ABOUT
The Innovative Sustainable Economy (ISE) Mission consists of 14 Thematic Projects (TPs) and 2 Governance Projects that aim to catalyse innovation and sustainability efforts across the Mediterranean region. These projects represent an important step towards promoting a climate-neutral and resilient society in the region. The 14 TPs are clustered to address specific challenges and contribute to sustainable development in 4 focus areas: Marine Resources, Agri-food Systems, Industrial Transition, and Resource Valorisation.
MARINE RESOURCES
This area includes economic activities related to oceans, seas, and coasts, such as aquaculture, fisheries, blue biotechnologies, and marine renewable energy. The Mediterranean Sea offers diverse biological, mineral, and energy resources but suffers from overfishing, ocean acidification, and inadequate marine spatial planning. These issues are driven by intense human activity and unsustainable resource management.
PROJECTS IN THIS AREA
The SPOWIND, 2B-BLUE, AZA4ICE, and BLUE ECOSYSTEM projects are working in this focus area to address the challenges of the blue economy in the Mediterranean.
AGRI-FOOD SYSTEMS
This area encompasses all activities from farm to table, including the entire food value chain. Mediterranean agri-food systems are rich, featuring permanent crops, legumes, fresh vegetables, cereals, and livestock. However, they face frequent extreme weather, land degradation, and coastal soil salinization.
PROJECTS IN THIS AREA
The CARBON FARMING MED, Clepsydra, and OliveOilMedNetprojects promote resilient and regenerative farming practices, which are essential for overcoming these challenges in the Mediterranean agri-food sector.
INDUSTRIAL TRANSITION
This area aims to support the EU’s goal of climate neutrality and digital advancement, focusing on innovation and economic adaptability. Promoting the competitiveness of SMEs is central to this effort. The industrial transition in the Mediterranean encourages sustainable consumption and production, integrating sustainability into public and private investment decisions. Challenges include socio-economic inequalities, high resource consumption, and ineffective fiscal policies.
PROJECTS IN THIS AREA
The CircleMED, GREENSMARTMED, REVIVE, and ProcuraMED projects are promoting sustainable solutions that are crucial to turning the challenges in this area into opportunities.
RESOURCE VALORISATION
This area is a priority in the Mediterranean and focuses on converting waste products from economic activities into useful materials, following the circular economy’s 10 Rs model. Short loops retain the most value by keeping products close to their original state; medium-loops capture value through producer re-involvement; long-loops salvage material value after the original function is lost. This approach aims to avoid considering these materials as ‘waste’.
PROJECTS IN THIS AREA
The REPper, eWAsTER, and VERDEinMEDprojects are increasing the opportunities for resource valorisation in the region, trying to change the perspective and stop talking about ‘waste’ when it can be a resource.
ISE
Community of Practice
The ISE Community of Practice (CoP) is a key element to build a strong network in the ISE Mission to increase the project’s impacts. The CoP comprises these 16 projects by offering a space of collective knowing and learning.
We are currently 155 connected partners from 18 countries with a well representation of the 4-ple helix to strengthening Innovative Sustainable Economy in the Mediterranean. The ISE CoP comprises 53 public authorities, 40 academia and research organisations, 32 private sector stakeholders, and 30 partners representing civil society and NGOs.
Discover more about the ISE CoP below!
All our
projects
