The draft Council Conclusions on the Green Deal future ( to be adopted Monday 17th ) send a strong signal to the new Commission to double down on action to tackle the climate, biodiversity and pollution crises Are few excerpts here ..
Conscience Consulting
Public Policy Offices
Brussels, Brussels 301 followers
Strategic consulting on sustainability, systems change, policies and partnerships in Europe and worldwide.
About us
Conscience is a change agency. In a world in transition, we believe in the positive impact of ethical advocacy and climate diplomacy. We build bridges for inclusive sustainable societies. We convene coalitions and design campaigns that drive positive change. We’re working to help shape a world that is environmentally sound and socially just. Insight. Integrity. Influence.
- Website
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http://www.conscienceconsult.net
External link for Conscience Consulting
- Industry
- Public Policy Offices
- Company size
- 2-10 employees
- Headquarters
- Brussels, Brussels
- Type
- Self-Owned
- Founded
- 2008
- Specialties
- Communication, Campaigns, Coaching, and Convening
Locations
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Primary
Brussels, Brussels 1180, BE
Employees at Conscience Consulting
Updates
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On World Oceans Day we are grateful to be part of a worldwide effort to inform the public of the devastating effect of farming salmon, sea bream, sea bass, and other carnivorous fish. It is an unsustainable business model that consumes more wild fish than is produced, yet the industry continues to promote the myth that the so-called blue revolution is "feeding the world." Polluting our waters and coastlines, fish farms decimate communities both where the fish are farmed and where the wild fish are taken for fish meal. As we have learned more and more about the effects of fish farming on coastal communities and marine ecosystems, we have met extraordinary people and groups from around the world that are leading the opposition to this destructive industry, many of whom are listed below. If you love nature and care about the natural world our children will inherit, please watch this video produced by the amazing Mike Sampey and visit www.fishfarmsout.org to join a coalition of coastal communities, NGOs and scientists from 6 continents that have signed on to an open letter to the Food and Agriculture Org FAO of the United Nations to tell them #FISHFARMSOUT Read more https://lnkd.in/e-KYNUFP Get the facts www.fishfarmsout.org 🌊🌊🌊🐠🐟🙏🏽 Rauch Foundation Don't Cage Our Oceans The GSFR Katheti Feedback Slow Food Seas At Risk Changing Markets Foundation CFFA Coalition for Fair Fisheries Arrangements Blue Marine Foundation Eurogroup for Animals Greenpeace Africa BLOOM Association Aquatic Life Institute Sciaena WildFish Patti Schaefer Eva Douzinas Ann Golob Catalina Cendoya Agustina Copello Andrianna Natsoulas Chiara Palandri Nusa Urbancic Natasha Hurley Amelia Cookson Cléo Welgryn Nicolas Blanc Tom Appleby Quentin Marchais Anne Seidler Tobias Troll #sustainablefoodsystems #sustainableaquaculture #marineprotection #teamwork🌍 Joanna Sullivan Hannah Kapff David Labi Nikos Kopsidas Fay Orfanidou Iro Lampiri
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Working to put emerging issues on the EU and global policy agenda is a speciality of Conscience Consulting One year ago we were approached by the Rauch Foundation to help put industrial aquaculture on the map. Another food systems tragedy in the making, akin to underwater factory farms, with all the same problems, but worse. We chose Curious PR in London as media partner. #Collabs add new angles and drive more impact. The #SavePoros campaign was launched a month later, on World Oceans Day 2023, with the aim to stop a massive expansion of industrial fish farms around Greek islands, notably on the island of Poros by exposing the harm to marine systems and local communities. Research studies revealed lack of public awareness, catastrophic impact on jobs, and flawed environmental impact assessments. The Rauch Foundation is impressive for its attention to hard evidence A year later and the campaign has learned so much. Two documentaries were commissioned that have been screened worldwide. Italian Francesco De Augustinis https://lnkd.in/d4YgvE6z and Tasmanian Mike Sampey https://porosstands.film/ created masterpieces to expose death and destruction under the surface, poor industry practices and the deliterious impacts on the Global South. Feedback published a report https://lnkd.in/ez6RQMkW and the Financial Times reported its own six month investigation https://lnkd.in/dJUQr4GR. 80+ global groups and scientists gathered to share experiences from far flung corners of the world at the #SeasofChange Summit on Industrial fish farming, one week after the intergovernmental conference #OurOcean2024. Questions were put to the Greek Parliament and the European Parliament https://lnkd.in/e7_2DE2v So next week is World Ocean Day and the unity and solidarity among the global groups and scientists that gathered on Poros, with more joining forces every day, will be revealed. *Industrial fish farming is not sustainable aquaculture*. A powerful action is in preparation that will enable YOU to get involved Conscience is a change agency – In a world in transition, we believe in the positive impact of ethical advocacy and climate diplomacy. We build bridges for inclusive sustainable societies. We convene coalitions and design campaigns that drive positive change. We’re working every day to help shape a world that is environmentally sound and socially just. https://lnkd.in/eM-T6cga Join us on this action ✊🏼 Follow us: https://lnkd.in/eJfvywxy Eva Douzinas Katheti Patti Schaefer GRACE Communications Foundation Leslie Hatfield Andrianna Natsoulas Alex Cornelissen Vera Coelho Anais Berthier Quentin Marchais Tom Appleby Blue Marine Foundation ClientEarth Changing Markets Foundation Catalina Cendoya Natasha Hurley Nusa Urbancic Celine Charveriat Agustina Copello CFFA Coalition for Fair Fisheries Arrangements
Founder Conscience Consulting | Professor Strategic Coalitions, Climate Diplomacy and International Trade | Author 🌍
Just leaving the beautiful island of Poros where I spent the past days meeting awesome people from foundations, activist movements and academics from four continents gathered together at the first ever #SeasofChange Summit on industrial fish farming, hosted by Rauch Foundation, Global Salmon Farming Resistance and local NGO Katheti The facts are appalling ❌Fish farms are starving communities of locally caught fish, driving global food insecurity, triggering irreversible marine damage and harming human health, due to the toxicity of the farmed fish ❌EU funds have been given without any conditionality attached, so countries like Greece that don’t have the capacity to define fish farm policy, are rushing to spend the money, without understanding the ireversible consequences locally and globally ❌Wild fish caught off West Africa are shipped up to Europe and made into fish feed, depriving populations of their basic diet. Krill from Antarctica is also now made into fish feed. The booming industry of fish farms in Europe, subsidised by the EU, has a voracious appetite, contributing to overfishing, bottom trawler dead zones and diminishing of fish stocks around the world. #CrazyStat1 It takes up to 4 kilos of wild fish to fatten up 1 kg of farmed fish The rest of the diet is comprised of antibiotics and formaldehyde, plus the dead or diseased fish they eat. In Spain, Calpe fish farms in Spain used 342kilos of antibiotics to manage three outbreaks of Pasteurella, and the Basademar fish pens 20,000 used litres of formaldehyde( last year ) #CrazyStat2 up to 30% regularly die from disease and enormous cages of fish die from disease outbreaks when the oceans warm unexpectedly. Escapee fish eat local fish stocks, with irreversible consequences as whole local species ( eg of wild sea bream ) are becoming silently eradicated #CrazyStat3 Underneath each fish cage is 2metres of fish faeces, creating a dead zone on the sea bed. Waste floats onto nearby Posidonia sea meadows. Underwater forests like Posidonia have a 4x times higher capacity for carbon capture than land based forests so contribute massively to Greece’s net zero climate plan. Plus the plastic waste. Fish farms are already the highest contributor to plastic pollution in Greece’s seas, with styrofoam blocks on beaches and rocks surrounding existing fish farms. Learning so much about this crazy new element in the global food system is mind-boggling, and gathering with so many bright and motivated people from around the world is a really inspiring way to work to achieve change. Brilliant to discuss with organisations present inc. Greenpeace Greece , ClientEarth, Sea Shepherd Global , Don't Cage Our Oceans , Blue Marine Foundation , Grace Foundation , Feedback , DeSmog and hosts, the Rauch Foundation and Katheti Patti Eva Hannah Mike Francesco Nikos Fay #SavePoros #SeasofChange #aquaculture
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💪🏽Supporting women leaders at the US Rauch Foundation and Greek non profit Katheti at the #SeasofChange Summit on Industrial Fish Farming, one month ago on the island of Poros. These impressive women challenged fish farm bosses at the #OurOcean2024 conference in Athens and hosted an award winning documentary film premiere during the conference. The very next day they convened a series of policy debates involving 100 global change makers, and hosted a press conference for 25 reporters to reveal the broken EIA system that’s behind the rapid expansion of fish farming in Greece. The team led by Fay Orfanidou, Eva Douzinas, Patti Schaefer, Catalina Cendoya, Agustina Copello and Ann Golob are shining examples of soft power, mobilising and motivating, while remaining positive and purposeful 🙏🏽 #softpower #strategy Gathering together leaders from four continents and a dozen countries around an emerging issue takes courage and vision. One year after the #SavePoros campaign started, local community leaders from Poros and other Greek islands, mixed with global fish farm resistance movements, food systems researchers, foundations, film makers, ocean protection lawyers, NGOs, and journalists on the stunning island of Poros to shed light on the unacceptable practices of industrial fish farming and lend support to the local community, which is battling huge expansion plans of fish farms on its island. Meeting all together on Poros was such a beautiful experience ✊🏼 Change can be an enriching process, involving the guidance and knowledge of local communities, the sharing of success stories, and the planting of seeds of a global movement behind a vision to reset the global food industry Industrial fish farms are triggering unprecedented damage to ecosystems and entire communities. We have seen that sustainable aquaculture can make a net positive contribution IF in closed loop, circular systems with carbon positive production of e.g. crustaceans and algae instead of carnivorous fish farms that need many kilos of fish meal over their own body weight to grow big enough, and systematically pollute surrounding waters, seabeds and species. Conscience Consulting is honoured to play a small role in getting this important issue on to the EU policy agenda #health #noharm #aquaculture #foodsystems #change #seasofchange #women
One more beautiful sunset and now it’s so long to Athens and Poros and back to the US for the Rauch Foundation. We will keep the friends we made at the #SeasOfChange summit in our hearts as we continue our efforts to draw attention to the proliferation of industrial fish farming and its devastating consequences to coastal communities around the world. Special thanks to all those individuals and groups who so brilliantly contributed to the efforts and helped to make the conference so inspiring: Eva Douzinas Natasha Hurley Feedback The GSFR Curious PR Conscience Consulting Katheti Francesco De Augustinis Mike Sampey Hannah Kapff Joanna Sullivan Nikos Kopsidas Agustina Copello Catalina Cendoya Andrianna Natsoulas Fay Orfanidou Iro Lampiri Tasos Rodis ClientEarth Quentin Marchais DeSmog Don't Cage Our Oceans Mission Blue / Sylvia Earle Alliance Sea Shepherd Global Blue Marine Foundation GRACE Communications Foundation
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Important fact here: “Europe lags behind in reaping the benefits that biological control can bring to its economy. The approval and authorisation process of biocontrol in the EU takes up to 10 years in the EU, compared to up to 3 years in other major markets. Such a long authorisation process leads to a low return on investment, making Europe the least attractive region to submit biocontrol globally.” Consequence: Farmers in Europe are deprived the alternatives they need to move away from pesticides. Nature and biodiversity continue to suffer. Soils cannot start to regenerate. Farmers are locked into pesticides, despite wanting to escape. Next steps: A positive agenda of farming for food security, starts with unlocking biological control. A new EU law on biological farming will support food systems change, nature regeneration and climate security. And give all farmers a better future. #biologyisbetter #biocontrol
The Strategic Dialogue on the Future of Agriculture is ongoing, with the next meeting scheduled later this month. Last week, we issued our input to the dialogue, sharing how we can best support farmers and agriculture in an age of technological innovation. Here are some of our key points… 👩🏼🌾 If we want farmers to continue being profitable while operating more sustainably, they need access to credible and effective tools, such as #Biocontrol: natural alternatives proven to control pests and diseases on crops. 💶 To successfully access these tools, farmers need incentives and financial support through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). 💡 Better bridges need to be built between knowledge and innovation, to provide a better understanding of the opportunities available to transition to #SustainableAgriculture. 🍎 Consumers should know more about the benefits of biocontrol to help inform their decision-making when buying produce. This could be achieved by farm certification schemes as well as publicly funded awareness-raising campaigns. The world is moving towards more biological approaches to pest and disease control, but the EU continues to lag behind, with slower authorisation and market access for biocontrol products. We have the tools, but the EU needs to take action to support sustainable agriculture methods like biocontrol. Read our full input to the Strategic Dialogue: https://lnkd.in/eRMYqskX #Biologicals #Agriculture #Farmers #Environment #FutureofAgriculture
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Conscience Consulting reposted this
EU Parliament rejects SUR opportunity to provide farmers with #biocontrol alternatives to secure food production. Read our response:
EU Parliament rejects SUR opportunity to provide farmers with biocontrol alternatives to secure food production - IBMA-GLOBAL
https://ibma-global.org
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Conscience Consulting excels in systems change work, especially when the status quo and vested interests throw all their strategies and money into preventing change. We’ve been consulting for 15 years, focussed on creating change campaigns for disruptive sectors. We base our advice on real-world experience of leading NGO campaigns for 10 years, private sector campaigns for 5 years and European Parliament work for 3 years. For IBMA - International Biocontrol Manufacturers Association we’ve provided strategic advice and tactical support, building political credence, bringing in trusted partners and opening doors to critical allies with 360°oversight and foresight. We’ve made progress in this David Vs Goliath mega battle of changing EU farming systems. More hard work ahead to get this over the line. #goodvibes #teamwork #teamworkmakesthedreamwork
#ABIM2023 was a roaring success! It welcomed over 1,800 participants from 58 countries to share innovative ideas, network and highlight the importance of biocontrol. We were delighted to kick off the ABIM - Annual Biocontrol Industry Meeting 2023 with news that the European Parliament's ENVI Committee voted in favour of MEP Sarah Wiener's report on the SUR, which included vital compromise amendments with provisions for an EU-wide definition for biocontrol and fast-track of authorisation procedures for biocontrol. Watch our President, Herman Van Mellaert, discuss this positive step ▶️ #GreenDeal #SUR #BiologicalControl #Farm2Fork #RegenerativeFarming #SustainableAgriculture #BiocontrolMatters #InnovativeSolutions #ABIM
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Delighted to contribute to this important debate to reassure this critical sector that the EU is committed to nature based farming. The debate takes place just as the EU Sustainable Use Regulation (SUR) is being discussed in Council and voted in Parliament. A critical moment for the biocontrol sector, which is innovating, investing and enabling a whole new generation of farmers to switch to nature based farming. They’ve achieved the switch in other regions of the world through demonstrable results in productivity, yields and soil regeneration in 100s of 1000s of hectares of farms and fields. Now it’s time for the EU to future proof their food and farming sector. The biocontrol industry already provides 25% of pest control in the EU. With the SUR, the potential for getting more nature based alternatives to farmers is very real. The potential benefits for Member States are € gains for crop quality, crop health and crop yields, and € savings for human health, biodiversity, ecosystems, soil health, water quality etc. A no-brainier ! Do you have any questions you want to ask the biocontrol gathering ? There will be 1000 scientists, entrepreneurs and farm advisors that work daily on farms, leading the agri-transition. Send your questions by DM or post here. Let’s make sure everyone is clear on the benefits of biocontrol. #FoodSystem #SUR #biocontrol #NatureBasedFarming #FarmToFork #EUgreendeal #Resilience #Pesticides #Farmers IBMA - International Biocontrol Manufacturers Association
This year's keynote and panel discussion will focus on the transition to chemical-free agriculture and the challenges and opportunities for the #biocontrol industry. Speakers: - Christian HUYGHE, Scientific Director for Agriculture at INRAe (keynote) - Herman Van Mellaert, President IBMA Global and Director Strategic Alliances Biobest NV - Joanna Sullivan, Founder and CEO of Conscience Consulting (chair) See the full programme here: https://lnkd.in/eg5xf7rd Don’t miss out – sign up for #ABIM2023 now: https://lnkd.in/dYygcfmW #sustainableagriculture #innovativesolutions
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Biological control is so clearly the answer to many problems in the food system. Essential to reduce the climate impact of agriculture. Essential for nature restoration. Essential to help farmers thrive. Biocontrol is indeed essential for the agricultural transition, enabling ecosystems revival and soil regeneration, as well as crop productivity and food security. And the EU SUR proposal is essential to get legal clarity, market certainty and rapid mainstreaming by farmers of biology. Excellent interview Jennifer Lewis 👌 Grateful to @bbc ‘s Julia Caesar for bringing biocontrol to the world 🙏🏽 and Curious PR for working your magic #SUR #food #farming #health #biocontrol IBMA - International Biocontrol Manufacturers Association #EUGreenDeal #EUFarmtoFork
Great to have Jennifer Lewis on BBC World's World Business Report discussing biocontrol. Farmers in Southern Spain are taking organic farming one step further and are relying on insects and pheromones to control pests. This is natures way of working with the biodiversity of an area and securing food supply without the use of pesticides. By 2050, the number of people in the world is set to reach 9.7 billion. The demand for food is going to put supply at the top of the agenda. Farmers are keen to have sustainable methods of protecting crops rather than relying on pesticides. In the EU, the Farm to Fork Strategy and the Green Deal aim at reducing dependency on the use of chemicals, with an aim to phasing synthetic pesticides out completely by 2035. This weekend (3-5 Sept), the 27 EU Agricultural Ministers are set to have an informal meeting in Cordoba, Spain. The agenda will include discussions on the Sustainable Use Regulation - the key regulation for biocontrol. Many thanks as always to Hannah Kapff and the team at Curious PR for organising.