From 27 to 29 January the GME Secretariat team visited the annual International Plant Fair (IPM) in Essen, the world's largest trade fair for horticulture, bringing together around 1,500 exhibitors from more than 40 countries presenting their innovations in the areas of horticulture, technology, floristry and gardening. With most of GME's members attending or exhibiting, IPM Essen is an absolute highlight in our calendar and the place to be to engage in dialogue with members,

Growing Media Europe welcomes the adoption of the new European Bioeconomy Strategy  by the European Commission, which sets out ambitious goals to strengthen food security, expand bio-based materials, accelerate afforestation, and boost circularity across the Union. Yet, within this vision, one essential sector risks being overlooked: the growing media industry. Growing media are the hidden enabler of the bioeconomy. They make sustainable food systems possible by reducing pres

The EU’s Biodiversity Strategy, as part of the European Green Deal, sets the ambitious target of planting 3 billion additional trees by 2030 and achieving the 3-30-300 rule to benefit citizens and the environment. The growing media industry is not only supporting this initiative – it is making it possible. Planting 3 billion trees across Europe’s diverse landscapes, from urban environments to degraded agricultural land, requires sufficient quantities of high-quality growing m

As part of the European Commission’s Call for Evidence , whose feedback period ran from 19 June to 19 September 2025, we actively engaged in the consultation process by submitting our position paper on the Fertilising Products Regulation (FPR). Growing Media Europe (GME) welcomes the ambitions of the Fertilising Products Regulation (FPR) to create a harmonised European market for fertilising products. However, in its current form the regulation is not delivering on its object

This week, the European Commission published the Vision for Agriculture and Food which will shape the policy agenda for the agri-food sector for the coming years. We fully support the European Commission’s commitment to sustainability and resilience through new initiatives, such as improved certification methodologies to incentivise carbon removals, soil emission reduction, and biodiversity benefits, as well as the development of nature credits to certify high-quality, nature

GME’s company members and national associations met in Brussels on 17–18 November for the 2025 Autumn Meeting, an important occasion to exchange views on the key challenges and developments currently shaping the growing media sector. After a general update on Public Affairs and Science, experts from Rud Pedersen delivered an in-depth media training session, providing insightful and practical tools to strengthen our communication and engagement with audiences and media across

Growing Media Europe (GME) has published a new manifesto highlighting the essential role of growing media in shaping a more sustainable future for Europe. As the voice of the growing media and soil improvers industry, GME calls on EU policymakers to better recognise the value of these products across agriculture, forestry, and urban greening. Growing media are at the heart of modern horticulture, enabling resource-efficient, healthy, and safe plant production. High-quality, f

At the end of 2023 Growing Media Europe and Blonk Consultants commenced a project with Blonk to update the Growing Media Environmental Footprint guidelines  (Version 1.0 Published in 2021) to incorporate new research developments, updates in industry knowledge and feedback from LCA tool users. After four work sessions of our Technical Secretariat, we have produced a draft document for Version 2.0. We are asking all relevant experts or stakeholders to review the changes to thi

As a collaborative result of discussions among experts in peatland rewetting and growing media representatives, initiated by GME in...

P R E S S R E L E A S E Brussels,29 March 2023 Growing Media Europe (GME) Launches Innovative LCA Tool to Help Horticultural Companies...

Growing media are essential for reaching the EU Nature Restoration Targets! That was the outcome of a discussion last week in the...

GME Board Member and Treasurer Thanja van Dongen was appointed interim Chair of the Board during a Board meeting on 22 February 2022....