Will your city be the next European Green Leaf winner? - European Green Capital
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Will your city be the next
European Green Leaf winner?
EU-wide competition for towns and smaller cities
The title of European Green Leaf is awarded every year to recognise and
promote the efforts of towns and smaller cities (20,000 up to 100,000
population) towards better environmental management and outcomes.
The first cities were awarded the title in 2015.
Now in its 6th year, the European Commission is launching the
competition to find the winner(s)1 of the European Green Leaf 2021
title. The winner(s) of this title will also receive a financial incentive of
€75,000 to kick-start their environmental programme for the year.
1
There can be up to two winners each year.
#EGLA2021
A message from EU Environment
Commissioner Karmenu Vella
Two-thirds of Europeans live in towns and cities – that’s about 500
million people. Their health and well-being depend on how well city
authorities address environmental challenges.
With the prestigious European Green Capital and European Green Leaf Awards, the European
Commission is recognising the remarkable efforts of cities that are genuinely committed to
becoming better, greener places.
By showcasing the achievements of these sustainable cities, the Awards act as an inspiration,
demonstrating that urban environmental challenges can be tackled in ways that benefit citizens
and their environment at the same time.
As our pioneering winners have shown year after year, any city can go green. I hope potential
applicants will want to follow in their footsteps, demonstrating that there are many ways and paths
to becoming a modern green city.
Together we can green our urban living, and make cities more enjoyable places to live, work, play
and grow old. I encourage all cities to apply for the European Green Leaf Award as a first step to a
more sustainable future.
Karmenu Vella
EU Commissioner for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries
Visit ec.europa.eu/europeangreenleaf for more information on
how to apply or email info@europeangreenleaf.euTowns and cities ‘growing greener’
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 Leaf Award promotes and rewards a city’s environmental efforts, recognising
cities that demonstrate a good environmental record and commitment to generating ‘green’ growth
and new jobs to improve our urban living environment.
The competition for the European Green Leaf 2021 Award opens in May 2019 and closes on 14
October 2019.
Financial incentive2
The Commission will award €75,000 to the winning city of the 2021 European Green Leaf title to
help them kick-start their green year. All of the details regarding this financial incentive and winning
city obligations are contained in the Rules of Contest 2021, available on the website.
Who can apply?
The European Green Leaf Award competition is open to:
• Towns and cities from EU Member States3, EU Candidate Countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein,
Norway and Switzerland.
• All towns and cities from the countries listed above which have a population of 20,000 and up to
100,000 inhabitants.
Eligibility
• A ‘city’ is understood to be an urban area and an administrative unit governed by a city council or
another form of democratically elected body.
• In countries where there is no city with more than 20,000 inhabitants, the largest city is eligible to
apply.
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 for a period of ten years after they have been awarded the European
Green Leaf title.
2 Subject to the approval of the EU 2020 Budget and approval by the College of the 2020 Financing Decision for the EU
LIFE Programme.
3 For British candidates or applicants: Please be aware that after the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, the rules of access
to EU financial competing procedures of economic operators established in third countries will apply to candidates
or applicants from the UK depending on the outcome of the BREXIT negotiations. In case such access to the EU
market is not provided by legal provisions in force candidates or applicants from the UK could be rejected from the
5
financial procedure.How to Apply
The competition to find the European Green Leaf 2021 opens in May
2019 and closes on 14 October 2019. 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/europeangreenleaf/application/
If you think your town or city can be a ‘green ambassador’ that will encourage other cities to progress
to better sustainability as well as actively develop citizens’ environmental awareness and involvement,
then you should apply!
Every applicant town or smaller city will be assessed based on their performance in the following six
environmental topic areas:
1 Climate Change and Energy Performance 4 Air Quality and Noise
2 Sustainable Urban Mobility 5 Waste and Circular Economy
3 Nature, Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use 6 Water
The Application Form has two sections per topic area:
• Describe the current situation and strategic approach.
• Describe citizen participation and public awareness.
Evaluation Process
A panel of twelve 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 to go to the next stage of the competition.
The European Green Leaf Award finalist cities are then invited to present their achievements
and future vision to the Jury, chaired by the European Commission. At this presentation, the Jury
assesses:
• The city’s overall commitment, strategy and enthusiasm, as conveyed by the presentation;
• The city’s efforts to communicate to citizens and the level of citizen engagement in
environmental activities;
• The city’s potential to act as a ‘green ambassador’, promoting environmental good practice and
spreading the EGLA concept further.
The Jury makes its final decision based on the quality of this presentation. The findings of the Expert
Panel and Jury are made publically available on the website.
For inspiration, see applications from previous winners here: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/europeangreencapital/
europeangreenleaf/egl-winning-cities/European Green Leaf
Winners to date
• 2019 / Cornellà de Llobregat
• Växjö
• 2019 / Horst aan de Maas
• 2018 / Leuven • Galway
• 2018 / Växjö
• Horst aan de Maas
• 2017 / Galway • Leuven
• 2015 / Torres Vedras
• 2015 / Mollet del Vallès
Mollet del Vallès
• Torres Vedras Cornellà de Llobregat
Being a European Green Leaf brings many
benefits including:
✓✓ Positive international media coverage ✓✓ Attracts public financial support
✓✓ Increased international profile, networking ✓✓ Increased tourism
and new alliances
✓✓ Boosts local pride and generates a feeling
✓✓ Momentum to continue improving of belonging
environmental sustainability
✓✓ Access to the European Green Leaf Network
✓✓ More emphasis on environmental projects of previous winners and finalist cities to
through sponsorship and grants share environmental knowledge and best
practice to inspire change in other European
✓✓ New jobs – a European Green Leaf is more
cities.
attractive to foreign investors
In addition, previous applicants have said that the application process itself proved beneficial in
evaluating their environmental progress and benchmarking themselves against their peers.2021 Award: Key Dates
May 2019: Competition opens
14 October 2019: Competition closes
November 2019 – March 2020: Assessment of applications by the Expert Panel
April 2020: Announcement of finalist cities
May/June 2020: Finalist cities make presentations to Jury
May/June 2020: Awards Ceremony to announce Winner(s)
The European Green Leaf and European Green Capital Awards (for cities with +100,000 inhabitants)
are both initiatives of the European Commission.
All information on the Green City Award, including past winners, how to apply, the selection process
or any other questions, can be found on our website:
ec.europa.eu/europeangreenleaf
Luxembourg: Publications Office of the
European Union, 2019
© European Union, 20189
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copyright, permission must be sought directly from the copyright holders.
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