We are Good Goal and we help you to find sustainable places all over Europe.

What is Good Goal?
Good Goal is the guide to sustainable places all over Europe. We help you find specialty coffee bars, craft beer-makers, citizen- or charity projects, vegetarian and vegan restaurants, slow fashion stores, parks and more, wherever you might be. Unique places that change the image of a town or city. In our agenda you can find sustainable events to attend. In our hotel section you can find the most innovative places to stay in various European cities.

Why do we do it?
A vastly growing number of people are searching for sustainable, responsible places that offer quality. On the other hand, thousands of sustainable places and initiatives pop up all over the world. Good Goal aims to connect these two. Regional products, handmade articles, quality wine, chocolate or coffee, they all “taste” so much better. Visiting places with a Good Goal gives you a story, a unique experience. An experience you want to share with your friends. By offering this guide, we aim for more visits to innovative places, more connections with local people and a more sustainable Europe. And that is our ultimate goal.

How do we do it?
Everything starts with research. We spend a lot of time doing research on sustainable places and projects in cities around the world. All the places and projects we recommend have been personally visited and reviewed by a Good Goal sustainability expert. We only list them if they meet our criteria. We don’t charge any fees for simply being in our guide. We are independent and want to stay that way. However, to help cover our overall costs, we accept payments for featured reviews and additional articles (identified with a green border around the review or article), commission on bookings for listed events, and sponsorship where we consider this appropriate.

What are the criteria to be in our guide?
In fact, sustainability is an individually-based concept. It is not completely definable, like organic or fair trade are, and giving it a label or certification wouldn’t make sense. Sustainability is about making the right choices, which differ in every case. A coffee-bar in the heart of London has different options and choices than a supermarket in Dakar.

Sustainability takes into account that the environment shouldn’t get harmed and, if possible, even improve. It should take social conditions and rules into account, as well as showing respect to cultural traditions. Innovation is one of the key issues of sustainability, as is supporting other people in their sustainable actions. All of this is different in any case, which is why at Good Goal we work with people who are knowledgeable about sustainability and we review every place on its actions. What we look for are initiatives and businesses that act “above average”. While for a business-owner of a small shop in Bucharest it could be that the only economically viable action is to include a small range of ecological products, we expect more from a large ecological supermarket-chain that is active in the whole territory of Western Europe and has enough profit to make a large change.

Who are we?

Good Goal’s team consists of a group of enthusiastic freelancers, spread around Europe. We share a passion for sustainability and for telling the stories of places that shape our European cities towards a more sustainable future.

• Tim Aerts: Belgian-born but Spanish resident. Passionate about primate behaviour, conservation biology, sustainability in cities and feeling entirely European. Sustainable fashion, coffee, red wine and authentic food in cosy cafés can please him at any European location. Tim believes that people can make a big change, by just making a shift in everyday choices and having a critical mindset.

• Camille Megelin comes from the South of France, and after having lived in Finland, Denmark, Slovenia, Spain, Austria and other places, she is now residing in Germany’s capital Berlin. Camille studied tourism and is passionate about travelling, discovering new places and languages. Food she encounters while travelling will definitely be cooked and baked at home. When she isn’t doing any of these, you can find her teaching yoga at Kamala Yoga Berlin. Camille feels European above all, and wants to actively participate in building a greener and more peaceful European Union.

• Julien Simon: Frenchman Julien moved to Barcelona in 2015. It’s here that he loves to explore the fashion scene, the craft beer bars, specialty coffee, vegan and vegetarian restaurants. Among others, he has a passion for upcycling, for organic farming and for wellness. When he’s not contributing to Good Goal, he is proving that sustainability can also be achieved in a wellness institute, with his sustainable massage institute Under Pressure Massage Barcelona.

• Antonios Valtsis, our Greek contributor, is an Environmental Manager MSc and a Recycling Coordinator at Ionian Recycle Hellas Social Cooperative. He is also a sustainability blogger, a volunteer birdwatcher, an inbred activist, a Solar Multiplier and lately a SEYNer (full member of Sustainable Energy Youth Network). When he finds time, he‘s experimenting with the natural farming at his orchard, hiking and travelling (usually with Erasmus projects). Passionate about creating and accelerating eco-social innovative solutions with the greatest possible impact, for a sustainable future. Fields of interest and action: waste management, renewables, environmental footprint, DIY-DIC, crowdsourcing, circular economy and social entrepreneurship. One of his favourite quotes is “Just live the solutions you are seeing”.

Because of our research, independent reviews and listings, we are convinced that places in our Good Goal Guide are truly worth a visit. Create more stories. Visit places with a Good Goal.