Green nudges in forest & agricultural systems: evidence, case studies & policy perspectives
Prezentations
- Speakers Book
- Welcome and introductory session - Nikos Georgantzis
- Behavioural insights in policy making for food systems - Jesus Barreiro-Hurle
- Introduction to Green Nudges in Action - Dr Mark Ramsden
- Forestry case study: Climate Nudge project - Paula Horne, Marjo Maidell, Antti Norkio
- A digital platform integrating AI and interactive technologies to support sustainable crop protection in Europe - Emilio-Gil
- Green Nudges as a support to farmers forest plantations in the tropics
ForestAgriGreenNudge hosts its first Policy Workshop to advance sustainable agriculture and forestry through behavioural insights
The European project ForestAgriGreenNudge has successfully held its first Policy Workshop, bringing together 64 participants from 13 countries across Europe and beyond.
The online event introduced the concept of green nudges—behavioural tools that encourage more sustainable decisions — and explored their potential role in shaping future agricultural and forestry policies.
A diverse European stakeholder community
The workshop gathered farmers, foresters, policy-makers, advisors, researchers, and institutional representatives from 41 organisations, reflecting the project’s strong interdisciplinary and pan-European scope.
Participants were grouped into thematic breakout sessions on agriculture, forestry, and mixed systems to explore challenges and opportunities in applying behavioural approaches on the ground.
Behavioural insights for better policy design
Opening the session, project coordinator Nikolaos Georgantzis presented the ForestAgriGreenNudge approach, which focuses on co-designed behavioural interventions that complement existing policy tools rather than adding new regulatory constraints.
Jesús Barreiro-Hurle (European Commission Joint Research Centre) highlighted the increasing integration of behavioural economics into EU agricultural policy, including within the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and stressed the need for more human-centred and evidence-based policy design.
From research to real-world applications
Two case studies illustrated practical applications:
- Climate Nudge Project (Finland – forestry): exploring behavioural tools to reduce emissions and enhance carbon sinks, while highlighting the complexity of long-term forestry decisions and the potential need to combine nudges with additional support mechanisms.
- RENOVATE project (Europe – agriculture): developing a digital training platform to support farmers and advisors in adopting sustainable crop protection practices through accessible, practical learning tools
Towards more participatory policies
A policy roundtable with representatives from Poland, Greece, and France highlighted key priorities:
- stronger co-creation with farmers and foresters;
- more context-sensitive and regionally adapted policies;
- simplification of administrative procedures;
- improved advisory services and peer learning systems.
Participants also emphasised the importance of trust, clarity, and combining behavioural tools with financial incentives where relevant.
Key takeaway
The workshop confirmed the growing role of behavioural approaches as a complementary lever to improve the effectiveness, uptake, and acceptability of sustainability policies in agriculture and forestry
What’s next?
Upcoming milestones include:
- the Second Pan-European Green Nudges Conference in Brussels on 21 May 2026 (in collaboration with PRUDENT);
- continuous updates of the Policy Dashboard;
- a second Policy Workshop in autumn 2026
Are you interested in taking part in the next policy forum?
Contact Raquel Alvarez – Project Manager at CIHEAM Zaragoza