The main goal of the Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’ is to establish 100 living labs and lighthouses to lead the transition towards healthy soils by 2030. It aims to reverse the degradation of soils currently seen in Europe: it is estimated that between 60 and 70% of EU soils are unhealthy. Restoring soil health can take generations: One centimetre of soil can take hundreds of years to form, but can be lost in just a single rainstorm or industrial incident.

The Mission leads the transition towards healthy soils by:

• funding an ambitious research and innovation programme with a strong social science component 
• putting in place an effective network of 100 living labs and lighthouses to co-create knowledge, test solutions and demonstrate their value in real-life conditions
• developing a harmonised framework for soil monitoring in Europe
• raising people’s awareness on the vital importance of soils