The idea of recognizing a city for its environmental values came up in a meeting in Tallinn, Estonia, in 2006. The award is presented to a city in the vanguard of environmentally friendly urban living.
The idea is to improve the environment in European cities specifically, and the environment as a whole, by recognizing one city every year. The city that has been chosen needs to be able to act as a role model for others, promoting best practices and sharing experiences and ideas with other European cities.
The nominated cities were assessed by a panel that included representatives from the European Commission, the European Environment Agency, ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, the European Federation for Transport and Environment, the Union of Capitals of the European Union, and the Committee of the Regions.
“More than half of the earth’s population live in cities, and in Europe the number is 80 percent. Cities thus have an important role to play in improving the environment.
“The award is an excellent opportunity to inform and inspire others about the good environmental work that the Stockholm city government, residents, and companies are doing,” says Sten Nordin, the commissioner of the finance department of Stockholm City on the city’s homepage.
Stockholm is a fast-growing city of 800,000 inhabitants. It has set itself the ambitious target of becoming fossil fuel free by 2050. The city has an integrated management system that ensures environmental issues are included in the city’s budget, operational planning, reporting, and monitoring. The integrated waste management system means high recycling rates, especially of biowaste, using underground vacuum-controlled systems.
The idea is to improve the environment in European cities specifically, and the environment as a whole, by recognizing one city every year. The city that has been chosen needs to be able to act as a role model for others, promoting best practices and sharing experiences and ideas with other European cities.
The nominated cities were assessed by a panel that included representatives from the European Commission, the European Environment Agency, ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, the European Federation for Transport and Environment, the Union of Capitals of the European Union, and the Committee of the Regions.
“More than half of the earth’s population live in cities, and in Europe the number is 80 percent. Cities thus have an important role to play in improving the environment.
“The award is an excellent opportunity to inform and inspire others about the good environmental work that the Stockholm city government, residents, and companies are doing,” says Sten Nordin, the commissioner of the finance department of Stockholm City on the city’s homepage.
Stockholm is a fast-growing city of 800,000 inhabitants. It has set itself the ambitious target of becoming fossil fuel free by 2050. The city has an integrated management system that ensures environmental issues are included in the city’s budget, operational planning, reporting, and monitoring. The integrated waste management system means high recycling rates, especially of biowaste, using underground vacuum-controlled systems.
About 95 percent of the population in Stockholm lives less than 1000 feet from green areas that improve the local quality of life, bringing recreation, water purification, noise reduction, and an enhancement of biodiversity and ecology. The city has extensive programs of future improvements to such areas, including the creation of more beaches for swimming and sunbathing.
A pioneering Congestion Charging system has reduced car use, increased use of public transportation, and reduced emissions. The city has reduced CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions by 25 percent since 1990, bringing the emissions to about half the Swedish national average.
“There were many nominee cities worthy of the award. That Stockholm was given the prize was especially enjoyable, given the background of the tough competition; it was a result of the city’s long-running and thorough environmental work,” says Ulla Hamilton, the commissioner of environment and traffic department of Stockholm.
The panel made the assessment from 10 environmental indicators, including climate changes, local transportation, quality of air and water, noise level, drainage, sustainable use of the land, biological diversity, and commitment to ongoing and ambitious goals for environmental development.
Some 35 cities applied for the 2010 and 2011 awards. The two winners, Stockholm and Hamburg, were chosen from eight finalists: Amsterdam, Bristol, Copenhagen, Freiburg im Breisgau, Hamburg, Münster, Oslo, and Stockholm.
A pioneering Congestion Charging system has reduced car use, increased use of public transportation, and reduced emissions. The city has reduced CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions by 25 percent since 1990, bringing the emissions to about half the Swedish national average.
“There were many nominee cities worthy of the award. That Stockholm was given the prize was especially enjoyable, given the background of the tough competition; it was a result of the city’s long-running and thorough environmental work,” says Ulla Hamilton, the commissioner of environment and traffic department of Stockholm.
The panel made the assessment from 10 environmental indicators, including climate changes, local transportation, quality of air and water, noise level, drainage, sustainable use of the land, biological diversity, and commitment to ongoing and ambitious goals for environmental development.
Some 35 cities applied for the 2010 and 2011 awards. The two winners, Stockholm and Hamburg, were chosen from eight finalists: Amsterdam, Bristol, Copenhagen, Freiburg im Breisgau, Hamburg, Münster, Oslo, and Stockholm.
