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European Green City Index | The cities
The cities
Helsinki, Finland
Oslo, Norway
Stockholm, Sweden Tallinn, Estonia
Riga, Latvia
Copenhagen, Denmark
Vilnius, Lithuania
Dublin, Ireland
The European Green City Index measures
and rates the environmental performance
of 30 leading European cities from Amsterdam, Netherlands
Berlin, Germany Warsaw, Poland
London, United Kingdom
30 European countries. It takes into account
Kiev, Ukraine
30 individual indicators per city, touching Brussels, Belgium
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Zagreb, Croatia
Bucharest, Romania
Belgrade, Serbia
Sofia, Bulgaria
Rome, Italy
Madrid, Spain
Istanbul, Turkey
Lisbon, Portugal
Athens, Greece
4 5
European Green City Index | Executive summary
Executive summary
Why cities matter: More than one-half of the ways, from increased use of public transport due stability, with only the Balkan wars breaking the ernment to modify their actions or policies. In back on the methodology. This study is not the
world’s population now lives in urban areas, but to greater population density to smaller city general peace of recent decades. Moreover, citi- particular, increased costs or taxes are usually first comparison of the environmental impact of
they are blamed for producing as much as 80% dwellings that require less heating and lighting. zen awareness of the importance of protecting met with scepticism, if not hostility. In the cur- European cities, nor does it seek to supplant
of humanity’s greenhouse gas emissions. Fur- Many European cities have demonstrated their the environment and of green objectives has rent financial situation, this difficulty may well other worthwhile initiatives, such as the Euro-
thermore, increasing urbanisation can negative- commitment to reducing their environmental markedly increased in recent years. This is boost- grow. Although many green technologies help pean Urban Ecosystem Survey or the European
ly impact everything from the availability of impact by joining the Covenant of Mayors, a ed in part by a growing body of environmentally to reduce costs in the long run, immediate finan- Green Capital Award. Instead, its value lies in the
arable land and vital green spaces to potable European Commission initiative launched in focussed EU legislation. cial concerns may impede the greater upfront breadth of information provided and in the form
water and sanitary waste disposal facilities. Liv- January 2008 that asks mayors to commit to cut- But even in environmentally conscious investment which they also frequently require. in which it is presented. The index takes into
ing in such close proximity tends to intensify ting carbon emissions by at least 20% by 2020. Europe, problems abound. Across the cities account 30 individual indicators per city that
thedemands that urban settlements impose on This is encouraging the creation — often for the profiled in this report, an average of one in How the study was conducted: To aid efforts touch on a wide range of environmental areas
their surrounding environments. very first time — of a formal plan for how cities three residents drive to work, contributing to and understanding in this field, the European — from environmental governance and water
It is clear, then, that cities must be part of the can go about reducing their carbon impact, increased CO2 emissions and general air pollu- Green City Index seeks to measure and rate the consumption to waste management and green-
solution if an urbanising world is to grapple suc- which bodes well for the future. tion. The average proportion of renewable ener- environmental performance of 30 leading Euro- house gas emissions — and ranks cities using a
cessfully with ecological challenges such as cli- Of course, environmental performance gy consumed is just 7.3%, a long way short of pean cities both overall and across a range of transparent, consistent and replicable scoring
mate change. In concentrated urban areas, it is inevitably varies from city to city, but some the EU’s stated goal of increasing the share of specific areas. In so doing, it offers a tool to process. The relative scores assigned to individ-
possible for environmental economies of scale encouraging trends are emerging. Of the 30 renewable energy usage to 20% by 2020. Nearly enhance the understanding and decision-mak- ual cities (for performance in specific categories,
to reduce the impact of human beings on the diverse European cities covered by this study, one in four litres of water consumed by cities is ing abilities of all those interested in environ- as well as overall) is also unique to the index and
earth. This has already started to happen in nearly all had lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emis- lost through leakage. And less than one fifth of mental performance, from individual citizens allows for direct comparison between cities.
Europe. According to the UN Population Divi- sions per head than the overall EU27 average of overall waste is currently recycled. Moreover, through to leading urban policymakers. The Of course, numbers alone only give part of
sion, 72% of the continent’s population is urban 8.46 tonnes1. Part of this success comes from encouraging environmentally helpful behav- methodology was developed by the Economist the picture. To complement the core data within
but the European Environment Agency (EEA) several advantages which European urban areas ioural change is not a straightforward matter: Intelligence Unit in co-operation with Siemens. the index, this study also seeks to provide con-
says that its cities and towns account for just share. Compared to other regions of the world, cities often have little leverage to induce citi- An independent panel of urban sustainability text, with in-depth city portraits that not only
69% of energy use. This is achieved in a range of the continent has enjoyed remarkable political zens, companies, or even other levels of gov- experts provided important insights and feed- explain the challenges, strengths and weakness-
6 1) Based on the most recently available data, the majority of which was for 2006-07. 7
European Green City Index | Executive summary
Key findings
es of each city, but also highlight emerging best also face the legacy of history, dealing with scale, such as district heating or large public trans- Copenhagen, Stockholm and Amsterdam fea-
practice and innovative ideas that others might decades of environmental neglect during the port networks, come into their own. According- tured in the top places in both lists, whereas
wish to emulate. communist period. This is most visible in the ly, the index’s larger cities, with populations of 3 Bucharest and Sofia fared poorly in both.
The index also differs from other studies in poorly insulated concrete-slab mass housing that million or more, perform relatively well, general-
the fact that it is independently researched, was widely used, as well as the remains of highly ly occupying the top half of the rankings. Berlin The complete results from the index, includ-
rather than being reliant on voluntary submis- polluting heavy industry. Although many have does best overall (8th), followed closely by Paris ing both overall rankings and individual rank-
sions from city governments. This has enabled Highlights of the 2009 European Green unsurprising: wealthier cities can invest more innovative ideas regarding specific environmen- (10th), London (11th) and Madrid (12th). This ings within the eight sub-categories, follows
us to cover 30 main cities — either political or City Index include the following: heavily in energy-efficient infrastructure and tal initiatives, such as a “lottery” in Ljubljana that isn’t universal, though: Athens (22nd) and Istan- next. For insights into what some of the leading
business capitals — from 30 European countries. afford specialist environmental managers, for promotes the sorting of waste for recycling, bul (25th) both perform relatively poorly. cities have done to top the rankings within indi-
The goal of the index is to allow key stake- Nordic cities dominate the index top tier. example. Wealth isn’t everything, however: some these cities must also balance with other press- vidual categories, specific case studies are avail-
holder groups — such as city administrators, Copenhagen leads the index overall, coming individual cities punch above their weight within ing issues, ranging from unemployment and Cities with an active civil society perform well able from page 22. Finally, detailed insights into
policymakers, infrastructure providers, environ- marginally ahead of Stockholm, while third- individual sub-categories: low-income Vilnius, for economic growth to informal settlements. in the index. Although it was beyond the scope the individual performances of all 30 cities
mental non-governmental organisations (NGOs), place Oslo rounds out a trio of Scandinavian example, leads the air quality category; while of this study to measure specific citizen engage- included in the European Green City Index are
urban sustainability experts, and citizens — to cities on the medal podium. Fellow Nordic capi- Berlin, with a relatively low GDP per head, tops The index shows little overall correlation ment in environmental issues, a strong correla- available within the city portraits section of this
compare their city’s performance against others tal Helsinki follows in seventh place. Vienna, the buildings category and is ranked eighth overall. between city size and performance. However, tion exists between high-performing cities in report, starting on page 40. These explore both
overall, and within each category. The index also Amsterdam and Zurich occupy fourth, fifth and the leading cities in both the East and the West this index and other independent studies that the current status within each city on all eight
allows for comparisons across cities clustered by sixth places, respectively. Among east European cities (which also rep- do tend to be smaller, with populations of less than explore the strength of civil society in European categories, while also highlighting past, current
a certain criteria, such as geographic region or resent the low-income cities of the index, with 1 million. To some degree, this makes sense: physi- countries. The rank of a country in the voluntary and planned future initiatives to improve their
income group. In short, this tool is provided in There is a strong correlation between wealth GDP per head below €21,000), Vilnius performs cally smaller cities make it easier for people to participation of citizens in organisations—from relative performance. The wealth and diversity
the hope that it will help European cities move and a high overall ranking on the index. Nine of best of all, ranked in 13th place. It is followed cycle or walk to work, for example. However, religious groups to professional and charitable of initiatives detailed here provide encouraging
towards being a bigger part of the solution to cli- the top 10 cities in the index have a GDP per most closely by Riga, in 15th place. The rest of wealth, and more importantly experience, can bodies — was a strong predictor of the perfor- insights into the current directions that Europe’s
mate change and other environmental chal- head (measured at purchasing power parity, the east European cities rank at the bottom of overcome the difficulties of size as policies that mance of that country’s main city in the Euro- main cities are taking and their varying paths
lenges. PPP) of more than €31,000. In many ways, this is the index. The wealth divide aside, these cities take advantage of environmental economies of pean Green City Index. Of the applicable cities, towards a more sustainable future.
The results
Overall CO2 Energy Buildings Transport Water Waste and Air quality Environmental
land use governance
City Score City Score City Score City Score City Score City Score City Score City Score City Score
1 Copenhagen 87,31 1 Oslo 9,58 1 Oslo 8,71 =1 Berlin 9,44 1 Stockholm 8,81 1 Amsterdam 9,21 1 Amsterdam 8,98 1 Vilnius 9,37 =1 Brussels 10,00
2 Stockholm 86,65 2 Stockholm 8,99 2 Copenhagen 8,69 =1 Stockholm 9,44 2 Amsterdam 8,44 2 Vienna 9,13 2 Zurich 8,82 2 Stockholm 9,35 =1 Copenhagen 10,00
3 Oslo 83,98 3 Zurich 8,48 3 Vienna 7,76 3 Oslo 9,22 3 Copenhagen 8,29 3 Berlin 9,12 3 Helsinki 8,69 3 Helsinki 8,84 =1 Helsinki 10,00
4 Vienna 83,34 4 Copenhagen 8,35 4 Stockholm 7,61 4 Copenhagen 9,17 4 Vienna 8,00 4 Brussels 9,05 4 Berlin 8,63 4 Dublin 8,62 =1 Stockholm 10,00
5 Amsterdam 83,03 5 Brussels 8,32 5 Amsterdam 7,08 5 Helsinki 9,11 5 Oslo 7,92 =5 Copenhagen 8,88 5 Vienna 8,60 5 Copenhagen 8,43 =5 Oslo 9,67
6 Zurich 82,31 6 Paris 7,81 6 Zurich 6,92 6 Amsterdam 9,01 6 Zurich 7,83 =5 Zurich 8,88 6 Oslo 8,23 6 Tallinn 8,30 =5 Warsaw 9,67
The complete 7 Helsinki 79,29 7 Rome 7,57 7 Rome 6,40 7 Paris 8,96 7 Brussels 7,49 7 Madrid 8,59 7 Copenhagen 8,05 7 Riga 8,28 =7 Paris 9,44
8 Berlin 79,01 8 Vienna 7,53 8 Brussels 6,19 8 Vienna 8,62 8 Bratislava 7,16 8 London 8,58 8 Stockholm 7,99 8 Berlin 7,86 =7 Vienna 9,44
results from the 9 Brussels 78,01 9 Madrid 7,51 9 Lisbon 5,77 9 Zurich 8,43 9 Helsinki 7,08 9 Paris 8,55 9 Vilnius 7,31 9 Zurich 7,70 9 Berlin 9,33
10 Paris 73,21 10 London 7,34 10 London 5,64 10 London 7,96 =10 Budapest 6,64 10 Prague 8,39 10 Brussels 7,26 10 Vienna 7,59 10 Amsterdam 9,11
index, including 11 London 71,56 11 Helsinki 7,30 11 Istanbul 5,55 11 Lisbon 7,34 =10 Tallinn 6,64 11 Helsinki 7,92 11 London 7,16 11 Amsterdam 7,48 11 Zurich 8,78
12 Madrid 67,08 12 Amsterdam 7,10 12 Madrid 5,52 12 Brussels 7,14 12 Berlin 6,60 12 Tallinn 7,90 12 Paris 6,72 12 London 7,34 12 Lisbon 8,22
the overall result 13 Vilnius 62,77 13 Berlin 6,75 13 Berlin 5,48 13 Vilnius 6,91 13 Ljubljana 6,17 13 Vilnius 7,71 13 Dublin 6,38 13 Paris 7,14 =13 Budapest 8,00
14 Rome 62,58 14 Ljubljana 6,67 14 Warsaw 5,29 14 Sofia 6,25 14 Riga 6,16 14 Bratislava 7,65 14 Prague 6,30 14 Ljubljana 7,03 =13 Madrid 8,00
of each city as 15 Riga 59,57 15 Riga 5,55 15 Athens 4,94 15 Rome 6,16 15 Madrid 6,01 15 Athens 7,26 15 Budapest 6,27 15 Oslo 7,00 =15 Ljubljana 7,67
16 Warsaw 59,04 16 Istanbul 4,86 16 Paris 4,66 16 Warsaw 5,99 16 London 5,55 =16 Dublin 7,14 16 Tallinn 6,15 16 Brussels 6,95 =15 London 7,67
well as the indi- 17 Budapest 57,55 =17 Athens 4,85 17 Belgrade 4,65 17 Madrid 5,68 17 Athens 5,48 =16 Stockholm 7,14 17 Rome 5,96 17 Rome 6,56 17 Vilnius 7,33
18 Lisbon 57,25 =17 Budapest 4,85 18 Dublin 4,55 18 Riga 5,43 18 Rome 5,31 18 Budapest 6,97 18 Ljubljana 5,95 18 Madrid 6,52 18 Tallinn 7,22
vidual rankings 19 Ljubljana 56,39 19 Dublin 4,77 19 Helsinki 4,49 19 Ljubljana 5,20 =19 Kiev 5,29 19 Rome 6,88 19 Madrid 5,85 19 Warsaw 6,45 19 Riga 6,56
20 Bratislava 56,09 20 Warsaw 4,65 20 Zagreb 4,34 20 Budapest 5,01 =19 Paris 5,29 20 Oslo 6,85 20 Riga 5,72 20 Prague 6,37 20 Bratislava 6,22
within the eight 21 Dublin 53,98 21 Bratislava 4,54 21 Bratislava 4,19 21 Bucharest 4,79 =19 Vilnius 5,29 21 Riga 6,43 21 Bratislava 5,60 21 Bratislava 5,96 =21 Athens 5,44
22 Athens 53,09 22 Lisbon 4,05 22 Riga 3,53 22 Athens 4,36 =19 Zagreb 5,29 22 Kiev 5,96 22 Lisbon 5,34 22 Budapest 5,85 =21 Dublin 5,44
categories. 23 Tallinn 52,98 23 Vilnius 3,91 23 Bucharest 3,42 23 Bratislava 3,54 23 Istanbul 5,12 23 Istanbul 5,59 23 Athens 5,33 23 Istanbul 5,56 =23 Kiev 5,22
24 Prague 49,78 24 Bucharest 3,65 24 Prague 3,26 24 Dublin 3,39 24 Warsaw 5,11 24 Lisbon 5,42 24 Warsaw 5,17 24 Lisbon 4,93 =23 Rome 5,22
25 Istanbul 45,20 25 Prague 3,44 25 Budapest 2,43 25 Zagreb 3,29 25 Lisbon 4,73 25 Warsaw 4,90 25 Istanbul 4,86 25 Athens 4,82 25 Belgrade 4,67
26 Zagreb 42,36 26 Tallinn 3,40 26 Vilnius 2,39 26 Prague 3,14 26 Prague 4,71 26 Zagreb 4,43 26 Belgrade 4,30 26 Zagreb 4,74 26 Zagreb 4,56
27 Belgrade 40,03 27 Zagreb 3,20 27 Ljubljana 2,23 27 Belgrade 2,89 27 Sofia 4,62 27 Ljubljana 4,19 27 Zagreb 4,04 27 Bucharest 4,54 27 Prague 4,22
28 Bucharest 39,14 28 Belgrade 3,15 28 Sofia 2,16 28 Istanbul 1,51 28 Bucharest 4,55 28 Bucharest 4,07 28 Bucharest 3,62 28 Belgrade 4,48 28 Sofia 3,89
29 Sofia 36,85 29 Sofia 2,95 29 Tallinn 1,70 29 Tallinn 1,06 29 Belgrade 3,98 29 Belgrade 3,90 29 Sofia 3,32 29 Sofia 4,45 29 Istanbul 3,11
30 Kiev 32,33 30 Kiev 2,49 30 Kiev 1,50 30 Kiev 0,00 30 Dublin 2,89 30 Sofia 1,83 30 Kiev 1,43 30 Kiev 3,97 30 Bucharest 2,67
10 11
European Green City Index | Analysis of city trends
12 13
European Green City Index | Analysis of city trends
the expansion of current environmental efforts. ronmental effect from the former divide that is the mirror image of the east. As the city in the index’s building category — has had tively on the environment choices. For example, citizen engagement and environmental perfor-
The city portraits for this report note specifically between East and West. Thirteen of the top 15 portraits note, Copenhagen has been taking tremendous success in retrofitting housing many eastern urban areas — including the top mance.
that cities as far apart as Dublin, Budapest and index performers are in western Europe; 11 of environmental issues and sustainable energy stock, including nearly halving the energy use of five performers in this metric — score highly in Good environmental results generally do not
Belgrade are likely to scale back because of cur- the bottom 15 were part of the old eastern bloc. seriously since the oil shock of the 1970s; Stock- 273,000 concrete-slab buildings in the eastern the index on the number of people taking public happen by chance. European governments, for
rent economic troubles, and others will doubt- Aside from the wealth divide, this also has to holm also has a long tradition, and is now on its part of the city. Looking forward, Oslo’s efforts transport to work while Copenhagen, Stock- example, have had to regulate private carbon
less be doing so as well. It remains to be seen do with legacy. As the city portraits show, sixth consecutive environmental plan. to provide charging points for electric cars and holm and Oslo are amongst the lowest scorers. use through carbon trading because existing
how cities will balance maximising the benefits various eastern cities are still dealing with the As with wealth, history has a variety of Vienna’s to promote vehicles that run on natural This superior eastern performance, however, economic markets did not price the negative
of enhanced environmental performance while fallout from decades of environmental neglect impacts, some less obvious than others. Infra- gas are both creative ways to use existing infra- seems less a result of enlightened environmen- externalities of carbon emission. Even with such
minimising the financial costs in the near term. during the communist period: for example, even structure — whether building stock, transport structure — in this case roads — in a more envi- tal choice than a lack of alternatives, and there efforts, green choices sometimes still have a
though polluting industries have mostly disap- facilities, or water pipes — develops over the ronmentally friendly way. are signs that the balance may be shifting. higher price tag than other options, especially in
History matters: infrastructure and attitudes: peared in the face of market competition, poorly long term, and is hard to change quickly. More difficult to change than the physical Bratislava is a case in point. The city has the the short term. Moreover, city administrations,
Cities in eastern Europe have a tougher chal- insulated, concrete-slab, mass housing remains. Longevity of systems does not seem to matter so environment are the attitudes and aspirations of highest share of people taking public transport on their own, have relatively limited power. The
lenge to overcome, in terms of their relatively In Belgrade’s case, its relatively recent interna- much as upkeep. individual citizens. With so much of a city’s envi- to work but has also seen a surge in newly regis- sum of the individual decisions of their residents
aged and inefficient infrastructure. tional isolation — it was embargoed for years For example, Vienna’s and Ljubljana’s water ronmental performance reliant on how its resi- tered cars in the last decade. Tallinn, Zagreb, — from actions such as choosing to insulate
Historical attitudes and aspirations are also and eventually bombed in 1999 — only adds to systems both date back to the late 1800s, but dents act individually, in groups and as a whole, Ljubljana, and Prague all have similar news, and their homes, to opting to commute to work via
difficult to overcome. For example, the adop- the difficulty. Similarly, certain bureaucratic the former city comes in second in the water cat- winning hearts and minds is crucial (see next the Mayor of Vilnius cites this increased car public transport — have a deeper impact on the
tion of consumer culture in the East has led, habits can also outlive the transition to democ- egory, and the latter 27th. Whatever the diffi- section). Accordingly, one area of concern is usage as his city's leading environmental chal- environment than an army of policies. Accord-
understandably, to greater demand for vehicles. racy. “People (in the east) are ready to learn and culties — practical and financial — of upgrading how the legacy of suppressed demand in the lenge. ing to a 2008 report produced by Siemens in
Twenty years ago, the Berlin wall fell and change things quickly, but the inertia is quite physical assets, however, infrastructure age is countries of eastern Europe, after decades of conjunction with McKinsey & Company and the
Europe moved toward binding the wounds heavy,” argues Mr Ballesteros Torres. certainly not decisive. Copenhagen’s buildings, being economically less well off than their west- People matter: The individual decisions of Economist Intelligence Unit2, about three-quar-
inflicted from a turbulent century. While there On the other hand, if three Nordic cities are for example, are among the most energy-effi- ern neighbours, may play out. As these commu- cities’ inhabitants are, collectively, more power- ters of the existing technological changes that
has been much progress on the political and jostling each other for the overall leading posi- cient anywhere, even though only 7% were built nities get wealthier, some citizens may use new- ful than their governments’ ability to intervene. would help London to meet its long-term carbon
economic levels, there remains a marked envi- tion in the index, it is because they have a legacy in the last 20 years, and Berlin — the joint leader found wealth to make choices that impact nega- Accordingly, there is a correlation between reduction targets depended on the decisions of
14 2) Sustainable Urban Infrastructure: London Edition – a view to 2025, Siemens AG, 2008. 15
European Green City Index | Analysis of city trends
citizens or companies, not of governments. As a meetings or contacting officials). Twenty-three poorer performance. Each additional 120,000 slightly more likely to have people walk or cycle
result, the engagement of individuals with soci- Comparison of rankings: EFILWC Voluntary of the countries in these indices contain cities inhabitants correlates, approximately, with a to work — the average distance obviously being
eties around them — or the strength of civil soci- Participation Index and European Green City Index that are included in the European Green City score that is one point lower less in a physically smaller place. Even here,
ety in a city — has a strong link to environmental Index. A comparison between these indices Greater city size could be either a drawback however, the correlation is weak.
performance. yields two interesting findings. The first is a rela- or an advantage in this index. All things being Looking at eastern and western cities sepa-
This link is underscored by comparing the tively low correlation between the level of politi- equal, a given environment should be able to rately, however, it becomes clearer that small
results of the European Green City Index with an Best Rank (European Green City Index) Copenhagen cal participation and a city’s environmental per- handle the emissions and activities of a million urban areas have some advantage. The highest
independent report from the European Founda- Vienna
Stockholm formance. The second is a high correlation people more easily than those of ten million — scores in the survey overall, belong to smaller
tion for the Improvement of Living and Working actual Amsterdam between voluntary participation and a city’s the wind could blow the resultant air pollutants western cities (Copenhagen, Stockholm and
fitted Helsinki
Conditions (EFILWC)3. The Foundation’s 2006 Berlin
environmental performance. In other words, away more quickly and waste would build up Oslo), and the top performers in the old east, Vil-
study looked specifically at participation in civil Brussels while political engagement is not closely linked more slowly. On the other hand, larger cities can nius and Riga, are also on the small side for that
Paris
society, based on a wide-ranging survey of Euro- London to environmental strength, an active civil society benefit from economies of scale, having greater grouping. All of these cities have populations of
Madrid
pean citizens. As part of this study, the Founda- Vilnius
is extremely important. City leaders hoping to collective resources to pursue policies or create less than one million people. For east European
tion created two indices. One was of voluntary Rome improve their city’s overall performance would greener infrastructure. cities, there is an identifiable correlation between
Riga
participation in organisations (based on the Warsaw
do well to explore ways of engaging more close- At first glance, there seems to be little link higher population and poorer index perfor-
average number of voluntary organisations, Budapest ly with their citizens. between the size and population of cities and mance. Onehundred and twenty thousand more
Lisbon
such as religious groups, trade unions and Ljubljana their index performance, with smaller ones scat- people leads to, roughly, one less point. In par-
sports, professional or charitable bodies that cit- Athens
Dublin
Size matters — at first: Although there is tered between Copenhagen at number one ticular, an increase in population has a notice-
izens belonged to), which is a useful proxy for Tallinn little correlation between city size and perfor- (with a population of about half a million) and able negative effect on scores for measures of
Prague
the strength of civil society. Bucharest Best Rank mance in the index overall, the leading cities do Zagreb at twenty-six (with a population of about air pollutants and carbon dioxide intensity.
Sofia (Index of Voluntary
The second was of political participation Participation) tend to be smaller in both the East and the West three-quarters of a million). Individual metrics Nature’s greater ability to cope with the environ-
(based on the proportion of citizens engaging in Among east European cities, however, there also demonstrate few links with size, except that mental demands of small cities than of large
political activities, such as voting, attending is a correlation between larger populations and those cities with lower populations may be ones remains relevant in these urban areas.
16 3) First European Quality of Life Survey: Participation in civil society, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, Dublin, 2006. 17
European Green City Index | Analysis of city trends
In western cities the effect, if still present, is EU funding is a crucial factor in enabling low- ing a huge portion of the continent. Broad Euro- urban governments large and small. The EU is
residual. The statistical significance of the link is The link between population and environmental income cities to improve their environmental pean goals, such as the EU’s 20-20-20 goal of now tapping into the same sentiment. In early
very low, and it takes nearly a million extra peo- performance in east European cities performance. cutting carbon emissions, increasing renew- 2008 it launched the Covenant of Mayors, which
ple before a city’s score goes down a point. The This study highlights ways in which Europe ables and cutting energy consumption are also focuses specifically on matters of climate
explanation for the strong correlation in east — both through its institutions and more amor- driving change. The requirements of accession change and sustainable energy. The covenant
European cities is likely — again — to be histori- phously as a community — is having an impor- have led to the adoption of much more too has over 600 signatories and, as several of
65 European Green City Index Score
cal. Eastern cities have less experience with envi- Vilnius tant impact on urban environmental performance. advanced environmental legislation and policy the city portraits later in this report show, the
ronmental policy. 60
Riga
actual The first, very practical contribution of European in all of the newest eastern members of the very fact of membership is committing a num-
Ljubljana Warsaw
The disadvantages of greater size, while pre- fitted institutions is cash. As noted above, there is an Union in recent years, as they did for south Euro- ber of cities to put forward sustainable energy
Bratislava Budapest
sent initially, may be possible to overcome as 55 important link between money, at the very least pean entrants before them. It is having a similar plans for the first time.
Tallinn
larger cities gain more experience in environ- for investment, and environmental success. As effect on candidate countries and it may be no Ultimately, although money spent on physi-
50 Prague
mental management. “Some smaller cities are the city portraits show, inter alia, the EU is pro- accident that the one eastern city whose coun- cal infrastructure is important, it is this increas-
doing very well because at one moment or 45 viding funding for water plants in Budapest and try is not yet an EU accession candidate scores ingly pervasive notion that responsible and
another there were leaders who decided policy Zagreb Vilnius, as well as for Prague’s ring road; the worst in the survey. effective environmental governance ought to be
Belgrade
and there was a consensus among the popula- 40
Bucharest European Investment Bank (EIB) is helping with In addition to the force of law, voluntary insti- the norm for all European countries that could
tion in order to make things exemplary,” says Mr Sofia Tallinn’s water supply and sewage systems; and tutions have been developing that seek to har- provide the long-term political foundation
35
Ballesteros Torres. “In absolute and statistical Kiev
the European Bank for Reconstruction and ness and increase a growing sense that environ- which green efforts need for success.
terms, large cities have more resources, and 30 Development is providing finance for the reha- mental stewardship is part of what is expected
some are doing particularly well.” bilitation of Zagreb’s largest landfill site. As the from a modern European city. The European Location matters: Environmental sustain-
25 downturn hits city budgets more deeply, such Sustainable Cities and Towns campaign, for ability depends as much on the resources avail-
Europe matters: public funding and cul- Population (in millions)
assistance will be more important. example, dates back to 1994, and its 2004 Aal- able as how they are used.
20
ture: Accession to the EU has had a huge posi- 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 The expansion of the EU is also having an borg Commitments on a series of sustainability A problem of any comparative environmen-
tive impact in energising environmental policy. impact, with EU environmental law now cover- issues have been signed by over 600 European tal index is that the natural resources available,
18 19
European Green City Index | Analysis of city trends
and the robustness of the local ecology, can dif- cern in Stockholm where fresh water is plentiful ing problem. But when we get better integrated their environmental impact. This encompasses Of course, not all technologies are cost-effec- This engagement isn’t necessarily a one-way
fer markedly from place to place. Sustainability and therefore even the high levels of current use into the European grid, it becomes important.” areas where a city administration can lead the tive. The study referenced above showed that in process: citizens often lead the way, encourag-
involves, to quote the Brundtland Report4, a are sustainable. way, as well as measures which the residents of the context of London hybrid cars and photo- ing city leaders and others to embrace change.
study from the UN’s World Commission on Envi- In the related fields of carbon emissions and Looking ahead: implementing sustainable a city will have to implement themselves. The voltaic panels on houses are expensive relative In Oslo, for example, early adopters of electric
ronment and Development on sustainable energy use, location might seem less important cities: Cities have an array of options or levers at aforementioned Sustainable Urban Infrastruc- to the impact they make on carbon reductions, cars banded together and lobbied the city
development, meeting “the needs of the present because released CO2 contributes to the global their disposal when it comes to the task of ture: London Edition study highlighted that sim- for example. Also, the economics of some tech- government to waive tolls and parking fees
without compromising the ability of future gen- problem of climate change. However, some improving their overall environmental perfor- ply by improving building insulation, using ener- nologies are often dependent on the policies that and allow access to the city’s dedicated public
erations to meet their own needs.” Behaviour issues remain. Oslo, for example, is ranked joint mance. First, policy and good environmental gy-efficient lighting and appliances, and installing accompany them, such as the subsidies required transport lanes. Whatever form it takes, this
that might exhaust resources rapidly in one place, 24th in the index for the amount of energy used governance clearly play an important role. These more advanced environmental controls in struc- to support the generation of solar energy in engagement is critical. Ritt Bjerregaard, Lord
then, may be perfectly sustainable in another, — one of several sub-indicators that go into help ensure that new buildings and infrastruc- tures, London could move over one-quarter of many countries. Mayor of Copenhagen, the top ranked city in
making comparative scores harder to interpret. scoring the energy category, where the city ture are developed (or retrofitted) with certain the way towards its overall aspiration of reduc- Third, as shown above, engaging and moti- the index, points out that for the city to reach
Two examples from high performers in the comes first overall. On the other hand, the over- minimum efficiency standards in mind, for ing carbon emissions by 60% by 2025. Over a vating communities within cities is also critical its climate change goals, citizens themselves
index illustrate the point. Stockholm, with the whelming majority of this power, including all example. They also encourage (either through 20-year lifecycle, the upfront investments required to delivering increased sustainability. Education have to change their habits. “Campaigns to
second-highest overall score, is ranked a surpris- the electricity and much of the district heating, incentives, or through penalties) citizens to change for these technologies would more than pay and public awareness are important here, giving motivate lifestyle change are an important
ing 16th place when it comes to water. The comes from renewable sources, in particular their behaviour, such as the establishment of a back in the form of reduced energy bills. people the necessary information to help them tool. We are also working hard to involve the
problem is not sewage, which it treats and even hydroelectricity and waste. The city does have congestion charge to reduce traffic or a sub- More advanced capabilities can go even fur- make greener choices. This can come in many citizens in developing solutions to the prob-
uses as a source of energy, nor leakages, which an energy efficiency fund, which seeks to sidised bicycle scheme to promote affordable ther: Amsterdam’s state of the art waste-to- forms and go well beyond the basics of publish- lems.”
are below average. Instead, residents simply use reduce power usage, but the question does arise alternative means of commuting. At a different energy plant achieves high levels of energy effi- ing advice. For example, a number of cities in The next section of this report, Lessons from
a lot of water, and the city makes little effort to of just how important it is to cut consumption of level, by ensuring that green spaces and other ciency that allow it to power more than the index have rolled out water meters and the leaders, highlights the work that Copen-
discourage them. While this behaviour might be entirely green energy rather than focussing on areas are off limits to further development, city three-quarters of the city’s households. It can smart electricity meters, thus giving consumers hagen and other leading cities in the index are
problematic in hot, dry cities, such as Madrid, or other areas. Mr Grundt agrees: “As long as Nor- leaders can ensure that the natural environment even profitably extract gold and other metals a means of quantifying their own consumption doing across a range of key categories to
even in London, which receives less rainfall per way cannot export much of its abundant hydro- remains preserved within the city’s boundaries. from the resultant ash, while sending just 1% of and choosing to be more careful about how improve their relative environmental perfor-
head than Addis Ababa, it poses less of a con- electricity, and we have enough, it is not a press- Second, technology can help cities to reduce the original waste to landfill. much they use. mance.
CO2 emissions
Ideas from
other cities
22 23
European Green City Index | Lessons from the leaders
Buildings
This highlights one of the key difficulties in private companies improving the energy effi- city has found that the optimal, cost-effective Energy Efficiency Network for Building Stock
reducing the environmental impact of buildings. ciency of public buildings with both the contrac- measures for saving heat energy are insulation (BEEN), Berlin shared its knowledge with cities Ideas from
Take Berlin, the category co-leader: since 1990, tors and the city benefiting from the cost sav- of the outer walls and top floor ceiling; new air- in Poland and the Baltic states and worked with other cities
the reunified city has had to find ways to shift ings. So far, the scheme has led to €60 million in tight windows; and renovation of the building’s them on understanding how best to finance
the carbon requirements of a host of building private investment, saved the city €2.4 million in heating system. These three measures reduce such renovation. Now the EU is funding the Urb
types towards a more sustainable level. One costs, and brought carbon emissions down by annual carbon emissions by between 1 and 1.4 Energy project to take things further, looking not From April 2010, London will start a trial
obvious place to start is not with the buildings 600,000 tonnes. tonnes per flat. just at individual buildings but at urban infra- scheme for retrofitting homes to save energy,
themselves, but with the kind of energy power- An even bigger effect has come from the However, Mr Wollschläger points out that structure and holistic rehabilitation of whole providing some energy-efficiency equipment
ing them. city’s efforts to improve what local experts call even over the long term the energy savings do residential areas. for free, such as low-energy light bulbs and
The city’s heating modernisation pro- the once “ramshackle” flats built of prefabricated not pay the entire cost of the refurbishment of By contrast, Stockholm, the other joint leader standby switches, while charging for more
gramme, for example, encouraged a substantial concrete under the previous East German these flats. The benefits extend beyond energy in the buildings category, has been at the fore- advanced measures.
shift in fuel source through grants, advice and regime. Of the 273,000 apartments, the city has savings, however, such as lower maintenance front of energy-efficient building standards for Residents of Prague can benefit from a na-
tighter regulation on new buildings. In 1990, fully refurbished about two-thirds of them, and costs for these flats given that the improve- some time. The city benefits from its extensive tional Czech programme for retrofitting
over 400,000 apartments still had coal furnaces; partially upgraded the other 35%, at an average ments reduce mould and mildew, as well as use of heat pumps, which make more efficient buildings with a €1 billion budget, which is fi-
24 25
European Green City Index | Lessons from the leaders
Transport
26 27
European Green City Index | Lessons from the leaders
Waste
Since the early 1990s residents have had to use explains: “We always say ‘garbage is gold.’ Waste with some 30 process innovations developed in- good, profitable return using its technology and
specially purchased “Zueri-sacks” to dispose of is not a problem but a valuable raw material.” house, has the world’s highest energy efficiency approach (despite high upfront investment Ideas from
all rubbish or face substantial fines. The sacks This begins with recycling: the city recycles 43% for a waste-powered facility, at 30%. The compa- costs), yet it is not allowed to compete for pro- other cities
are sold in local stores, with costs varying on the of all its waste, second only to Helsinki, and Ms ny produces enough energy to power more than cessing waste generated in Germany, for exam-
size of the sack, giving a significant incentive to Gehrels notes that for household waste the three-quarters of Amsterdam’s households, and ple, while German companies can take Dutch
throw out as little as possible and to use one of overall Dutch and Amsterdam figure is 64%. She provide 300,000 gigajoules of district heat, waste. Everyone needs to play by the same rules The recently established London Waste and
the many free collection points across the city sees three reasons for success here. One is the reducing CO2 production in the city by 470 kilo- to have an “honest chance that your investment Recycling Board has created a “dating
for recyclable materials. Within three years, city’s ongoing efforts to raise public awareness. tonnes. The resultant ash is richer in minerals will have the right return.” agency” to attract companies interested in
waste production in the city dropped by 24%. A second is tradition: given how long it takes to than most mine ore, and AEB is able to profitably Amsterdam and Zurich are not polar oppo- using different kinds of waste for either fuel
Now Zurich creates only 406 kg of garbage per reform people’s habits, Ms Gehrels believes the recover various metals, including iron and gold, sites: the former is increasing its use of waste- or recycling.
resident, well below the index average of 511 kg fact that the Dutch have been separating their and sell most of the rest as raw material for powered district heating, and the latter still sees Ljubljana introduced a lottery in late 2008
and putting the city in fourth place among those garbage already for decades is important for buildings. Only 1% of the 1.4 million tonnes of waste prevention as the most environmentally to encourage recycling. A household or office
28 29
European Green City Index | Lessons from the leaders
Water
water lost to seepage, tiny compared with the one-half of households in Amsterdam are Prices are kept low for what is a human
overall index average of nearly 23%. Jan van der metered, a process that started in 1998. Com- necessity and, he says, making the link to sus- Ideas from
Hoek, executive officer at Waternet, Amster- pleting the job will take much longer, as the easy tainable development in the popular mind is dif- other cities
dam’s water company, explains that this low rate locations have been hooked up and the more ficult as there is no mental tie between waste or
has been achieved through the use of good difficult ones, such as rooms within houses, over-consumption and the consumer’s carbon
materials, and intensive maintenance, as well as remain. It is worth the effort, however. The price footprint, even though water transport and By 2013, waste water will be used to clean all
the city’s beneficial geography, which allows for itself may not make water use prohibitive, but wastewater treatment do cause a carbon of Lisbon’s streets and water all of its green
relatively low pressure in its pipes thanks to the awareness of the extent of consumption in itself impact. spaces.
limited height variation. Berlin, the third-placed has a positive effect and nobody wishes to pay Even so, Amsterdam is not resting on its lau- Sofia is carrying out an integrated water im-
city in the water category, shows the impor- for wasted water. Mr van der Hoek explains that rels. During 2009, it is instituting differential provement plan addressing a range of issues,
tance of leak management. Its overall leakage is the very fact of installing a meter leads to an pricing, based on the time of day, to encourage including purification, leakage and treat-
not far behind Amsterdam’s at 5.2%. This is a average reduction in household water use of more evenly distributed water use. Waternet is ment.
result of significant efforts to address the prob- 10-15%. He adds that people are happy with also looking to water’s contribution to broader Tallinn’s water company is “biomanipulat-
lems which surfaced in the eastern part of the metering: “They see that they pay for what they sustainability issues, reducing the emissions ing” Lake Ulemiste — the city’s water source
30 31
European Green City Index | Lessons from the leaders
Interview
Ritt Bjerregaard, a former Danish cabinet minister and What are the biggest factors contributing have in Stockholm, but the national govern- tool. We are also working hard to involve the Back then the cities did not play a role; we did
to your city’s broad success in so many ment hasn’t allowed it yet. citizens in developing solutions to the prob- not even consider it. One of the reasons for this
European commissioner for the environment, is now areas of environmental performance? lems. might be that cities did not then stand together
We are quite unique when it comes to bicycles Copenhagen has been addressing with one strong voice. This has changed.
Lord Mayor of the city at the top of the European Green and district heating. Today, nearly 40% of environmental issues and sustainability Similarly, how important are integrated Today, I am very proud that Copenhagen has
Copenhageners ride their bikes when they go to since at least the 1970s. How helpful is plans, and especially city targets — such as become an exemplary C40 city (a group of the
City Index Copenhagen. We talked to her about the work or school, and more than 97% of all having a long tradition in this area? carbon emissions reduction targets — in world’s largest cities committed to tackling
Copenhageners have district heating. We are Yes, that is very important. In Copenhagen, the trying to bring about environmental climate change) in its work to fight climate
city’s environmental successes and challenges. very proud of that. water in the harbour is so clean that you can improvements? change.
even swim in it. We have only achieved this by Plans and targets help you to set an ambitious I am even more proud of the fact that Copen -
Conversely, what are the biggest years of hard work. goal but, of course, a target is not enough. It hagen and the C40 are gathering 100 mayors
environmental challenges your city is Also, if you take our high number of bicycles, I must be followed by action. from the world’s largest cities for the “Copen -
currently facing, and how do you hope to am quite sure we have reached this by investing hagen Climate Summit for Mayors” in parallel to
address them? in better infrastructure and bike lanes over the What role do international environmental the UN Climate Change Conference this
Traffic is the biggest challenge. The number of years. commitments which cities make through December.
private cars is growing, and this means higher the various environmental city organisa-
CO2 emissions and more air pollution. Today, How important is getting citizens on tions play? What are Copenhagen’s big environmental
traffic is responsible for 20% of the city’s carbon board? It is very important that cities stand together goals in the coming years?
emissions. A large proportion of the city’s carbon emissions and that we learn from each other. More than We want to be the first capital city in the world
We will reduce private use of cars by offering is generated by Copenhageners themselves. So 75% of the world’s CO2 emissions are produced to be completely carbon neutral, by 2025.
people good opportunities to walk, cycle or use if we want to reach our goal, then Copenhagen- by the world’s cities. As former European Already by 2015 we want a 20% reduction in
public transport. I have also worked hard to ers must change their daily habits. Campaigns commissioner for the environment, I took part emissions. This means hard work but I am sure
introduce a congestion charge such as they to motivate lifestyle change are an important in the negotiations in Kyoto in 1997. we will reach our goal.
32 33
European Green City Index | Lessons from the leaders
Interview
Vilnius is ranked in 13th position overall in the Vilnius has done very well among east and are among our biggest environmental management infrastructure has been created: businesspeople that they should sponsor
European cities, but as a group these cities issues today. We have to find ways to old landfills have been closed; a new regional certain spaces. Both sides benefit. The city gets
European Green City Index, but is first from eastern seem to lag behind in terms of environ- encourage the use of public transport and landfill, in line with the EU requirements, has a well-managed environment and the company
Europe. We talked to the Mayor, Vilius Navickas, mental performance. What are the bicycles. been set up; a construction waste management can give its name to the site.
particular environmental challenges in enterprise has been established; and organic
an engineer by training, about some of the environ- your region? What are the biggest environmental waste is sorted and processed separately. What are the big environmental goals you
mental challenges facing the city and its goals. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, when challenges your city is currently facing, would like to see Vilnius try to achieve in
east Europeans moved towards democracy and and how do you hope to address them? To what extent is cost a barrier to better the coming years?
the free market, the region experienced many We are using EU structural funds to widen environmental performance for your city, In 2008, a new action plan for the reduction of
significant changes, including the loss of East- streets, install modern traffic systems and build and how are you addressing it? air pollution was adopted. We also hope to
ern markets. It is a paradox that the resulting bypasses. We will introduce a payment system It goes without saying that the city must allo- develop a system of rapid public transport, and
economic downturn played a positive environ- for cars going through the Old Town of Vilnius cate huge funds for environmental protection: more city buses will run on natural gas and
mental role. In Lithuania, for example, a — UNESCO Protected Site — as it cannot although infrastructure is expensive, it is biofuel. In addition to the bicycle measures
number of heavy industrial companies shut tolerate intensive traffic. The municipality also necessary. The question of funding is particular- mentioned earlier, the central part of the city
down, as a result of which there was less plans to turn Vilnius into a bicycle capital like ly relevant now, at a time of economic reces- will have a broadened network of pedestrian
pollution and the water quality in Lithuanian Amsterdam or Copenhagen. We are investing in sion. In carrying out environmental and zones that will be made accessible for all,
rivers and lakes improved. bicycle routes and parking facilities, and in 2010 ecological projects, we therefore look for the including the disabled.
The rapid economic growth of the last decade, a bicycle rental system will become operational most effective ways of funding. The EU offers Also, although visitors to Vilnius always say that
on the other hand, has posed new challenges along the lines used in a number of west Euro- favourable conditions for the funding of our city is green — surrounded by many forests
for urban areas. Because the transport infra- pean towns. These should all to help reduce environmental projects and therefore we use it. and parks — we have the objective to make it
structure in Vilnius has not been designed for its traffic jams and air pollution. The municipality also looks for other sources of even greener. Today we have 20 square metres
increasing number of cars, for example, traffic Another important challenge for Vilnius is waste funding. For instance, seeking to renovate of green space for every resident, and our goal
jams have become one of its biggest problems, management. A comprehensive waste Sereikiskes Park we have proposed to is to increase this to 24 square metres.
34 35
European Green City Index | Methodology
Methodology
The Index scores cities across eight cate- tistical offices, local city authorities, and city and ed CO2 emissions. For those cities with missing
gories — CO2 emissions, energy, buildings, national environmental bureaux. In most cases data, the Economist Intelligence Unit took Clusters
transport, water, waste and land use, air quality data are for the year 2007, which is the latest national per-head averages of other types of
and environmental governance — and 30 indi- year available for most indicators, given the time energy consumption, and used the city’s popula-
vidual indicators. Sixteen of the index’s 30 indi- needed to collect, record and publish official data. tion data to create an estimate for overall energy
cators are derived from quantitative data and Where gaps in the data existed, the Econo- consumption. To calculate associated CO2 emis- In order to conduct deeper analysis of the city
aim to measure how a city is currently perform- mist Intelligence Unit produced estimates from sions for the city, the project team adopted a trends, the 30 cities in the index were clus-
ing — for example, its level of CO2 emissions, national averages. The CO2 and energy cate- widely accepted (albeit crude) technique of tered into a series of groups, calculated on in-
the amount of energy it consumes, how much gories deserve special mention here. Owing to a using national CO2 emissions factors associated come, temperature and size. These included:
waste it produces or levels of air pollution. The lack of statistical resources, around one-third of with the combustion of each energy source. Income: “low income”, with GDP per head
remaining 14 indicators are qualitative assess- the 30 cities do not measure the full amount of of less than €21,000; “middle income” of
ments of cities’ aspirations or ambitions — for energy consumed in their city, or the associated Indicators: In order to be able to compare data €21,000 to €31,000; and “high income” of
example, their commitment to consuming more CO2 emissions. In most cases, the cities calculate points across countries, as well as to construct more than €31,000;
36 37
European Green City Index | Methodology
below the benchmark scored 10. Remaining ambitious they are, given the time period within reflects feedback from the expert panel, as well Clean air policies Qualitative 20% An assessment of the extensiveness of policies Scored by Economist Intelligence Unit analysts
to improve air quality. on a scale of 0 to 10.
cities received a score according to their dis- which they are supposed to be met. The inde- as wider research on measuring environmental
tance away from the best-performing city. pendent expert panel provided input into the sustainability, which indicated that all cate- Environ- Green action plan Qualitative 33% An assessment of the ambitiousness and Scored by Economist Intelligence Unit analysts
Where no targets existed, the cities were mental comprehensiveness of strategies to improve and on a scale of 0 to 10.
criteria assigned to each indicator. gories in this index merit equal weighting.
gover- monitor environmental performance.
scored instead using a min-max calculation,
where the score is the standard deviation from Index construction: The index is composed of nance Green management Qualitative 33% An assessment of the management of environmental issues Scored by Economist Intelligence Unit analysts
the mean, with the best city scoring 10 points aggregate scores of all of the underlying indica- and commitment to achieving international environmental on a scale of 0 to 10.
standards.
and the worst scoring 0 points. In some cases, tors. The index is first aggregated by category —
reasonable benchmarks were inserted to pre- creating a score for each area of infrastructure Public participation Qualitative 33% An assessment of the extent to which citizens may Scored by Economist Intelligence Unit analysts
in green policy participate in environmental decision-making. on a scale of 0 to 10.
vent outliers from skewing the distribution of and policy (for example, energy) — and finally,
38 39
European Green City Index | City Portrait
tives for renovation to a higher level of energy Waste and land use: Amsterdam ranks first for
Smart City
Amsterdam_Netherlands
efficiency. There are also energy-efficiency re- waste and land use. The city recycles around
quirements for new constructions. In terms of 43% of its waste, second only to Helsinki, and is Amsterdam
the energy consumption of residential build- only a moderate producer of waste. In terms of
ings, Amsterdam ranks 12th, with a consump- land use, Amsterdam is a compact city. The
tion of 720 megajoules per square metre (below Netherlands is densely populated and green
the average of 909 megajoules), a level that the spaces are highly protected; in Amsterdam this In mid-2009 Amsterdam launched Smart City
city is working to reduce. is covered by the Main Green Structure urban Amsterdam, a collaborative project with its
Initiatives: Amsterdam runs an alliance in co- plan. A ”wedge structure“ provides green spaces inhabitants and businesses. It will launch a
operation with local housing corporations. The- that reach deep into the city from the surround- series of environmental pilot schemes over a
se are required to employ energy-saving and ing green belt. The waterways around the city two year period, which if successful could be
energy-efficient measures across their housing are another type of green space. translated to national and European level.
portfolios, and especially in new-build housing. Initiatives: Much of the city bus network uses The schemes are intended to reduce energy
fuel from the Waste and Energy Company that is consumption and reduce CO2 emissions. The
Transport: Amsterdam ranks second for trans- produced from waste. initial schemes include:
port. As the city is criss-crossed by canals, there for businesses, the establishment of a ”cli-
is little heavy road traffic and a large number of Air: Amsterdam performs relatively poorly in this mate street“ in the city centre, which will
pedestrian zones and cycle paths. Public trans- category for a city so committed to clean air, rank- combine smart meters, an energy feedback
port is provided by bus, tram, canal boat and ing 11th. The main pollutants are fine dust and display, energy scans and smart plugs to en-
local trains. Amsterdam boasts 3.2 km of public nitrogen oxides. Amsterdam suffers particularly courage lower energy use; and
transport network per square km and 2.8 km of from its proximity to heavy industry in the Nether- shore power units that allow cargo vessels
cycle lanes per square km. Walking or cycling is lands, Germany and Belgium, as well as from and river cruisers to connect to the electricity
used for 38% of journeys and public transport traffic congestion in the wider Randstad area. grid when in port, rather than using on-board
for 24%. Initiatives: The 2009 action plan on air quality diesel generators.
aims to reduce transport bottlenecks, extend
Water: The city is ranked number one for water. park-and-ride facilities and encourage electric
Select city data overall in the European Green City Index, with a Energy: Amsterdam ranks fifth in energy. The
score of 83.03 out of 100. It ranks highest out Netherlands’ primary energy sources are natural
Population: 743,000 of all cities for water and also for waste and land gas, coal and oil, although the country also has
GDP per head, PPP: € 41,443 use. Even in its weaker categories its perfor- significant installed wind capacity. Amsterdam’s
CO2 emissions per head: 6.66 tonnes mance is still strong. Like many of the index’s energy consumption per head per year (at 74.5
Energy consumption per head: 74.51 gigajoules best performers, Amsterdam has a fairly small gigajoules) is slightly below the average of 81
Percentage of renewable energy population, allowing it to address environmen- gigajoules. The city performs better in terms of CO2
consumed by the city: 5.8 %
tal concerns with a tighter focus. energy consumption per unit of GDP, at 1.7 me- Amsterdam is served by numerous canals and is vehicles, among other targets, to enable Ams- 10
Total percentage of citizens walking, gajoules per euro (compared with an average of protected from the sea only by a system of pold- terdam to meet legal standards for particulate
cycling or taking public transport to work: 62 % 8
CO2 emissions: Amsterdam’s worst perfor- 5.2 megajoules), and it is among the top scorers ers (dams). But despite an abundance of water, matter by 2010 and those for nitrogen dioxide
Annual water consumption per head: 53.47 m3 Environmental governance Energy
mance is in the category carbon dioxide (CO2) for policies promoting clean and efficient energy consumption per head is low, at about 53 cubic by 2015. 6
Share of waste recycled: 43 % emissions, at 12th out of 30. The city’s main use. Nearly 6% of the energy that the city con- metres per inhabitant per year, one-half of the
4
weak spot is CO2 emissions per head, which at sumes is sourced from renewables, just below average consumption level of 105 cubic metres. Environmental governance: Amsterdam ranks
6.7 tonnes per inhabitant per year is among the the average of 7.3%. In terms of leakages Amsterdam is the best-per- tenth in green environmentalgovernance, but is 2
highest levels measured and well above the Initiatives: Amsterdam has one of the most forming city, losing just 3.5% of water, com- within reach of the best performers. The city is 0
Air Quality Buildings
average of 5 tonnes. Most emissions are caused energy-efficient district heating networks in pared with an average of 22.6%. strongly committed to improving its environ-
40 41
European Green City Index | City Portrait
sumption per head — nearly 89 gigajoules per 2nd among cities with hot climates. The city
Fluid education
Athens_Greece
inhabitant in 2006, compared with a 30-city consumes nearly 105 cubic metres per person
average of about 81 gigajoules. Less than 4% of per year, almost identical to the 30-city average.
Athens’s energy is derived from renewable It ranks slightly worse than average for water
sources, compared with the 30-city average of system leakages, with an estimated leakage rate
about 7%. of 25% (the average is about 23%).
Initiatives: To boost the availability of renew- The water utility, EYDAP, has hosted an educa-
able energy, around 270 wind turbines have Waste and land use: Athens ranks 23rd for tional programme called “The Water Cycle“
been established around Athens, with a total waste and land use, in large part because of its since 2002. This programme is targeted at lo-
capacity of around 160,000 kw. poor green land-use policies. It does score well cal students who visit the EYDAP headquar-
(12th) for its municipal waste production, with ters, and aims to increase awareness about ra-
Buildings: Athens ranks 22nd overall for build- around 465 kg of waste produced per inhabitant tional water-resource management and
ings, in large part because of the city’s lack of per year, below the 30-city average of 511 kg. wastewater treatment. The educational pro-
energy-efficient building standards or incen- The city has some strong initiatives under way to gramme includes a detailed overview of water
tives. With residential buildings consuming an promote recycling activities. It also has a policy supply and sewerage facilities in the city from
estimated 695 megajoules per square metre per to contain sprawl in the city centre, but this does ancient times to today, including information
year, Athens ranks behind other cities with high not apply to the suburbs. As a result, there is a on the transfer of water from reservoirs to wa-
average temperatures. significant degree of suburban sprawl. ter treatment plants and the treatment of wa-
The city is also held back by an absence of Initiatives: Athens has highlighted recycling as ter to make it potable. The Water Cycle pro-
energy-efficiency regulations for new buildings the core of its environmental agenda. Separate gramme has helped to raise awareness among
and incentives to construct efficient new build- bins have been provided for glass, metals and younger generations about the significance of
ings (or retrofit old ones). batteries since 2005. water throughout Athens’s history and about
Initiatives: Although not yet implemented, how to reduce the wastage of water. EYDAP
there is a bill under discussion at national level to Air quality: Athens ranks 25th overall for air aims to use knowledge about water to stimu-
introduce energy performance certificates. quality. There is a daily public report on air pollu- late interest among the city’s youth in environ-
tion levels in Attica (Athens and its surrounding mental areas.
Transport: Athens ranks 17th overall for trans- areas), measuring a range of emissions such as
CO2
10
A
8
lthough Greece’s capital, Athens, accounts
Environmental governance Energy
for just under one-third of its total popula- 6
tion, it contributed approximately one-half of
4
the country’s GDP in 2007. As has occurred in
other developed cities, there has been a shift 2
42 43
European Green City Index | City Portrait
Initiatives: Belgrade’s district-heating compa- Initiatives: The city plans to direct about 17%
Hot air?
Belgrade_Serbia
ny is beginning to close down the city’s boiler of its environmental expenditure, as part of its
stations, connecting the district heating system National Environment Strategy, into the con-
instead to gas-fired plants that have a less detri- struction, operation and maintenance of new
mental environmental impact (see highlight water assets.
project “Hot air?”).
Waste and land use: Belgrade ranks 26th in One important green initiative by the city ad-
Buildings: Belgrade ranks 27th in the buildings the waste and land use category. The city pro- ministration — aimed at improving energy effi-
category. Poor insulation of buildings is a major duces an estimated 496 kg of waste per inhabi- ciency and the quality of the air in the city — is
cause of heat loss: energy savings of 30-40% tant, slightly below the average of 511 kg. How- the renewal and gasification of Belgrade’s dis-
could be achieved by meeting the requirements ever, recycling levels are negligible, with most trict-heating system. Small individual solid-fuel-
laid down in the existing national standards. Bel- municipal waste ending up in landfill. operated boiler houses are being closed down
grade’s ranking is also brought down by its rela- Initiatives: The International Finance Corpora- and the system is being reconnected to central
tively high estimated energy consumption per tion (IFC), an arm of the World Bank, is assisting gas-fired plants. The timeframe for the replace-
square metre by residential buildings. the Belgrade municipality in improving solid- ment of the 70 boilers will depend on the avail-
Initiatives: The reconstruction of the USCE waste services and rehabilitating the Vinca land- ability of financial support. Gas-fired district-
tower, Belgrade’s tallest building, was complet- fill to conform to EU environmental and waste- heating plants have a lesser detrimental
ed in 2005 and features a range of energy-effi- management standards. environmental impact than plants using other
cient technologies, such as solar thermal, fossil fuels. The replacement of some parts of
intended in part to promote energy efficiency in Air quality: Belgrade is ranked 28th for air qual- the gas-fired district-heating plants by gas-fired
the city. ity. Levels of nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, cogeneration plants, which produce both elec-
ozone and particulate matter are not especially tricity and heat, is also under discussion; such a
Transport: Belgrade is ranked 29th overall in high. system would be far more fuel-efficient. Co-
the transport category, despite performing well However, Belgrade’s score is relatively low generation plants also allow the use of the heat
(at fifth in the rankings) for its use of non-car because of its failure to pursue clean air policies that they generate for cooling purposes in sum-
transport. The city’s good result for use of non- more systematically. mer, and would therefore decrease electricity
car transport is thanks to its extensive public Initiatives: Reconstruction of ash landfills, consumption for airconditioning.
transport system, although much of the net- which lead to uncontrolled secondary emis-
* Estimate Belgrade ranks 27th in the European Green mance, Belgrade ranks 17th overall in the ener- ated by the construction of a bypass around Bel- could improve its score significantly were the 2
City Index, with a score of 40.03 out of 100. The gy category, and thus is ranked second in this grade, connecting two major highways, the E70 city authorities to adopt an environmental
Air Quality 0 Buildings
city’s best performance is in the energy cat- category among east European cities. and the E75. action plan.
egory, in which it is ranked 17th. Despite the ab- This is because of the city’s below-average Initiatives: Under the provisions of the law on
sence of heavy industry in the city, decades of energy consumption per head and its relatively Water: Belgrade ranks 29th in the water cate- local self-government, all cities and towns in
underinvestment — especially during the war high use of renewable energy. The outdated gory, partly because its water consumption per Serbia are supposed to have their own develop-
years of the 1990s — have had a detrimental technologies used for energy production and head is higher than the average. High levels of ment strategies. Belgrade has yet to adopt such
Waste and Land Use Transport
impact on Belgrade’s environment. the partial lack of emissions abatement technol- untreated wastewater run-off and the ineffi- a strategy, but is expected to do so in the near
ogy are the main causes of negative environ- ciency of the distribution system further under- future. The strategy is likely to have a major Belgrade
Water Best
CO2 emissions: Belgrade ranks 28th in the cat- mental impacts. mine Belgrade’s overall score. focus on environmental protection. Average
44 45
European Green City Index | City Portrait
from oil, waste and renewables. The city bene- federal government envisages that there will be
Energising alliances
Berlin_Germany
fits in part from western Europe’s largest district- up to 1 million electric cars on German roads by
heating network, but its ranking suffers from 2020.
the fact that 43% of that heat was still generated
from coal in 2006. Water: Berlin ranks third in the category for
Initiatives: Under a 1997 agreement between water, largely because of the efficiency with
the Berlin Senate and the Berlin business com- which it is managing its resources. Water leak- In 1996 the City of Berlin instituted the Berlin
munity, 75% of all new buildings constructed in age from the supply system is low at 5.2%. The Energy Saving Partnership (Energiepartner-
any given year must include solar thermal strate- provision of water meters and the promotion of schaft Berlin), a joint initiative by the city and
gies in their design. low-consumption appliances are the norm, and the Berlin Energy Agency. The city receives a
the latter, together with changes in lifestyle, are guaranteed 25% saving on its annual energy
Buildings: Berlin ranks first in the buildings cat- furthering a highly sustainable trend. costs, while the partners provide financing
egory, largely because of its progress in improv- and expertise to improve the energy efficien-
ing the energy efficiency of its housing stock Waste and land use: Berlin ranks fourth in the cy of properties. Over 6% of these savings are
over the past two decades. This is resulting in a water and land use category, thanks to its suc- delivered directly to the city budget, while
reduction in energy consumption from 150 kwh cess in reducing waste and promoting recycling, the rest are used to finance the modernisa-
to 80 kwh per year per square metre. and also because of its progressive approach to tion and optimisation of buildings. In return,
The city’s energy consumption for residential treatment. About 35% of waste is recycled, well the partners receive any savings achieved
buildings is far below the 30-city average, and above the 30-city average of 18%, in part thanks over and above the amount guaranteed to
Berlin far outperforms other large cities in this to a relatively engrained culture among resi- the city, while the city retains ownership of
category. dents of sorting waste. any newly installed equipment. Following the
Initiatives: The Berlin Solar Campaign, laun- Initiatives: A federal strategy paper dating back end of the 12-year contract period, all energy
ched in 2000 by the Berlin Senate’s department to 1999 envisages that all municipal solid waste savings achieved will directly benefit the city.
of administration for urban development, offers should be completely recycled and recovered by The refurbishment of schools, day-care cen-
grants for the installation of solar panels, 2020 at the latest. tres, universities, administrative buildings
financed from over €2 million set aside by and public swimming pools has amounted to
Investitionsbank Berlin (IBB), within the Senate’s Air quality: Berlin ranks in eighth place in the annual savings of €11 million in energy costs.
modernisation and maintenance programme category for air quality. Quality has benefited This initiative has made Berlin a model city
for housing construction support. from the shift away from industry, but also from for energy-saving programmes in public
the lacklustre performance of the economy, buildings.
Transport: Berlin ranks 12th in the transport which has reduced car use.
CO2
10
46 47
European Green City Index | City Portrait
va now has criteria for the reconstruction of its kg). The primary disposal method is via modern
Reforming Bratis-
Bratislava_Slovakia
buildings, including energy-efficiency stan- waste incinerator incorporating waste-to-ener-
dards, but there are few incentives and little sup- gy technology. Separate waste collection is lava’s infrastructure
port. However, there is state-based financial available for recyclable materials. Consequently, and skills
assistance to improve insulation. more than 7% of waste is recycled, although this
is below the average of about 18%. Bratislava
Transport: Bratislava ranks eighth for trans- does not yet have measures to inhibit waste cre- In December 2007 the European Commission
port, its best result. The public transport net- ation, such as progressive taxation. In terms of approved a programme for Bratislava running
work has more than 1,800 km of lines — just land use, the city has an estimated 110 square until 2013, with a total budget of €102 mil-
over 6 km per square km, far above the average metres of inner-city green space per inhabitant; lion, that aims to develop the region’s compet-
of 2.3 km. Bratislava has the largest share of however, its quality is often subject to criticism. itiveness while improving quality of life, with
people taking public transport to work (at 70%, Initiatives: In June 2009 nearly 2,000 volun- specific initiatives aimed at stimulating renew-
compared with an average of 42%). However, teers from 40 companies, in partnership with able energy use and energy efficiency. About
there has been a significant rise in private car the municipal government of Bratislava, cleaned one-half of the funding will focus on infra-
ownership in the past decade. parks, restored playgrounds and planted flowers structure, with the balance focusing on “knowl-
Initiatives: To promote the use of public trans- in a third annual event. edge economy” initiatives and technical assist-
port, the city has introduced a new bus fleet, ance. One aspect of the infrastructure ele-
simplified ticket purchases via mobile phones Air quality: Bratislava is ranked 21st for air ment of the programme will focus on regener-
and created an integrated system of regional quality. Monitored air pollution is not markedly ating urban areas and improving the energy
tickets. A fast-tram project in a large residential high. However, while Slovakia has adopted com- performance of buildings. On the knowledge
district should kick-start efforts to revamp public mitments and targets at national level, these are economy front, the project will focus on sup-
transport. not replicated at municipal level. The city’s cur- porting innovation and technology transfers,
rent strategy is to solve existing problems incre- such as on those aimed at reducing energy in-
Water: Bratislava is ranked 14th for water, per- mentally, for example through engagement tensity and increasing renewable-energy use,
forming well on key sub-indicators; it scores 7.5 with the main producers of emissions, as a first as well as reducing and preventing air pollution.
out of 10 for its water efficiency and treatment step towards overall improvements in air quality.
Select city data to locals, partly because they received little sumption per unit of GDP is about one-half of Initiatives: The Water Research Institute Bratis- ence, the public has access to information on 4
attention under communist rule. the average. lava, with the Ministry of Environment, the Slo- the city’s environmental performance and poli-
Population: 427,000 Initiatives: New gas-fired power facilities have vak Water Management Enterprise and private cies, and citizen participation has been greater 2
GDP per head, PPP: € 22,243 CO2 emissions: Bratislava ranks 21st for carbon recently been built, which are far more efficient companies, has introduced an initiative to in terms of the decision-making process on larg- Air Quality 0 Buildings
CO2 emissions per head: 5.08 tonnes* dioxide (CO2) emissions. The city’s inhabitants are than existing sources; a new project is currently ensure that Slovakia meets certain water-related er projects, via public consultation.
Energy consumption per head: 82.80 gigajoules each responsible for 5.1 tonnes of emissions being planned. EU commitments by 2015. Initiatives: The city administration is preparing
Percentage of renewable energy annually, close to the average of 5 tonnes. The the Programme of Economic and Social Devel-
consumed by the city: 0%
main sources of emissions are the local chemicals Buildings: Bratislava ranks 23rd for buildings. It Waste and land use: Bratislava ranks 21st for opment, Slovak Capital City of Bratislava, which
Total percentage of citizens walking, industry, energy supply and transport. The ongo- has a large stock of buildings built 60 or more waste and land use, scoring well on waste- aims to provide a definition of economic, social Waste and Land Use Transport
cycling or taking public transport to work: 73.9 %
ing closure of obsolete production facilities and years ago, and many buildings were constructed reduction policies and waste production (with and environmental development, as well as set-
Annual water consumption per head: 88.09 m3 Bratislava
the installation of more efficient technologies during the communist period, when limited about 465 kg of municipal waste produced per ting out Bratislava’s targets in order to assist with Water Best
Share of waste recycled: 7.17 % mean that the city’s situation is better than it was attention was paid to energy efficiency. Bratisla- inhabitant per year, below the average of 511 obtaining EU funding. Average
* Estimate
48 49
European Green City Index | City portrait
incentives for measures to make buildings more Waste and land use: Brussels ranks tenth for ing. For example, a cash bonus is given for solar
Brussels_Belgium
energy-efficient. waste and land use. Since 1992 the Brussels- water heaters equal to 50% of their purchase
Initiative: Brussels encourages companies to Capital Region has implemented a plan that and installation costs.
qualify as “eco-dynamic enterprises”. To do this, aims to reduce waste production through recy-
they must obtain a certificate with one, two or cling and other approaches. Brussels has 13 Environmental governance: Brussels ties for
three stars, according to their level of energy nature reserves, which are protected owing to first place with Copenhagen, Helsinki and Stock-
efficiency. Companies can advertise their status their unique biological qualities. The reuse of holm for environmental governance. The
as an example of their commitment to sustain- brownfield sites is not specifically promoted, but region’s various environmental targets are most-
able development. they are acknowledged by the regional authority ly delineated in an “Agenda Iris 21” plan. The
as being habitats for flora and fauna. Brussels Energy Agency provides guidelines and
Transport: Brussels ranks seventh for transport. Initiative: In 2008 Brussels participated in advice for citizens on how to reduce energy con-
Its score is boosted by the availability of public the pilot edition of the European Waste Reduc- sumption, while the Brussels Institute for Man-
transport links: it ranks fourth for length of pub- tion week, part of preparation for an official agement of the Environment (IBGE) provides
lic transport network. However, while com- European Waste Reduction Week in November information on how citizens can reduce their
muter links between the capital and surround- 2009. carbon footprint, use grants to make their hous-
ing areas have improved recently, around es more energy efficient and embrace environ-
186,000 workers living outside Brussels com- Air quality: Brussels ranks 16th for air quality. mentally friendly transportation.
mute by car. Only 2% of the population cycle or Transport accounts for 80% of carbon monoxide Initiative: To foster environmental aware-
walk to work, significantly below the average of emissions and 77% of nitrogen oxide emissions. ness and action, IBGE launched the Quartier
21%. Brussels is relatively spread out, and its The heating of buildings accounts for 25% of sul- Durable (Sustainable Neighbourhood) project.
public transport system, while adequate in the phur dioxide emissions. Residents are encouraged to form groups and
centre, does not provide extensive coverage on Initiative: The regional authority and the 19 identify a sustainable project in their neigh-
the outskirts. municipalities offer various subsidies for the bourhood, with the most promising projects
Initiative: If citizens cancel their car licence retrofitting of buildings or for new constructions receiving subsidies, expert advice and technical
plates, indicating that they will be getting rid of that incorporate environmentally friendly heat- support.
it third in this subcategory. In terms of its CO2 24th for the percentage of renewable energy litres per inhabitant per day, around one-half of 4
Select city data reduction strategy, Brussels ranks joint eighth consumed, which at less than 1% is far below the average of 105 litres. Brussels also performs The alderman for the environment and the
2
with Helsinki and Vienna. the average of 7.3%. well on water system leakage, at just 6%, com- City of Brussels’s eco-advice unit organise
Population: 1.05 million Initiative: Brussels aims to reduce its emissions pared with an average of 23%. The city’s water is monthly meetings, Environment Tuesdays,
Air Quality 0 Buildings
GDP per head, PPP: € 49,554 by 15% between 1999 and 2010, through initia- Buildings: Brussels ranks 12th for buildings. Its tested for bacteria and concentrations of nitrates, which are held throughout Brussels and are
CO2 emissions per head: 3.91 tonnes tives in the areas of transport, energy, enterpris- score is pulled down by the high energy con- pesticides and heavy metals. All wastewater is used to disseminate information to the public
Energy consumption per head: 86.88 gigajoules es and private households, as laid out in the sumption of its residential buildings, at nearly sent to a plant before being discharged into the on specific environmental issues. Following a
Percentage of renewable energy region’s Air Climate Plan. Several measures have 800 megajoules per square metre per year. sewer system that leads into the Zenne river. presentation by the eco-advice unit, an infor-
consumed by the city: 0.58 %
already been implemented, including promot- While this is better than the average of 909 Initiative: Brussels has a “Do not waste water!” Waste and Land Use Transport mal debate takes place. Recent topics have
Total percentage of citizens walking, ing passive and low-energy building construc- megajoules, it is far worse than the 553 mega- video, which promotes the use of water meters, included urban noise, various green bonuses
cycling or taking public transport to work: 37 % Brussels
tion, educating households on reducing their joules consumed in the leading high-income, low-flush toilets, and showers instead of baths. Water Best offered by the city, sustainable food con-
Annual water consumption per head: 54.04 m3 energy use, promoting the use of public trans- mid-size city, Copenhagen. It also offers subsidies for the installation or Average
sumption and renewable energy.
Share of waste recycled: 23.68 % port and supporting renewable-energy initiatives. However, Brussels has developed a series of repair of rainwater tanks.
50 51
European Green City Index | City Portrait
Initiative: In February 2009 Bucharest’s mayor important role in reducing noise and air pollu-
Lakeview: Romania’s
Bucharest_Romania
signed a non-binding declaration of intent to tion.
reduce CO2 emissions by at least 20% by 2020 first BREEAM building
compared with 1990 levels. However, no con- Water: Bucharest ranks 28th in the water cate- rating
crete action plan has been yet been drafted. gory. Its ranking is pulled down by a number of
factors: household water consumption has con-
Energy: Bucharest ranks 23rd in the energy cat- tinued to increase over the past decade, and In 2009 AIG/Lincoln’s Lakeview office build-
egory. At national level, just over 30% of Roma- water loss in the distribution system is also ing in Bucharest was the first building in Ro-
nia’s electricity is derived from hydropower sour- extremely high, at nearly one-half of all water mania to achieve a design and procurement
ces. However, other renewable-energy sources distributed in the city. rating of “very good” from BREEAM, a widely
make only a small contribution to national ener- Initiative: There are plans to rehabilitate the used international environmental assessment
gy supply — and to the city’s supply directly. In wastewater treatment plant in Bucharest, with standard for buildings. Facilities for cyclists
terms of policies on energy, Bucharest performs the aim of alleviating pollution levels in the are provided, such as changing rooms, show-
best among east European cities. Danube river. This is widely regarded as the most ers and lockers, encouraging staff to cycle to
Initiative: As Romania is now a member of the important environmental project in Romania. work. The building is situated on a former in-
EU, the city will be obliged to conform with EU dustrial site, and a commitment has been
directives on energy efficiency among end users Waste and land use: Bucharest ranks 28th for made to increase the ecological value of the
and energy suppliers. waste and land use. At 479 kg per head in 2007, site once the development is complete. Un-
municipal waste production is slightly below the der the “health and well-being” section of the
Buildings: Bucharest ranks 21st for buildings. 30-city average of 511 kg. However, less than BREEAM assessment, the building was judged
The existing Romanian Building Code sets low 2% of Bucharest’s waste is recycled, with the to have a pleasant internal environment, with
standards for the quality of new buildings in remainder sent to landfill, severely constraining a good supply of natural daylight to more
terms of energy efficiency and environmental the city’s score. than 80% of floor area. In the area of “land
impact. However, in recent years there has been Initiative: Bucharest’s Municipal Waste Man- use and ecology”, credits were gained by
a growing awareness of the need for energy- agement Plan for 2007-13 envisages the con- reusing land that had previously been devel-
efficient buildings. struction of two waste-sorting plants, a oped and had been assessed as having low
Initiative: Romania was the first country in mechanical biological plant and two compost- ecological value.
south-east Europe to establish a Green Building ing plants.
10
52 53
European Green City Index | City Portrait
B udapest is Hungary’s capital and its main energy intensity. The majority of households in being 20% below the 30-city average, while
Residential retrofitting
Budapest_Hungary
hub of economic, financial, political and cul- Budapest use gas for heating and hot water, water leakages are slightly above average. Virtu-
tural activity. With about 17% of the country’s with district heating supplying about one-third ally all households are connected to the sewage cuts energy consump-
population, Budapest contributed 34% of Hun- of all homes. system, but only 50% of wastewater is currently tion and emissions
gary’s GDP in 2006. The city’s primary commer- Initiative: The government has moved to treated.
cial activities are financial and business services, encourage households to use district heating, Initiative: The proportion of biologically puri-
which account for close to 80% of gross value by reducing value-added tax on this form of fied wastewater will be increased to 95% follow- Budapest’s largest apartment building in the
added. heating in August 2009. The municipal district- ing the completion of a central wastewater- Third District, built some 30 years ago and
The capital traditionally had a stronger indus- heating company, Fotav, is equipping homes treatment plant on Budapest’s Csepel island, comprising 886 apartments, will be retrofitted
trial focus, but many factories have closed since with metering devices to regulate usage in order scheduled for July 2010. by the end of 2009 at a cost of Ft1.2 billion
the transition from communism in 1989, and to reduce costs. (€4.5 million). The building’s heating and hot
this has had a beneficial effect on the city’s over- Waste and land use: Budapest ranks 15th in water was originally supplied by the district-
all environmental impact. Buildings: Budapest ranks 20th in the buildings the waste and land use category, with a large heating company, Fotav. The project involves
Budapest ranks 17th among the 30 cities in category, in part because of high household discrepancy between a favourable ranking (joint the use of renewable energy sources, as the
the European Green City Index, with a score of energy consumption, which is well above the sixth) for waste production and a poor one building will be fitted with solar cells to pro-
57.55 out of 100. However, when compared 30-city average. Budapest performs well with (26th) for recycling and reuse. The city produced vide hot water. Fotav will continue to provide
with other low-income cities it ranks third. This regard to energy-efficient building standards 441 kg of waste per head in 2007, below the 30- heating, but will do so through a modernised
relatively good performance can be attributed in (being ranked joint 14th): for example, building city average of 511 kg per head. Major brown- heating centre in the building. The building
part to the reduced importance of industry to certificates, while not mandatory, are becoming field areas have already been redeveloped into will receive a new insulation layer and win-
the city’s economy. more widespread. high-profile office, retail and residential devel- dows will be replaced, while the apartments
Initiative: The city, jointly with the national opments. have already been equipped with meters to
CO2 emissions: Budapest ranks joint 17th in government, subsidises the retrofitting of build- Initiative: The city is continually increasing the regulate heating individually. The combined
the category for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions ings to reduce heating-energy loss as a result of number of sites for selective waste collection effect of these improvements is expected to
— a relatively good score compared with other inefficient insulation and old windows. (including plastic, glass, metal and paper, but be a 50% reduction in the building’s energy
east European cities, behind only Ljubljana, Riga not organic waste). Charges are payable for consumption. The district municipality will
and Istanbul. However Budapest’s CO2 emissions Transport: Budapest ranks joint tenth, along municipal waste collection depending on the cover 40% of the project’s costs (drawing in
are higher than the average for the 30 cities sur- with Tallinn, in the transport category — its best number of rubbish bins, in order to encourage part on EU funds), with the central govern-
veyed, both per unit of GDP and per head. ranking in the index. In eastern Europe, only recycling. Awareness campaigns are wide- ment budget providing another 33%.
Initiative: The municipality targets a 10% Bratislava scores higher. The capital’s public spread.
CO2
10
8
Environmental governance Energy
6
Budapest
Water Best
Average
Select city data reduction from 2005 levels in energy use by transport company calculates that around 60% Air quality: Budapest ranks 22nd in the air Environmental governance: Budapest ranks
Population: 1.7 million public institutions as well as by households by of its passengers are transported using electric- quality category. Air quality is monitored by 11 a favourable joint 13th for environmental gover-
GDP per head, PPP: € 23,814 2013, which will have a positive impact on the powered vehicles. stationary units across the city, and is mainly nance, behind only Warsaw among east Euro-
CO2 emissions per head: 5.8 tonnes* city’s CO2 emissions. The reduction will be Initiative: Budapest won the EU’s 2008 Euro- affected by vehicle traffic, which is responsible pean cities. It has a detailed environmental pro-
Energy consumption per head: 98.85 gigajoules* achieved by means of energy audits of public pean Mobility Week Award. It was judged to for 70-90% of emissions other than sulphur gramme that sets guidelines for environmental
Percentage of renewable energy buildings, and by retrofitting homes. have done most to raise public awareness of air dioxide. policy and targets in each area for 2013.
consumed by the city: 0.44 %
pollution from traffic and to promote cleaner Initiative: Budapest is gradually improving its Initiative: Budapest is a member of the Co-
Total percentage of citizens walking, Energy: Budapest ranks 25th in the index for alternatives. public transport vehicle fleet in order to reduce venant of Mayors, whose signatories pledge
cycling or taking public transport to work: 69 %
energy, owing to high energy consumption per emissions by purchasing new buses or replacing to produce and follow a sustainable-energy
Annual water consumption per head: 84.59 m3 head, low renewable-energy use as a proportion Water: Budapest ranks 18th in the index for engines, as well as installing particle filters in action plan to go beyond EU energy policy objec-
Share of waste recycled: 2.2 % of total energy consumed, and relatively high water. Consumption per head is moderate, diesel-fuelled buses. tives.
* Estimate
54 55
European Green City Index | City Portrait
accounting for 17% of total energy consumption the best-scoring cities in this subcategory. How- been on brownfield sites, including the redevel-
Copenhagen_Denmark
in 2008 and for 27% of electricity consumption. ever, Copenhagen claimed joint top spot for opment of the harbour front. The municipality
Initiative: The national government’s climate water system leakages, wastewater treatment actively seeks to use urban development as a
change strategy aims to raise the share of and water efficiency. tool to minimise transport requirements and
renewable energy to 30% of total consumption Initiative: The municipality has a target to energy consumption.
by 2025. reduce household water consumption from 114
litres per person per day in 2007 to 100 litres per Air quality: Copenhagen is ranked fifth for air
Buildings: Copenhagen is ranked fourth in the person in 2012. The city council spends around quality, with a score that is broadly similar to
buildings category. Danish buildings are among Dkr2 million (€270,000) each year on water-sav- those of several other north European cities. The
the most energy-efficient in the world, despite ing initiatives. great bulk of air pollutants measured in Copen-
the ageing housing stock. The annual energy hagen come from traffic.
consumption of residential buildings, at 554 Waste and land use: Copenhagen ranks sev-
megajoules per square metre, is the lowest of enth for waste and land use. However, the city is Environmental governance: Copenhagen is
the 30 cities in the survey, being marginally bet- placed joint first for its green land use policies, ranked joint first for environmental governance.
ter than that of Berlin. Almost all buildings in the thanks to the ongoing redevelopment of brown- The municipality has recently taken steps to
Danish capital are connected to the district heat- field sites and the widespread availability of ensure integrated environmental management
ing system. green spaces (almost 80% of residents in the across all of its departments, appointing envi-
Initiative: The Copenhagen municipality aims municipality of Copenhagen live within 300 ronmental co-ordinators for each administrative
to achieve 10% of its CO2 reductions through metres of a park or recreation area). Some 55% unit, who meet regularly to exchange experi-
construction and renovation projects. The of all waste is recycled, although the proportion ences. There is already a dedicated team within
municipality intends to upgrade all municipal for household waste is lower, at 24%. the city council to which citizens can direct their
buildings to ensure compliance with the highest Initiative: The vast majority (80%) of new complaints or concerns on environmental mat-
energy-efficiency standards. developments during the current decade have ters.
Carbon-neutral
neighbourhoods
10
Copenhagen, where it is expected that some
300,000 square metres of residential and
commercial buildings will be built. Before a fi-
8
GDP per head, PPP: € 43,640 lation. Copenhagen is the country’s main busi- decade or so. The city now produces about 5.4 system, a suburban railway and bus networks — nal development plan for the area is adopted
Environmental governance Energy
CO2 emissions per head: 5.38 tonnes ness and financial centre, and is also one of tonnes of CO2 emissions per head per year, with the result that virtually all residents live 6 in 2012, the city authorities will conduct an
Energy consumption per head: 80.63 gigajoules* western Europe’s leading locations for interna- slightly above the index average. within 350 metres of public transport services. analysis of the technologies required to en-
4
Percentage of renewable energy tional company headquarters and distribution Initiative: The city’s 2009 climate change plan Copenhagen is also famous for the ease with sure that the district’s energy supply, build-
consumed by the city: 18.76 % 2
centres. Copenhagen achieves the highest rank- includes a target to reduce CO2 emissions by which its residents can cycle in the city. ings, transport and waste management sys-
Total percentage of citizens walking, ing in the European Green City Index, with a a further 20% by 2015 relative to their 2005 Initiative: Copenhagen has set itself the objec- Air Quality 0 Buildings tems can be operated on a carbon-neutral
cycling or taking public transport to work: 68 %
score of 87.31 out of 100. The city performs well levels. The plan also sets an ambitious long-term tive of becoming the “world’s best cycle city”, basis. Another major new urban development
Annual water consumption per head: 147 m3 in all eight categories of the index, and is ranked goal for the city to become carbon neutral by and aims to raise the share of the capital’s inhab- will take place at Nordhavn, a 200-hectare
Share of waste recycled: 23.61 % joint first in the environmental governance sub- 2025, which, if achieved, would make it the first itants who regularly use a bicycle to get to their site situated at the northernmost part of the
* Estimate
category. Successive governments at both nation- large carbon-neutral city in Europe. place of work or education from 36% currently city’s docks. Following a public consultation,
al and municipal level have strongly supported to 50% by 2015. Waste and Land Use Transport an international competition was launched in
the promotion of sustainable development. Energy: Copenhagen is ranked in second place 2008 to elicit plans, with the winning propos-
Copenhagen
for energy. Denmark’s energy policy has sought Water: Ranked in joint fifth place in the water Water Best al developed into a comprehensive plan dur-
Average
CO2 emissions: Copenhagen is ranked fourth to reduce the country’s dependence on coal and category, along with Zurich, Copenhagen’s ing 2009-10. It is envisaged that a first phase
for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, thanks to oil in favour of natural gas and renewable ener- score is dragged down by high levels of water of development will begin in 2011, with a
good scores in the CO2 intensity and CO2 reduc- gy sources. Renewable energy sources play an consumption which, at 147 cubic metres per second phase scheduled for 2018.
tion strategy subcategories. The city’s primary increasingly important role in the country, inhabitant per year, is almost three times that of
56 57
European Green City Index | City Portrait
1990, although this has yet to be confirmed for via salary sacrifice, for employees at a cost of up
Transport21
Dublin_Ireland
the city), as part of its membership of the to €1,000 tax-free. The scheme has attracted
Covenant of Mayors. widespread participation.
Energy : Dublin ranks 18th in the energy cate- Water: Dublin is ranked joint 16th in the water
gory, largely because of its poor performance in category, along with Stockholm. The city’s resi-
the energy consumption subcategory. The vast dents each consume about 128 cubic metres of Transport21, a flagship Irish transport pro-
bulk of Ireland's electricity comes from fossil water per year, substantially above the index ject, was launched in 2006 and involves pro-
fuels, such as peat, coal, oil and gas, and each average of 105 cubic metres. The local river, the jected expenditure of €34 billion to upgrade
inhabitant of Dublin consumes 156 gigajoules Liffey, and various tributaries are classified as roads, trains and buses across the country to
per year, compared with a 30-city average of either “moderately” or “seriously” polluted by the 2015. The project should have a significant
around 81 gigajoules. Irish Environmental Protection Agency. positive impact on Dublin’s transport infra-
Initiative: The city council aims to reduce its Initiative: Dublin City Council engages in media structure. In Dublin the scheme proposes to
own energy usage by 3% per year, resulting in a activities to encourage water conservation. Fur- expand the LUAS (the light rail system) and
total reduction of 33% by 2020. It is also working ther information is made available through web- to create two new metro lines. The Metro
to reduce energy consumption by the city’s sites such as www.taptips.ie. North project, which would link Dublin Air-
social housing through the promotion of solar port/Swords to the city centre, is under con-
energy. Waste and land use: Dublin is ranked 13th for sideration by the Railway Procurement
waste and land use, helped by a strong score in Agency (RPA). This is a public-private partner-
Buildings: Dublin ranks 24th in the buildings the waste recycling and reuse subcategory. ship initiative, and the RPA will begin to con-
category. Much of the older housing stock in About 28% of waste is recycled, above the 30- tribute funding only after the first passengers
Dublin was not built with energy conservation city average of nearly 18%. However, Dublin is have been carried. Costs between €2.4 billion
as an objective. Dublin’s housing action plan hindered by a poor score for municipal waste and €5 billion have been identified, and the
notes that residential and commercials buildings production: it creates 656 kg of waste per inhab- expected completion date has been revised
account for 55% of the city’s total greenhouse itant per year, well above the average of 511 kg to 2014, with the tender being awarded in
gas emissions. (excluding industrial waste). 2010. In addition to these larger projects, the
government has begun to encourage alterna-
tive travel methods, such as cycling, and also
aims to encourage the use of electric vehi-
cles, with a goal of 10% of all vehicles on the
market being electric by 2020.
CO2
10
8
Environmental governance Energy
6
58 59
European Green City Index | City Portrait
Energy: Helsinki ranks 19th for energy, which is houses, the municipally owned Helsinki Water is
Low2No
Helsinki_Finland
its weakest category in the index. At around 89 not particularly active in promoting water sav-
gigajoules per year, energy consumption per ing.
head is high (the 30-city average is 81 giga- Initiative: In order to improve the state of the
joules), largely because of the city’s cold climate Gulf of Finland (one of the most polluted parts
and its high standard of living. of the Baltic Sea) and the entire Baltic Sea,
Initiative: Helsinki Energy, which is municipally Helsinki is actively participating in international In March 2009 Sitra, the Finnish Innovation
owned, is to build two large offshore wind- co-operation projects such as wastewater treat- Fund, and the City of Helsinki launched an in-
power parks with a generating capacity of 500- ment in St Petersburg, Russia. ternational competition for the construction
1,000 mw. of a sustainable and innovative block in the
Waste and land use: Helsinki ranks third in the western harbour area of Helsinki. The
Buildings: Helsinki does well in the buildings waste and land use category, in large part Low2No competition seeks comprehensive
category, ranking fifth as a result of its energy- because of its high level of waste recycling and solutions to the problems of low- or zero-car-
efficient building standards and incentives and reuse, and also thanks to its waste-reduction bon and energy-efficient building design. The
the below-average energy consumption of its policies. New construction takes place on competition aims to show that national and
residential buildings (at 683 megajoules per brownfield sites rather than green areas, so that international targets for reductions in CO2
square metre in 2007, compared with the 30- expansion into green areas is now minimal. emissions and improvements in energy effi-
city average of 909 megajoules). Initiative: The construction of a gas engine ciency can be reached and surpassed, at the
Initiative: Eko-Viikki is an ecological suburb power plant in the area of Ammassuo, which is same time producing an economically sus-
located 8 km from the centre of Helsinki. Eko- intended to recover landfill gases and will pre- tainable and architecturally high-quality envi-
Viikki was the first ecological neighbourhood to dominantly produce electricity, began in 2009. ronment. Some 74 entries were received, and
be built in Finland, and in 2010 the area is The plant is due to open in 2010. five were selected for the final round, with a
expected to support 6,000 jobs and to provide winner announced in September 2009. In the
homes for 13,000 people. Air quality: Helsinki ranks third for air quality. long-term, Sitra and the City of Helsinki hope
The city’s air quality has improved substantially that the competition process will help in the
Transport: Helsinki ranks ninth in the transport in recent decades as a result of the introduction implementation of an innovative sustainable
category. Its public transport network is the of district heating and, more recently (from urban development solution in Helsinki, in
shortest in Europe. However, the city ranks first 1991), with the replacement of coal by natural developing a sustainable-development frame-
with regard to the length of its cycling network, gas as a fuel for energy production. work applicable to other contexts, and in
and is a leader in green transport promotion. Initiative: Helsinki Energy has invested in sev- spurring innovation in the field of energy effi-
ciency and sustainable development.
CO2
10
8
Environmental governance Energy
6
W
4
Select city data ith a population of 570,000, the Finnish
capital, Helsinki, has an economy domi- 2
Population: 569,000 nated by the services sector, with a particularly
Air Quality 0 Buildings
GDP per head, PPP: € 52,832 high concentration of jobs in information tech-
CO2 emissions per head: 6.01 tonnes nology and the public sector. The Helsinki Metro-
Energy consumption per head: 88.62 gigajoules politan Area consists of four municipalities,
Percentage of renewable energy Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen, the
consumed by the city: 3.51 %
total population of which is around 1 million.
Waste and Land Use Transport
Total percentage of citizens walking, This area accounts for one-third of Finland’s GDP
cycling or taking public transport to work: 44.7 %
and is accordingly wealthy: its inhabitants’ aver- Helsinki
Best
Annual water consumption per head: 76.29 m3 Water
age annual income is the second-highest Average
Share of waste recycled: 57.61 % among the cities reviewed in this study, after
that of Oslo. Helsinki ranks in seventh place in
the European Green City Index, with a score of emissions per head of 6 tonnes, well above the Initiative: An extension of the Helsinki metro eral wind-energy plants in Finland, in order to first capital city in Europe to complete a full-
79.29 out of 100. Helsinki is ranked fourth 30-city average of 5 tonnes. This results from the system to the city of Espoo received official raise its share of renewables and move away scale sustainable development action planning
among the Nordic cities, largely because of its city’s high need for heating in buildings and its approval in September 2006 and will be com- from the use of fossil fuels, which adversely process.
relatively high carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions rising electricity consumption. pleted by 2013 at the earliest. affects the air quality of the city. Initiative: Since 1995 Helsinki has taken a col-
and energy consumption, even though the city Initiative: Helsinki’s first, and the world’s laborative approach to planning the use and
is a leader in energy efficiency. largest, heat pump plant, Katri Vala, was com- Water: Helsinki is ranked 11th in the water cate- Environmental governance: Helsinki is ranked development of municipally owned urban
pleted in 2006. The plant uses heat pumps and gory, largely because of its limited water-effi- joint first (with three other cities) for environ- forests, allowing residents to help set goals for
CO2 emissions: Helsinki ranks 11th in the index produces both district heat and cooling, signifi- ciency policies. Although the city encourages mental governance. Its Sustainability Strategy the use of green areas and minimising conflicts
for CO2 emissions, as a result of its relatively high cantly reducing Helsinki’s CO2 emissions. the installation of water meters in individual and Action plan 2002-10 made Helsinki the over space.
60 61
European Green City Index | City Portrait
Commission’s proposal to limit CO2 emissions by km; and the possible development of plans for a Public participation in environmental debates is
Istanbul_Turkey
passenger cars to 120 grams per kilometre by further 293 km under discussion. not encouraged, and there has been little effort
the end of 2012. They have produced new to educate people or raise awareness of environ-
engine models that can reduce CO2 emissions by Water: Although Istanbul ranks only 23rd for mental issues.
up to 19%. water, it performs well with regard to water con- Initiative: The municipality of Istanbul is imple-
sumption per head, coming seventh overall in menting a new regulation plan in the period to
Energy: Istanbul performs well in the energy this subcategory and first among cities with 2010 that aims to institute a “preservation and
category, ranking 11th overall and first in the high average temperatures. development” balance. The plan acknowledges
energy consumption subcategory. Istanbul’s Initiative: The city’s municipal water company, the effect of metropolitan settlement on the
energy consumption per head is estimated at 36 ISKI, plans the construction of seven new biolog- environment.
gigajoules, less than one-half of the 30 city aver- ical treatment plants capable of processing
age of 81 gigajoules. 70,000 cubic metres per day, to supply a storage
Initiative: A new renewable-energy bill is expect- facility holding treated water for use in industry CO2
ed to be passed later in 2009, offering generous and horticulture.
10
electricity contract guarantees for new hydro,
wind, geothermal and solar power projects. Waste and land use: Istanbul ranks 25th in the 8
Environmental governance Energy
waste and land use category, largely because of 6
Buildings: Istanbul ranks poorly, in 28th place, the small amount of green space in the city — at
4
in the buildings category. The majority of Istan- only 6.4 square metres per person — and its
bul’s buildings date from the 1960s onwards poor record on recycling and waste manage- 2
and have been poorly constructed, with little ment. Most recycling is still conducted on an
Air Quality 0 Buildings
thought given to energy efficiency. Some new informal basis by impoverished communities liv-
buildings are being constructed with attempts at ing adjacent to landfill sites.
energy efficiency, but there are no universal Initiative: In its 2007 strategic plan, Istanbul’s
standards in place. municipality announced that it aimed to
Initiative: Discussions have begun about the increase the percentage of packaging materials
Waste and Land Use Transport
possibility of issuing buildings with “energy recycled from 15% in 2006 to 61% by 2011.
deeds” that would identify the efficiency of their Istanbul
Water Best
energy use. Air quality: Istanbul ranks 23rd for air quality, Average
62 63
European Green City Index | City Portrait
that is being implemented with financial sup- environmental project in the Kiev city adminis- CO2
Kiev_Ukraine
port from the World Bank, which envisages tration’s environmental programme to 2011. 10
increasing the output of the Dnipro Hydropower
8
Cascade by around 500 gwh, the equivalent of Waste and land use: Kiev ranks 30th for waste Environmental governance Energy
constructing a major new hydropower plant. and land use. It is estimated that Kiev produced 6
Revitalising Kiev’s
traffic management
64 65
European Green City Index | City Portrait
ciency standards for buildings, although it is let expected to be achieved by 2010. The leakage 12th for environmental governance, and is
Lisbon_Portugal
down by poor incentives to promote such poli- problem is tackled in the 2008 Strategy for Ener- placed third among middle-income cities. This
cies. gy and the Environment, which has set a target is thanks to environmentally sustainable action
Initiative: Legislation enacted in 2009 makes it of a 15.6% reduction in leakages by 2013. The plans, such as the 2008 Strategy for Energy
compulsory for all new buildings, as well as document also targets a 7.8% reduction in water and the Environment, and to the city’s open-
those subject to renovation and all buildings consumption. ness to public participation in the discussion of
being let or sold, to have an energy efficiency plans. However, this strategy is not comprehen-
certificate valid for ten years. Waste and land use: Lisbon ranks 22nd for sive, as it focuses only on water, energy and
waste and land use, largely because of inade- waste.
Transport: Lisbon ranks 25th for transport, quate policies regarding municipal waste pro- Initiative: In February 2009 Lisbon signed the
mainly because about one in three people use duction and reduction, waste recycling and Covenant of Mayors, a commitment assumed by
their own vehicles to commute, according to reuse, and land use. The city scores below the 400 cities globally to reduce CO2 emissions by
2003 data. Cycle lanes are almost non-existent west European average for the percentage of 20% by 2020.
CO2
10
8
Environmental governance Energy
6
Lisbon
Water Best
Average
66 67
European Green City Index | City Portrait
1,653 megajoules per square metre per year, Waste and land use: Ljubljana is ranked 18th CO2
Ljubljana_Slovenia
well above the index average of 909 mega- in the waste and land use category, bolstered by 10
joules. Ljubljana has no specific standards relat- a strong score for municipal waste production,
8
ing to the upgrading of older buildings, al- where it comes joint sixth overall. The city’s Environmental governance Energy
though efficiency standards do exist for new inhabitants produce about 441 kg of waste per 6
Select city data Initiative: In early 2009 Ljubljana built its first gory. This is mainly owing to poor scores for ed air pollution. tourists rather than local residents. Accord-
CO2 emissions: Ljubljana ranks 14th for CO2 solar power generating unit, which will provide water system leakages and the proportion of ingly, most of the bicycles are rented during
Population: 271,000 emissions, among its better results, and is the enough energy for 25 households. dwellings connected to the sewage system, as Environmental governance: Ljubljana ranks the peak tourist season from July to August.
GDP per head, PPP: € 25,830 third-greenest city in terms of direct emissions There are plans to install additional solar pan- the city’s per-head water consumption level is joint 15th with London in the environmental As an indication of the popularity of the
CO2 emissions per head: 3.41 tonnes per head (at 3.4 tonnes per year), being outper- els on the roofs of several buildings from 2010 below the average (at 84 cubic metres per year, governance category, mainly thanks to a high scheme, at one location bicycles were hired
Energy consumption per head: 105.87 gigajoules formed only by Oslo and Istanbul. Although its onwards. compared with a 30-city average of 105 cubic score in the green management subcategory. out more than 400 times for two-hour peri-
Percentage of renewable energy emissions are low compared with those of big- metres). Over the past decade Ljubljana has paid ever ods in July alone, and around one-half of that
consumed by the city: 0.21 %
ger cities, the amount of CO2 produced by the Buildings: Ljubljana ranks 19th in the buildings Initiative: The city authorities are planning a more attention to green policies, and has recent- number were used for full-day rental. The city
Total percentage of citizens walking, city’s traffic increased by 73% in 1989-2004, category, as the energy consumption of most further increase in the number of wastewater ly suggested plans to design a sustainable ener- authorities are planning to increase the net-
cycling or taking public transport to work: 36.4 %
reflecting greatly increased use of private trans- buildings in the city is relatively high. The city connections in the next few years, along with gy action plan and to set a target for the reduc- work of locations and the number of bicycles
Annual water consumption per head: 84.31 m3 port. scores particularly poorly for energy consump- repairs to the existing system in order to improve tion of CO2 emissions, as well as subscribing to in the scheme.
Share of waste recycled: 4.05 % Initiative: Ljubljana does not have an official tion by residential buildings: it uses an estimated the water supply and reduce pollution. the Covenant of Mayors.
68 69
European Green City Index | City Portrait
residential homes is slightly higher than average Initiative: Thames Water has a £6.5 billion tory of energy use and greenhouse gas emis-
London_United Kingdom
and well above that in a number of cities with investment programme planned for 2010-15, sions in 2004-05.
colder climates, such as Berlin and Copenhagen. which plans to cut system leakages by nearly The fact that some authority is devolved to
However, new building standards are higher, one-fifth. By 2010 it aims to have reduced leak- the city’s 33 boroughs and some is concentrated
and significant efforts are being made to retrofit age rates to 690 megalitres per day, from 850 at national government level causes difficulties
older buildings. megalitres in 2003. in terms of co-ordination on environmental gov-
Initiative: New homes will have to meet Level 3 ernance.
of the Code for Sustainable Homes by 2010 and Waste and land use: London ranks 11th in the Initiative: London’s 2012 Olympic Games have
Level 6 by 2016. The code sets minimum stan- waste and land use category. It produces 558 kg been touted as the first sustainable Olympics.
dards for energy and water usage levels, on a of municipal waste per inhabitant per year, com- Commitments include using at least 20% local
scale of 1-6, helping to rate the sustainability of pared with a 30-city average of 511 kg. About renewable energy sources and operating a zero-
new homes. one-half of this waste is currently managed landfill policy on waste during the games.
CO2
10
8
Environmental governance Energy
6
London
Water Best
Average
70 71
European Green City Index | City Portrait
sumption, with energy consumed per head strong water-efficiency and water-treatment Environmental governance: In 13th place in
Madrid_Spain
marginally lower than the 30-city average of 81 policies. Residents consume an average of 71 the environmental governance category, Madrid
gigajoules. Energy consumption is centred mainly cubic metres per head per year, below the 30- ties with Budapest. Sustainable development is
on electric power, oil-based fuels and natural city average of 105 cubic metres. Water leakages relatively new to Madrid, but it has set itself an
gas. Renewables account for less than 3% of are also substantially lower than average. ambitious range of targets. Its recent Sustain-
total energy consumed; however, solar power Madrid, like most of Spain, is subject to uncer- able Use of Energy and Climate Change Preven-
use in particular is expected to increase consid- tain water resources because of high tempera- tion Plan for the City of Madrid was approved by
erably. The use of coal has fallen substantially. tures and low rainfall. Madrid’s government in June 2008. While citi-
Initiative: Madrid’s Climate Change Prevention Initiative: Madrid’s water-treatment and water- zens are not usually involved in any initial city
Plan includes a target of a 20% reduction in fossil reuse plan for 2005-10 involves the improve- planning, there is occasional participation later
fuel use by 2020 compared with the 2004 level. ment of existing water-treatment systems and in the process.
the reuse of purified effluents and sludge for
Buildings: Madrid ranks 17th for buildings. Its agricultural purposes. CO2
average annual energy consumption in residen- 10
tial buildings, at 614 megajoules per square Waste and land use: Madrid ranks 19th for
metre in 2007, is lower than the index average waste and land use. Just 10% of solid waste is 8
Environmental governance Energy
of 909 megajoules. However, the city’s overall recycled, lower than the index average of 18%. 6
rank is not as strong as it could be, mainly Around 40% of waste is sent to landfill. Municipal
4
because of its lack of high-level energy efficien- waste per head, at 551 kg per year, is above the
cy standards, although solar panels are now average of 511 kg. The waste sector has reduced 2
required in all new buildings. its emissions in the past decade by installing
Air Quality 0 Buildings
Initiative: The city has a target of issuing ener- degasification systems and recovering biogas
gy certifications for 30% of new constructions from landfill. Madrid’s green surface area makes
by 2012. Its long-term target is to make energy up 43% of the city’s total area, including the
certification mandatory. city’s urban parks, gardens and forested areas,
and there are measures in place to protect them.
Waste and Land Use Transport
Transport: Madrid ranks 15th for transport. However, a decade-long construction boom has
The proportion of people walking or cycling to contributed to a significant amount of sprawl. Madrid
Best
Water
work (14%) is under the 30-city average (21%), Initiative: The City of Madrid aims to recover all Average
Regenerating the
Manzanares river
72 73
European Green City Index | City Portrait
12,000 tonnes of CO2 a year, Oslo plans to har- city’s low rate of residential water metering. CO2
Oslo_Norway
ness one-half of it and convert it into bio- Daily use of water per head fell from 208 litres in 10
methane to run 80 of the city’s public buses. 1997 to 172 litres in 2007; by contrast, Amster-
8
dam, the top-scoring city in this category, con-
Environmental governance Energy
Energy: Oslo is ranked first in the energy cate- sumes just 53 litres per person per day. 6
gory, despite ranking joint 24th with Zurich in Initiative: The new Oset water treatment plant
4
the energy consumption subcategory. This is uses coagulation and filtration as the first
because the city receives full marks for its hygienic barrier in water treatment. The second 2
renewable-energy consumption and its clean hygienic treatment is UV disinfection with a
Air Quality 0 Buildings
and efficient energy policies, and also because trace residue of chlorination being retained.
of its number-two ranking in the energy intensi-
ty subcategory. Waste and land use: Oslo ranks sixth in the
Initiative: Oslo has adopted an energy action waste and land use category, surpassing other
plan to improve energy efficiency and replace high-income cities, such as Copenhagen and
fossil fuels with renewable sources, and to Stockholm. The city’s position is bolstered by its Waste and Land Use Transport
reduce greenhouse gas emissions from munici- policies on green land use and waste reduction,
Oslo
pal buildings by 95% by 2030. but is held back by lower rankings for waste Water Best
Average
Buildings: Oslo is ranked third overall in the recycling and reuse and for municipal waste
buildings category. The city is ranked sixth in the reduction. Powered by leftovers
subcategory for energy consumption of residen- Initiative: The Marka forested hill area to the
tial buildings. Energy-efficient building stan- north and east of Oslo encircles part of the city.
dards are also strong, with the city ranking in The part of Marka owned by the city has been
joint fourth place in that subcategory. certified with a local “Living Forest” standard.
Initiative: Following a city council ruling, ener- In 2009 the Waste to Energy Agency awarded
gy efficiency assessments are being carried out Air quality: Oslo ranks only 15th in the index contracts to build a biogas facility at Klemet-
on existing municipal buildings, with energy for overall air quality, primarily because of its srud that will transform food waste into bio-
management of buildings being part of local poor performance on nitrogen dioxide. Its mid- gas and bio-fertiliser, producing about 6 mil-
certifications. dling performance on particulate matter results lion cubic metres of biogas annually, which
74 75
European Green City Index | City Portrait
the city’s high density of inhabitants and activi- for use of non-car transport. The main reason for Air quality: Paris ranks 13th for air quality. Lev-
Paris_France
ties. Its CO2 emissions, estimated at 5 tonnes per its relatively poor performance is that although els of air pollution in the city, which is mainly
inhabitant in 2006, are almost identical to the an extensive network of cycle lanes exists, the pro- caused by transport, heating and industry, still
30-city average but are better than those of portion of people walking or cycling to work stands exceed the limits set by some national and Euro-
other big capitals, such as London and Berlin. at just 0.2%, far below the average of 20.9%. pean regulations.
Initiative: Aéroports de Paris (ADP), which runs Initiative: In 2007 the city’s administration Initiative: The city’s administration is address-
Paris’ airports, has launched an inter-company launched a bicycle-sharing programme, Vélib, ing the problem of air pollution through a num-
car-sharing network, initially targeting the introducing 10,000 bicycles in 750 automated ber of measures, aimed mainly at reducing traf-
63,000 employees of ADP and the local Orly- rental stations at affordable rates (the first 30 fic intensity through the development of public
Rungis centre. minutes of use are free). In less than two years transport in the suburbs and the promotion of
these numbers have doubled, and the system is green transport, such as the use of electric cars,
Energy: Paris ranks 16th in the energy catego- now the largest of its kind in the world. cycling and walking.
ry. Nuclear-generated power now accounts for
more than 40% of France’s total consumption, Water: Paris ranks ninth in the water category Environmental governance: Paris ranks in
making the country one of the world’s biggest overall. However, it scores worse than other joint seventh place with Vienna in the environ-
producers of nuclear energy. But Paris is ham- large cities in the index, such as London, partly mental governance category. This is the best
pered by a low proportion of renewables in its because water prices are 25% lower than in Ger- score in this category among the group of large
energy supply. many and 20% lower than in the UK, thereby cities.
Initiative: A recently launched pilot project, encouraging overconsumption. A new project to define a vision for 2030 for
ZAC Pajol, has as one of its aims the construction Initiative: The municipality’s environmental the city was presented in 2009 by the French
of the largest urban solar power generation department has launched Ecogestes (Environ- government (see highlight project).
structure in France by 2013. mental Gestures), an educational campaign Initiative: The city has developed the Local
aimed at citizens that shows how to reduce Town Planning Plan and the Paris Transport Plan,
Buildings: Paris ranks seventh overall in the water consumption by means of simple daily and has recently launched the city’s climate
buildings category, one of its strongest perfor- measures via a series of videos. plan.
CO2
Le Grand Paris
10
8
Environmental governance Energy
6
76 1) Paris-only data is used for waste, cycle lanes and water use. 77
European Green City Index | City Portrait
gory, with a score similar to that of several other extension of the Green Line, and the construc- Initiative: New legislation is in the pipeline that
Prague_Czech Republic
post-communist capitals. Prague is powered by tion of a new Blue Line, scheduled for comple- would oblige all municipalities to provide citi-
combined heat and power (CHP) stations fuelled tion by 2020. zens with the infrastructure required to recycle
primarily by coal and gas, but is also supplied basic items such as paper, glass and plastics.
with nuclear power and some hydroelectricity. Water: Prague ranks in tenth place in the water Fees for waste disposal are expected to be levied
Initiative: Prague has gradually increased spen- category — its best rating in any category in the according to the volume of waste created, and
ding to subsidise the replacement of fossil-fuel- index. The city consumes around 85 cubic met- fees for the dumping of waste are likely to
based energy sources with cleaner and/or rene- res of water per person per year, a figure well increase in order to boost recycling.
wable sources, with the help of EU funds. The pri- below the 30-city average of 105 cubic metres.
mary focus is on shifting fuel use by residents away Initiative: A new sewage-treatment plant is Air quality: Prague ranks only 20th for air
from coal and towards natural gas, or on connect- planned for the city, although construction has quality. However, emissions have fallen by more
ing them to the city’s central heating system. been delayed because of flooding and issues than 70% during the past 20 years, thanks to the
relating to the absorption of EU funds. concerted efforts that have been made to
Buildings: Prague ranks 26th in the category reduce pollution in the country as the Czech
for buildings, and has one of the highest resi- Waste and land use: Prague is ranked in 14th Republic’s economic transition has gathered
dential energy consumption levels of any city in place in the waste and land use category; the momentum.
the index (at 1,163 megajoules per square met- city produces 480 kg of waste per head each Initiative: The city set out air quality targets to
re, compared with an average of 909 mega- year, below the average of 511 kg. Recycling has be attained by 2010 in a strategy document
joules). New national standards aim to cut ener- improved significantly thanks to a system adopt- released in 2000. However, it seems unlikely
gy consumption in newly constructed buildings, ed in 1998, involving widely distributed recy- that these will be met.
but incentives for more efficient construction cling boxes and various campaigns supported by
are currently limited. public funds. Environmental governance: Prague ranks
27th in the category for environmental gover-
nance. Green policies remain secondary to other
concerns for the city. The quality and breadth of
environmental information provided varies wi-
dely depending on the topic, and information is
not always readily available.
Select city data national average share of 32.6%, in one of the bon dioxide (CO2) emissions, with around 8 Transport: Prague, which continues to pursue a 4
ests of the individual ferrymen have been
EU’s most industrialised economies. During the tonnes of emissions per head per year (including car-friendly approach, is ranked 26th overall in promoted via municipal policy, as the ferries
Population: 1.2 million past 20 years of economic transition, Prague has other greenhouse gas emissions, as the city’s the transport category. Traffic levels have 2
are subsidised by the city and are treated as
GDP per head, PPP: € 25,023 seen a structural shift away from production and CO2 data are not published separately) — above increased threefold during the country’s eco- part of the public transport network. Passen-
Air Quality 0 Buildings
CO2 emissions per head: 8.05 tonnes towards business-related services, and a num- the index average of about 5.2 tonnes. Prague’s nomic transition since 1991, and the limited gers may buy tickets directly; use a transfer
Energy consumption per head: 67.19 gigajoules ber of multinational firms have their European CO2 intensity is also well above average. efforts made to contain or reduce traffic are the ticket from trains, the subway system or
Percentage of renewable energy headquarters in the city. Initiative: To cut transport-related CO2 emis- primary reason for Prague’s relatively poor score trams; use travel passes; or buy tickets via
consumed by the city: 1.02 %*
Prague is ranked 24th overall in the European sions in the city, Prague is investing heavily in this category. mobile phone. A frequent schedule has also
Total percentage of citizens walking, Green City Index, with a score of 49.78 out of in the construction of inner and outer ring Initiative: The subway rail system has been helped to establish ferries as a reliable way to
Waste and Land Use Transport
cycling or taking public transport to work: 67 %
100. The city performs best in the categories of roads. gradually extended, with the number of stations get around the city — some make as many as
Annual water consumption per head: 84.61 m3 Prague
water and of waste and land use, ranking in the increasing from 33 to 58 in the past two de- Water Best 300 trips per day during busy periods.
Share of waste recycled: 13.77 % top half of the index for these categories. Energy: Prague ranks 24th in the energy cate- cades. Two major upgrades are under way: the Average
*Estimate
78 79
European Green City Index | City Portrait
ry, behind only Ljubljana. At slightly less than 4 another 6% walk or cycle. The public transport for 2010-14, but this depends on sufficient
Riga_Latvia
tonnes per head, annual CO2 emissions are sig- system is fairly extensive, and electric-powered funds being made available.
nificantly below the 30-city average of 5.2 trolleybuses and trams make up over one-half of
tonnes. the public transport vehicle fleet. Environmental governance: Riga’s perfor-
Initiative: The city is aiming to achieve the EU- Initiative: Two key initiatives are currently mance on environmental governance is mixed,
mandated national target for CO2 emissions. under way to reduce car use. The first is to and the city therefore ranks 19th. Although
Emissions are expected to be some 40% lower extend the network of cycle lanes, while the sec- environmental concerns have tended to feature
than the 1990 level by 2010, although it is not ond is to establish a park-and-ride service on the in the city’s policies, commitment to high stan-
yet clear how close to this target the city is. outskirts of the city once certain highways have dards of environmental governance throughout
been extended to the ring road. the city administration has not been consistent.
Energy: Riga ranks 22nd in the energy catego-
ry. Gas accounted for the bulk of the city’s ener- Water: Riga is ranked 21st in the category for CO2
gy consumption in 2004, at over 62%, while oil water. Annual consumption per head of about 10
accounted for just under 30%, renewables made 90 cubic metres is below the 30-city average of
up about 7% and the remainder, a tiny fraction, 105, while system leakages are about average. 8
Environmental governance Energy
was accounted for by coal. Furthermore, the widespread use of water 6
Initiative: Over 6,500 automatic heat substa- meters helps to promote lower water usage.
4
tions have been installed in residential build- Initiative: Riga Water has been carrying out a
ings, allowing the supply of heat to be regulated longer-term programme to improve the use of 2
and permitting a reduction of up to 30% in heat ground water, in order to bring the quality of the
Air Quality 0 Buildings
consumption. city’s drinking water up to EU standards.
Buildings: Riga is ranked 18th in the buildings Waste and land use: Riga ranks 20th for waste
category. The city’s building stock is relatively and land use. Recycling facilities are not exten-
old and in many cases energy-inefficient, partic- sive, and no major public-awareness campaigns
Waste and Land Use Transport
ularly with regard to heat insulation. However, to encourage a reduction in waste creation have
the city’s poor score is largely the result of limit- been undertaken. Moreover, land-use policies Riga
Water Best
ed policy initiatives in this area. are not particularly comprehensive. Average
Powering on:
renovating Riga’s
power plants
80 81
European Green City Index | City portrait
estimated at 3.5 tonnes per inhabitant per year, city. So far there have been just 3,000 sub- approved in 2002, but it does not constitute a
Rome_Italy
compared with an average for the 30 cities of scribers. An integrated mobility plan has also comprehensive environmental strategy. A change
about 5 tonnes. Rome’s CO2 intensity is also well gotten underway. in local government in 2008 may result in revi-
below average. sions to current strategies, with higher priority
Initiative: The Roma per Kyoto initiative, co- Water: Rome ranks 19th overall in the water given to environmental policies, such as an inte-
founded by the European Community, sets category. This is partly because of water system grated mobility plan.
guidelines for the reduction of Rome’s CO2 emis- leakages: about 40% of water is lost during dis- Initiative: The Roma Capitale plan, which has
sions. tribution, a worse performance than the 30 city recently been finalised, enhances the autonomy
average of about 23%. In terms of water con- of the city administration from the national
Energy: Rome is ranked in seventh place in the sumption the city does better, with 87 cubic framework.
energy category — the highest ranking of any metres consumed per head in 2007, below the
large city in this category. Nearly 19% of Rome’s 30-city average of 105 cubic metres.
energy is supplied from renewable sources, Initiative: National legislation implemented in CO2
mainly solar thermal and photovoltaic. This Rome has enforced the use of rainwater and 10
places the city fourth in the renewable energy grey-water systems for new buildings.
8
consumption subcategory. Environmental governance Energy
Initiative: At national level, the government Waste and land use: Rome ranks 17th overall 6
has promoted the use of photovoltaic technolo- in the waste and land use category, hindered 4
gy since 2005. So far Rome has installed about mainly by a poor score for municipal waste pro-
2
5,090 kw of solar power generation capacity. duction. However, 19.5% of waste was recycled
in 2008, a level similar to that in other large cap- Air Quality 0 Buildings
Buildings: Rome ranks 15th in the buildings itals, such as London and Paris, and higher than
category, in part because of its weak energy- that in many other middle-income cities.
efficiency standards. Rome’s many ancient Initiative: The city has implemented a progres-
Rome
Water Best
Average
Countdown 2010
82 83
European Green City Index | City Portrait
B ulgaria’s capital city, Sofia, is the political and gy mix includes only a small proportion of higher than the index average, while and the CO2
Sofia_Bulgaria
economic centre of the country. With about renewable energy, at less than 1% of energy percentage of water leakage is three times the 10
1.2 million inhabitants, or around 16.5% of Bul- consumed. Furthermore, the city does not have average. Furthermore, the percentage of dwel-
8
garia’s population, Sofia contributed approxi- policies of its own to encourage the use of green lings connected to the sewage system, at 85%, is Environmental governance Energy
mately 33% of the country’s GDP in 2007. The energy through low taxes or subsidies. significantly below the 30-city average of 95%. 6
population has risen noticeably since 2001, in Initiative: The company responsible for water Initiative: There is an ongoing integrated water 4
contrast to the national demographic trend, as management in Sofia, Sofiyska Voda, has been project being funded by the EU that will improve
2
the city has flourished during the transition peri- working on the installation of three CHP plants several aspects of Sofia’s water system, including
od, attracting more than 60% of Bulgaria’s total to generate heat and electricity from the biogas treatment of drinking water and wastewater. Air Quality 0 Buildings
foreign direct investment. Sofia’s economic produced during the decomposition of sewage
growth has also led to overcrowding on public sludge at the Kubratovo wastewater-treatment Waste and land use: Sofia ranks 29th for
transport and traffic congestion on the city’s works. The company will then sell the electricity waste and land use. Although estimated figures
main roads. to the national electricity company. suggest that the amount of waste produced per
Sofia ranks 29th in the European Green City head in the city is far below the 30-city average, Waste and Land Use Transport
Index, with a score of 36.85 out of 100. As in Buildings: Sofia ranks 14th in the buildings cat- waste disposal is a massive and ongoing prob-
Sofia
the cities of other post-communist countries, egory — much better than the city’s perfor- lem. Sofia is close to green spaces in the sur- Water Best
Average
years of neglect and underinvestment have had mance in any other category, and below only Vil- rounding mountains, but rapid development in
a detrimental impact on Sofia’s environment. nius among low-income cities. Its relatively recent years has encroached on green spaces
The city is also located towards the bottom of good score stems chiefly from the city authori- within the city.
the income scale in the index, a factor that ties’ decision to promote the retrofitting of hous- Initiative: A new regulation for the rehabilita-
appears to be correlated significantly with envi- ing to improve energy efficiency. tion and development of Sofia’s urban green
ronmental performance. Initiative: Homeowners in Sofia are eligible for spaces was approved in 2007.
small loans to improve the energy efficiency of
CO2 emissions: Sofia ranks 29th for carbon their homes, funded by the European Bank for Air quality: Sofia ranks 29th for air quality, Rehabilitating Sofia’s
dioxide (CO2) emissions. Estimated annual emis- Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the mainly because of high levels of particulate mat- district heating
sions, at 4.3 tonnes per head, are comfortably Kozloduy International Decommissioning Fund. ter and the city’s lack of clean-air policies. Above-
Select city data below the 30-city average of about 5.2 tonnes, Transport: Sofia is ranked 27th in the transport average sulphur dioxide emissions also con- heat losses had been reduced by 10% in Sofia
but the city’s intensity of CO2 emissions (that is, category. Public transport is widely used: nearly tribute to its low score. compared with 2002, that heat consumption
Population: 1.2 million the level of emissions per unit of GDP) is estimat- two-thirds of the city’s population commute to by households had dropped by 30% and that
GDP per head, PPP: € 12,954 ed to be far above average. work on public transport, far ahead of the 30- Environmental governance: Sofia is ranked carbon emissions had been reduced signifi-
CO2 emissions per head: 4.32 tonnes* Initiative: The city’s policy for controlling CO2 city average of 42%. 28th for environmental governance. Besides not cantly. The funding needs of the project, esti-
Energy consumption per head: 80.71 gigajoules emissions centres on improving public transport Initiative: The city administration is beginning having a fully fledged environmental plan, mated at US$115 million, were met by loans
Percentage of renewable energy by expanding the network and gradually replac- to upgrade the bus fleet, introducing newer, Sofia’s score in this category suffers as a result of from the World Bank (US$27.2 million) and
consumed by the city: 1.39 %*
ing older, more polluting buses. fuel-efficient buses. More than 100 buses have deficiencies in the gathering and publication of the EBRD sa well as grants from the EU’s
Total percentage of citizens walking, been converted to dual-fuel operation, while a information at city level. PHARE programme and the Kozloduy Interna-
cycling or taking public transport to work: 75.4 %
Energy: In the energy category Sofia ranks 28th few buses operate on biofuel blends. Initiative: Sofia is a signatory to the Aalborg tional Decommissioning Fund, together with
Annual water consumption per head: 188.52 m3 overall. Sofia has a large combined heat and Commitments, and should be able to fulfil these a contribution from the Sofia District Heating
Share of waste recycled: 0.02 % power (CHP) plant and has made improvements Water: Sofia is ranked in last place in the water once the city’s environmental plan has been Company.
*Estimate to its district heating system, but the city’s ener- category. Water consumption per head is far finalised.
84 85
European Green City Index | City Portrait
from renewable sources. Around 80% of the Water: Stockholm ranks joint 16th in the water
Stockholm’s
Stockholm_Sweden
population has access to district heating (com- category, on account of its high water consump-
bined heat and power), 80% of which is provid- tion and poor water-efficiency policies. Stock- urban development
ed by renewable energy sources. holm’s residents consume almost 186 cubic showcase
Initiative: Stockholm’s long-term plan is to be metres of water per head per year, well above
fossil fuel-free by 2050. This means that emis- the 30-city average of 105 cubic metres.
sions from energy use related to the heating of Initiative: A strategic programme of water Hammarby Sjostad is Stockholm’s largest en-
houses and commercial premises, vehicles and management was adopted by Stockholm city vironmental project to date, and represents
electricity use in the city will be reduced to a council in June 2006, setting standards for a high-profile case study in sustainable urban
level near to zero by 2050. cleaner water and outlining methods by which development. Started in 1990, the aim of the
this could be achieved. project was to redevelop an old and rundown
Buildings: Stockholm ranks joint first in the industrial area into a highly energy-efficient
buildings category, with Berlin. Like its Nordic Waste and land use: Stockholm ranks eighth and environmentally conscious neighbour-
neighbours, Sweden has been at the forefront of for waste and land use. The fact that it does not hood. When completed in 2016, over 10,000
energy-efficient building standards, with the do better in this category is attributable to its residential units will house some 25,000
result that Stockholm achieves the maximum sizeable municipal waste production, which is people. The project incorporates a wide
score for both building standards and incentives. above the European average. Stockholm has for range of environmental goals and aspira-
Initiative: Work has begun on the Stockholm many years protected its green spaces, and tions. Its buildings are around twice as ener-
Royal Seaport, a new city district that is being around 85% of the population live less than 300 gy-efficient as others in Stockholm. The pro-
built in Stockholm’s harbour area, which has metres from parks and green areas. ject makes good use of wind, solar and hydro
three main environmental targets: by 2020 Initiative: The city’s Waste Management Plan power, as well as other efficient technolo-
annual carbon emissions will be below 1.5 specifies that the collection and treatment of gies, including district heating and cooling.
tonnes per person; by 2030 the seaport will be food waste should increase from the current level One of the project’s goals is to base its entire
free of fossil fuels; and the seaport will be adapt- of around 4,500 tonnes per year to 18,000 heating-energy supply on either waste ener-
able to future changes in climate. tonnes during the period from 2008 to 2012. gy or renewables. From a transport perspec-
tive, the project aims for 80% of all journeys
to be made using public transport or by walk-
ing or cycling. The area also features clean
and efficient water and sewage systems; its
water consumption target is 100 litres per
head per day. Waste is collected by a vacuum
suction system, which carries refuse to a
central collection station. The project reuses
local combustible waste in a combined heat
and power plant, while biogas from a local
wastewater facility is used for transport fuel.
10
86 87
European Green City Index | City Portrait
port of Tallinn is the largest in the Baltic states in the 1980s. Owing to a lack of investment, most dling ranking in the category for waste and land CO2
Tallinn_Estonia
terms of freight and passenger transit. The city’s of this housing is in dire need of maintenance use, at 16th overall. It scores successfully in 10
industrial sector encompasses light industry, and renovation. terms of waste recycling and reuse and waste-
8
food processing and textiles. Initiative: Estonia has a national government- reduction policies, but does poorly on produc- Environmental governance Energy
Tallinn ranks 23rd in the European Green led initiative, KredEx, which provides loans for tion of municipal waste. 6
City Index, with a score of 52.98 out of 100. The renovation projects in apartment blocks that Initiative: Since 2003 the city administration 4
city performs best on air quality, water and will improve efficiency by at least 20%, rising to has been the main organiser of the periodic
2
transport. However, economic pressures have 30% on larger buildings. Tallinn Waste Conference, which aims to share
made it difficult for the city to prioritise environ- experience and best practice in municipal waste Air Quality 0 Buildings
mental concerns. Transport: Tallinn is ranked joint tenth with management.
Budapest in the transport category — one of its
CO2 emissions: Tallinn ranks 26th in the cate- highest rankings in the index. As of 2008, 61% Air quality: Tallinn ranks sixth in the category
gory for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The of inhabitants walked, cycled or took public for air quality, supported by levels of pollutants
city produces 6.8 tonnes of CO2 per head per transport to work. that are well below average: nitrogen dioxide Waste and Land Use Transport
year, above the 5 tonne average. This reflects This puts the city more or less on par with levels are about one-third of the index average,
Tallinn
Estonia’s national pattern of energy use, with the overall average, but the distribution is while sulphur dioxide levels are about one-fifth Water Best
Average
most power being generated from oil shale weighted towards walking and cycling, which of the average and levels of particulate matter
rather than greener alternatives. boosts its score. stand at about one-half of the average.
Initiative: There are no sustained, targeted Initiative: Tallinn is a member of the Civitas Initiative: In conjunction with Civitas and EU
campaigns under way to reduce emissions, Mimosa project (along with Bologna, Funchal, initiatives for cleaner transport in cities, Tallinn
although the city does encourage sustainable Gdansk and Utrecht), which aims to promote is undertaking a study to improve the flow of
transport. the use of clean transport. It frequently runs public transport, which should assist in bring-
publicity campaigns to promote public trans- ing about a reduction in vehicle-related emis-
Energy: Tallinn ranks 29th in the energy cate- port and discourage car use. sions.
gory. This is partly because of the lack of a clear
sustainable-energy policy, and also because of Water: Tallinn scores fairly highly in the water Environmental governance: Tallinn ranks
the national structure of power generation, category, ranking 12th overall. However, the 18th in the environmental governance cate-
Tallinn’s e-enabled
transport
88 89
European Green City Index | City Portrait
Climate Protection (KliP) programme, which have lower nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide joint seventh place with Paris in the environ-
Vienna_Austria
aims to reduce the city’s annual CO2 emissions emissions than diesel engines. mental governance category.
by 2.6 million tonnes by 2010. Every two years the Department of Environ-
Initiative: To reduce transport-related emis- Water: Vienna ranks second in the water cate- mental Protection produces the Vienna Environ-
sions, which account for one-third of the city’s gory, in large part because of its water efficiency mental Report, highlighting important recent
total CO2 emissions, Vienna has encouraged the and treatment policies. Water is collected from developments and delineating a number of
use of public transport by introducing shorter mountain springs, and reaches the city without short-term goals.
bus-service intervals, all-night bus services and the use of pumps by exploiting the difference in
an extensive network of cycle routes. altitude between the mountains and the city.
The gravitational energy produced in the pro-
Energy: Vienna ranks third in the index for cess is used to generate electricity. Europe’s biggest
energy, in large part because of its long-stand- Initiative: In 2005 Vienna extended its waste- biomass burner
ing active use and development of renewable water treatment plant to purify water before it is
energy sources. Renewable sources account for fed into the Danube channel.
13% of the energy used by the city, well above
the 30-city average of 7%. Waste and land use: Vienna ranks fifth for In October 2006 Europe’s largest biomass-
Initiative: The Urban Energy Efficiency Pro- waste and land use, a score that is largely under- fuelled power plant opened in Simmering, a
gramme (SEP) outlines measures to enable the pinned by its green land use policies. The city district of Vienna. The construction and opera-
city’s annual rate of energy consumption growth has also attempted to reduce the use of landfill tion of the plant has been the responsibility of
to slow from 12% in 2003 to 7% by 2015 with- sites by thermally treating non-recyclable and the Österreichische Bundesforste (Austrian
out any change in quality of life. bulky waste so that only inert materials need to Federal Forests), which manages and protects
be sent to landfill. woodlands and forests in Austria, and Vienna’s
Buildings: Vienna ranks eighth in the buildings Initiative: The Vienna Repair Network consists public energy company, Wien Energie. The
category, in part because of high residential of over 50 repair shops in the city, which cus- biomass plant is wood-fired, burning wood
energy consumption. Indeed, the largest single tomers are encouraged to visit rather than dis- and wood waste (chips and pellets) to gener-
component of the city’s total energy consump- carding faulty goods. Customers are given fre- ate electricity. It processes around 200,000
tion is energy use by private households, ac- quent-user cards entitling them to a discount on tonnes of fresh wood and untreated waste
counting for around one-third of all energy used. the fourth item that they have repaired. wood annually. Relying on these renewable
resources, the plant generates enough power
to supply around 48,000 homes with electrici-
ty (involving consumption levels of around 23
mw) and 12,000 homes with heating (around
37 mw). The biomass power plant’s operation
reduces CO2 emissions in Vienna by around
144,000 tonnes per year. In supporting the
construction and running of the Simmering
power plant, the city of Vienna has helped to
promote an highly efficient method of energy
generation based on renewable resources,
which reduces the city’s overall greenhouse
gas emissions.
CO2
10
V
8
Select city data ienna, Austria’s capital, is an important eco- ery and vehicles, chemicals and plastics, and Initiative: Since 2006 an energy efficiency cer- Air quality: Vienna is ranked tenth for air quali-
Environmental governance Energy
nomic and transport link between western agricultural products. Financial services, insur- tificate has been obligatory for all new buildings. ty, partly because the city is affected by toxic 6
Population: 1.67 million and central Europe. With just one-fifth of the ance and tourism are also important industries As of 2009, such a certificate is now also legally emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels,
GDP per head, PPP: € 35,239 4
country’s population, in 2005 Vienna con- in Vienna. Vienna ranks fourth overall in the required for all purchases and rentals of houses, vehicle traffic, and emissions from commerce
CO2 emissions per head: 5.19 tonnes tributed around 27% of Austrian GDP. The back- European Green City Index, with a score of apartments and offices. and industry. 2
Energy consumption per head: 78.74 gigajoules bone of Vienna’s economy is formed by small 83.34 out of 100, behind Copenhagen, Stock- Initiative: The municipal Department of Envi-
Air Quality 0 Buildings
Percentage of renewable energy and medium-sized enterprises, which account holm and Oslo. Vienna performs particularly well Transport: Vienna ranks fourth in the transport ronmental Protection launched the Urbane Luft
consumed by the city: 13.18 %
for a staggering 98% of Vienna’s enterprises. in the water category, and also scores highly for category, below three other high-income cities, Initiative Wien (Vienna Urban Air Initiative) in
Total percentage of citizens walking, The city has seen a structural shift from manu- use and development of renewable energy. Stockholm, Amsterdam and Copenhagen. The 2005. This programme seeks to obtain the
cycling or taking public transport to work: 68 %
facturing to business-related services over the number of residents travelling by public trans- advice of experts on how to reduce toxic emis-
Annual water consumption per head: 79.39 m3 past decade. CO2 emissions: Vienna is ranked eighth for car- port and bicycle and on foot rose to 68% of the sions in the city, and in particular those of fine
Waste and Land Use Transport
Share of waste recycled: 33.35 % Still, Vienna’s manufacturing industry account- bon dioxide (CO2) emissions. However, it comes total population in 2006. dust.
ed for around 16% of the city’s gross value added first among medium-sized cities in this category. Initiative: All of Vienna’s buses operate using Vienna
Water Best
in 2007, with the primary exports being machin- In 1999 the City of Vienna launched the Vienna liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) engines, which Environmental governance: Vienna ranks in Average
90 91
European Green City Index | City Portrait
emissions, ranking 23rd. Emissions per head, at consumed around 64 cubic metres of water in Initiative: The city adopted an Environment
Vilnius_Lithuania
4.6 tonnes per inhabitant per year, are below 2007 — the sixth best result in the 30-city index Protection Policy in April 2004, and its Environ-
the 30-city average of about 5.2 tonnes. Howev- (the average is 105 cubic metres). ment Protection Agency remains active in pro-
er, emission intensity is above the index average. Initiative: The Vilnius Water Company is draw- moting more efficient waste management, sus-
Initiative: The city regularly runs campaigns, ing on EU funds to improve its supply and treat- tainable transport policies and clean air
working with the World Health Organisation’s ment network. Besides pipe rehabilitation and campaigns.
Healthy Cities project, to promote the use of extension of the network, the company has
cycling and public transport rather than cars. refurbished pumping stations and sewage treat-
ment plants. CO2
Energy: Vilnius ranks 26th in the energy cate- 10
gory. This is a result of the city’s high energy con- Waste and land use: Vilnius ranks ninth in the
8
sumption per unit of GDP, owing to both the waste and land use category, far above the other Environmental governance Energy
energy-inefficiency of local industry and the rel- low-income cities in the index, and positioned 6
atively poor quality of the housing stock, which just below Stockholm. City policies aim to 4
demands large amounts of energy for heating. increase the amount of urban green space and
2
Initiative: Vilnius hosts the largest biofuel-fired to limit urban sprawl, although they are not
generating plant in Lithuania, which has been always effective. Only 5% of waste is recycled, Air Quality 0 Buildings
operational since late 2006 and accounts for with most destined for local landfill sites.
about 10% of the municipality’s district heating. Initiative: In 2005 the city municipality endorsed
a new Waste Management Plan, which provides
Buildings: Vilnius ranks 13th in the buildings for the construction of a new 360,000 square metre
category — the best result among low-income landfill site with modern monitoring systems. Waste and Land Use Transport
cities — thanks to the introduction of incentive
Vilnius
schemes to promote the renovation of the hous- Air quality: Vilnius ranks first for air quality, giv- Water Best
Average
ing stock to more energy-efficient standards. ing a significant boost to the city’s overall index
Initiative: The city offers tax breaks, grants and ranking. The city has low levels of nitrogen diox-
concessional loans to carry out housing renova- ide, sulphur dioxide and particulate matter.
tion work to energy-efficient standards, as part of Despite high and rising traffic levels, the city is No sludge slouch
a scheme that has also been rolled out nationally. helped by a lack of heavy industry, its small size
and the presence of large areas of forest in the
Transport: Vilnius is ranked joint 19th with immediate vicinity.
92 93
European Green City Index | City Portrait
Initiative: A new, highly efficient 480 mw com- enlargement of one of its water purification CO2
Warsaw_Poland
bined heat and power plant is being added to plants. 10
the existing Siekierki power plant in Warsaw,
8
with the aim of cutting nitrogen oxide emissions Waste and land use: Although Warsaw ranks Environmental governance Energy
substantially. below average for waste and land use, in 24th 6
Clean flush:
modernising Warsaw’s
sewage systems
94 95
European Green City Index | City Portrait
W ith 18% of Croatia’s population, Zagreb Zagreb’s main streets with new, energy-efficient helped to reduce water loss by 25%. The city
Cutting water
Zagreb_Croatia
contributed just over one-third of the lamps, helping to cut energy use by 1 million authorities now want to expand the project
country’s GDP in 2005, accounting for more kwh per year. throughout Zagreb’s distribution system. pollution
than one-quarter of national employment. The
city has attracted more than 75% of Croatia’s Buildings: Zagreb ranks 25th in the buildings Waste and land use: Zagreb ranks poorly, at
total foreign direct investment, and nearly category, despite the fact that the estimated 27th, in the category for waste and land use.
25,000 companies, about one-third of the coun- energy consumption of its residential buildings The city produced 382,037 tonnes of waste in Construction of Zagreb’s wastewater treat-
try’s total, operate there. per square metre is slightly below the index 2007, the smallest amount among the industrial ment plant was completed in September
The main manufacturing industries in the average. cities in the survey. 2007. Previously, all sewage produced by the
city include food and beverage processing, elec- There is a growing awareness of the need for Although this is below the 30-city aver- city’s inhabitants was discharged untreated
trical machinery, broadcasting and communica- energy-efficient buildings — especially as this is age, the level of recycling is low, with most into the Sava river, polluting not just the local
tions equipment, and chemicals. a topic in Croatia’s EU accession negotiations — municipal waste ending up in the Jakusevac environment but the wider Danube and Black
Because of its employment opportunities, but until now it has not been emphasised landfill. Sea basin. The plant is one of the largest en-
Zagreb has attracted many migrants from other through the widespread use of energy-efficien- Initiative: Gas produced as a result of the vironmentally sustainable projects in Europe,
parts of Croatia, leading to overcrowded public cy standards or incentives. decomposition process at Jakusevac is used to and was built under a public-private partner-
transport and traffic congestion on the city’s Initiative: A proposed new terminal building at generate electricity at a small thermal power ship model. The total cost of the project ex-
main roads. Zagreb airport has been designed with walls plant at the site, reducing gas emissions and ceeded €350 million, and was financed by
Zagreb ranks 26th in the European Green made of low-emissivity glass to allow natural producing energy. the German Reconstruction Loan Corporation
City Index, with a score of 42.36 out of 100. light in, and a wave-form roof that would collect (KfW), the European Bank for Reconstruction
Despite the absence of heavy industry in the rainwater for reuse as grey water. Air quality: Zagreb ranks 26th for air quality. and Development (EBRD) and a German con-
city, years of neglect and underinvestment — a Although its nitrogen dioxide emissions are sortium. By involving the private sector in
problem common to other post-communist Transport: Zagreb is ranked joint 19th with slightly below the 30-city average, emissions of this way, the EBRD and KfW hoped to ensure
countries — have had a detrimental impact on Kiev, Paris and Vilnius in the transport category. ozone, particulate matter and sulphur dioxide the most effective management of the pro-
Zagreb’s environment. When considered in comparison with other low- are higher than average. ject. The aim was gradually to bring the treat-
income cities, it moves to joint second place. Initiative: A programme for the protection of ment of wastewater in Zagreb up to EU envi-
CO2 emissions: Zagreb ranks 27th for carbon A precise breakdown of the city’s modal split air quality in Zagreb has recently been adopted. ronmental standards. An important aspect of
dioxide (CO2) emissions, owing to the fact that is not available, but the most recent data sug- It has been received with approval by green the project was to monitor progress carefully
emissions are significantly above the 30-city gest that some 37% of inhabitants commute via agencies, although timelines are rather vague. — including surface water quality (the river
average (both per head and also per unit of public transport, slightly below the 30-city aver- Sava), groundwater quality, sludge manage-
GDP), despite the city’s having agreed a target age. Environmental governance: Zagreb ranks ment and air emissions — to ensure that
for reductions in CO2 emissions. Initiative: In 2007 Zagreb’s transport authority, just 26th in the environmental governance cat- these environmental standards were being
Initiative: Zagreb’s mayor signed a covenant in ZET, began a four-year project to convert the egory. Environmental concerns were identified met.
the European Parliament in February 2009, tar- city’s public transport to be powered by biofuels. as high priorities in the Vision of Zagreb in the
CO2
10
8
Environmental governance Energy
6
Select city data geting a 20% reduction in the city’s CO2 emis- The first phase has seen over 100 buses running 21st Century, presented by the mayor of Zagreb
4
sions by 2020. on biodiesel, reducing diesel usage by an esti- in 2005, but the city’s strategy does not contain
Population: 786,000 mate 10,000 tonnes per year. detailed reviews and targets for all environmen- 2
GDP per head, PPP: € 19,101 Energy: Zagreb ranks 20th in the energy cate- tal categories.
Air Quality 0 Buildings
CO2 emissions per head: 6.68 tonnes* gory. This is the city’s highest score in the index, Water: Zagreb is ranked 26th overall in the Initiative: Zagreb will need to create a
Energy consumption per head: 68.02 gigajoules and stems from its below-average energy con- water category. The city consumed 65.9m cubic sustainable energy action plan in early 2010
Percentage of renewable energy sumption per head and its relatively high use of metres of water in 2007, which on a per-head as part of its Covenant of Mayors commit-
consumed by the city: 10.13 %
renewable energy, with more than one-half of basis is less than the average across the 30 cities ments. This requires a baseline review of the
Total percentage of citizens walking, electricity consumed being generated by reviewed. major categories of sustainability and the
cycling or taking public transport to work: 62.9 % Waste and Land Use Transport
hydropower. However, water loss is high, at around 43% of setting of targets, and it should therefore
3
Annual water consumption per head: 83.84 m Initiative: The city authorities have carried out total water distributed in the city. help to improve environmental governance in Zagreb
Water Best
Share of waste recycled: 11 % a pilot project to replace public lighting on Initiative: A pilot project in the Knezija area has Zagreb. Average
*Estimate
96 97
European Green City Index | City Portrait
Buildings: Zurich ranks ninth for buildings. The city identifying the areas that are most suscepti-
Watt’s the story
Zurich_Switzerland
city’s climate is cooler than most, meaning that ble to flooding and reinforcing protection there.
buildings are required to have insulation to pre-
vent energy losses. There are fiscal incentives to Waste and land use: Zurich ranks in second
renovate old buildings to improve their energy place. Waste production per head is below aver-
efficiency, and these are provided at city, can- age (at 406 kg per inhabitant, compared with an
tonal and federal level. The energy consumption average of 511 kg), and recycling rates are well In November 2008 the city’s electorate voted
of Zurich’s residential buildings, at 729 mega- above average (at 34%, compared with 18%). to embed the 2,000-Watt Society in city legis-
joules per square metre, is better than the index The city scores full marks for waste-reduction lation, working towards energy use of 2,000
average of 909 megajoules. policies and green land use. watts per person per year, compared with the
Initiative: The “Seven-mile steps for environ- Initiative: The city is investing heavily in dis- current 6,000 watts. This requires a long-term
mentally friendly and energy-saving building” trict-heating technology, based in part on reorientation towards lower energy use, a sig-
programme aims to renovate city administration waste-to-energy technology, with a number of nificant reduction of CO2 and other pollutant
buildings in conformity with the low-energy- new furnaces having been built and connected emissions and a higher uptake of renewable
consumption Minergie standard, which will to the network in 2007-08. The operators of energies. It sets the tone for current and up-
result in buildings consuming only one-half of these facilities have formed an association to coming programmes related to the environ-
the energy that other buildings in the country leverage buying power and synergies. They burn ment; for example, EnergieVision 2020 is a
use. About 90% of new buildings now comply 870,000 tonnes of rubbish annually. stepping stone towards the ultimate goal of a
with this standard. 2,000-watt society. This sub-project focuses
Air quality: Zurich ranks ninth for air quality. It on the energy efficiency of buildings, renew-
Transport: Zurich ranks sixth for transport. is held back in particular by its ozone, nitrogen able energies and electricity.
There is a well-connected public transport net- dioxide and sulphur dioxide emissions, although
Select city data mental performance is regulated and influenced Initiative: Zurich’s electricity company, EWZ, work, and Zurich boasts the best non-car trans- levels of particulate matter are low. Zurich suf-
by the three levels of federal, cantonal and city builds, runs and finances the energy supply of port network of all 30 cities. But private car use is fers as a result of its location on the flat land
Population: 377,000 regulations. Zurich ranks sixth overall in the third parties, as a form of “energy contracting”. nonetheless heavy, especially outside the city adjacent to the Alpine massif, where smog ceil-
GDP per head, PPP: € 32,455 index, with a score of 82.31 out of 100. It scores In comparison with conventional installations, centre. The city is working to reduce the inci- ings can build up. Transport is one of the main
CO2 emissions per head: 3.70 tonnes* particularly well for carbon dioxide (CO2) emis- the newly built or renovated installations have dence and impact of this, but regulatory incen- local air polluters.
Energy consumption per head: 94.75 gigajoules sions and waste and land use. Zurich’s main reduced CO2 emissions by 11,900 tonnes per tives are fairly light. The share of people taking Initiative: With regard to traffic-generated air
Percentage of renewable energy business activities, being service-oriented, have year as of 2009. public transport to work stands at around 44%, pollution, Zurich’s administration is leading by CO2
consumed by the city: 5.14 %*
a relatively light environmental impact, putting with another 19% walking or cycling. example with its vehicle fleet. All new diesel- 10
Total percentage of citizens walking, the city in an advantageous position from which Energy: Zurich ranks sixth for energy. The city Initiative: Zurich is seeking to take heavy traffic fuelled buses are required to have particle filters,
cycling or taking public transport to work: 62 % 8
to tackle environmental issues. scores best of all 30 cities in the index for its out of the city, and the opening in 2009 of the with older vehicles being retrofitted with filters.
Annual water consumption per head: 114.84 m3 Environmental governance Energy
energy consumption per unit of GDP: at 0.7 western bypass motorway has been a significant Diesel-powered machines at building sites are 6
Share of waste recycled: 34 % CO2 emissions: Zurich ranks in third place for megajoules per euro, this is far below the step. also required to have particle filters.
4
*Estimate CO2 emissions, with its estimated annual emis- average of about 5 megajoules. However, Zurich
sions per inhabitant standing at a comparatively has a high level of energy use per head, at Water: The city ranks in joint fifth place for Environmental governance: Zurich ranks 2
low 3.7 tonnes (the sixth-lowest level among all 95 gigajoules per inhabitant (the average is water, with Copenhagen. Zurich scores full 11th for environmental governance. The city is
Z
Air Quality 0 Buildings
urich is Switzerland’s most cosmopolitan cities), compared with a 30-city average of 5 about 81 gigajoules). The city’s energy sources marks for water treatment and water effi- publicly committed to an ambitious environ-
city, with a population of nearly 400,000. tonnes. Its CO2 emissions per unit of GDP stand include oil products, nuclear and hydroelectric ciency, and has a level of water consumption per mental programme, which is embodied by the
The most important industry in the city is the at 25.5 grams per euro of GDP. The city’s policy power. head of 115 cubic metres per year, only slightly Masterplan Environment strategy paper. The
financial services sector. Zurich also acts as a action on CO2 emissions reduction is relatively Initiative: Recognising the high energy con- above the average of 105 cubic metres. Leakage approval by popular referendum of a plan to
hub for the Swiss-German media, advertising limited, as this aim is pursued at a national level, sumption of buildings, Zurich has introduced rates, at 12%, are well below the average of embed the 2,000-Watt Society programme into
Waste and Land Use Transport
and public-relations sector, while tourism and where the federal government has agreed to energy-coaching facilities, with the aim of pro- 23%. city legislation suggests that the city govern-
business travel bring in visitors. As a result of reduce carbon emissions by 10% from the 1990 moting competent renovation and construction Initiative: To guard against the danger of flood- ment’s environmental drive is supported by the Zurich
Water Best
Switzerland’s federal structure, Zurich’s environ- level. of buildings to reduce energy use. ing, city officials are drawing up a risk map of the population. Average
98 99
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