In reaction to parliament requested action, the Dutch Covenant Renewable Raw Materials for Growing Media was initiated. For the Covenant parties, a project was started in 2023. The main goal was to make a quantitative list of renewable raw materials with an horizon up to 2050. The procedure started with a long list of materials mentioned as possible growing media constituent, focusing mainly on materials available in Europe. Criteria were set to bring this list down to a short list. Criteria included price, minimum quantities, competition from other industries, and various levels of risks. This short list was arranged into groups with shared characteristics. An analysis was then made of the main drawbacks and required technical amelioration of these materials. Results showed that materials with properties already accepted in the market were coir, coniferous wood fiber, coniferous bark, compost and perlite. Remaining materials were acrotelm, other types of wood and bark fiber, non-wood plant fiber, co-composts, and re-used growing media. The technical ameliorations required for market acceptance of the materials mentioned are challenging and need efforts of industry, knowledge institutes and government. Therefore, a joint roadmap for research steps up to 2050 was made in 2024. Focus is on combinations of more advanced processing, including particle formation; using less favorable fractions for e.g. sanitation; sanitizing materials; stabilizing materials, specifying base fertilization and maintenance fertilization. Although the work concentrates on the Dutch situation, the approach is on material availability in Europe and the results are thought to be of value for tuning global research efforts towards sustainable growing media.    

Within the scope of the 2030 Climate Action Programme, the Federal Government committed to reducing the use of peat as a growing medium and soil improver as much as possible and, where feasible, avoiding the use of peat altogether. In the hobby sector, this is set to be implemented by 2026. In commercial horticulture, total substitution is not expected to be possible; however, a substantial substitution is deemed to be achievable by 2030. 

A reduction in the use of peat can only be achieved if all stakeholders are aware of their responsibility with regard to climate policy and jointly reduce the peat content of their substrates in a coordinated manner – at least in terms of the average level over all their products. One  increasing problem is the reduction in university research and education capacities in the field of horticulture, which makes it increasingly difficult to attract qualified personnel for this task. 

Following the mandate of the Climate Action Programme, the BMEL has divided its activities into those devoted to the areas of potting soils for hobby gardening and those that focus on growing media for commercial horticulture:

Supporting institutions: Within the Federal Government, the BMEL is in charge of the Peat Use Reduction Strategy. The Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute (Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries) and the Julius Kühn Institute (Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants) support the BMEL in their work. The Thünen Institute primarily works on questions of statistics, the availability of substitutes, economic viability assessments and life cycle assessments, while the Julius Kühn Institute works on issues such as the safety of substitutes and their horticultural potential. Concerning the selection and monitoring of suitable promotion measures and in the area of consumer communication and specialist information, the BMEL is assisted by the Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e.V. (Agency for Renewable Resources, FNR). Public relations measures are developed in stages and use different channels to target specific groups. 

Guiding principles: The peat use reduction strategy provides that the reduction of peat use should rely on voluntary measures. So far, all stakeholders have acknowledged their responsibility for climate protection. In addition to the principle of voluntariness, transparency also plays an essential role. All stakeholders are aware of the fact that their actions are closely monitored by other stakeholders and the public. The BMEL will continuously review the strategy‘s success and take further steps, if necessary. The BMEL is working towards not putting national companies at a disadvantage if at all possible.

Instruments and measures:

• Talks with different  horticultural sectors
• Investigating peat substitutes and supporting processes
• Pilot and demonstration  projects
• Technical and consumer information on the properties of peat substitutes and their uses
• Individual plant-specific advice for horticultural operations, and regional competence centres on knowledge transfer
•  Independent monitoring to measure the reduction in the amount of peat used in Germany 
• Requirements for public  procurement contracts

 A multiinstitutional, transdisciplinary research team has formed in the U.S. to reimagine soilless substrates for the future. Successfully securing funding to develop a five-year project, S3 aims to explore new substrate materials and develop techniques to deploy and stabilize materials. This team will lead North American innovation as we move into a world beyond peat. Our team will reimagine soilless substrate components and systems to meet specialty crop growers' needs through reducing inputs while maximizing efficiency. The specialty crop industry currently relies on peat to create substrates which have antiquated physical and chemical standards for soilless systems. However, peat use is being questioned as poor harvests have severly limited supply in recent years. Additionally, growing outcry from the public and media outlets over percieved sustainability issues has further pressured growers to seek reduced peat alternatives and begin to rethink production practices. This mandates a paradigm shift in soilless substrate science, where alternatvie components and production systems can be effectively deployed to reduce grower reliance on any single material. In response, the S3 project is developing actionalble solutions for growers. Specifically, we aim to develop regional and sustainable substrate components (agfibers and bioresidues) with improved durability through hydrothermal processing to increase biological stability and longevity. Moreover, we are engineering substrate systems through stratification practices to effectively utilize and deploy these materials reduce peat dependance. Furthermore, this S3 will analyze socioeconomic and environmental considerations of sustainable substrate use and develop effective outreach strategies to support growers and enhance adoption of sustainable substrates. We will provide Life Cycle Analysis grower tools, and establish social and economic implications for the future of soilles sculture Upon completion of this research, S3 will present processes to manufacture new and improved substrate components and best management practices for stratified and traditional substrate systems. Overall, S3 is developing strategies to help growers cut peat use in horticulture by 50% and ensure have a viable and actionable solutions for the impending peat crisis.

 The United Kingdom (UK) is home to 2.7 million hectares of peatland, accounting for 10% of its land area. These peatlands serve as vital carbon sinks, sequestering 3.2 billion tonnes of carbon n more than double the amount stored in all the UK's forests. Globally, peatlands cover approximately 3% of the Earth's land surface but represent the largest terrestrial carbon store, holding twice as much carbon as all the world's forests combined. The commercial extraction of peat for horticulture has caused significant environmental issues since its inception. Recognising these environmental consequences, the UK Government, non-governmental organisations, environmental agencies, and the horticulture industry have acknowledged the need to reduce reliance on peat for horticultural applications. Replacing peat in the UK's amateur and professional sectors is not a new topic. In 2011, the UK Government published a White Paper on the Environment titled “The Natural Choice: Securing the Value of Nature,” which included voluntary targets to end the use of peat in the amateur gardening sector by 2020 and in the professional horticulture sector by 2030. In response, the industry and DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) formed the Sustainable Growing Media Task Force, involving all stakeholders (growing media manufacturers, retailers, growers, NGOs, etc.) with a roadmap. Although the originally proposed voluntary timelines were missed for the amateur sector, this initiative stimulated the industry to increasingly shift to more sustainable raw materials, fostering the development of suitable alternatives. In 2023, the transition gained momentum with proposed DEFRA legislation aiming to phase out the use of peat. The proposed legislation is designed to phase out peat use in the amateur gardening sector by the end of 2024 and in the professional sector by the end of 2026 with some exceptions that will extend until 2030, allowing for specific uses where alternatives are not yet viable. The UK horticulture has made significant progress in reducing peat use. In 2022, peat accounted for 24% (950,000 m³) of all growing media used in the UK, which was down from 36% (1,690,000 m³) in 2021, and 63% (2,783,539 m³) in 2011. This paper reviews the current information on growing media used by the UK horticulture industry since 2011. It highlights the challenges and opportunities, policy and legislative developments, and research initiatives supporting the peat-free transition. The aim is to provide insights for other countries embarking on their own peat-free transitions. The shift away from peat is now widely embraced by growers, manufacturers, retailers, and the Government as a step towards a more sustainable future for UK horticulture. However, this article identifies several areas where enhanced collaboration, education, and support are crucial to achieving a sustainable transition.