European Union’s vulnerability to climate change stretches far beyond its borders because many of its economic sectors, such as meat and dairy, use raw materials sourced from far afield. Cross-border climate vulnerability is a relatively new subject in scientific literature, while of high societal and economic relevance. We quantify these climate vulnerabilities with a focus on drought risk and assessed them for 2030, 2050, 2085 and for RCP 2.6 and 6.0 climate scenarios. Here we find that more than 44% of the EU agricultural imports will become highly vulnerable to drought in future because of climate change. The drought severity in production locations of the agricultural imports in 2050 will increase by 35% compared to current levels of drought severity. This is particularly valid for imports that originate from Brazil, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, India and Turkey. At the same time, imports from Russia, Nigeria, Peru, Ecuador, Uganda and Kenya will be less vulnerable in future. We also report that the climate vulnerabilities of meat and dairy, chocolate (cocoa), coffee, palm oil-based food and cosmetic sectors mainly lie outside the EU borders rather than inside.
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Price transparency is an essential precondition torealize careless cross-border charging in Europe.Unfortunately, in many countries price transparency inEV charging is problematic. A lack of transparency canlead to unnecessary high costs of charging for EV driversand makes it difficult to compare the total cost ofownership. Insight into the prices for public charging isa hurdle that has to be overcome for widespreadadoption of EVs. An introductory overview is presentedof the main regulations, challenges and opportunitiesregarding price transparency in important EV marketsacross Europe. This overview is presented to underscorethe importance for the EU to take next steps.
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from the article: Web-shop entrepreneurs generally overlook success factors during the expansion process of applying cross-border trade, resulting in failure or even high financial losses. The solution to this issue may be a decision supporting model, that supports SME web-shop entrepreneurs in their cross border decision-making. Thuiswinkel.org, the industry organisation for web-shops in The Netherlands, actively supports the cross-border information requirements of these entrepreneurs by supporting knowledge on the marketing factors that influence the cross-border decision. This research focusses on identifying a decision supporting model answering the question: How does the supply chain as factor relate to other decisive factors used by web-shop entrepreneurs in their cross-border trade-expansion decision? The model has been developed through three research steps: semi-unstructured interviews to find the first indication for decision factors, literature research to develop contours of a decision supporting model, and an online survey to test the initial model found. To determine a weight to the factors, the KANO-model is used from a customer satisfaction viewpoint. The conceptual model shows that ‘supply chain partner(s)’, is a necessary basic factor to consider during the cross-border trade-expansion decision. However, customer satisfaction as operational logistics service determines the success of the cross-border trade-expansion.
Historical sites, specifically former military fortifications, are often repurposed for tourism and recreation. While some of over 100 Dutch forts are recognized as UNESCO World Heritage sites, a substantial number are currently underdeveloped, putting their heritage value and biodiversity at risk. This demands action, as forts are well-positioned to relieve overtourism in other locations, responding to the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Convention's call to spread visitors to lesser-known areas. Furthermore, developing lesser-known fort sites could provide tourism and recreation opportunities near populated areas, thus contributing to the well-being not only of visitors but also the environment. Development initiatives depend on a transition from isolation to cooperation across sites. However, for cooperation to be effective, enterprises and agencies managing these forts still lack data regarding visitor expectations and experiences. We will employ a multidisciplinary approach to capturing visitor demographics, motivations, and experiences, through conducting quantitative questionnaires, lab-driven physiological experience measurement, and location tracking. This proposal builds on the previous project, “Experiencing Nature”, funded by Centre of Expertise in Leisure, Tourism, and Hospitality, which utilized Breda Experience Lab technologies to explore visitor experiences at Fort de Roovere. In sum, the purpose of the present project is to measure and analyze visitor demographics, motivations, and experiences at less-developed forts, and to develop a toolkit to inspire, support, and monitor development of these forts for heritage preservation, visitor experience, and biodiversity. The project will be conducted in collaboration with Flemish partners, thereby forming the consortium comprised of the Alliantie ZuiderWaterlinie (NL), Regionale Landschappen (VL), and Agentschap Natuur en Bos (VL), with support from municipalities in both countries. The project will promote regional synergies and facilitate long-lasting cross-border collaboration, especially toward coming Interreg EU proposals, whilst informing the design of interregional marketing campaigns and supporting planning for visitor flows and biodiversity conservation efforts. Collaborative partnersNHL Stenden, Alliantie Zuidwaterlinie, RLRL, Agentschap Natuur en Bos.
Nederlandse Webshops en hun logistiek dienstverleners worstelen met het vraagstuk om te komen tot internationale online order-fulfilment en customer care. Door vele barrières tussen de internationale dienstverleners en de Nederlandse webshops zijn positieve cross-border resultaten moeilijk te behalen. Partijen zoals Bleckmann, CB Fasion en Salesupply geven dit aan. Ze hebben behoefte aan ondersteuning bij hun operationele cross-border sales-expansie problemen. De Cross-Border expertgroep van Thuiswinkel.org (brancheorganisatie voor webwinkels) heeft een cross-border sales-expansie beslissingsondersteunend model ontwikkeld voor webshops. Dit model ondersteunt de internationale uitbreidingsbeslissing voornamelijk alleen vanuit een marketingbenadering. Na de investering ondervindt de webshop de knelpunten waarvoor het genoemde model geen oplossing biedt. Het doel van dit onderzoek is inzicht krijgen in waarom en bij welk type webshops de moeizame gang naar internationaal succes het meeste speelt. Daarbij is een netwerk aan participanten met duidelijke overeenkomstige problematiek bij cross-border sales-expansie noodzakelijk. Het betrekken van Online Retailers en hun logistieke ketenpartners, geeft inzicht in: - Wat de knelpunten zijn en daarmee de vervolgonderzoeksvraag is; - De mate waarin deze onderzoeksvraag speelt; - De informatie- en beslissingsondersteunende behoefte bij de doelgroep voor dit vraagstuk; - De mate en wijze van die behoefte aan beslissingsondersteuning; - Een indicatie over aanvullende kennis over ketenmanagement, besluitvorming en data-analyse voor onderwijs en onderzoek. Dit KIEM-project wordt uitgevoerd door Hogeschool Utrecht in samenwerking met Salesupply, Minewood Quilting, en Thuiswinkel.org. De MKB-bedrijven garanderen directe betrokkenheid van de praktijk. Thuiswinkel.org biedt toegang tot Webshops. De Webshops die participeren in dit KIEM-project wordt gevraagd om minimaal 1 logistiek dienstverlener (ketenpartner) in te brengen. Dit onderzoek leidt daarmee tot een waardevol netwerk aan ketenpartners. Het gewenste vervolgonderzoek (SIA RAAK MKB) is gericht op innovatieve oplossingen voor het in dit KIEM-project gevonden cross-border sales-expansie-vraagstuk. Dit KIEM-project levert daarvoor ook het benodigde netwerk aan MKB deelnemers, dat gaandeweg in aantal toeneemt.
TRACES helps European museums identifying, developing and sharing know-how, competencies and skills required to develop and implement a digital strategy focused on audience development.In an increasingly dynamic digital consumer context, most cultural sectors are lagging behind when it comes to catering to significant shifts in the way people experience, interact or share content. European museums do not all yet fully use the digital technologies available to close this digital gap. TRACES will bring together these museums in need of capacity building about ‘going digital’. In three cross-border workshops, we transfer knowledge and educate museum professionals, together with experts and students, in the deployment of innovative digital technologies to communicate and engage with new or existing audiences. Participants will have hands-on experience on (a) how to develop a digital strategy, (b) create digital stories and (c) integrate innovative media technologies. This project will give museums the necessary insights into how to adjust to the digital shift and will initiate the adaptation of the study programmes to the current need of digitisation in the cultural industries.Partners:Thomas MoreMMEx
