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As part of a comprehensive strategy to support the decarbonisation of the private sector, LOCALISED has launched the Sustainable Business Model Canvas (LSBMC), a practical, interactive tool designed to help businesses explore and reshape their business models for a low-carbon future. The tool is especially targeted at companies with established sustainability departments and consultancy firms specialised in sustainability and climate strategy, particularly those working with organisations in high-impact sectors such as manufacturing, construction, agriculture, and transport.

The LSBMC complements two other major developments:

• the Net-Zero Business Consultant (NZBC), which supports companies in assessing their climate vulnerability and exposure; and
• a set of technology and best practices factsheets that help visualise real-world sustainable solutions already in use across Europe.

Together, these resources aim to:

• Help businesses analyse their vulnerability and exposure to climate change (via the NZBC),
• Diagnose their current business model and explore strategic improvements (via the LSBMC), and
• Visualise concrete solutions and technologies (via a set of sector-specific factsheets).

What Makes the Tool Innovative?

The LSBMC builds on and enhances traditional business model canvases by integrating advanced sustainability features:

• a preliminary self-assessment taxonomy to position a company within an eco-social-economic spectrum;
• database of 400+ measures and instruments to explore actionable decarbonisation options;
• a customisable measures database to incorporate company-specific strategies;
• direct linkages to SDGs and over 250 sustainability-oriented indicators;
• possibility to map the connections with GHG Protocol Scopes 1, 2 and 3; and
• a repository of real business technologies and innovations, presented in the form of sectoral factsheets.

 Validated with Real Companies Across Europe

The LSBMC has been tested through interviews and hands-on sessions with companies in Italy, Poland, Germany, and Spain from key sectors: manufacturing, construction, agriculture, and transport.

Participants valued the tool as:

• A starting point for decarbonisation planning;
• A support system for sustainability reporting; and
• A way to align internal strategy with sustainable development goals and opportunities.

The tool also enhanced strategic awareness among users, prompting reflection on barriers, opportunities, and future pathways.

One Tool — Multiple Connections

The real strength of the LSBMC lies in its integration with other LOCALISED project outcomes:

• It complements the Net-Zero Business Consultant, which evaluates risks and vulnerabilities;
• It connects directly with the WP4 database of adaptation and mitigation measures;
• It draws on WP5’s SDG-linked indicators; and
• It links to WP7’s fact sheets, which showcase real European examples of green technologies across various sectors.

In doing so, the LSBMC not only helps businesses understand their present but also design their sustainable future.

The LOCALISED project took part at and officially sponsored the European Climate Change Adaptation (ECCA) 2025 conference, held in Rimini from 16 to 18 June. The event offered an important opportunity to share results, connect with key stakeholders, and test tools developed over the past four years.

On 17 June, LOCALISED co-organised a session together with its sister projects, I-CISK, ReachOut, and RethinkAction, focused on how European-funded initiatives can support national and local climate actions. The session titled “Cross-sectoral and multi-scale climate services – upscaling of mitigation and adaptation actions” highlighted the innovative value of science-based tools in guiding climate action planning for local policy making and opened the floor to engaging exchanges of knowledge and discussions for upscaling project results across Europe.

“Scientific support is essential for political decisions. It helps to understand complex social, environmental and economic challenges based on evidence and to derive suitable measures. Without this foundation, political decisions risk being short-term, ineffective or even harmful. This is particularly true in areas such as climate change, health, energy and digitalisation. The software products we develop allow us to provide decision support through interactive dashboards, early warning systems or risk assessments. As scientists, we are committed to transparency and traceability by making our findings accessible and understandable for political actors and the public.” — Jürgen Kropp (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research), LOCALISED Project Coordinator.

That same day, in the afternoon, a brokerage event was also organized, offering a hands-on opportunity to test and explore the projects’ tools developed over the past year. Indeed, LOCALISED showcased the Climate Action Strategiser (CAST), a science-based tool focusing on how to better integrate mitigation and adaptation measures. The project team was pleased to collect feedback from potential users, to improve the value of the solution developed.

“Our platform empowers municipalities and regions to accelerate their climate action planning, making the sustainability transformation negotiable and achievable at the local level.” — Bernd Hezel (Climate Media Factory), LOCALISED Project Partner.

Moreover, throughout the days of the conference, the LOCALISED booth served as an interactive space to present the project’s activities and results, and to engage with different stakeholders.

As LOCALISED enters its final phase, ECCA 2025 was a unique opportunity for project partners to meet in person, reflect on shared achievements, and celebrate a collaboration that extends beyond institutional boundaries. In the months ahead, the consortium will continue working to finalise project outputs, share key lessons, and ensure that the tools and knowledge developed will support climate mitigation and adaptation efforts well beyond the project’s duration.

The 2025 edition of the European Urban Resilience Forum (EURESFO) will take place on 25-27 June in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Also this year, LOCALISED is co-organising the event as well as is contributing with a panel discussion “Towards climate-resilient cities: Co-creating tools and services for local action”.

This session delves into the transformative role of co-creation—the collaborative process of designing climate resilience tools and services with local communities, city stakeholders, and experts. By integrating scientific knowledge with local insights, these tools have the potential to bridge the gap between policy and practice, creating more effective climate adaptation and mitigation strategies. But how can these tools be institutionalized within cities’ governance structures? And how can they be scaled to ensure impact beyond pilot areas?

Drawing from key European-funded projects such as LOCALISED, REACHOUT, RethinkAction, and Urban Climate Resilience Program (UCRP), we will explore practical experiences and lessons learned from co-creating urban resilience tools. These projects have exemplified how effective multi-level governance, partnerships with local communities, and EU-level support structures are crucial to turning resilient urban strategies into reality. With specific examples from cities like Berlin, Greater Manchester, Milan, the session will highlight strategies for engaging local communities, scaling solutions, and institutionalizing resilience tools for long-term impact.

Organised by ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability and the European Environment Agency (EEA), EURESFO has been acting as a unique exchange platform in the field of resilience. The event brings together city representatives, experts, and stakeholders from local and regional institutions to discuss strategies, initiatives, and actions affiliating to climate change adaptation, disaster management, and the cultivation of urban resilience.

The 2025 edition of EURESFO is also co-organised the City of Rotterdam, and will focus on how to accelerate resilience action on six key topics. These topics are justice, inclusion and societal resilience, new extremes and polycrises: from heatwaves to water resilience, exploring nature-based solutions: from policy to action, finance and investment strategies for resilience-building, resilience governance in a polarised political landscape and finally data, information and evidence-based resilience action.

The LOCALISED project – Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) – is sponsoring the European Climate Change Adaptation Conference (ECCA) 2025, taking place in in Rimini, Italy, from 16–18 June. In particular, Together with other EU-funded projects — I-CISK, ReachOut, and RethinkAction — we are hosting a Brokerage Event on Tuesday, 17 June, at 16:30 in Room Faro.

This special session will showcase innovative tools developed over the past year by our projects. Attendees will have the opportunity to:

• Explore the tools’ features and real-world applications
• Engage directly with developers and project teams
• Discover how these solutions can support tackle climate change

In addition, the four projects will share a joint booth throughout ECCA 2025, where visitors can learn more about our research, methodologies, and key outputs.

We look forward to inspiring conversations and meaningful exchanges: see you in Rimini!