bioconfarm will use a holistic approach in which all stakeholders along the entire value chain of agriculture and plant production will be considered, especially the farmers, SMEs, cooperatives and scientists. The bioconfarm consortium will establish an international “living” network of experts and stakeholders in the field of alternative plant protection and plant strengthening research & innovation, paving the way to reduce the application of chemical and synthetic pesticide products in agriculture and forestry. The bioconfarm thematic network focuses on the topic of smart plant protection research findings and innovation fulfilling the needs of farmers and plant breeders. bioconfarm will apply a user-centred approach (the bioconfarm living farm labs), which will act as a kind of open-innovation ecosystem, operating in a territorial context (certain region) and integrates concurrent research and innovation results and processes. A sustainable and long-lasting network of living farm labs will be established and take-up of research findings by farmers increased. Knowledge exchange in rural areas is mainly based on physical meetings and direct relationship between people and can be organized in a way that facilitates the mutual learning process. For example, demonstration farms are an effective means for knowledge exchange as farmers and researchers directly meet each other and build long-term relationships. The living farm lab approach of bioconfarm applies a multi-actor approach in order to integrate all relevant actors and stakeholders along the several value chains concerning plant health in agriculture. bioconfarm structure consists of five comprehensive and inter-related Work Packages with key outputs as deliverables, as well as major milestones plotted along the workplan. bioconfarm comprises 13 project partners (11 main beneficiaries, 1 affiliated entity and 1 associated partner) representing expertises in agriculture, plant protection, biocontrol, digital tools, producers, farms, cluster and cooperatives.

The construction sector is responsible for over 35% of the EU’s total waste generation, and accounts for about 50% of all extracted resources and an estimated at 5-12% of total GHG emissions. WOODCIRCLES will contribute significantly to decreasing these numbers by developing innovative circular solutions for sustainable wood construction to help reduce Europe’s dependence on non-renewable resources, cut GHG emissions, reduce waste generation, and offer long-term carbon sinks and substitution of fossil-based and carbon-intensive products. WOODCIRCLES will combine the considerable innovation power of the expert consortium consisting of key stakeholders from all parts of the value chain to release the full circular and sustainable potential of wood construction. Based on identified needs and market potentials, the consortium will develop new value-added value chains for upcycling of wood waste materials and optimized design-for-disassembly building system solutions to significantly increase recycling rates of wood in construction. An ‘Urban Sawmill’ sorting and production facility capable of turning in-homogenous low value wood construction waste into a standardized homogenous value-added, cost-effective baseline product, will be prototyped. WOODCIRCLES will integrate digital tools and solutions in all developments and create digital twins for the large-scale, real-life demonstrators – the Urban Sawmill and the building system prototypes to demonstrate the benefits of digital technology for circular construction. Active involvement of partner cities and their building ecosystems through technical and thematic co-engagement activities will increase deployment. All developed materials, components and system prototypes will be demonstrated, piloted and fully documented – including sustainability assessment – for immediate market uptake. Based on developments, recommendations for new or updated European harmonised technical specifications and Eurocodes will be provided.