Europe faces an urgent environmental challenge: excessive nitrogen and phosphorus from agriculture, wastewater, and industry are disrupting ecosystems, harming biodiversity, and threatening food security. These nutrient imbalances contribute to soil degradation, water pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions, all of which have far-reaching consequences for the environment and human health. Addressing these challenges is critical to achieving sustainability and resilience in Europe’s natural and agricultural systems.
The European Commission has taken significant steps to combat these issues through policies like the EU Biodiversity Strategy, the Farm to Fork Strategy, and the upcoming Integrated Nutrient Management Action Plan (INMAP), which aims to reduce nutrient losses by 50%. However, to meet these ambitious goals, a region-specific and systemic approach is needed to ensure both environmental protection and economic viability for farmers and industries. This is where the GREENHOOD project comes in.
Officially launched in January 2025, GREENHOOD is a four-year Horizon Europe Innovation Action under Cluster 6, focusing on "Zero Pollution — Demonstrating how regions can operate within safe ecological and regional nitrogen and phosphorus boundaries". The project aims to demonstrate how European regions can manage nutrient flows within safe ecological boundaries. Coordinated by the BETA Technological Center of the University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia (UVic), the project brings together 28 partners from 10 European countries, working together to develop innovative solutions that tackle nutrient imbalances while enhancing climate resilience and biodiversity.
Regional Demonstrations and Solutions
GREENHOOD will conduct large-scale demonstrations in four key regions across Europe, each facing unique nutrient imbalance challenges:
- Ebro River Basin, Spain: Focus on nutrient emissions from intensive livestock farming and agro-industrial activities.
- Meuse/Rhine/Scheldt Basins, Belgium and the Netherlands: Address agricultural nutrient losses with precision fertilisation, buffer strips, and wetland-based treatment systems.
- Archipelago Sea Basin, Finland: Implement circular bioeconomy solutions for nutrient recovery and soil amendments.
- Trondheim Fjord Basin, Norway: Develop digital monitoring tools and innovative technologies for managing nutrient flows in aquaculture and livestock.
Trust-IT Services’ Role in GREENHOOD
As a key partner in GREENHOOD, Trust-IT Services brings its communication, community building, and event coordination expertise to support the project’s objectives. Trust-IT ensures the project’s impact is maximized through stakeholder engagement and effective dissemination of research findings.
Trust-IT is leading Work Package 1, which aims to co-define nutrient management strategies and transition pathways with multiple actors. This includes organising stakeholder engagement activities in the four demonstration regions and helping regional actors implement integrated nutrient management practices that balance ecological needs with socio-economic realities. These activities directly support the regional demonstrations, ensuring solutions are tailored to specific local challenges.
In addition, Trust-IT supports Work Package 6 on Dissemination, Communication, and Exploitation. In collaboration with COMMpla, Trust-IT leads the project’s dissemination efforts, including developing a comprehensive communication strategy, designing materials, and launching the project’s website.
Get involved
As part of the GREENHOOD project, Trust-IT will continue engaging stakeholders, fostering cross-sector collaboration, and ensuring the adoption of sustainable nutrient management practices across Europe. GREENHOOD actively engages with farmers, public authorities, agrifood industries, wastewater treatment plants, and aquaculture operators to drive knowledge exchange and policy adoption.
If you're interested in engaging with GREENHOOD, fill out the interest form to stay informed, collaborate, or participate in upcoming activities.
Discover more about GREENHOOD on its official website and social media accounts.
