors to improve their environmental performance. << Implementation >>To achieve its objectives, the GoGreen project implemented a set of structured activities, ensuring effective environmental capacity-building and dissemination.1.Project ResultsPartners developed six intellectual outputs addressing key environmental topics and target audiences. These outputs served as both learning resources and dissemination products, combining pedagogical value and innovative relevance to support sustainable local governance.2. International TrainingThe project organized four training courses for environmental staff, each hosted by a different partner and covering topics such as water and waste management, energy and transport, communications and public engagement, biodiversity conservation, and land planning. Each training featured guest speakers and experts, who provided up-to-date information, presented case studies, and facilitated capacitating field trips to showcase best practices.3. Dissemination and ImpactPartners developed and executed a comprehensive communications and dissemination plan, including a media strategy and direct engagement with key stakeholders in environmental action. To further increase awareness, partners organized six multiplier events—five local events targeted at stakeholde<< Results >>Beyond tangible outputs, the project fostered strong relationships among participants, who continue to exchange experiences and implement positive changes in their communities. The consortium is eager to continue collaboration, especially with the two new municipalities that joined Erasmus+ projects for the first time, whose executives fully recognize the benefits for their staff and community. More concretely, we achieved: - 4 International training courses covering 10 environmental topics with 100 participants from 17 municipalities, 4 other public institutions, and 7 private entities; - 4 Multiplier events with 191 participants - Final conference with 115 participants in person and 143 online - Training course ""Environmental Local Governance for the 21st Century"" in 5 languages with 10 comprehensive modules blending theory, assessments, strategic roadmaps, best practices, EU guidelines, and field visit reports - Resource guide ""Essential Networks and Opportunities for Green Local Action"" in 5 languages, including a European and national database of 28 support networks, 58 funding streams, and practical application case studies - Best practice guide “A Blueprint for Sustainability Solutions in Local Govern"