The Climate Champion 2025 awards, recognising outstanding climate initiatives from the Western Balkans and Southeast Europe, were officially presented in Pula. Among the awarded projects were two Croatian initiatives – “People for Nature and Climate on the Gajna Landscape” by the Brod Ecological Society (BED) from Slavonski Brod, and “Labin Without Plastic” by the Town of Labin.
A total of 40 projects from 10 countries were submitted to the competition. Three projects received the main awards. Alongside the Croatian project “People for Nature and Climate on the Gajna Landscape”, which has spent nearly two decades connecting wetland conservation, local community engagement, and climate adaptation, the jury also awarded “Bio³ – From Waste to Biodesign” from Bosnia and Herzegovina, a project transforming organic waste into sustainable biomaterials. Another awarded initiative was “A Model for Citizen-Managed Solar Power in the Municipality of Shtip” from North Macedonia, which develops a coordinated solar energy management system for 28 public buildings.
The Jury’s Motivational Award was presented to the initiative “Labin Without Plastic”, which promotes the reduction of single-use plastics through activities involving schools, local markets, hospitality businesses, sustainability ambassadors, and public events. The model is already being expanded to neighbouring municipalities across the Istria Region.
Projects were evaluated by an international jury composed of experts from Germany, Switzerland, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, and Croatia. Croatia was represented on the jury by Dušica Radojčić, Chair of the Croatian Parliament’s Committee for Environmental and Nature Protection.
The ceremony gathered around 50 participants and was opened by Irena Burba and Nina Brnić from the association Zelena Istra. The programme also included a panel discussion titled “Renewable Energy Sources: Between Climate Goals and Nature Protection”, featuring representatives of BIOM, Zelena akcija, DOOR, the Center for Climate Change, and the Urban Research Institute.
“We are very happy to host this year’s award ceremony, which showed how many inspiring climate solutions already exist across our region – often very concrete and directly applicable within local communities. It is especially meaningful for us that two Croatian initiatives, from Slavonski Brod and Labin, are among the winners, because they show that climate change is not an abstract issue, but something that affects all of us and can also be addressed through local action. These are exactly the kinds of examples that deserve greater visibility and stronger connections, because they can inspire solutions in many other communities as well,” said Irena Burba from Zelena Istra.
The event took place at the Pula Coworking Centre and was organised by the Climate Bridges Network as part of the project Climate Bridges – Network in Action, funded by the European Climate Initiative (EUKI) of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).
More information about the awarded projects, as well as an overview of all submitted initiatives, is available on this link on the Climate Bridges Network website.
Climate Bridges Network is a regional network bringing together civil society organisations, local authorities, experts, and research institutions around shared climate goals and solutions. The Climate Champion competition was launched to recognise and promote projects already developing concrete climate solutions in their communities – from renewable energy and nature protection to circular economy initiatives and waste reduction.
