New toolkits launched to guide cities delivering on the EU Green Deal

European cities that are taking the first steps of their urban greening journey, or that already have sustainability high on their agendas but are trying to raise the bar, now have a valuable set of tools to guide their sustainable urban transitions.

The European Green Capital Network (EGCN), a circle of excellence gathering 31 winners and finalists of the prestigious European Green Capital Award, has recently launched a new toolkit series, sharing best practices around four vision clusters of sustainable urban development.

The EGCN Future-Proof, 100% Renewable, Less Waste, More Value and Human-Scale toolkits showcase what leading work EGCN members have done in the areas of climate adaptation, renewable energy, waste management and human-scale urban development. A fifth toolkit offers advice for cities interested in applying for the European Green Capital Award.

The toolkits summarise lessons learned and key takeaways from a series of workshops hosted by the European Green Capital Network Secretariat during 2018-2020. They all feature tested and proven solutions and examples of ongoing challenges through transformation stories, video interviews with experts, resources, tips and guidance.

“Climate change and environmental degradation are global issues, but every city has different experiences when it comes to implementing sustainability policies and turning challenges into opportunities. The EGCN toolkits offer a wealth of concrete solutions to pick and choose from, which can be adapted to local needs and implemented”, said Florika Fink-Hooijer, Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for the Environment. “Our European Green Capital Award winners have shown year after year that any city can go green. We are confident that many will find valuable information in the toolkits, make use of the resources they offer and hopefully, be inspired to apply for the Awards”.

All EGCN toolkits can be downloaded for free here.

Raising the sustainability bar

The EGCN was initiated by the city of Copenhagen, winner of the 2014 edition of the European Green Capital Award. Creating the Network was the natural answer to a question shared by many Award finalists after winning: How can we continue to improve further?

Copenhagen, which picked the slogan “Sharing Copenhagen” for its award-winning year, wanted to exchange with like-minded peers who remained ambitious despite obtaining one of the most prestigious seals of approval from the European Commission.

While the network’s meetings are marked by a familiar atmosphere and continuity over the years, they nevertheless remain rich in ideas. With each Award cycle, the EGCN continues to expand. The French city of Grenoble, the winner of the EGCA 2022 edition, as well as finalists Dijon and Turin, are the Network’s newest members.

EGCN member cities also include: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bristol, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dijon, Essen, Frankfurt, Freiburg, Ghent, Glasgow, Grenoble, Hamburg, Lahti, Lille, Lisbon, Ljubljana, Malmö, Münster, Nantes, Nijmegen, Nuremberg, Oslo, Reykjavik, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Stockholm, Strasbourg, Tallinn, Turin, Umeå and Vitoria-Gasteiz.