Clean Europe Network
Clean Europe Network is a Brussels-based pan-European non-profit association (founded 2013) that convenes national litter-prevention organisations to share expertise and develop shared methodologies, serving governments, businesses, and citizens across Europe.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersBrussels, Belgium
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Clean Europe Network does
Clean Europe Network (also known as The European Litter Prevention Association, previously ELPA) is a not-for-profit association incorporated under Belgian law in 2013 and headquartered at Avenue Livingstone 13-15 in Brussels. It operates as a pan-European membership platform that brings together national and regional litter-prevention organisations to share experience, expertise, and best practice across borders. Governance is exercised by a President (Johanna Ragnartz), Secretary General (Eamonn Bates), a Board, and a General Assembly of Full Members; applicant organisations are reviewed by the Board and approved by the General Assembly before joining.
The Network's core deliverables are methodologies, strategic frameworks, and knowledge resources rather than proprietary technology. Headline assets include the Clean Europe Strategy (a blueprint for integrated litter prevention at country, region, or territory level), the Common European Litter Measurement System (a three-module system covering Grading, Counting, and Perception for evidence-based policy support), the European Guidelines for Safer Litter Clean-Ups, the Common European PPE Disposal Pictogram (launched 2020), best-practice guides, the annual Clean Europe Week/Day campaigns, the Stop Litter Now! Summit, and a River Litter Toolkit currently being pre-piloted with local authorities in four European countries.
Revenue is generated through membership service fees, donations from businesses, governments and individuals, corporate sponsorship tied to CSR commitments, and Commercial Participation Agreements with businesses. The Network serves five primary customer segments: member NGOs, local and city authorities, regional and national governments, companies seeking brand/ESG positioning, and individuals. It does not disclose specific pricing or revenue; the cost of litter cleanup in the EU, which frames its value proposition, is estimated at approximately €10-13 billion per year.
Clean Europe Network firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Clean Europe Network
- Legal name
- Clean Europe Network
- Website
- https://cleaneuropenetwork.eu
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Clean Europe Network is a Brussels-based pan-European non-profit association (founded 2013) that convenes national litter-prevention organisations to share expertise and develop shared methodologies, serving governments, businesses, and citizens across Europe.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Clean Europe Network industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Environmental Services / Litter Prevention Advocacy
- NAICS
- Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312)
- SIC
- Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Environmental Public Health (Food Safety, Water Quality, Sanitation) (BPAIAJAE)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Street & Public Space Litter Collection (Municipal Cleaning) (BPALAAAE)
Keywords
Where Clean Europe Network is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brussels
- HQ country
- Belgium
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Clean Europe Network business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Membership Service Fees: The Clean Europe Network charges membership service fees to member organisations. Fees are pro-rated according to the quarter of the year in which membership is approved. Members include NGOs, not-for-profit organisations, and registered charities across Europe.
- Donations: Financial support from businesses, government bodies, and individuals to support cooperative programmes, pool member expertise, develop best practices, and promote common approaches. Donations can be made directly to the network or to individual member organisations.
- Sponsorship: Companies can sponsor the Clean Europe Network and/or its member organisations as part of their corporate social responsibility commitments, helping demonstrate positive environmental impact to customers, employees, governments, NGOs, shareholders, and communities.
- Commercial Participation Agreements: Partnership agreements with businesses that allow companies to communicate their contribution to a cleaner Europe to customers while raising awareness and funds for the network's objectives.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Full Member Organisations |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Clean Europe Network product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Clean Europe Network operates a pan-European membership platform that brings together national litter prevention NGOs and charities to share expertise, develop standardized methodologies, and coordinate joint campaigns. It sells access to its strategy framework, the Common European Litter Measurement System, Good Practices Guides, and organized events such as Clean Europe Week and the Stop Litter Now! Summit. Its deliverables are advocacy, training, and best-practice resources rather than commercial products.
Product overview
Clean Europe Network is a pan-European not-for-profit association serving as a platform for litter prevention organisations. Rather than offering a unified technology product, the Network provides a portfolio of programs, methodologies, and resources including the Clean Europe Strategy (a strategic blueprint for integrated litter prevention), a Common European Litter Measurement System (with three assessment modules), Clean Europe Week (annual awareness campaign), the Stop Litter Now! Summit (annual conference), Good Practices Guides (best practice documentation), and communication tools such as the Pictogram for Safer PPE Disposal. These offerings work together to enable member organisations to share knowledge, implement standardized measurement approaches, and coordinate Europe-wide litter prevention initiatives.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Clean Europe Strategy A strategic framework and blueprint that provides member organisations, governments and other stakeholders with a structured approach to establishing integrated litter prevention strategies. Aimed at litter prevention NGOs, public authorities and partners across Europe.
- Common European Litter Measurement System A three-module measurement methodology comprising Module 1 (Grading) for evaluating litter levels with minimal resources, Module 2 (Counting) for systematic item counting, and Module 3 (Perception) for public attitude surveys. Designed for member organisations and public authorities needing standardised litter data across Europe.
- Clean Europe Week An annual pan-European campaign coordinated by the Clean Europe Network and its member organisations to promote more responsible citizen behaviour and reduce litter across Europe.
- Stop Litter Now! Summit The Network's annual litter prevention conference showcasing member work and discussing the future of litter prevention with major European stakeholders from NGOs, government and business.
- Good Practices Guides A library of best practice guides covering effective communication strategies, involving businesses in litter prevention, and safer litter clean-up guidelines for volunteer litter-pickers. Distributed to member organisations and others starting litter prevention activities.
- Pictogram for Safer PPE Disposal A common European pictogram, adapted from the Tidyman symbol, available in multiple formats and languages for use by Network members and other organisations in pan-European campaigns to encourage safe disposal of used personal protective equipment.
- River Litter Toolkit A research-based toolkit that helps local authorities and member organisations identify hotspots where litter enters the freshwater environment and evaluate appropriate abatement measures. Currently in pre-pilot with local authorities across four European countries.
- Network Membership Programme An annual membership programme for European litter prevention NGOs, charities and other organisations, granting access to shared methodologies, working groups, joint campaigns and the Clean Europe Strategy. Members pay pro-rated annual service fees and gain the right to participate in governance through the General Assembly.
Quantifiable outcome
- €10-13 billion estimated annual cost of cleaning up litter throughout the EU that could be addressed through better prevention
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Clean Europe Network
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Clean Europe Network technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Clean Europe Network partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Keep Sweden Tidy (Hall Sveringe Rent)minorKeep Sweden Tidy participated in the Oslo workshop on design of products, services, and areas against littering, presenting case studies on how their practices reduce litter.
- Verpact (Netherlands)minorVerpact participated in the Oslo workshop on design against littering, presenting case studies on how their practices reduce litter in the Netherlands.
- Grønt Punkt Norge (Green Dot Norway)minorGrønt Punkt Norge participated as a guest speaker at the 10th anniversary celebrations of Keep Norway Tidy in Oslo. This represents collaboration within the Norwegian litter prevention ecosystem.
- Norwegian Ministry of EnvironmentcoreRepresentatives of the Norwegian Ministry of Environment attended the 10th anniversary of Keep Norway Tidy. The network handed over the Clean Europe Strategy translated in Norwegian to a representative of the Norwegian government, supporting implementation of the strategy at national level.
- Foundation for the Circular Economy (Economia Circular)minorThe Foundation for the Circular Economy, represented by Director of Projects Luis Medina-Montoya, expressed interest in discussing future collaboration possibilities with the network. They presented the ANTICIPA programme at the Madeira conference, a tool for evaluation and improvement of waste policies in the context of the circular economy.
- McDonald'sminorMcDonald's has been active in litter prevention through the creation of its 'Litter Patrols' programme, where staff members or subcontractors are tasked with picking up litter around their restaurants. McDonald's Litter Patrols have collaborated with litter prevention organisations in wider clean-up campaigns. This represents a corporate partnership model for brand-focused litter prevention activities.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Clean Europe Network competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Environmental Defense Fund Europe: Large international environmental advocacy organisation with EU policy presence working on circular economy, packaging, and waste policy themes that overlap with CEN's advocacy mandate.
- Ocean Conservancy: Established international ocean conservation non-profit running the International Coastal Cleanup. Operates at greater scale and broader geographic scope than CEN, with overlapping litter prevention and policy advocacy work.
- WWF European Policy Office: Major international environmental NGO with a Brussels-based EU advocacy office. Addresses broader environmental issues including waste, packaging, and circular economy, operating at significantly larger scale than CEN.
Direct peers
- Break Free From Plastic: Global movement of NGOs working to reduce plastic pollution, co-publisher with Rethink Plastic Alliance of the SUPD implementation report involving CEN. Comparable advocacy-focused membership coalition structure.
- Keep Britain Tidy: UK-based litter prevention charity operating a national network and is a peer in spirit to CEN's national member organisations. Engages in policy advocacy, citizen campaigns, and corporate partnerships similar to CEN.
- EXPRA (Extended Producer Responsibility Alliance): Brussels-based alliance of packaging and producer responsibility organisations, explicitly listed as a 'Friend of the Network' on CEN's website. Operates in adjacent EPR and packaging waste policy space with a similar European membership model.
- Rethink Plastic Alliance: European coalition of NGOs working on plastic pollution policy, recently referenced alongside CEN on a joint report on SUPD implementation. Highly comparable mission and EU-level advocacy positioning.
- Keep America Beautiful: The leading US litter prevention and community improvement non-profit, organised as a network of state and local affiliates. Highly comparable to CEN in mission, membership-based structure, and focus on behaviour-change campaigns.
- Keep Australia Beautiful: Australian national litter prevention body with state-based affiliates, offering a comparable federated membership model and Tidy Towns-style civic competitions akin to CEN's Tidy Towns (Ireland) engagement.
Emerging players
- Surfrider Foundation: International environmental NGO focused on beach and marine litter, with active European chapters. Comparable to CEN on the litter prevention mission, particularly on the marine and freshwater side where CEN's River Litter Toolkit is developing.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Clean Europe Network social profiles
Digital presenceClean Europe Network financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Clean Europe Network leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Clean Europe Network funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Clean Europe Network M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Clean Europe Network
What does Clean Europe Network do?
Clean Europe Network operates a pan-European membership platform that brings together national litter prevention NGOs and charities to share expertise, develop standardized methodologies, and coordinate joint campaigns. It sells access to its strategy framework, the Common European Litter Measurement System, Good Practices Guides, and organized events such as Clean Europe Week and the Stop Litter Now! Summit. Its deliverables are advocacy, training, and best-practice resources rather than commercial products.
Is Clean Europe Network a public or private company?
Clean Europe Network is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Clean Europe Network founded?
Clean Europe Network was founded in 2013. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Clean Europe Network based?
Clean Europe Network is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, in the Europe region.
How does Clean Europe Network make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Membership Service Fees are the primary driver. The others are donations, sponsorship and commercial Participation Agreements.
Who are Clean Europe Network's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Environmental Defense Fund Europe, Ocean Conservancy and WWF European Policy Office. Direct peers are Break Free From Plastic, Keep Britain Tidy, EXPRA (Extended Producer Responsibility Alliance), Rethink Plastic Alliance, Keep America Beautiful and Keep Australia Beautiful. Surfrider Foundation is listed as an emerging player.
Does Clean Europe Network have an API?
No public API is recorded for Clean Europe Network.
What industry is Clean Europe Network in?
Clean Europe Network's product category is Environmental Services / Litter Prevention Advocacy. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAIAJAE, Environmental Public Health (Food Safety, Water Quality, Sanitation), with a secondary code of BPALAAAE, Street & Public Space Litter Collection (Municipal Cleaning). Its NAICS code is 813312 and its SIC code is 8600.