WP9: OPEN:EU Launch - We're all European now

The European One Planet Economy Network: Europe project was officially launched at the Residence Palace in Brussels at the end of May 2011.

In an event hosted by Rod Sterne, WWF-UK’s acting Head of Sustainable Consumption, key stakeholders from around Europe were invited to literally shape the future. The event marked the launch of a unique on-line debate, inviting senior decision-makers to co-create a platform of “shared intelligence” of how the EU can become a One Planet Economy by 2050. Together with Head of Metrics Stuart Bond, Project Manager Rachel Brown and Willy de Backer of the Greening Europe Forum, guests kick-started the discussion which will produce an ‘Action Plan for a One Planet Economy in Europe’ to feed into the Rio+20 processes.

All of this occurred inside one long week in Brussels, where the OPEN:EU project had a prominent place at the sustainability event of the year right in the heart of European decision-making. “Having a presence at Green Week where we could engage all our key stakeholders in one place was just fantastic – and with over 3500 delegates this was an opportunity to take our work to the next level on the European stage” commented Stuart Bond, “but getting key luminaries such as Ernst von Weizsäcker – the father of resource efficiency - to be excited, enthused and engaged with our work was conformation indeed that we are bang on target for the most important debates of our time.”

The €1.5 million One Planet Economy Network: Europe project is now in its home run, having already produced an Ecological Carbon and Water Footprint for the whole of the EU, and now with the interactive software tool EUREAPA, ready to go live in a few months these are exciting times ahead. “This sets new standards in its applicability to policy.” said Stuart. “We have a number of national governments who are enthused about using the tool including the UK, but crucially we also have DG Environment onboard who will soon be testing out the effectiveness of their policies from the current “EU Resource Efficiency Strategy”.

All of this is high praise indeed and now with Janez Potočnik, the European Commissioner for the Environment taking more than a keen interest in the project, we can expect a good deal more from OPEN: EU in reshaping the EU Sustainable Consumption and Production Strategy in 2012.