More than half of Europe's soils are degraded by pollution, erosion, and compaction, among other problems, and, in a climate change scenario, this degradation is likely to worsen. Currently, the loss of soil quality is costing an estimated €50 billion per year. However, soil health is still considered an abstract concept that cannot be introduced into financial activities and on which it is very difficult to legislate. The objective of InBestSoil is to co-create a framework for investment in conservation and recovery of soil health, by developing an economic valuation system of the ecosystem services delivered by a healthy soil and the impacts of soil interventions, and its incorporation into business models and incentives. This will allow public and private organizations to give economic value to their actions over soil health, codesign strategies with local stakeholders, and work collectively to deliver national and EU policy ambitions. InBestSoil will provide data, evidence, tools and models to assess how investment in soil health can contribute to the transition to a long-term resilient and sustainable use of soil, using 7 lighthouses and 2 living labs, which provides a total of 9 study areas across 4 biogeographic regions from Europe (Boreal, Continental, Atlantic, Mediterranean), and different land uses (agriculture, forest, urban, mining), as models for co-creation and co-design (multi-actor approach, responsible research and innovation and open science). This 48-month project will involve twenty partners from ten countries, with very different profiles (universities, small and medium-sized enterprises, consultancies, farmers, and NOGs, among others). This design will facilitate the scaling up of results and their internationalisation, facilitating investments in soil health for companies, public administrations and investment groups around the globe.

The Ploutos project focusses on rebalancing the value chain for the agri-food system, transforming it into one that works for the benefit of society and the environment. The project will develop a Sustainable Innovation Framework that follows a systemic approach to the agri-food sector, building on three pillars: Behavioural Innovation, Sustainable Collaborative Business Model Innovation and Data-driven Technology Innovation. Exploiting a history of significant agri-food projects and the respective ecosystems around these, the project will deploy 11 innovative systemic Sustainable Ιnnovation Pilots, where using a Multi-Actor Approach new innovative solutions and methodologies will be implemented, tested, assessed and derive practical lessons learned. The pilots cover a large range of agri-food ecosystems, across 13 countries, covering arable, horticulture (both open fields and greenhouses), perennials and dairy production among other. In each case, behaviour change, collaborative business modelling and data driven innovation will be integrated to deliver the most environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable solution. A Ploutos Innovation Academy will be established to as a vehicle for integrating the know-how, best practices and assessments developed across the project and derived from the Sustainable Innovation Pilots. Ploutos includes 33 partners, 23 of them being end-users, representing all relevant actors in the food system, including farmers, food industry companies, scientists, advisors, ICT specialists and policy makers.