Financial Incentive to celebrate 10 years of European Green Capital Awards showcasing environmental best practice in Europe’s cities and towns – 2020 competition now open for entries

 

Cities can become prestigious winners and role models in the European Commission’s European Green Capital Award 2020 for larger cities, and the European Green Leaf Awards 2019 for smaller cities.  Both competitions are now open for entries.

For the first time, the winner of the European Green Capital Award 2010 will receive a financial incentive of €350,000, while the European Green Leaf Award 2019 winner will receive €75,000, to jump-start their environmental programmes.

The benefits of winning include:-

  • International prestige and media coverage;
  • Attracting more foreign investment and tourism; and
  • Membership of an exclusive network of previous winners and shortlisted cities to share ideas and experience towards furthering your city’s efforts in environmental sustainability.Apart from winning, other applicants over the years have said that the application process in itself has proved hugely beneficial in evaluating their city’s environmental progress and plans, as well as benchmarking themselves against their peers.

EU Commissioner for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Mr Karmenu Vella said “The European Green Capital and Green Leaf Awards are becoming increasingly important as we strive to manage our cities and towns against the challenges of population growth, pressure on resources and our responsibilities to manage climate change. European Green Capitals and Green Leafs provide vital inspiration and motivation to help other cities find solutions, on both a European and a global stage.”

The European Green Capital Award (EGCA) is open to cities with over 100,000 inhabitants demonstrating commitment to environmental, social and economic sustainability. Previous winners of the European Green Capital Award are Stockholm (2010), Hamburg (2011), Vitoria-Gasteiz (2012), Nantes (2013), Copenhagen (2014), Bristol (2015), Ljubljiana (2016), Essen (2017), Nijmegen (2018) and Oslo (2019).

The European Green Leaf Award (EGLA) is for smaller cities and towns (20,000-100,000 inhabitants) who are moving towards better environmental management and outcomes. Since its inauguration in 2015, the European Green Leaf Award has been won by Mollet del Valles and Torres Vedras (2015), Galway (2017) and Leuven and Vaxjo (2018).

If you are interested in finding out more about the application process and to receive updates about the Awards cycle, register your interest, without any obligation.   The closing date for this award cycle is 18th October 2017.

For further information view our EGCA brochure here, our EGLA brochure here and information videos on both awards here and here.  In addition you can visit the Awards website at here.