Science for Environment Policy (SfEP) is a free news and information service published by the Directorate-General for Environment (DG ENV) of the European Commission. It is designed to help busy policymakers keep up-to-date with the latest environmental research findings needed to design, implement and regulate effective policies.
The News Alerts are a cornerstone of the SfEP service. Presented in concise and easy-to-understand newsletter articles, SfEP offers quick access to scientific research on environmental issues.
SfEP also releases regular Future Briefs on the latest environmental topics. Future Briefs are a series of horizon-scanning policy briefs, which explore the evidence around emerging environmental issues.
Our News alert articles and Future Briefs are freely accessible through this site. To access SfEP content published between 2005 and June 2022, please consult the dedicated archive.
News Alerts
Are waste-water treatment plants failing to protect the ecological health of European streams?
Issue 595: Less than half of the European rivers and streams are in good ecological health due to the multiple pressures from society.
Circular building design: assessment of two versions of the same residential building highlights benefits of adaptable buildings
Issue 595: How different are the environmental impacts of conventional buildings versus adaptable structures designed along circular principles? Researchers investigated two outwardly similar buildings through lifecycle assessment.
Sustainable smartphones? Modular design promotes do-it-yourself repair to extend device life
Issue 595: Modular design – where product parts can be replaced and upgraded – is a promising way of extending product lifetimes. However, to realise this potential, it is vital that people are willing to repair their devices. A new study has explored how modular smartphones promote user repairs.
Will more frequent river floods cause widespread malfunction of European road networks?
Issue 594: More frequent river flooding is a climate hazard in Europe, threatening its road transport infrastructure.
Future Briefs
FUTURE BRIEF: Nanoplastics: state of knowledge and environmental and human health impacts – Issue 27
This Future Brief presents the current science on nanoplastics: their detection, assessment and monitoring; their impacts in the environment, ecotoxicity, and environmental fate; and their potential impacts on human health.
FUTURE BRIEF: COVID-19 and the environment: links, impacts and lessons learned – Issue 26
This brief looks at environmental factors that potentially contribute to the emergence of disease and the effects of COVID-19, and environmental impacts that have arisen from COVID-19.
FUTURE BRIEF: European Forests for biodiversity, climate change mitigation and adaptation – Issue 25
Forests are under pressure by inadequate management practices and climate changes. This research is based on the latest scientific evidence to show how biodiversity, the bioeconomy and climate change mitigation are underpinned by Europe's forests.
Contact Us
Science for Environment Policy (SfEP) is a European Commission initiative. The secretariat is currently run by Ecorys.
For comments on this service, please contact Ecorys at sfep@ecorys.com.
If you would like to contact the editors of SfEP, the Science Communication Unit at UWE, email us at sfep.editorial@uwe.ac.uk. You can use this email to:
- obtain permission to reproduce material from the service in another publication
- suggest a study to be considered for inclusion in the News Alert. Criteria for inclusion are listed in our archive section.
To get in touch with the researchers, please refer to the Source section indicated under each News Alert article.