Brightcon 2026, hackathon and courses

Highlights / Discussion Points
• ISAT (IPM Self-Assessment Tool) is the first freely accessible, web-based platform integrating the PLEU with GHG emissions and cost indicators for field-level crop protection scenario comparison: http://synops.julius-kuehn.de/support.
• New harmonized pesticide risk indicator (PLEU) covering 41 hazard metrics across environmental fate, ecotoxicity, and human health for 516 active ingredients — including over 60 biopesticides.
• Live demonstration of the tool using a winter wheat case study (Germany), showing how IPM scenarios can reduce pesticide risk by up to 75% while revealing trade-offs with GHG emissions and costs.
• Open dataset and reproducible methodology: PLEU scores for all 516 active ingredients are publicly available; the tool runs on open, documented data sources (PPDB, BPDB, Ecoinvent, KTBL).
• Key takeaway: Transparent, multi-indicator tools like ISAT can bridge the gap between IPM research and real-world adoption by farmers and advisors.

Concise Description
Context: Despite a wealth of pesticide risk indicators and decision support systems, farmers and advisors across Europe still lack a user-friendly, openly accessible tool that integrates harmonized risk assessment with practical crop protection scenario comparison. Current EU monitoring relies heavily on sales data and the Harmonised Risk Indicator 1 (HRI1), both of which have well-documented limitations in scientific validity and transparency. This gap directly constrains the uptake of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) — a priority of the EU Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive.
Approach: This presentation introduces the IPM Self-Assessment Tool (ISAT), a freely accessible web application developed within the EU Horizon Europe SUPPORT project. At its core is the Pesticide Load for Europe (PLEU), a newly developed, harmonized indicator covering 41 hazard metrics across three sub-indicators (Environmental Fate, Ecotoxicity, Human Health), computed for 452 synthetic and 64 biopesticide active ingredients. ISAT further integrates life-cycle-based GHG emission calculations (via MiLA/Ecoinvent) and cost estimates (via KTBL), enabling comparison of multiple management scenarios for the same crop and field. The tool was validated with data from ten European countries and eight crops. The presentation will include a live demonstration using a winter wheat case study from Germany, showing how the tool visualizes risk-driving active ingredients and quantifies trade-offs between pesticide risk, emissions, and cost across contrasting IPM scenarios.
ISAT is built on open data (PPDB, BPDB, Ecoinvent), produces exportable CSV outputs, and its underlying PLEU methodology and dataset are fully open (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19705986). We welcome community feedback on extending the indicator, integrating additional crop systems, and co-developing pathways toward EU-wide harmonization.