STAR*track Projects Opens Expression of Interest Call for European Innovation Clusters

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, April 25, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Calling all built environment professional clusters across Europe! The STAR*track project is inviting innovation clusters to join the Built4People Innovation Cluster (B4PIC) Network to help advance the decarbonisation of EU’s building stock.

The Expression of Interest call for clusters launched on April 1 2025. It aims to activate sustainable innovation across the European built environment and to help the European Union (EU) meet its climate targets. The call is open to existing innovation hubs and clusters across Europe who contribute to the built environment ecosystem.

The benefits of joining the B4PIC Network
By leveraging collaborative ecosystems, expertise, and resources, clusters within the B4PIC Network can accelerate the development, adoption, and scale-up of green technologies and solutions across Europe, and beyond.

B4PIC members can benefit from:

• Improved visibility towards the European Commission and the major European stakeholders from across the built environment.
• Facilitation, adoption, and uptake of innovative solutions aligned with the Built4People ambition and objectives and the New European Bauhaus, thanks to increased awareness of the benefits of innovation and better access to co-financing.
• Intensified cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary peer learning from B4PIC front runners, fostering cross-border cooperation and networking.
• Preparation for long-lasting activities within the network of B4PICs, with integration opportunities for subsequent clusters.

Noelia Ortiz, Technical Director at BUILD:INN (a frontrunner member of the B4PIC Network), highlights how joining the network supports their mission:

“Knowledge sharing is central to our mission. We build partnerships with European clusters focused on industrialised construction, digitalisation, circular economy, and sustainability, creating joint projects that accelerate innovation.”

What is a B4PIC?
A B4PIC is a group of innovation-driven stakeholders from the built environment that have formed a cluster and engage in a tailored development and maturation process nurtured by the Built4People (B4P) Partnership and STAR*track; a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) project under the B4P Partnership. Via this process, a cluster aims to expand its geographical reach, cross-sector collaboration, and multidisciplinary expertise, ultimately enhancing the sustainability and impact of its members' innovations.

How to apply
Applications can be made via a dedicated Expression of Interest application form and will be open from 1 April until 31 May 2025.

Based on an assessment of the received applications, STAR*track project coordinators will select candidates from July 2025 onwards and begin a process to support and develop the selected clusters into B4PICs, with help from the B4PIC Network, to enhance each cluster’s maturity levels.
To apply, clusters must be committed to formally engaging with Built4People (B4P) objectives and being guided by the New European Bauhaus (NEB) core values and working principles. Any additional application enquiries can be sent to info@built4people.eu.

A growing innovation network
The B4PIC Network is co-programmed with the European Commission and was originally launched in September 2023 by the Nebula project, a CSA under the B4P Partnership umbrella which ran from October 2022 to March 2025. The network aims to accelerate people-centric innovation for a sustainable, climate-neutral and smart European built environment.
The first members of the B4PIC Network, Build:INN and Odéys (from the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Euskadi Navarra euro-region), signed the B4PIC Charter on 18 September 2023, becoming frontrunner B4PICs and confirming their participation in the network.

Ten further clusters from Portugal, Hungary, Italy, Spain, France, Finland and Belgium signed the charter on Monday 23 September 2024, at the Built4People Stakeholder Forum, followed by a further six clusters who signed the B4PIC Charter in March 2025 at Nebula’s Final Event, totalling 18 clusters now officially recognised as active members of the B4PIC network. 2 more clusters will be joining the B4PIC network in the next month.

Between them, the clusters’ specialisms are diverse and varied, however, each cluster shares the collective goal of increasing sustainability within the European built environment via innovation, research and collaboration.

Laura Pallares, Head of Europe at WorldGBC (a STAR*track partner), said:

“It’s really exciting to open the second call for expressions of interest from European innovation clusters. This step marks a further advancement for both the B4PIC Network and for the advancement of sustainable innovation across Europe.

By welcoming new clusters, we hope to further energise, strengthen and diversify the B4PIC Network, in turn increasing people-centric sustainable innovation, cross-collaboration and the adoption of the New European Bauhaus key principles of sustainability, beauty and inclusivity.
We look forward to receiving and reviewing the cluster applications, and to starting the maturation and development process once the new clusters have been selected. Watch this space!”

ENDS

Notes for editors
Interested parties can submit their expression of interest to apply to join the B4PIC Network here. The deadline for applications is 31 May 2025.

For more details on the B4PIC Network, benefits and the application process, please access the information sheet here.

For any additional application enquiries, please contact info@built4people.eu

About World Green Building Council
The World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) is the largest and most influential local-regional-global action network, leading the sustainable transformation to decarbonised and resilient built environments for everyone, everywhere.
 
Together, with over 75 Green Building Councils and industry partners from all around the world, they are driving systemic changes to:
 
• Address whole life carbon emissions of existing and new buildings
• Enable resilient, healthy, equitable and inclusive places
• Secure regenerative, resource efficient and waste-free built environments.
 
They work with businesses, organisations and governments to deliver on the ambitions of the Paris Agreement and UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development (SDGs).

Find out more www.worldgbc.org

Media Team
World Green Building Council
media@worldgbc.org