European Landscape Contractors Association
ELCA
ELCA is the European Landscape Contractors Association that represents 23 members (EU-countries) and 4 associated members (Canada, Japan, Singapore and United Kingdom).
ID: 446688050016-05
Lobbying Activity
Response to EU taxonomy - Review of the environmental delegated act
1 Dec 2025
The European Landscape Contractors Association (ELCA) likes to reflect on the call for evidence on the review of the delegated acts Climate and Environment in the EU Taxonomy. ELCA represents national associations of landscape garden companies in 23 EU member states and has associate representation in Canada, Japan, Norway, Saudi-Arabia, Singapore, Switzerland, Türkiye and the United Kingdom. We welcome the Taxonomy, part of the European Green Deal, focussing on incentivising investments for the green transition of the EU economy. In assessing the technical screening criteria our special attention goes to the application of nature-based solutions in the urban area linked to the EU-objectives on climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation, sustainable use of water (urban waste water), and biodiversity. We like to give observations and recommendations in the attached paper.
Read full responseResponse to New European Bauhaus
16 Oct 2025
The European Landscape Contractors Association (ELCA) welcomes, as an official friend, the initiatives of the New European Bauhaus and likes to contribute to the future development of its network and concrete actions. The focus of ELCA is on improving the quality of life by promoting a healthy built environment, nature-based solutions, water resilience, affordability and climate adaptation in urban development. We like to be involved by the New European Bauhaus as a relevant stakeholder in initiatives on the creation and maintenance of nature-based solutions, the upscaling of best practices and the endorsement of skilling and upskilling. ELCA seeks for partnership and facilitation by the New European Bauhaus on these topics. Involve urban green professionals ELCA represents national associations of landscape garden companies in 23 EU member states and has associate representation in Canada, Japan, Norway, Saudi-Arabia, Singapore, Switzerland, Türkiye and the United Kingdom. The landscape garden sector is in full transition. The era of greenery as decoration in the urban area, is over. The work in our sector focusses now on the design, creation and maintenance of green and nature-based solutions that add to a better climate, biodiversity and public health. This aligns to the challenges that the European Commission wants to address with for example the Nature Restoration Regulation, the Water Resilience Strategy, the Affordable Housing Plan and the Agenda for Cities. Furthermore, ELCA facilitates the SoGreen Alliance (www.onthegreenmove.com) in which eight European associations of urban green professionals work together. This coalition is a strong movement for supporting the green transition at national and local level. Looking at the future development, ELCA calls for a pro-active involvement as a green stakeholder by the New European Bauhaus in their initiatives and a closer alignment with our partners. Facilitate innovation The New European Bauhaus acts within a European context, but actions will have (a holistic) effect at local level. Our starting point is, that the ecosystem services of nature-based solutions are depending on local aims and circumstances. A green neighbourhood has different benefits on for example climate, health, social cohesion and biodiversity. There is no one-size-fits-all. ELCA pleads for the facilitation of local field-labs by the New European Bauhaus by offering a platform to bring initiatives and actors together, support these field-labs with accessible financial means and to disclose the outcomes for further innovation. Municipalities can play a leading role in initiating and/or coordinating these local field-labs. Facilitate skilling and upskilling One of the biggest challenges for landscape garden companies is to organize their workforce. We need to attract motivated people for a career in landscape gardening, educate them for the necessary skills on nature-based solutions and to upskill them according to new innovations and developments. Vocational training and lifelong learning are the authority of national governments, but we as ELCA feel that we can enhance skilling and upskilling by learning from vocational training systems in the different European countries, sharing innovative curricula and EQF-training levels and offering cross boarder traineeships. That is why ELCA has taken up the ambition of establishing a European network of Centres of Vocational Excellence for landscape gardening. The ambition is described in the attached paper. We ask the New European Bauhaus, as it is also one of the EU-priorities, for alignment to and facilitation of sectorial initiatives on skilling and upskilling. For more information: Egbert Roozen, secretary general of the European Landscape Contractors Association (ELCA) phone: (+32) 468 35 11 91 mail: contact@elca.info
Read full responseResponse to European climate resilience and risk management law
1 Sept 2025
The European Landscape Contractors Association (ELCA), representing the landscape garden sector in 23 EU-member states and with associate members in Canada, Japan, Singapore and Türkiye, welcomes the EU call for evidence in the framework of the European Climate Resilience and Risk Management Initiative. By creating and maintaining green and nature-based solutions in the urban area, the landscape garden sector contributes to preparedness regarding climate risks and delivers strong co-benefits for biodiversity and public health at the same time. Nature-based solutions With the implementation of the strategy Nature-base solutions in Renaturing the Cities under Horizon 2020, the European Commission has built a strong fundament under the evidence based application of greenery and nature-based solutions. Scientific research in the past decade has made clear how greenery contributes to for example absorbing water after heavy rainfall and to cooling the urban area in periods of heat. The data from this scientific research have been translated by the landscape garden sector into innovative green concepts. EU Nature Restoration Regulation ELCA is a great supporter of the EU Nature Restoration Regulation and advises the European Commission with the implementation of this regulation. It is of enormous significance that ambitions for greening the urban area are put into law now so that actions for creating a resilient living environment, in which nature-based solutions play a vital role, are structured and monitored. We plead, from the perspective of the co-benefits and ecosystem services of greenery and nature-based solutions, for aligning the European Climate Resilience and Risk Management Initiative with the EU Nature Restoration Regulation. This might make it possible to combine actions and to use the existing expert network. It is important to realize, that measures are taken at local level to address specific climate risks that occur there. Municipalities are in the lead here. ELCA pleads for a special role for them in the further elaboration of this initiative. From policy to action Landscape gardeners, but also other urban green professionals such as tree nurseries, landscape architects, green roof and façade builders, arborists, builders of swimming ponds, indoor greeners and green professionals at municipalities, translate nature-based solutions from policy to concrete green projects. To create more awareness about the ecosystem services of nature-based solutions, European associations of urban green professionals work together in the SoGreen Alliance (www.onthegreenmove.com). Together we plead for including nature-based solutions at the beginning of the policy-, design- and planning process of projects and to involve the urban green professional already in that phase to create the best opportunity for the right solution, at the right spot and with the right maintenance. We are convinced that the relevance of nature-based solutions in preparedness on climate risks will grow continuously and that the sector must work on developing itself to meet the higher societal demand. Besides ongoing innovation, other topics are taking up a proactive stakeholder role at local level, upgrading professional standards and enhancing vocational training/workforce development. ELCA and the partners of the SoGreen Alliance are available to help with the further elaboration of this initiative from the perspective of nature-based solutions for climate resilience. As a good example of our expertise, we include a paper of the Frenche association of landscape gardeners UNEP regarding the national plan on climate change and adaption. Further contact: Egbert Roozen, ELCA Secretary General, mail: contact@elca.info.
Read full responseResponse to Quality Jobs Roadmap
28 Jul 2025
The organization of the workforce is also one of the biggest challenges in the landscape garden sector throughout Europe. Companies in our sector, mainly small and medium sized, create and maintain the green and nature-based solutions that add to a better living climate, biodiversity and public health. The European Landscape Contractors Association, representing the landscape garden sector in 23 EU-member states, has marked supporting the organization of the workforce as one of the priorities on its agenda. Vocational training and lifelong learning are key to interest young people to come to work in our beautiful sector and to upskill our workers in their green career. ELCA has launched recently the ambition to initiate a European network of Centres of Vocational Excellence for landscape gardening. Aim is to create a strong cooperation on national level between the sector and vocational training organizations and to exchange on European level on best practices, innovative curricula and traineeships for students and workers. Also linked to EU-regulation, such as the Nature Restoration Regulation which has an visionary urban paragraph, ELCA has a clear view on how the sector should develop in the coming years and where opportunities for learning from each other and tailer made actions are possible. ELCA wants, from the sectorial landscape gardening perspective, take up this role. Regarding the Quality Road Map, ELCA pleads for EU-support on sectorial capacity building to take up an European aligning role on vocational training and lifelong learning to skill and upskill the workforce. Our ambition for a European network of Centres of Vocational Excellence is described in a specific position paper. It is attached to our reaction to this call for evidence.
Read full responseResponse to European Affordable Housing Plan
27 May 2025
The European Landscape Contractors Association (ELCA), representing the landscape garden sector in 23 EU-member states, welcomes the initiative of the European Commission for composing a European Affordable Housing Plan. There is indeed a big gab in the supply and demand of sufficient, affordable and good quality housing that affects different groups in our society. In addressing this challenge, ELCA wants to emphasize in this call for evidence on the liveability of neighbourhoods that enhances the quality of life of citizens and social cohesion between them. Greenery and nature-based solutions play a beneficial role here. Scientific research confirms that people living in greener urban areas are more healthy and get older. Besides that, these green solutions can also be applied to make neighbourhoods climate resilient and biodiverse and to build quality houses with green roofs and green facades. Nature-inclusive development In the call for evidence the European Commission concludes that at this moment three quarters of the EU citizens are living in urban areas. The expectation is that this share will grow in the coming decades. It is of great importance that we now already pay attention to urban planning and renovation in which liveability, climate resilience and sustainability with green spaces and tree canopy up to a satisfactory level are leading elements. Green and blue infrastructures should be the basis for a nature-inclusive development towards good quality build-up areas. This is not daily practice now. ELCA pleads for taking up the principle of nature-inclusive development into the Affordable Housing Plan as tool for sustainable urban planning and renovation, the creation of new green buildings and to assure the development of liveable green neighbourhoods. This principle is for example already elaborated in The Netherlands. Support municipalities The effects of the Affordable Housing Plan reflect at local level. From this perspective, municipalities play an important role. They are responsible for amongst others urban planning, determine the framework and conditions, take initiatives for building projects, negotiate with developers about what is needed and how it will be realized and have afterwards the task to maintain the public space and take care for the quality of the neighbourhood. Looking at the great variety of knowledge, experience and capacity that is needed for this, ELCA underlines the necessity of dedicated EU-support for municipalities. This support can for example be part of the new EU Agenda for Cities, for which the European Commission also has launched a call for evidence, a long term approach within the Multi Annual Financial Framework and the implementation of the Nature Restoration Regulation in the urban area. In the support for municipalities, the landscape garden sector also wants to take up its role. Landscape gardeners have the expertise of designing, creating and maintaining greenery and nature-based solutions for better climate, biodiversity and public health. This expertise is not always available at municipalities. That is why ELCA also pleads that, when it comes to stakeholder involvement and partnership for the Affordable Housing Plan, landscape gardeners and other urban green professionals (SoGreen Alliance, www.onthegreenmove.com) should be at the table at European, national and local level. For more information: Egbert Roozen, secretary-general phone: (+32) 468 35 11 91 mail: contact@elca.info EU-transparency number: 446688050016-05
Read full responseResponse to Policy agenda for cities
20 May 2025
Reaction ELCA on call for evidence EU Agenda for Cities The European Landscape Contractors Association (ELCA), representing the landscape garden companies in 23 EU-member countries, welcomes the initiative for a new EU Agenda for Cities. This new agenda offers the unique opportunity to connect European policy making to the facilitation and realization of concrete actions at local urban level. In the white paper We want to pass on a liveable and greener world to our children and next generations, that we have published together with our partners of the SoGreen Alliance (www.onthegreenmove.com) in view of the upcoming European elections in May 2024, we have already advocated for more attention of the European Commission to the local urban dimension. This white paper, in which we describe our views and context, is attached to our reaction on this call for evidence. A consistent agenda for climate action and green transition The members of ELCA, and the members of our partners of the SoGreen Alliance, provide green and nature-based solutions for a better climate, biodiversity and public health in the urban area. Enhanced by the new EU Nature Restoration Regulation, there shall be extra efforts and investments needed to make our urban areas resilient and a healthy place to live. We consider this new EU Agenda for Cities as what we had in mind with the proposed specific urban paragraph for climate action in the Green Deal 2.0. Together with for example Eurocities, ICLEI, the Green City Accord and within the EU-Missions, ELCA wants to work together on climate challenges at local level that strongly interact with European initiatives. We here link for example to topics as the Water Resilience Strategy, Preparedness, (Urban) Soils and Green Infrastructure, that are on the agenda of the European Commission at this moment. ELCA pleads for close adjustment with and/or combined efforts of these topics in the new Urban Agenda. Also stakeholder involvement should be part of the EU Agenda for Cities. Funding Climate actions from the European level are realized at the local level. It is therefore vital that municipalities are facilitated in a comprehensive way by the European Commission with funds for the design, creation, long term maintenance and management of green and blue infrastructures/nature-based solutions in the urban area. This complies with the urban targets in the EU Nature Restoration Regulation with a scope till 2050 and enhances the green transformation at local level. ELCA asks the European Commission to come up with a structural financial framework to enhance the green transformation at local level with extra attention for municipalities. This aims at concrete green projects, but also at the knowledge that is needed of the greenery/nature-based solutions, public procurement and management of green projects. Research and innovation The EU agenda for cities should contain initiatives for research and innovation. Urban areas can also be a carbon sink. So far this idea has not been elaborated, but initial scientific research in Finland has delivered very promising results. How could this work in other European countries where different climate and growing conditions are applicable? ELCA wants to plead for further European wide research and innovation on The city as carbon sink. We also suggest to take urban biodiversity and its monitoring into account when composing an urban scientific agenda. For more information: Egbert Roozen, secretary general Phone: (+32) 468351191 mail: contact@elca.info Transparency number: 446688050016-05
Read full responseResponse to Towards a Circular, Regenerative and Competitive Bioeconomy
12 May 2025
Feedback on behalf of the European Landscape Contractors Association (ELCA): Circular case from the landscape garden sector: how to deal with green waste? What can you do with the branches after you have pruned a tree? Or with the cuttings of grass, hedges and other planting material? The landscape garden sector is up for a transition in which this green left over material becomes a new source. We see for example that the cuttings of taxus baccata are assembled for the production of medicines to cure cancer. There is potential to use herbaceous material for the production of bio-fuels. Wood can be used for the production of new materials for the paper and construction industry. Although the chances might look promising, the landscape garden sector is only at the beginning of defining its potential. Due to for example smaller amounts of green waste with a very diverse content at small landscape garden companies, the cost of storage and the needed surface for that at the company location, seasonal availability of green materials and logistical issues, we have not been able to generate a sustainable business case for upgrading green waste to a new source yet. Green waste is now a cost for landscape garden companies in storage and deposition, but when a circular supply chain could be established this can also add to the availability of a larger volume of biomass and to the earning capacity of the landscape garden company. At this moment, green waste is mostly used for the production of compost, land fill or burned as biowaste in the production of electricity. What do we need for this? To create a consistent business case, there are different questions to be answered. We need on company, as well as on sectorial level to be able to also involve small and medium sized companies, support for research on promising business case opportunities and how to implement them into innovative practices. This could be provided by the EU as part of the Clean Industrial Deal. With this research it must also become clear what kind of regulations are hindering this transition, such as restrictions on storage and logistics or administrative burdens on the registration of green content in the supply chain. Because this circular business case is only at the beginning of its life-cycle, companies are now reserved in investing in this business case. ELCA, the European Landscape Contractors Association representing the landscape garden companies in 23 EU member states, welcomes the initiative of the European Commission to enhance the bio-economy. We like to bring in our case and want to look together for opportunities to also add the biomass coming from landscape garden activities into the value chain. We keep ourselves recommended for further explanation. Contact Egbert Roozen, secretary general of the European Landscape Contractors Association Phone: (+32) 468 35 11 91 Mail: contact@elca.info EU-transparency number: 446688050016-05
Read full responseResponse to European Water Resilience Strategy
3 Mar 2025
The European Landscape Contractors Association (ELCA), representing the landscape garden companies in 22 member countries of the European Union, welcomes the EU Water Resilience Strategy warmly. Water scarcity, amongst others caused by climate change, poses us for a huge societal challenge in the upcoming decades. We appreciate it very much that the European Commission takes the lead in realizing a comprehensive approach on this topic. Water resilience has three dimensions for the landscape garden sector: 1. Offering nature-based solutions to absorb and store rain water; 2. The need of water to keep greenery alive; 3. Coalition of urban green professionals, municipalities and vocational training. Ad. 1: offering nature-based solutions for absorbing and storing rain water Greenery and nature-based solutions are applied in the rural and urban area to make our living environment climate resilient and sustainable. These solutions deliver multiple ecosystem services that contribute to better climate, biodiversity and public health. The importance of nature-based solutions is confirmed in different EU regulations, such as the Nature Restoration Regulation to which the landscape garden sector pro-actively contributes. Landscape gardeners are involved in the design, creation and maintenance of private gardens, green projects in the public area and of green roofs and green facades. Absorbing and storing rainwater is already high on the agenda in the sector. Innovations have led to effective practical measures. In the public area we see for example the creation of wadis to store rainwater after heavy rainfall and let the water slowly fade away into the soil. Also smart green roofs, based on the same principle, are more and more applied. The sector has developed manuals for landscape gardeners in how to deal with the challenges of water in for example the concept of The Living Public Space: https://aiph.org/gcm/the-living-public-space/themes/water/. This concept origins from The Netherlands, but the base line is universal. Besides this manual, there is also the concept of The Living Building that will be available in English soon. Ad. 2: the need for water for greenery Plants need water to stay alive. Due to climate change we are facing now periods of serious drought. In for example on the island of Naxos in Greece, there has been no rain between February and November last year. To provide water to the plants, solutions for irrigation are needed. In the hot summers of 2022 and 2023, there was water scarcity in The Netherlands. Landscape gardeners were not allowed to water recent planted trees in the public space. Many trees died and had to be replaced. Such examples also exist in other European countries. The availability of water is very relevant for the landscape garden sector. Because we depend on water availability to keep our greenery and nature-based solutions alive, it is also in our interest to cooperate in initiatives for developing policies to store rain water and to explore innovative solutions for turning grey water into water that can be used for watering plants. ad. 3: Coalition of urban green professionals, municipalities and vocational training ELCA facilitates the SoGreen Alliance (www.onthegreenmove.com) in which eight European associations of urban green professionals work together. All aspects of plant production, design, creation, maintenance and management of green projects are represented in this coalition. With this broad network of expertise we can contribute to defining and implementing strategic options. Because of the fact that solutions must apply to risks and challenges at local level, we plead for the involvement of municipalities in defining the Water Resilience Strategy. The same counts for the link to vocational training for landscape gardeners. ELCA will soon launch an initiative to establish a European network of Centres for Vocational Excellence where water resilience will be one of the themes.
Read full responseResponse to Uniform format for national restoration plans
28 Jan 2025
In this reaction I concentrate on the nature restoration in the urban area. For the implementation of actions in the urban ecosystem, the guidance of the European Commission will be of great importance. The planning is that this guidance is available by December 31st 2028. Besides guidance on the development of local urban restoration plans, there should in an earlier stage also be guidance available for national governments and municipalities on how to achieve the no net loss of green urban spaces and tree canopy till 2030. Do we foresee this? The draft format focusses on what kind of information/plans is needed from the national governments. I think this is a good start and I support this approach fully. At the same time, I see that municipalities are already taking initiatives to make the urban area climate resilient, biodivers and a healthy place to live. In the process and planning that we are now following, my question is how we can combine this first step with national governments with a bottom-up approach from the local level or with respect to already defined ambitions by municipalities? Is there a way in which we can define a work in progress approach in addition to the no net loss guidance? In this framework I am thinking for example about tools for organizing the local stakeholder involvement, integrating options for pollinators in the urban ecosystem, the planting of trees in the urban area as part of the 3 billion tree planting action plan and a structural plan on investments in and maintenance of nature-based solutions for urban climate resilience. These tools finally should come together in the guidance of the European Commission. More specific on the draft format, I have the following questions or remarks: 4.2.6 9, key EU and national policies with relevance to biodiversity are taken into account: this is an optional topic. Why is this? 4.3, financial information: I welcome the effort of the European Commission to facilitate and invest strongly in urban nature restoration. I think it is important to look at how municipalities can be supported in the definition, realization and maintenance of their urban restoration plans. Especially maintenance, which is often not or too late taken into account, will be one of the key elements in the succesful provision of ecosystem services by greenery and nature-based solutions in the urban area and needs special attention. Can we already define what kind of facilitation for local authorities is possible for this semester and the period between 2030 2050? 5, monitoring, assessment and revision of measures: it is very important to have a clear image of the national/local starting situation. The availability of actual and accurate information in the urban area is very important as a reference to the status of the realization of the satisfactory level. What will be done in case the ambitions are not realized? 8.2: targeted restoration plan: I plead here for the development of a specific format for municipalities to help them define the satisfactory level and to prepare the local urban restoration plans. 8.2.2.2. and 8.2.2.4.: why are these two paragraphs optional? 14.3.2.: contributions to targets and obligations: how can we link here to the satisfactory level? Do we focus here on the satisfactory level for the urban area defined by a national government or by the municipalities themselves (bottom-up approach)? Technical background notes: Page 11, new measures related to urban habitats: I want to draw the attention here on the manual of the Living Public Spaces (https://aiph.org/green-city/green-city-manuals) as a supportive tool. Page 24: There is very much interest from my Canadian colleagues to exchange on the EU Nature Restoration Regulation. Page 24: supporting measures: at this topic I am thinking on the facilitation of vocational training for green professionals and support of research on the topic of The City as Carbon Sink as a source for innovation.
Read full responseMeeting with Sirpa Pietikäinen (Member of the European Parliament)
20 Feb 2024 · Relevant EU legislation
1 Sept 2023
The European Landscape Contractors Association is welcoming the fact that the variables walking distance to the nearest public green space (HEE01) and satisfaction with public green spaces in the local area (PW201) are added to the 2025 list of ad hoc subject Energy and the Environment. Based on the Vitamine-G research, done by the Dutch scientist Jolanda Maas, greenery is of great importance in the neighbourhood. People who are living in an area with much greenery (90% in a radius of 1 kilometre around the house) do not only feel more healthy, but appear to go less to the doctor. Especially anxiety neuroses and depressions occur less. The same counts for infections on respiratory tracts, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart failure. On the list of 24 medical diseases that were on the research list, 15 of them occur significantly less by people living in a green area. In areas with less greenery there are 33% more people coming at the doctor with complaints linked to depression in comparison with people living in more green areas. According to Jolanda Maas there is a lot to gain with greening areas specifically for children, youngsters, elderly people and people with a lower social economic status. Looking from this point of view a green neighbourhood is a nature based solution that has great importance for public health. We recommend to consider a more frequent monitoring of the variables HEE01 and PW201, possibly linked to other EU-initiatives that focus on greening urban areas, in the future.
Read full responseResponse to 2040 Climate Target Plan
23 Jun 2023
Climate Goals 2040, input of ELCA together with the partners within the SoGreen Alliance The European Landscape Contractors Association (ELCA), together with the partners within the SoGreen Alliance (www.onthegreenmove.com), embraces the EU-approach that CO2 absorption is also a vital element in becoming climate neutral. We plead for an even important approach in the Climate Goals 2040 for absorption as for measures focused on the reduction of emissions. In the problem definition is written that the sector Land Use, which consists of agriculture, forests and natural grounds, has a nett CO2 balance. We suggest investigating if the urban area can also be part of the sector Land Use with defined measures in CO2 absorption based on the application of greenery and nature-based solutions. Greenery in an urban setting (for example gardens, parcs, urban forestry and green buildings) delivers multiple benefits and can contribute to the targeted economic, social and environmental effects. For this it is necessary to include greenery as early as possible in the policy, planning and design process, to pay attention to healthy permeable soils and to make sure that long term maintenance is taken care for. It would be good to assess the investment options in the EU Taxonomy to enhance the creation of more green solutions and more green spaces in the urban area. Possibly public private partnerships will help in creating extra chances for financing green projects and support mutual acceptance of the stated goals and actions. ELCA and the SoGreen partners keep themselves recommended to help in the further elaboration of the Climate Goals 2040.
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