Research and Development of Educational Software for Sustainability
Development of educational software and digital learning platforms that enable sustainability education and climate literacy at scale.
Substantial Contribution to Climate Change Mitigation
As an enabling activity, the software must directly support the delivery of sustainability and climate education at scale, enabling learners to develop knowledge and competencies for climate change mitigation. Qualifying products include interactive climate simulation tools, energy efficiency training platforms, sustainability assessment calculators, carbon footprint learning applications, and virtual laboratory environments for green technology education.
The software must be designed to reach a significant user base and demonstrate measurable learning outcomes related to climate literacy, sustainable practices, or green technology skills. Content must be validated by subject-matter experts and aligned with the European Sustainability Competence Framework (GreenComp) or equivalent national standards.
The development process must follow sustainable software engineering practices, including computational efficiency optimisation to minimise the energy footprint of the application. Hosting infrastructure must meet the criteria for Taxonomy-aligned data processing (PUE of 1.3 or below, renewable energy sourcing).
Substantial Contribution to Climate Change Adaptation
Where the software addresses adaptation, it must provide tools for understanding climate risks, exploring adaptation options, or training users in climate-resilient practices using scenarios consistent with IPCC AR6 projections.
DNSH: Climate Change Adaptation
The hosting and delivery infrastructure for the educational software must be assessed for climate risks per Appendix A, ensuring service availability during extreme weather events and incorporating redundancy for critical educational delivery periods.