The islands of Brač, Crete, and Elba, with carbon footprints up to 40% higher than the continental average due to tourism dependency and limited resources, are already facing critical climate impacts—from disappearing beaches to severe water shortages. In response, the CO2 PACMAN project is launching 9 challenges to find innovative solutions that can help mitigate their environmental impact. These challenges span across key areas such as water management, sustainable mobility, renewable energy, and circular economy.
Proposals can be submitted via the Innovation Colab platform, where companies, startups, and research centers can not only share their ideas, but also collaborate with other participants to enhance them.

The Challenges: From Water Scarcity to Sustainable Tourism

• In Brač, an island losing up to 40% of its potable water due to outdated infrastructure, the main challenge is to find affordable technologies to reduce water waste. Additionally, the Supetar fire department is seeking more effective methods to extinguish fires in electric vehicles—an emerging issue with the rise of clean mobility.

• Crete is dealing with tourism pressure that, according to regional data, generates over 1.5 million tons of waste annually. Hoteliers and local administrations are calling for smart systems to manage organic waste and alternatives to peat (a non-renewable material) in agriculture.

• On Elba—famous for its beaches and vineyards—the focus is on decarbonizing the tourism sector. The company Acqua dell’Elba, known for its fragrances inspired by the island, is leading an initiative to organize zero-impact events, while local winemakers are exploring the role of forests in helping vineyards adapt to climate change.

The most promising solutions will be presented at the Valencia Business Forum, where selected participants will connect with entrepreneurs, businesses, potential investors, and island representatives. They will also be featured on the project’s website and podcast to boost visibility.

How to Participate:

Interested companies can find the full list of challenges and requirements on the platform: https://www.innovationcolab.eu.
The deadline to submit proposals is May 15, 2025, and selected solutions will be invited to Valencia on June 25–27.

• Innovation: Create a tool capable of planning the decarbonization of territories, with a particular focus on Mediterranean islands.

• Co-creation: Develop scenarios toward climate-neutral communities in collaboration with local stakeholders.

• Engagement: Involve public authorities, citizens, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and students in the decarbonization process of the target islands.

CO2 PACMAN brings together project partners, as well as local and transnational stakeholders, in innovative design and planning practices to explore and validate potential solutions for the transition toward climate neutrality. It provides the tools to co-create and discuss various scenarios and strategies for concrete transition processes in the Mediterranean pilot islands. The project forecasts the following main innovative practices:

● CO2 PACMAN Rooting Labs. Three day workshops in pilot islands (Elba, Brac and Crete) made of co-working and interactive sessions involving project partners and local stakeholders for onsite investigations, data collection, knowledge sharing and discussion on specific potential solutions.
● CO2 PACMAN Tool. The Carbon Footprint of the island will be assessed and represented in terms of virtual forestland needed to absorb the equivalent amount of CO2 emission. The tool helps identify decarbonization scenarios and test the effectiveness of policies.
● Citizen Engagement. A set of activities, inspired by the BLUE DEAL “AskYourCitizenonBE” tool, will be defined to let citizen be the main actors in the participatory process and contribute to identify best chances for transition to a low-carbon economy.
● Youth Think Thank. Engagement of young students of secondary schools and universities of pilot islands and beyond called to co-create and represent their vision of a net zero carbon future.
● Open Innovation Collaborative Action. Engagement of technical and technological companies called to send their proposals in the field of renewable energies and ecosystem based solutions.
● 3D virtual reality experience. 3D simulations in a virtual world, containing landscapes, location specific objects and 3D intervention elements to help PAs, stakeholders and citizens visualize and assess potential installations and interact within a virtual environment for a highly engaging immersive experience.
● CO2 PACMAN “The Island I Would Like” Labs and transition Roadmap. Three-day workshops in pilot islands aimed at the presentation and the discussion of project results open to local stakeholders and citizens and synthesis of a climate neutral transition Roadmap.

• 1st Rooting Lab (September 17–19, 2024 – Brač, Croatia) and 2nd Rooting Lab (October 8–11, 2024 – Crete, Greece). These two events marked a significant step forward in the journey toward a climate-neutral Mediterranean. The six days of intense collaboration and discussion (three in Brač and three in Crete) saw the active participation of citizens, academics, SMEs, local administrators, and students, all working together to find innovative solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

• 3rd Rooting Lab (February 11–13, 2025 – Elba Island and Florence). The final Rooting Lab, held in Italy, marked another crucial milestone. The initiative enabled the collection of data, insights, challenges, and opportunities directly from the territories involved, providing a solid foundation for the project’s next phases. The lab’s goals extended beyond technical aspects, aiming to build lasting relationships with institutions, businesses, and civil society actors committed to the ecological transition. One of the key outcomes was the renewed interest from regional bodies such as the Tuscany Region and ARRR (Regional Resource Recovery Agency), who expressed a willingness to continue collaborating with CO2 PACMAN, recognizing the value of its tools and participatory methods. The regional context also proved fertile for synergy with existing initiatives, such as the Province of Livorno’s sustainable mobility planning and links with other European projects. Important connections were also established on the island itself, such as the collaboration with the CEO of CER Elba Est-Ovest, who became a liaison between CO2 PACMAN and other local stakeholders. The lab stood out for the diversity of engagement methods. A particularly meaningful moment was the public aperitif with sustainability advocate Silvia Moroni, who made complex environmental topics more accessible to the general public. The project’s focus on youth continued with the Youth Think Tank, held the following month, which included visits to local initiatives such as Acqua dell’Elba and CER, to explore how best practices can be supported and scaled through the project.