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 2022 title. The city that wins the title will also receive a financial incentive of €350,000 to kick-start their environmental programme in 2022!

Will your city be the next European Green Capital winner?

#EGCA2022

@EU_GreenCapital

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 Capital Award as a first step to a

more sustainable future.

Karmenu Vella

EU Commissioner for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries

A Message from EU Environment Commissioner Karmenu Vella

Visit ec.europa.eu/europeangreencapital

for more information on how to apply

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

• Applicant 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, 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 for a period of ten years after they held the European Green

Capital title.

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 2022 Award opens in May 2019 and closes on 14

October 2019.

Financial incentive1 The Commission will award €350,000 to the winning city of the 2022 European Green Capital 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 2022, available on the website.

Make your city ‘Fit for Life’

Subject to the approval of the EU 2020 Budget and approval by the College of the 2020 Financing Decision for the EU LIFE Programme.

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 financial procedure. 

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The competition to find the European Green Capital 2022 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/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 twelve environmental indicator areas:

How to Apply

The Award Application Form has four sections per indicator:

Describe the present situation.

Describe the measures implemented over the last

five to ten years.

Describe the short and long term objectives for the

future and proposed approach to achieve these.

List how the above information can be documented;

add links where possible.

A

B

C

D

1 Climate Change: Mitigation

2 Climate Change: Adaptation

3 Sustainable Urban Mobility

4 Sustainable Land Use

5 Nature and Biodiversity

6 Air Quality

7 Noise

8 Waste

9 Water

10 Green Growth and Eco-innovation

1 1 Energy Performance

12 Governance

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

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 Capital Award shortlisted cities are invited to present a communications

strategy with an action plan on how they intend to fulfil their European Green Capital year, should

they win, to the Jury. The Jury is chaired by the European Commission.

At this presentation, the Jury assesses:

• The city’s overall commitment, vision and enthusiasm as conveyed through the presentation;

• 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;

• The city’s communication strategy, 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.

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 green capital website.

Evaluation Process of the European Green Capital Award

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

Lisbon, European Green Capital 2020

• Nijmegen• Essen

• Copenhagen

• Stockholm

• Hamburg

• Ljubljana

• Nantes

• Vitoria-Gasteiz

• Lisbon

• 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

2022 Award: Key DatesMay 2019: Competition opens

27 May 2019: Applicant Workshop: find out how to make a good

application and more tips and tricks!

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 the Jury

May/June 2020: 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 Award, 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, 2019

© European Union, 2019

Reuse is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.The reuse policy of European Commission documents is regulated by Decision

2011/833/EU (OJ L 330, 14.12.2011, p. 39).For any use or reproduction of photos or other material that is not under the EU

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