European Green capital and European Green Leaf Award

Last updated on Thursday, 23/03/2023

Green energy, walking or cycling and urban farming are becoming more and more trendy throughout Europe. Everything must be more conscious, better for the environment and the citizens and, in particular, more sustainable.  

‘Green’ is also high on the European agenda with the European Green Deal setting the overall frame.

With most of us living in cities, we have many environmental challenges to face, like air or water pollution, high levels of noise or loss of nature. That’s why the European Commission launched the European Green Capital and the European Green Leaf Awards back in 2008. The awards are all about promoting fantastic solutions and to show that green, sustainable cities exist and that others can do the same!

Every year, the European Commission selects the winners for the award who then become the ‘green city ambassadors’ (world-wide). But they also work a lot with their citizens to make it happen. Ultimately, we want people to become more aware that their everyday choices can make a world of difference.

Both awards are open to cities in EU Member States, EU Candidate Countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

European Green Capital

The European Green Capital is awarded annually to a European city with over 100,000 inhabitants that has shown itself to be a leader in environmental, social and economic sustainability. In countries where there is no city with more than 100,000 inhabitants, the largest city is eligible to apply.

The main message is that Europeans have a right to live in healthy urban areas, and towns and cities should therefore strive to improve the quality of life of their citizens and reduce their impact on the global environment. This message is brought together in the slogan “Green cities – fit for life”.

In 2023 the prestigious title has been awarded to the city of Tallinn, Estonia. In 2023 the city plans to speed up the process of becoming more sustainable and inclusive, cooperate more with citizens, companies and organisations, design a new urban space and raise residents’ awareness about nature and the environment. The city was chosen on the basis of the Tallinn 2035 Strategy adopted in 2020 and the Tallinn Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan 2030. The main themes will be biodiversity, innovation, climate and sustainable governance. Find out more about Tallinn environmental initiatives, programmes and how to get involved here.

Find out more about Tallinn environmental initiatives, programme and how to get involved here.

European Green Leaf Award

Cities that are not big enough to compete for the title of European Green Capital have the chance to run for the European Green Leaf Award (EGLA).

The Award is open to towns and cities between 20,000 and 100,000 inhabitants to recognise and promote their efforts towards better environmental management and outcomes. The winning city will receive a grant to support its activities throughout its European Green Leaf year.

The winners of the European Green Leaf 2020 competition are Valongo (Portugal) and Winterswijk (Netherlands).

It isn’t easy being green…

It is a great honour for a city to bear the green city title, but you don't just become the awardee of the year that easily. There is a very strict selection process where the cities must show their solid track-record of everything they have done so far and what they are still concretely planning to do  to green their city. No nonsense talk, because to assess who the winner will be, cities need to submit a lot of data, facts and figures in 12 different environmental areas (from waste and water management, air quality, biodiversity, climate change or energy performance). In a nutshell, cities need to show that their ambitions are long-term and for the benefit of the people, the planet and the economy.

Check which cities have been rewarded in the past!

Maybe your city haswhat it takes to be the next European Green Capital or European Green Leaf Award winner?

Keep an eye on the European Commission competition website to see when the next call will be out and why not check with your mayor!