ACCTING aims to understand the impact of Green Deal policies on vulnerable groups, prevent inequalities, and produce knowledge and innovations to advance behavioural change at individual and collective levels for an inclusive and equal European Green Deal. Read our report on all 693 mapped initiatives.

A city on two wheels 

In the heart of Sweden, the Uppsala Cycling Association (UCF) has been transforming how citizens move around their city. Founded in 2006, this non-partisan association promotes everyday cycling as a pathway to a sustainable future. With public education, advocacy, and community-led initiatives, UCF encourages people to swap cars for bicycles. 

Bikes, not barriers 
One of UCF’s flagship projects is Sweden’s largest cargo bike pool, offering 11 cargo bikes and 17 bike carts to members. With vehicles hosted by local volunteers and funded by project grants, borrowing is either free or very low cost. This makes sustainable transport accessible to families and individuals with limited incomes. 

Power to the people 
UCF actively collaborates with local authorities and organisations such as Fridays for Future and the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation. This network-driven model empowers citizens to influence climate policies and city planning. UCF fosters shared responsibility, social learning, and community trust. 

Impact with every ride 
By tackling issues like transport poverty and post-lockdown mobility, UCF improves urban life quality—less noise, less pollution, more connection. Their inclusive and low-cost model particularly supports families and vulnerable groups. The initiative is adaptable and offers a powerful template for cities worldwide. 

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ACCTING aims to understand the impact of Green Deal policies on vulnerable groups, prevent inequalities, and produce knowledge and innovations to advance behavioural change at individual and collective levels for an inclusive and equal European Green Deal. Read our report on all 693 mapped initiatives.

Power to the people 

Elektropionir is a renewable energy cooperative based in Serbia, empowering citizens to take control of their energy future. Founded in 2019, it promotes sustainable, decentralised energy production through democratically managed solar projects. The cooperative connects individuals and households to produce clean energy together and advocates for fairer energy regulations. 

From rooftops to mountains 
Elektropionir builds rooftop solar plants and solar parks collectively owned by citizens. Their “Solarna Stara” project in a national park shows how solar can replace harmful hydropower. They also organise “Solartehnika narodu”, a training series teaching citizens, NGOs, local authorities and academics how to join the energy transition. 

Building a brighter, fairer grid 
The cooperative makes solar energy more accessible to middle-income citizens, aiming to expand benefits to vulnerable groups through subsidies and joint investments. It connects people to invest in larger, virtual power plants on unused urban or rural spaces, creating shared clean energy for members and revenues for local communities. 

Shining through the obstacles 
Despite progress, high upfront costs and weak regulations still limit access to solar energy. Elektropionir actively lobbies for better conditions for prosumers and energy cooperatives. Its efforts have contributed to legal recognition of prosumers and created momentum for more citizen-led energy solutions across Serbia. 

Sparking a movement 
Elektropionir’s model inspires other initiatives, like “Suncani krovovi” in Sabac. By blending education, advocacy and community ownership, it offers a scalable and inclusive alternative to fossil fuel dependency. It’s not just about energy—it’s about collective power, sustainability and social justice. 

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ACCTING aims to understand the impact of Green Deal policies on vulnerable groups, prevent inequalities, and produce knowledge and innovations to advance behavioural change at individual and collective levels for an inclusive and equal European Green Deal. Read our report on all 693 mapped initiatives.

Transforming urban transport 

Bicycle Łódź is a dynamic social initiative launched by the “Normal City” Foundation “Phenomenon” to promote cycling as a sustainable alternative to cars and public transport in Łódź, Poland. Through this project, the foundation advocates for the development of better cycling infrastructure and encourages local authorities to prioritise cycling-friendly policies. 

Cycling made easy 
The project’s key activities include creating resources such as a detailed cycling map, offering tutoring for cyclists, and developing a Cyclist’s Code to help educate the public. The initiative also actively monitors and contributes to the improvement of existing bicycle infrastructure and roads, aiming to make cycling safer and more accessible for everyone in the city. 

Connecting people and places 
Bicycle Łódź reaches a wide audience, including those who cannot afford a car and rely on cycling as their main form of transport. The initiative has significantly influenced local authorities’ decisions on infrastructure and road maintenance, and its events attract a large number of participants. Their efforts have earned them over 20,000 followers on social media, showing growing public support. 

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As the ACCTING project reaches its final week, we are proud to share the results of its second cycle of research, which are now available in a series of Research Line Reports.

Building on the project’s first research cycle, this second round presents findings from 87 quasi-experimental case studies conducted across 13 countries and deepens our understanding of how communities, particularly those facing marginalisation, experience and respond to the challenges of climate transition.

The findings confirm that change is most effective when driven from the ground up, supported by inclusive policies and strong public infrastructure. They also reveal persistent structural barriers that hinder action, from economic hardship to inadequate transport, housing, or food systems. Despite these, grassroots initiatives continue to demonstrate resilience, creativity, and the capacity to drive meaningful transformation.

Each report focuses on one of ACCTING’s research lines and offers evidence-based insights that can help shape more inclusive sustainability policies and interventions.

Explore the Research Line Reports

ACCTING aims to understand the impact of Green Deal policies on vulnerable groups, prevent inequalities, and produce knowledge and innovations to advance behavioural change at individual and collective levels for an inclusive and equal European Green Deal. Read our report on all 693 mapped initiatives.

Cycling for all 

Sykkelkjøkkenet Oslo (SKO) is a volunteer-based initiative that promotes cycling and bike repair skills in Oslo. Located in the Old Town, the project provides free services for anyone wanting to learn how to repair their bike or fix minor issues. SKO’s mission is to build a cycling culture while fostering a community of learning and sustainability. 

Repair, reuse, and recycle 
At SKO, visitors can access all the necessary tools and parts to fix their bikes, with volunteer guides offering hands-on support. The initiative also focuses on reusing and refurbishing donated bikes and parts, contributing to the reduction of waste and making cycling more affordable and sustainable for the community. 

Empowering the underserved through cycling 
The project specifically supports young people, migrants, and low-income families, offering them an affordable and accessible means of transportation. By teaching bike repair skills, SKO enables individuals to manage their mobility without the financial burden of constant repairs or new bike purchases. 

A model for cities worldwide 
Since its founding in 2010, SKO has helped over 14,000 people, building a strong community around cycling in Oslo. With its focus on voluntary work and community involvement, the initiative offers a replicable model for other cities seeking to promote sustainable mobility and reduce transport poverty. 

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ACCTING aims to understand the impact of Green Deal policies on vulnerable groups, prevent inequalities, and produce knowledge and innovations to advance behavioural change at individual and collective levels for an inclusive and equal European Green Deal. Read our report on all 693 mapped initiatives.

Transforming education for a sustainable future 

Ibda L-Bidla is an initiative by Kopin in Malta, designed to integrate sustainable development, migration, and inclusion into the education system. The project aims to equip primary and secondary school teachers with resources and training to raise awareness about food security, environmental issues, and the importance of diversity and inclusion. It creates opportunities for meaningful learning and encourages acceptance of migrant and minority backgrounds. 

Empowering educators and fostering inclusion 
The programme specifically targets migrant children, low-income families, and children from minority groups who are often victims of bullying and xenophobia. Teachers are provided with educational tools that focus on sustainable development and inclusion, fostering a supportive classroom environment for all students. The resources are freely available on Kopin’s website to increase accessibility. 

Collaboration with local communities 
Kopin works closely with local schools and authorities to ensure the success of the project. Local authorities contribute with resources, funding, and knowledge, while the project coordinates efforts with other community initiatives to expand its reach. Social learning and trust-building are integral to the programme’s approach, ensuring that it complements and strengthens existing community efforts. 

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ACCTING aims to understand the impact of Green Deal policies on vulnerable groups, prevent inequalities, and produce knowledge and innovations to advance behavioural change at individual and collective levels for an inclusive and equal European Green Deal. Read our report on all 693 mapped initiatives.

Cycling for change 

Vélorution Esch is a community-driven initiative in Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg, advocating for safer cycling infrastructure and more sustainable mobility options. The project, led by a collective of citizens, aims to promote cycling as a primary mode of urban transport, pushing for better policies and infrastructure for cyclists. 

Pedalling towards safer streets 
The main activity of the project revolves around organising Vélorution events, city-wide bicycle rides that raise awareness about the need for safe cycling routes. These events have taken place annually, attracting increasing participation, and have become a platform for citizens to voice their demands for better cycling conditions. 

A growing movement, locally and globally 
Since its inception, the Vélorution movement has gained traction beyond Luxembourg, with more cities and countries joining in. Notably, the project expanded internationally, with countries such as Ivory Coast organising parallel events. The success of these initiatives highlights the growing interest in cycling and the global momentum towards cycling-friendly urban spaces. 

Collaborative impact and future goals 
Vélorution Esch works closely with local authorities, NGOs, and other groups to achieve its goals, fostering a collaborative environment for change. The project continues to push for improvements in urban mobility, with a focus on reducing CO2 emissions and promoting healthier, more sustainable transport options. The ultimate aim is to create lasting change through policy advocacy and active community engagement. 

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ACCTING aims to understand the impact of Green Deal policies on vulnerable groups, prevent inequalities, and produce knowledge and innovations to advance behavioural change at individual and collective levels for an inclusive and equal European Green Deal. Read our report on all 693 mapped initiatives.

Revolutionising sustainable mobility in Luxembourg 

CARLOH is Luxembourg’s pioneering car-sharing service, designed to reduce reliance on private car ownership and offer an eco-friendly alternative for urban mobility. The service aims to make sustainable transportation accessible while maintaining the convenience of having a car when needed. With a fleet of low-emission and electric vehicles, CARLOH is transforming how citizens approach urban transport. 

Simple, flexible, and accessible 
The CARLOH service is easy to use: users subscribe online, book cars through the app or website, and drive away using a card access system. The fleet includes city cars, electric vehicles, and minivans, providing options for all needs. Available 24/7, CARLOH offers a flexible and cost-effective way to access cars without the hassle of ownership. 

Reaching more people every year 
Since its launch in 2015, CARLOH has seen significant growth. From its humble beginnings with five stations and ten cars, the service now boasts an expanding fleet and increasing subscriber numbers. By 2019, CARLOH had over 670 subscribers and continues to attract more users, particularly in urban areas and among expatriates, contributing to the shift towards shared mobility. 

Environmental and economic benefits 
CARLOH is making a real difference to both the environment and citizens’ wallets. Each car in the fleet replaces 8 to 12 private vehicles, reducing traffic congestion and lowering emissions. Additionally, it offers users a cost-effective alternative to car ownership, saving money on insurance, maintenance, and parking while promoting a more sustainable way of getting around. 

Learn more about this inspiring initiative

More inspiring initiatives

ACCTING aims to understand the impact of Green Deal policies on vulnerable groups, prevent inequalities, and produce knowledge and innovations to advance behavioural change at individual and collective levels for an inclusive and equal European Green Deal. Read our report on all 693 mapped initiatives.

Paving the Way for a Greener Future 

The Wrocław Cycling Initiative is transforming Wrocław into a truly cycling-friendly city. With a mission to promote cycling as a sustainable transport option, the project works closely with local authorities, community groups, and cyclists to create a cleaner, greener urban environment. Their slogan, “Wrocław by bike,” reflects their vision of making cycling a central part of daily life in the city. 

Powerful activities driving change
The Wrocław Cycling Initiative’s work includes supporting local authorities in implementing cycling policies, advocating for better infrastructure, and educating young cyclists. They also participate in key policy discussions, like the Cycling Policy Council, and organise events that bring the community together. Their Bike School and Cycling School of Active Citizenship are core educational initiatives that empower citizens to adopt responsible transport behaviours. 

Inclusive and accessible for all
The project actively engages a wide range of target groups, including vulnerable communities, by addressing social inequality in transport access. Although the materials do not specifically target these groups, their activities provide a pathway for people with lower incomes who cannot afford cars. The Wrocław Cycling Initiative is committed to being inclusive, ensuring that everyone affected by their work can participate.

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This article is part of a three-part series focusing on the successes, challenges and lessons learnt from ACCTING’s pilot projects.

Three years ago, the ACCTING project set out to explore how to make the European Green Deal more inclusive and just, especially for communities often left behind. Alongside research activities, ten pilot projects across Europe were funded. The context in which pilots were implemented however vary greatly – this includes the sectoral (from fire resilience to cycling) and geographic context (from rural Zagori to urban Palermo), as well as the primary target group (from Roma communities to disadvantaged youth). Nevertheless, there is a range of shared successes and achievements, challenges and obstacles as well as general lessons learnt that can be identified as cross-cutting.

Lessons learnt by the ACCTING pilots

• Many pilots stressed the need for increasing investment in approaches grounded in resilience and dialogue, given environmental variables and increasingly volatile climatic conditions. While some successes were seen in this regard, the lack of response and top-down approach taken by many public authorities towards the pilots is at odds with the need to engage and co-create with the public. As conditions on the ground become increasingly unstable and prone to sudden changes, traditional planning approaches become less fit for purpose and an approach of regular monitoring and dialogue is instead needed.

• We also see that there are different ways municipalities can support the work of CSO actors. These might be simply uptake and scaling (as in the case of Dialogue & Action Against Wildfires’ fire resilience planning), but they could also take the form of enabling or complementary actions (as in the case of the Municipality of Kamëz building new bike lanes to support the cycling advocacy work of EduMove; or various Czech municipalities engaging with Mapko on ways to include community gardens in urban planning processes).

• The involvement of educational actors was commonly cited as a promising approach. This could be in terms of stakeholder recruitment generally (for instance, EduMove noted that working with students had the benefit of involving a lot of young, open-minded potential participants). Or as seen in Success #3, it could be involvement of respected academic institutions to provide legitimacy to the project (see Echoversity). The strong potential “ripple effects” of working through educational policy was noted in a number of instances, a way to reach less engaged individuals such as parents through their children (School goes green), or to test systems change in a smaller, more controlled environment (schools), before seeking to roll out similar changes at a city-wide scale (Food4Schools ).

• Educational policy is seen as a particularly crucial enabler of “locking in” learnings from pilot projects, – influencing generations of students through inclusion of project outputs in school curricula and thereby driving long-term behavioural change (EduMove). The incorporation of sustainability goals into educational curricula can also help to develop a more nuanced and systemic understanding of the issues at hand, with Food4Schools for instance citing the need for a Whole School Food Approach that recognises food education and food policies as inherently interlinked.

• Certain topics are particularly worth addressing through CSOs because they tend to have a bottom-up ethos yet have translocal relevance and are perhaps less limited by country-specific rules and regulations. Food gardens are one such community practice that is found across Europe and globally.

• In many instances, we see trade-offs between formalisation and flexibility / informality with the work of CSOs. There is a risk that positive avenues of dialogue and co-creation will cease, once projects are taken up and formalised by public actors. Resistance can also be raised by local communities to such formalisation attempts – for instance Supporting Roma micro-entrepreneurs in Albania noted the project’s aim to support vulnerable micro-entrepreneurs was met with resistance to change due to perceived risks of formalisation. Informal groups can be a valuable conduit for volunteering and activism, but these actors tend to still require support due to limited recognition and capacity, pointing to the potential value of umbrella / framework organisations like Supporting Roma micro-entrepreneurs in Albania and Uključi se! (Get involved!).

• This links to an important point about the complementarity of different actors. It is clear that there is real value in having different kinds of CSOs with complementary skill sets. Some might be more locally rooted, trusted by their communities, and activism-oriented. Others might be more institutionally rooted, experienced and well-organised and -capacitated, able to provide a link between public actors and/or business and community groups on the ground. PA9 for instance notes that they “provide mentors through local partners that are “hands-on” support for each informal group. They can support them in project writing, financial, communication and reporting aspects of the project.” Finding a balance between these types of CSOs is key.

• Even at the bottom-up level, there is evidence of an urban-rural divide, with initiatives in rural areas having a harder time obtaining the required institutional support. For instance, in Mapko it was noted that community gardens in urban areas like Prague benefit from greater institutional support, while rural regions struggle with limited access to resources such as funding and training for community garden leaders.

• Pilots can help make higher-level policy processes more tangible – creating localised findings and deliverables. Pilots can also likely benefit from greater institutional support if they make these links, i.e. helping policy-makers to solve a policy-problem that they already have. Food4Schools’s example of hoping to replicate their school food policy in Greece by noting how food systems transformation is entangled with climate resilience, and seeking to link to the work of Greek Mission Cities – Thessaloniki, Ioannina, and Kalamata.

• However, in relation to behavioural change particularly there are real shortcomings to a piloting approach. The experience of the ACCTING pilots shows that behaviour is often enabled or restricted by broader systemic conditions – especially for vulnerable groups. You cannot pilot your way out of structural challenges, and behavioural change is thus inherently linked to systemic change through structural policy. Dialogue & Action Against Wildfires went to great lengths to increase inclusion in their participatory work (e.g. improving gender balance) but noted that while targeted activities can help bring underrepresented voices to the table, more comprehensive mentorship programs or policy interventions may be required.

• In Dialogue & Action Against Wildfires, deeper structural issues (cultural norms, time constraints for caregiving, and limited familiarity with civil protection roles) also continued to hinder many women from taking on formal leadership positions in particular. For school food systems, Food4Schools similarly notes that behavioural change needs to be examined and pursued in the context of broader systemic change that cannot exclude public institutions, authorities and the market. Similarly, their Local Action Plan notes that transition towards more sustainable school food systems in nurseries cannot be ventured as a pilot. Instead, change needs to be incremental and applied gradually across all nurseries.

• In this regard a holistic, multi-dimensional approach is usually needed to enable sustainable behavioural change. This needs to consist of various factors including a) awareness- / motivation-raising activities, b) support for skills / capacity, c) advocacy to change structural conditions, and d) influencing social dynamics in communities. EduMove uses the example of lack of safety as a central barrier for a modal shift to cycling. They argue that this multi-dimensional phenomenon can only effectively be tackled as such through actual infrastructural change to increase road safety, awareness campaigns for drivers and other transport users, and training and equipment for would-be cyclists to improve skills and subjective feelings of safety.

• To support ongoing sustainability of pilot work, there is potential in using graduates and/or former participants as multipliers for ongoing CSO work. This can keep the project running in its original location and help to ensure buy-in of local (vulnerable) communities – creating role model figures. A clear example is seen in School goes green, where a past graduate of the school volunteering programme is employed in the project co-ordination team, allowing future volunteers to more easily see themselves in the project.

• Finally, it is worth highlighting that the success of projects does not depend only on the quality of the project put forward, but also that it is simply the right project at the right time (see Success #7). InclusivECs awards’ challenges with many energy communities (ECs) not registering for the inclusive award ceremony, arose because many existing ECs did not know how to design inclusive actions.
  The topic of inclusive energy communities was simply too new in Spain, requiring a partial shift in approach to providing more practical guidance. It might have been more useful to have a project that from the start builds capacity for inclusive actions, instead of one that sought to celebrate such actions prematurely.

Conclusion

The ACCTING pilot projects were successful in promoting inclusive, collective action towards sustainability foremost through their direct engagement with the target community. Through their efforts in promoting inclusive co-creation and community ownership, they successfully empowered vulnerable groups to play an active role in transition processes. Collective behavioural change was furthermore promoted through engaging and fun methodologies, breaking down EGD priorities to the lived realities of target groups and ensuring that communities derive tangible benefits. Pilots were able to build sustainable impact by building platforms for ongoing collaboration, bringing diverse stakeholders together as intermediaries, promoting the public institutionalisation of the piloted approaches, and facilitating translocal learning and multiplication.

These successes provide evidence regarding the value and effectiveness of the approach, trusting CSOs and community-led initiatives to drive place-based transformations in line with EGD policy goals. On the other hand, the successes serve as valuable source of insights and inspiration for similar projects, and of policy recommendations to strengthen such work.

At the same time, the pilot projects encountered a range of challenges and barriers that served as a bottleneck for sustainable impact. Two major clusters emerged: On the one hand, CSOs struggle with the lack of secure and sustainable funding mechanisms. Financial constraints, “projectism” and competition for funds also leads to other operational challenges, like capacity constraints, the lack of personnel continuity and exclusionary practices. On the other hand, the PAs struggled with collaborating with political and administrative authorities, leading for instance to difficulties in obtaining government permission for project activities. Reasons are top-down administrative cultures and intransparencies, but also limited capacities of (local) governance to pursue in-depth partnerships.

Pilots highlight that a shift in perspective is necessary, so as to prioritise investment in (community) resilience and social infrastructure in times of increasing uncertainty. Civil Society Organisations can play a key role in providing this, especially in partnership with local governments and supported through sustainable funding arrangements. The learnings also point to the importance of education in promoting behavioural change, targeting educational actors and policy makers as key actors. At the same time, behavioural change is often enabled or restricted by broader systemic conditions, especially for vulnerable groups. This includes infrastructure, cultural norms and the individual socio-economic situation, limiting the capacity to engage. Holistic, multi-dimensional approaches are needed that consider individual capabilities, structural conditions and social dynamics.

This article is part of a three-part series focusing on the successes, challenges and lessons learnt from ACCTING’s pilot projects.