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In this article, I tell about the key findings and action points from the Global sustainable development report 2019 – Future is Now (GSDR2019) - and raise, based on the report, messages and recommendations for the academic publishing community for consideration and action. The Agenda2030 for sustainable development was signed by all UN member countries in 2015. It is an ambitious political framework to transform the world into a safe and just place. Based on the GSDR2019, only little progress had taken place until 2019. To speed up the progress in a way that makes durable changes towards sustainable development, there is a need to identify the interlinkages between the various goals and targets and push transformation in six key societal systems side by side. To make this happen, four types of levers need to work in an integrated manner. To ensure this, universal science capacity is required, with an emphasis on sustainability science. The academic publishers play an important role here. Open access, searchable databases and syntheses are highly needed.

PurposeThe critical role of diet in climate change mitigation has raised behavioural approaches to the top of the agenda. In this paper, the authors take a critical look at these behavioural approaches and call for a more dynamic, practice-oriented understanding of long-term changes in sustainable food consumption and supply.Design/methodology/approachThis approach is based on the experiences from a long-term experiment promoting sustainable eating in a workplace lunch restaurant using a series of informational and nudging techniques. In the experiment, the authors found that focussing solely on eating behaviours did not help to capture the multi-level change processes mobilised. The authors therefore propose a more dynamic, practice-oriented methodology for examining long-term changes in sustainable eating. The emprical data of the experiment are based on qualitative and quantitative data, consisting of customer survey, customer and kitchen personnel focus group discussions and monitoring data on the use of food items in the restaurant and their climate impacts.FindingsThe results draw attention to a series of practical challenges restaurants face when promoting sustainable eating. Directing analytical attention to tinkering helped to reveal the tensions brought about by labelling and nudging in menu planning and recipe development. The results show how tinkering required attentiveness to customers' wishes in both cases. Nudging offered more freedom for the restaurant to develop menus and recipes. In the case scrutinised, however, nudging customers towards tastier and more satiating vegetarian dishes included the use of dairy. This partly watered down the climate benefits gained from reduced meat consumption.Originality/valueRather than looking separately at changes in consumer behaviour and in the supply of food, the authors show how we need analytical concepts that enable the evaluation of their mutual evolution. Tinkering can assist us in this endeavour. Its adaptive, adjustive character, however, calls for caution. The development of praxis in food services and catering requires critical companions from the transdisciplinary research community. Research can provide systematic knowledge on the impacts of labels and nudges on kitchen praxis. However, research itself also needs to tinker and learn from experiments. This necessitates long-term speculative research strategies.

Agenda 2030 and sustainable development goals (SDG) are key formulations of sustainability policies, consisting of 17 general-level goals and 169 more detailed targets. The target setting is based on tedious international policy negotiations and compromises addressing myriad of different and sometimes incompatible interests. Identification of key trade-offs and synergies between the targets can help the efficient implementation of SDGs by improving the opportunities to focus policy attention and actions on the most relevant issues. This article focuses on trade-offs and synergies of nationally relevant targets in the context of an industrialised and affluent nation state. Results from a cross-matrix examination of targets in Finland show that most of the selected targets are characterised by synergistic interactions with other nationally relevant targets. However, policies aimed at advancing economic growth and the use of renewable energy risk a number of serious trade-offs. Methodological advances are required to make the assessment of interactions more transparent and reliable, manageable within the limited resources and capable of producing results relevant to decision-making. A recommendation for the use of cross-matrix examination as a tool of collaborative ex ante sustainability assessment is put forward, also acknowledging the risk of “paralysis by analysis” related to the wide-ranging SDG framework.

The critical role of everyday practices in climate change mitigation has placed experimental approaches at the top of the environmental policy agenda. In this paper we discuss the value of behavioural approaches, practice theories, pragmatic tinkering and speculative thinking with respect to experimentation. Whereas the first two have been much discussed within sustainability science and transition research, the notions of pragmatic tinkering and speculative thinking radically broaden the scope of experimental research and its contribution to sustainable everyday practices. Pragmatism brings to the fore the need to coordinate multiple practices and understandings of good eating, as these may clash in practice. Through this lens, the value of experimental research lies in revealing frictions that need to be resolved, or tinkered, in practice. Speculative experimentation, in turn, refers to the power of experiments to challenge the experimental setting itself and force thinking about new possibilities and avenues. We investigate the value of all four approaches in relation to our experiments with sustainable eating in the Finnish and Nordic context. Our elaboration justifies the need to broaden the conception of experimental research in order to capture the multiplicity of sustainable eating. Hence, we call for attentive, speculative experimental research aimed not only at testing solutions for sustainable everyday practice, but also at reflecting on the practice of experimentation itself.

Mitigation of climate change urges to reduce our meat consumption. This necessitates new eating practices and ways of thinking about food. In this paper we discuss how experimentative research can participate in making such changes. We introduce notions of pragmatic tinkering, speculative thinking and ethical discussion and evaluate their contribution to understanding of change in everyday practices. We investigate their prospects in relation to our experiments with sustainable school dining. In these experiments we introduced a free vegetarian choice to school meals and engaged pupils in their development. The results highlight the dynamic nature of change in everyday practices. The notion of tinkering highlights the small adjustments needed to reconcile the different goals in school dining. Our results stress that the practical adjustments easily uphold the conventional practices. Speculative thinking is needed in challenging them. In our experiments, the engagement of pupils opened places for hesitation, and eventually also to new ways of thinking about school food. The pupils also challenged our experiments. They reminded how eating is entangled to our shared cultural meanings on food, but also to our identity and understandings of gender. In future, experimentative research should build settings, which allow them becoming more multiple as well.

Voluntary and active participation by a wide variety of actors is a prerequisite for successful societal transitions towards sustainability. The ‘Commitment to Sustainable Development 2050’ is a national-level initiative in Finland, aiming to mobilise a large-scale transition involving various societal actors through openly communicated commitments to concrete actions. Each commitment should focus on at least one of the eight nationally defined sustainability objectives connected to the global Sustainable Development Goals. This article assesses the implementation and the development needs of the commitment process based on a range of materials. The results highlight the importance of securing adequate resources for long-term coordination and continuous development of the commitment process, trust creation through long-term and open communication, and flexibility allowing for experimentation aimed at finding new modes of interaction between the public and private sectors.

The concept of ecosystem services is widely used in the scientific literature and increasingly also in policy and practice. Nevertheless, operationalising the concept, i.e. putting it into practice, is still a challenge. We describe the approach of the EU-project OpenNESS (Operationalisation of Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital), which was created in response to this challenge to critically evaluate the concept when applied to real world problems at different scales and in different policy sectors. General requirements for operationalization, the relevance of conceptual frameworks and lessons learnt from 27 case study applications are synthesized in a set of guiding principles. We also briefly describe some integrative tools as developed in OpenNESS which support the implementation of the principles. The guiding principles are grouped under three major headlines: “Defining the problem and opening up the problem space”, “Considering ethical issues” and “Assessing alternative methods, tools and actions”. Real world problems are often “wicked” problems, which at first are seldom clear-cut and well-defined, but often rather complex and subject to differing interpretations and interests. We take account of that complexity and emphasise that there is not one simple and straightforward way to approach real world problems involving ecosystem services. The principles and tools presented are meant to provide some guidance for tackling this complexity by means of a transdisciplinary methodology that facilitates the operationalisation of the ecosystem services concept.

The Nature Step to Respiratory Health was the overarching theme of the 12th General Meeting of the Global Alliance against Chronic Respiratory Diseases (GARD) in Helsinki, August 2018. New approaches are needed to improve respiratory health and reduce premature mortality of chronic diseases by 30% till 2030 (UN Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs). Planetary health is defined as the health of human civilization and the state of the natural systems on which it depends. Planetary health and human health are interconnected, and both need to be considered by individuals and governments while addressing several SDGs. Background: The Nature Step to Respiratory Health was the overarching theme of the 12th General Meeting of the Global Alliance against Chronic Respiratory Diseases (GARD) in Helsinki, August 2018. New approaches are needed to improve respiratory health and reduce premature mortality of chronic diseases by 30% till 2030 (UN Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs). Planetary health is defned as the health of human civilization and the state of the natural systems on which it depends. Planetary health and human health are interconnected, and both need to be consid‑ ered by individuals and governments while addressing several SDGs. Results: The concept of the Nature Step has evolved from innovative research indicating, how changed lifestyle in urban surroundings reduces contact with biodiverse environments, impoverishes microbiota, afects immune regulation and increases risk of NCDs. The Nature Step calls for strengthening connections to nature. Physical activity in natural environments should be promoted, use of fresh vegetables, fruits and water increased, and consumption of sugary drinks, tobacco and alcohol restricted. Nature relatedness should be part of everyday life and especially emphasized in the care of children and the elderly. Taking “nature” to modern cities in a controlled way is possible but a challenge for urban planning, nature conservation, housing, trafc arrangements, energy production, and impor‑ tantly for supplying and distributing food. Actions against the well-known respiratory risk factors, air pollution and smoking, should be taken simultaneously. Conclusions: In Finland and elsewhere in Europe, successful programmes have been implemented to reduce the burden of respiratory disorders and other NCDs. Unhealthy behaviour can be changed by well-coordinated actions involving all stakeholders. The growing public health concern caused by NCDs in urban surroundings cannot be solved by health care alone; a multidisciplinary approach is mandatory

Dominant research modes are not enough to guide the societal transformations necessary to achieve the 2030 Agenda. Researchers, practitioners, decision makers, funders and civil society should work together to achieve universally accessible and mutually beneficial sustainability science.

The aim of EKLIPSE is to develop a mechanism to inform European-scale policy on biodiversity and related environmental challenges. This paper considers two fundamental aspects of the decision-support mechanism being developed by EKLIPSE: 1) the engagement of relevant actors from science, policy and society to jointly identify evidence for decision making; and 2) the networking of scientists and other holders of knowledge on biodiversity and other relevant evidence. The mechanism being developed has the potential not only to build communities of knowledge holders but to build informal networks among those with similar interests in evidence, be they those that seek to use evidence or those who are building evidence, or both. EKLIPSE has been successful in linking these people and in contributing to building informal networks of requesters of evidence, and experts of evidence and its synthesis. We have yet to see, however, significant engagement of formal networks of knowledge holders. Future success, however, relies on the continued involvement with and engagement of networks, a high degree of transparency within the processes and a high flexibility of structures to adapt to different requirements that arise with the broad range of requests to and activities of EKLIPSE.

Progress towards sustainable development ultimately depends on policy makers' and practitioners' capacities to protect Natural Capital (NC) stocks so that they are not exploited beyond Earth's capability to renew them. This involves a sound understanding of the benefits and values derived by society from NC and ecosystem services (ES). Scientific evidence to support this understanding is growing rapidly, but access to the data, methods, tools and expertise that underpins this evidence base is fragmented, particularly at the science - policy - practice interfaces. Two large EU research projects have therefore developed a joint knowledge platform - called Oppla - aimed at providing access to a wide range of resources on NC and ES. This new approach in the EU Research Area aims not only at integrating knowledge into one single platform, but also at making this knowledge operational amongst communities of science, policy and practice. Furthermore, it fosters the more efficient use of research funds by providing an open and freely available platform in which existing and new NC and ES projects can integrate their outcomes. This paper focuses on the knowledge integration and some guidance tools within Oppla to help users to find research outcomes.

Plants, animals and humans, are colonized by microorganisms (microbiota) and transiently exposed to countless others. The microbiota affects the development and function of essentially all organ systems, and contributes to adaptation and evolution, while protecting against pathogenic microorganisms and toxins. Genetics and lifestyle factors, including diet, antibiotics and other drugs, and exposure to the natural environment, affect the composition of the microbiota, which influences host health through modulation of interrelated physiological systems. These include immune system development and regulation, metabolic and endocrine pathways, brain function and epigenetic modification of the genome. Importantly, parental microbiotas have transgenerational impacts on the health of progeny. Humans, animals and plants share similar relationships with microbes. Research paradigms from humans and other mammals, amphibians, insects, planktonic crustaceans and plants demonstrate the influence of environmental microbial ecosystems on the microbiota and health of organisms, and indicate links between environmental and internal microbial diversity and good health. Therefore, overlapping compositions, and interconnected roles of microbes in human, animal and plant health should be considered within the broader context of terrestrial and aquatic microbial ecosystems that are challenged by the human lifestyle and by agricultural and industrial activities. Here, we propose research priorities and organizational, educational and administrative measures that will help to identify safe microbe-associated health-promoting modalities and practices. In the spirit of an expanding version of “One health” that includes environmental health and its relation to human cultures and habits (EcoHealth), we urge that the lifestyle-microbiota-human health nexus be taken into account in societal decision making., GC's attendance at the workshop was supported by the APC Microbiome Institute via Science Foundation Ireland funding (Grant number SFI/12/RC/2273). ED was supported by FWO grant G.0643.13. GB was funded by the European Union (BIOCOMES; 612713) and by the Austrian and Styrian Science Fund (FWF; P29285-BBL). M-CD received funding from the Programme for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration under grant agreement HEALTH-F4-2012-305312 (METACARDIS) and Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (EPoS, grant #634413) as well as Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris. HP is a research fellow at FRS-FNRS, Belgium. The contribution of YS is supported by the European Union's Seventh Framework Program under the grant agreement no 613979 (MyNewGut).

Despite the widespread use of the concept of ecosystem services, there is still much uncertainty over the precise understanding of basic terms such as ‘ecosystem services’, ‘benefits’ and ‘values’. This paper examines alternative ways of defining and classifying ecosystem services by using the specific example of boreal forests in Finland. We find the notion of final ecosystem goods and services (FEGS) operable, and suggest using it in economic valuation and other priority setting contexts, as well as in the selection of indicators. However, in the context of awareness raising it might be more effective to retain the well-established terminology of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Our analysis shows that the cascade model ( Potschin and Haines-Young, 2011. Progress in Physical Geography 35(5), 575–594 ) is helpful in distinguishing between ecosystem structures, processes, services, benefits and values by making the sequence of links visible. Johnston and Russell’s (2011. Ecological Economics 70(12), 2243–2249) operational mechanism for determining FEGSs proves also instrumental in separating intermediate (e.g. carbon sequestration) and final ecosystem services (e.g. reduction of atmospheric carbon). However, we find their definition of importance, which is based on willingness to pay, too narrow. Furthermore, we favour the CICES approach, which defines ecosystem services as the direct contributions that ecosystems – whether natural or semi-natural – make to human well-being.

Increased attention to, and careful planning of the integration of migrants into Nordic societies is ever more important. Nature based integration is a new solution to respond to this need. This re ...

This paper presents an analysis of a research project conducted by a network of environmental research institutes called Partnership for European Environmental Research (PEER). Our analysis constitutes a reflection on this research project based on a proposed ideal-typical transdisciplinary research process developed by Lang et al. (2012). The aim of the PRESS project (PEER Research on EcoSystem Services) was to provide support for the development and implementation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020, with a special emphasis on the ecosystem services concept. Our analysis of the research phases of the PRESS project shows that not all of the project elements accord with the notion of a full-scale transdisciplinary process. Despite this, a number of lessons can be learned regarding the use of different boundary objects for knowledge integration and the various roles played by researchers. We also identify some constraints with regard to synchronizing policy and project cycles and consider the advantages and disadvantages of research network structures in facilitating long-term cooperation., JRC.H.1-Water Resources

The scientific community is working on ways to identify different ecosystem services and to bring them on par to allow tradeoff analysis and inform targeting of policies. However, those ultimately governing ecosystem services continue to base their decisions on traditional knowledge production segregated to specific habitats, ecosystems, geographical areas and sectors. The aim of our paper is to tackle the challenges of the transition from sector governance to a more integrated model of ecosystem service governance by building on existing governance arrangements geared towards sustainability. To examine the uptake of ecosystem service approaches, we review published material and conduct secondary analysis of how ecosystem services are identified, measured, mapped and valued in three Finnish real-world governance settings. The governance settings of voluntary biodiversity conservation, urban planning and natural resource strategies show that, at a qualitative level, identifying a broad range of ecosystem services is easy and appealing but cross-comparison and tradeoff analysis face challenges. The analysis demonstrates that measuring all services is impossible and faces difficulties where the services fall between traditional sectoral boundaries. Measuring and valuing services does not directly lead to increased use of this knowledge. We conclude that the mismatch between the governance needs and the ecosystem service paradigm can be closed only if the tools are developed so that they build on existing knowledge systems and governance arrangements but aim at communicating across ecosystem and sector boundaries.

“The Arctic is a new gateway to the world, and innovative cooperation for its sustainable development is key to the future of the planet.” With these promising and future-oriented words, the High R...

Sustainable development is one of the key concepts in coastal management, and indicators are widely considered to be suitable communicative and easy-to-use tools in providing environmental information for management. However, the applicability of aggregate indicators still needs examination and discussion. In this study the Trophic Index TRIX was applied in the northern Baltic Sea, an environment different from where it has been elaborated (the NW Adriatic Sea). The results of TRIX were in accordance with the general classification scheme of Finnish coastal waters. The results indicate that TRIX, like other aggregate indicators, is site dependent and needs to be calibrated to the conditions of the area in question. TRIX can provide useful information for decision-making, but needs to be linked with other sources of information to draw a broader picture that is needed in adaptive management of coastal waters. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

This paper examines the effectiveness of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) in transport planning in the light of different views of planning: synoptic optimising planning, communicative planning and planning as a social struggle. The analysis uses empirical materials from 17 case studies collected by survey from Member Countries of the United Nation's Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) and further processed in a practitioners' workshop, and also a detailed case study carried out in Finland. The case studies and the workshop identified a set of necessary conditions and facilitating factors that contribute to the effectiveness of strategic environmental assessments in transport planning. Our findings suggest that transport planning can often best be characterised as a social struggle over problem definitions and future choices. Thus, the effectiveness of SEA will depend on how well the assessment fits into the planning context and on its actual contribution to debates on problem definitions. Specific procedural steps may improve the effectiveness but explicit requirements to recognise SEA in decision making are likely to be a key condition.

Silvertown [1] has addressed an important topic and expresses many concerns, some of which are warranted. The paradigm of ecosystem services (ES) divides researchers and therefore debate is welcome. Since paradigms, by their very nature, constrain the way we view things, critiques of what is gained and lost in taking a particular world view is always valuable. The ‘ES paradigm’ is no exception. The problem with Silvertown's contribution to this necessary debate is that it is based on a caricature of what the field actually entails and of the literature that underpins it.

In the 1990s, the obligation to assess transboundary environmental impacts has become part of international law. The UN/ECE Convention on environmental impact assessment (EIA) in a transboundary context, which entered into force in 1997, is one of the key documents. In this study, we show that difficulties with the practical implementation of the Convention arise partly from an incomplete sharing of the concept of EIA, and partly from different material interests on the part of the Parties to the Convention. Attempts to improve the practical implementation should recognize both aspects. Several approaches are thus needed for improving the implementation. Some will help in developing a mutual understanding of impact assessments, whereas others may help in overcoming differences in material interests.

At the time of planning the national LTER network (FinLTSER) in Finland, the approach of linking social and ecological issues in solving environmental problems was already well embedded in science and policy institutions and practices. A broad community of environmental, natural and social scientists had been carrying out problem-oriented research related to environmental issues for many years before the concept of LTSER platforms raised wide interest among Finnish research institutes. In this article, we analyse the research culture leading to this high level of interest and enthusiasm regarding socio-ecological research during the development phase of the FinLTSER network. By using interview and other materials from the process of establishment of the FinLTSER, this chapter analyses the initiation of the network, the very first steps taken by the platforms and the challenges faced during this period.

The concept of ecosystem services (ES) is increasingly mainstreamed in EU policies. For proper development and implementation of the policies the availability of spatially explicit information on ES is essential. This paper presents a synthesis of the PRESS initiative (PEER Research on Ecosystem Services). In support of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020, this initiative demonstrated a multi-scale mapping and assessment approach of ES using case studies on recreation, water purification and pollination. The spatial assessment of these ES included maps displaying the potential and actual supply of these services at different spatial scales in both biophysical and monetary units. Scenarios were used to estimate changes in the flow of ES and to estimate benefits that arise from policy changes., JRC.H.1-Water Resources

The SKEP (Scientific Knowledge for Environmental Protection) network1 is a European Commission 6th Framework Programme (FP6) funded initiative2 that was launched on the 1st June 2005. It is one of a cluster of environmental European Research Area Networks (ERA-Nets).3 The network has the twin object...

Although hermaphroditism is universal in sessile barnacles, only a few species are known to be facultative self-fertilisers. This study tested the ability of Balanus improvisus Darwin to self-fertilise. Individuals were observed to carry well-developed ovaries and well-developed testes at the same time. Fertilisation took place and the eggs developed to larvae in both isolated and communal individuals. Self-fertilisation appears to take place somewhat later than cross-fertilisation. These laboratory results on self-fertilisation in B. improvisus are supported by field observations, in which isolated individuals were found with fertilised egg masses. B. improvisus can thus be added to the list of facultatively self-fertilising cirripedes. The ability to self-fertilise is especially advantageous for individuals of a species such as B. improvisus, which often has sparse and isolated populations.

Samples ofBalanus improvisuswere collected from 15 sites in the Baltic, the west coast of Sweden, the British Isles and North America. They were analysed with horizontal starch gel electrophoresis for 11 loci and with opercular plate morphometry for 10 metrical characters. Analyses of isozyme patterns revealed a high degree of genetic similarity amongst populations. The Baltic sites, however, showed less heterozygote deficiency than the British and American sites indicating higher stability and outcrossing in the Baltic. Morphometric characters showed somewhat more heterogeneity than isozymes. The Baltic was relatively more homogeneous by morphometrical characters than by isozymes compared with the other areas. Both analyses separated to some extent the three geographical regions from each other and clustered sites by salinity. Individuals at low salinity had relatively small opercular openings compared to individuals from high salinity.

Jared Diamond1 describes in his book Collapse how human societies throughout history have affected their own survival by the way they have used natural resources. The book provides several examples of social behaviour driven by short-term local needs instead of taking a long-term and broad-scale app...

Balanus improvisus is an estuarine barnacle that was first reported from the Baltic less than 200 years ago. Enzymes from 15 samples of B. improoisus from the Baltic, the Danish Belts and Swedish west coast were phenotyped using horizontal starch gelelectrophoresis. Observed heterozygosity was 21.4%. Deficiency of heterozygotes was small giving a mean value close to zero for all loci. Seven loci out of eleven showed significant differences in allele frequency distributions between sites. However, only slight environmental or geographic patterns could be seen (in Pgm and Gpt). The distribution of B. improvisus in this area is continuous and the larvae are freely dispersed throughout. Selective forces within the Baltic area do not seem to have been strong enough to bring about clear allele frequency differences in so short a time.

Previous work on barnacle biometry has mainly been concerned with the opercular valves, whose shape is often an important taxonomic character (Barnes & Healy, 1969; Henry & McLaughlin, 1975). The well-known change in shape whereby columnar individuals are produced as a result of crowding has also been described by many workers (e.g. Trusheim, 1932; Barnes & Powell, 1950; Subklew, 1969; Crisp & Bourget, 1985). The influence of environmental variables on the shape of the barnacle shell as a whole has been little studied.

The site of settlement of barnacles (Balanus improvisus) attached on shells of bluemussels (Mytilus edulis) was mapped from a sample of mussels collected in the Baltic Sea. Most barnacles had settled near the siphonal apertures of the mussel. An experiment was made to measure the disadvantages and advantages that living in close association brings to barnacles and mussels. The barnacles on shells of living mussels were shown to grow significantly faster than those on empty mussel shells. Presence of barnacles had no effects on growth of mussels. The two-species association under study was demonstrated to be a case of commensalism.

Climate change, urbanisation, chemical pollution and disruption of ecosystems, including biodiversity loss, affect our health and wellbeing. Research is crucial to be able to respond to the current and future challenges that are often complex and interconnected by nature. The HERA Agenda, summarised in this commentary, identifies six thematic research goals in the environment, climate and health fields. These include research to 1) reduce the effects of climate change and biodiversity loss on health and environment, 2) promote healthy lives in cities and communities, 3) eliminate harmful chemical exposures, 4) improve health impact assessment and implementation research, 5) develop infrastructures, technologies and human resources and 6) promote research on transformational change towards sustainability. Numerous specific recommendations for research topics, i.e., specific research goals, are presented under each major research goal. Several methods were used to define the priorities, including web-based surveys targeting researchers and stakeholder groups as well as a series of online and face-to-face workshops, involving hundreds of researchers and other stakeholders. The results call for an unprecedented effort to support a better understanding of the causes, interlinkages and impacts of environmental stressors on health and the environment. This will require breakdown of silos within policies, research, actors as well as in our institutional arrangements in order to enable more holistic approaches and solutions to emerge. The HERA project has developed a unique and exciting opportunity in Europe to consensuate priorities in research and strengthen research that has direct societal impact. The HERA project was funded from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 825417.