#EGCA2023

@EU_GreenCapital

Will your city be the next European Green Capital winner?

The European Commission launches this year’s competition to reward sustainable European cities!

The title of European Green Capital is awarded every year to a European city for its commitment to environmental, social and economic sustainability.

This year, the European Commission is launching the competition to identify the winner of the prestigious European Green Capital 2023 title. The city that wins the title will also receive a financial prize of €600,000 to enhance their city's sustainability.

A message from EU Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius As a result of Covid-19, Europe is facing unparalleled challenges. For the European Commission, saving lives and protecting citizens is a top priority. With collaboration and determination, we can emerge stronger from this crisis.

But the pandemic is not the only challenge of our times. Over the next decade, we need to step up our efforts to tackle serious issues, such as high rates of biodiversity loss, the overconsumption of natural resources, air pollution, and the growing impacts of climate change.

The crisis has shown that even in the most difficult circumstances, rapid changes are possible. We can change our behaviour, and protect ourselves and our communities. Modern technologies allow many citizens to work from home, and to keep in contact with family and friends. We can continue to enjoy nature, to shop locally, and cycle and walk more.

As we learn to adapt, Europe’s cities will continue to play a vital role, implementing local solutions that take us closer to greater sustainability. And with the European Green Deal, cities will remain at the forefront of our efforts to become the world’s first climate neutral continent by 2050.

The European Green Capital Award, and the Green Leaf Award for smaller towns, both presented by the European Commission, recognise and reward cities and urban areas that are committed to sustainability. Past winners have shown how most of the solutions we need are already in place, and that it is possible to live in a cleaner, greener environment and protect citizens’ health with technologies that are already available today.

By demonstrating these achievements, award winners act as ‘ambassadors for change’, motivating and inspiring other cities in the EU and around the globe. They show that there are many paths towards becoming a modern, green city and that going green can go hand in hand with a thriving economy.

All EU citizens have the right to live in healthy towns and cities. I encourage all forward-looking cities to apply for the European Green Capital and Green Leaf Awards, and to follow in the footsteps of our urban pioneers.

Virginijus Sinkevičius EU Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries

Visit ec.europa.eu/europeangreencapital for more information on how to apply

Make your city ‘Fit for Life’ Today, about 70% of Europeans live in towns and cities and this number is predicted to rise. Urban areas concentrate most of the environmental challenges facing our society, but also bring together commitment and innovation to resolve them.

The European Green Capital Award promotes and rewards a city’s environmental efforts, recognising co-operation and partnerships between local authorities, citizens, businesses and other stakeholders to improve our urban living environment.

The competition for the European Green Capital 2023 Award opened on 28 May 2020 and closes on 28 October 2020.

Financial prize1

The Commission will award €600,000 to the winning city of the 2023 European Green Capital title to enhance the city's environmental sustainability and to contribute to achieving the city's sustainability vision. All of the details regarding this financial prize and winning city obligations are contained in the Rules of Contest 2023,

available on the website.

Who can apply?The European Green Capital Award competition is open to:

• Towns and cities from EU Member States², EU Candidate Countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

• Cities from the countries listed above which have more than 100,000 inhabitants.

Eligibility

• In countries where there is no city with more than 100,000 inhabitants, the largest city is eligible to apply.

• A ‘city’ is understood to be an urban area, including metropolitan areas (excluding agglomerations), with an administrative unit governed by a city council or another form of democratically elected body.

Rules of Contest

• In any given year, cities can apply for either the European Green Capital Award or European Green Leaf Award, but not both at the same time.

• Past winners may not apply again after they have been awarded the European Green Capital title.

1 Subject to the approval of the EU 2021 Budget and approval by the College of the 2021 Financing Decision for the EU LIFE Programme.

2 For British candidates or applicants: following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union and having regard to the fact that these Rules of Contest cover the award of a title to a city for the period after the entry into force of the withdrawal agreement (2023 for EGC or 2022 for EGL), cities located in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland are not allowed to participate in this competition.

How to ApplyThe competition to find the European Green Capital 2023 opened on 28 May 2020 and closes on 28 October 2020. To apply, cities must register to access the full set of application forms. Information on how to register and submit the application can be found at ec.europa.eu/environment/europeangreencapital/applying-for-the-award/

If you think your city can be an EU Ambassador to showcase best practice in sustainable urban development and motivate and inspire other cities, then you should apply!

Every applicant city will be asssessed based on their performance in the following 12 environmental indicator areas:

1 Air Quality

2 Noise

3 Waste

4 Water

5 Nature and Biodiversity

6 Sustainable Land Use and Soil

7 Green Growth and Eco-innovation

8 Climate Change: Mitigation

9 Climate Change: Adaptation

10 Sustainable Urban Mobility

11 Energy Performance

12 Governance

The Award Application Form has four sections per indicator:

A Describe the present situation.

B Describe the measures implemented over the last five to ten years.

C Describe the short and long term objectives for the future and proposed approach to achieve these.

D List how the above information can be documented; add links where possible.

For inspiration, see applications from previous winners here: ec.europa.eu/environment/europeangreencapital/winning-cities/

Evaluation Process of the European Green Capital Award A panel of 12 independent, internationally acknowledged experts carries out a technical assessment of the received applications and then provides a ranking of the applicant cities, along with a shortlist of cities to go to the next stage of the competition.

The European Green Capital Award shortlisted cities are invited to present to the Jury (1) a communications strategy with an action plan on how they intend to fulfil their European Green Capital year and (2) which projects /actions the city intends to set in place to enhance the city's environmental sustainability. The Jury is chaired by the European Commission.

At this presentation, the Jury assesses:

1 The city’s overall commitment, vision and enthusiasm as conveyed through the presentation.

2 The city’s capacity to act as a role model, to inspire other cities, promote best practices and raise

the awareness of the EGC model further – bearing in mind city size and location.

3 The city’s communication strategy, substantiated by action plans on how it intends to fulfil its

European Green Capital year and which should address:

- Citizen communications and involvement to date in relation to the 12 environmental indicators,

including its effectiveness in terms of changes in citizen behaviour, lessons learned and proposed

modifications for the future;

- The extent of the city’s (local, regional and national) partnering to gain maximum social and

economic leverage;

- How they intend to fulfil their role of EU Ambassador, inspiring other cities.

4 Projects / actions the city intends to set in place to enhance the city’s environmental sustainability and

to contribute to achieving the city’s sustainability vision. Some examples are given in Annex 11 of the

Rules of Contest.

The Jury makes its final decision based on the quality of this presentation. The findings of the Expert Panel and Jury are made publicly available on the website.

Detailed instructions on how to apply, including a guidance note, can be found on ec.europa.eu/environment/europeangreencapital/applying-for-the-award/ or by emailing info@europeangreencapital.eu

Benefits of WinningBeing a European Green Capital brings many benefits including:

Access to the exclusive European Green Capital

Network of winners and finalist cities to share

environmental knowledge, exchange best

practices and inspire change in other European

cities

Positive international media coverage

Increased international profile, networking and

new alliances

Momentum to continue improving

environmental sustainability

More emphasis on environmental projects

through sponsorship and grants

New jobs – a European Green Capital is more

attractive to foreign investors

Attracts public financial support

Increased tourism

Boosts local pride and generates a feeling

of belonging

Lahti, European Green Capial 2021

In addition, previous applicants have said that the application process itself proved beneficial in

evaluating their environmental progress and benchmarking themselves against their peers.

•Nijmegen • Essen

• Copenhagen

• Stockholm

Lahti

• Hamburg

•

• Ljubljana

• Nantes

• Vitoria-Gasteiz

• Lisbon

• 2021 / Lahti

• 2020 / Lisbon

• 2019 / Oslo

• 2018 / Nijmegen

• 2017 / Essen

• 2016 / Ljubljana

• 2015 / Bristol

• 2014 / Copenhagen

• 2013 / Nantes

• 2012 / Vitoria-Gasteiz

• 2011 / Hamburg

• 2010 / Stockholm

European Green Capital Winners to date

•Bristol

• Oslo

2023 Award: Key Dates

28 May 2020: Competition opens

7 July 2020: Online Applicant City Workshop: How to make a good application

28 October 2020: Competition closes at 23:59 CET (GMT+1)

November 2020 - March 2021: Assessment of applications by the Expert Panel

April 2021: Announcement of finalist cities

June 2021: Finalist cities make presentations to the Jury

June 2021: Awards Ceremony to announce the winner

The European Green Capital and the European Green Leaf Awards (for smaller cities and towns) are both initiatives of the European Commission.

All information on the Green City Awards, including past winners, how to apply, the selection process or any other questions, can be found on our website:

ec.europa.eu/europeangreencapital

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2020

© European Union, 2020

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