EMAC EMPRESA MUNICIPAL DE AMBIENTEDE CASCAIS EM SA

Their core work

EMAC is the municipal environmental services company of Cascais, Portugal, responsible for urban waste management, green space maintenance, and environmental sustainability at the local government level. In H2020 projects, they contributed real-world municipal infrastructure and operational experience in waste lifecycle management and urban greening. Their role bridges city-level environmental operations with EU research, offering pilot sites and practical implementation capacity for urban sustainability solutions.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

EMAC's earliest H2020 engagement (2016) centered on core municipal services — waste management and energy planning. By 2018, their focus shifted toward productive green infrastructure, urban agriculture, and community-driven regeneration models. This progression suggests a broadening from traditional environmental services toward nature-based solutions and participatory urban sustainability.

EMAC is moving from traditional municipal environmental operations toward nature-based urban solutions, making them a relevant partner for projects needing a city-level pilot site for green infrastructure deployment.

How they like to work

EMAC never coordinates — they join as a participant or third party in large consortia, contributing municipal pilot sites and operational data rather than research leadership. With 77 unique partners across 14 countries from just 3 projects, they operate within very large European consortia. This profile is typical of a public-sector implementation partner that offers real-world testing grounds and administrative capacity.

Through 3 large-consortium projects, EMAC has built connections with 77 partners across 14 countries, giving them a broad European network despite limited project volume. Their reach is wide but relatively passive — driven by the large consortia they joined rather than targeted partnership building.

What sets them apart

EMAC offers something many research consortia need but struggle to find: a municipal government entity willing to serve as a real-world urban pilot site in southern Europe. Cascais is a mid-sized Portuguese coastal municipality, making EMAC particularly valuable for projects needing Mediterranean climate testing conditions for waste, energy, or green infrastructure solutions. Their combination of waste management operations and green infrastructure experience is uncommon for a single municipal entity.

Highlights from their portfolio

• Waste4Think
  Their largest funded project (EUR 352,398), focused on integrating life cycle thinking into municipal waste management — directly tied to EMAC's core operations.
• proGIreg
  Represents EMAC's strategic shift toward productive green infrastructure and urban regeneration, with keywords spanning agriculture, forestry, and social entrepreneurship.