Collaborations & Synergies
VERNE is eager to collaborate with other projects and initiatives, fostering innovation through shared knowledge and collective expertise.
VERNE believes in knowledge sharing and in the power of partnerships to drive meaningful impact. You can learn about the VERNE synergy partners and key collaborations below. If you are interested in a collaboration or in becoming a VERNE synergy partner please contact us.
CCRI
VERNE is part of the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI), which contributes to the EU Green Deal’s goals by supporting local and regional stakeholders across Europe in developing and scaling up circular economy solutions through knowledge sharing, technical guidance, and financial tools.
This synergy gives VERNE access to a network of cities and regions implementing circular solutions, enabling it to scale up its sustainable tourism practices, increase its visibility and foster partnerships across Europe.
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ReBoat
ReBoat is a Horizon Europe project tackling waste surges in island communities through a mobile recycling plant on a boat that transforms plastics and textiles into new products. Piloted in the Aeolian Islands, Ionian Islands, and the Azores, it promotes co-creation, digital collaboration, and sustainable tourism by involving local communities, tourists, and creative actors in circular activities.
ReBoat and VERNE are complementary sister projects: ReBoat focuses on island-based circular solutions combining recycling, upcycling, and tourism experiences, while VERNE develops scalable circular approaches for sustainable tourism destinations across Europe, supporting replication and knowledge exchange.
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SECreTour
SECreTOUR (Sustainable, Engaging and Creative Tourism) promotes tourism as a means of diversifying income and raising visibility of rural and remote areas. The project’s pilots focus on community-driven, heritage-rich tourism models, promoting the development of services that benefit local communities and visitors alike. The project also develops innovative and alternative business models and digital tools for tourism destinations.
VERNE and SECreTOUR are learning from each other and their respective pilots and tools, working together to accelerate the transition to inclusive, environmentally responsible tourism across diverse European destinations.
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Green2Grow
The Green2Grow aims to address the skills gap in the tourism sector by providing Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) with the green skills necessary for the transition to a more sustainable industry. Through innovative training programmes and ‘train-the-trainers’ events, the project promotes sustainable practices, contributing to environmental preservation, climate change mitigation and the development of sustainable tourism destinations across Europe.
Synergy between VERNE and Green2Grow is highly beneficial: VERNE will share its pilots’ best practices and circular and accessible destination solutions, while Green2Grow will share capacity-building and green skills learning to empower local stakeholders to implement these solutions effectively.
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Cross-Re-Tour
Cross-Re-Tour promotes the adoption of circular, green and digital innovations among SMEs in the tourism sector. Through a threefold approach, it drives cross-sectoral collaboration and sustainability: identifying SME constraints in adopting and scaling up existing innovations (Re-Tour); facilitating community building, knowledge exchange, and capacity building through webinars and advisory services (Co-Create); and launching a Cross-Domain Open Innovation Programme to fund and support projects implementing and piloting scalable solutions (Cross-Tour).
Cross-Re-Tour’s focus on equipping SMEs with digital and circular solutions is closely aligned with VERNE’s mission to promote accessible and sustainable tourism, thereby reinforcing the transition towards inclusive and resilient tourism ecosystems.
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Regenera4MED
Regenera4MED aims to promoting regenerative tourism in destinations across the Mediterranean. Moving beyond traditional sustainability, the project focuses on restoring natural ecosystems, strengthening community resilience, supporting climate adaptation and fostering inclusive local development. Operating through pilot regions and stakeholder-driven models, the project uses tools such as the RISET self-assessment for tourism destinations to ensure that strategies are tailored to the specific realities of each territory.
This approach, along with its pilots, models, and tools, closely aligns with VERNE’s mission to advance accessible, circular tourism solutions. Together, these projects are facilitating a stronger transition towards inclusive, resilient and regenerative tourism ecosystems.
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REMODEL
The REMODEL project (Strengthening the Research Capacity of Turkey in Innovative Business Models for the Hospitality Sector) aims to enhance the research and innovation capacity of Bursa Uludağ University (BUU) by leveraging the expertise and tools of its twinning partners, the University of León (ULE) and the Atlantic Technological University (ATU), via training and networking programmes.
REMODEL benefits VERNE by offering innovative, circular-economy solutions for the reuse of agri-food and natural resource waste. These solutions can be integrated into VERNE’s One-Stop-Shop.
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UPLIFT
The UPLIFT project helps Europe’s tourism sector embrace technologies like virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and artificial intelligence (AI). By equipping vocational educators, students, and tourism professionals with skills and tools to innovate, UPLIFT enables small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to create immersive experiences in film and literary tourism. Together, we’re shaping a dynamic, sustainable, and engaging future for European tourism.
UPLIFT can strengthen VERNE by enhancing its circular tourism approach with advanced digital tools enabling destinations to design immersive experiences.
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SureNexus
SureNexus uses the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems (WEFE) Nexus approach to drive fair climate action and sustainable development. Its main goal is to produce healthy food using fewer resources, such as water, soil, energy, and nutrients, by leveraging AI-enabled tools to implement precision and regenerative agriculture.
This directly aligns with the VERNE project, as both initiatives use digital tools, circular economy principles, and local pilots (like eco-tourism and sustainable housing) to build a climate-resilient Europe.
Chorizo Project
The project aims to improve our understanding of how social norms influence behaviours relating to food loss and waste (FLW) and to use this knowledge to develop more effective zero-waste strategies. To this end, CHORIZO employs real-life case studies from various sectors, including households, hospitality, food service, schools, food banks and the food industry, to gather data and insights on the context and impact of previous FLW prevention and reduction initiatives.
CHORIZO’s focus on changing social norms and behaviours to reduce food waste is consistent with VERNE’s mission and closely aligns with the work of VERNE pilots in supporting resource-efficient tourism ecosystems.
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