The Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), a thinktank in Brussels, hosted a workshop on March 18th 2026 to explore the role of nature-based solutions in building and advancing sustainable food systems as part of the NetworkNature project. The event brought together EU-level policymakers, researchers, projects, businesses and stakeholders to examine how nature-based solutions can strengthen the environmental, social and economic sustainability of farming and food systems.
After introductions the morning started with presentations on how public goods are measured and public benefits demonstrated, starting with ORC’s Christian Gossel (from around 28.44 in video below) highlighting the challenges and opportunities raised by the Public Goods Tool.
The morning presentations also included our project partners in ReForest, Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association (EMEA), with Christine de Visser demonstrating the financial models developed for agroforestry systems within the project (51:05).
Next came breakout groups to identify the tools and methods used to measure public goods, the challenges and opportunities they present, and finally the policy recommendations that came out of these discussions. The results from each group were subsequently reported back to the wider workshop and will feed into a NetworkNature policy brief and policy recommendations report.
In the afternoon the topic turned to how sustainability and public benefits can be achieved for nature, society, and economy with a focus on digital tools, business implementation, and policy trade-offs. To conclude the day, speakers highlighted several partnership opportunities for further research in sustainable food systems, including the ReForest platform, and a brief panel discussion on how policy can strengthen the public benefits from sustainable food systems.
