Knowledge Repository

This presentation pulls together key learnings from EC feedback: - General observations about the EC assessment - The structure of the assessment - Key findings: areas of interest, most commonly addressed issues

The 'Mobility as a Right' concept is one of the pillars of the project, and this first online Workshop was planned specifically for the UPPER Consortium. The workshop's aim, organized by ICLEI and Eurocities, was to dive deeply into the concept and discuss the application in practice with all our cities and horizontal partners. A great opportunity to learn about the “Mind the Gap” initiative in Oslo launched in 2021 (presented by Ruter) as well as the precious experience from the ...

This Climate City Contract and Action Plan was submitted by Thessaloniki and was endorsed by the European Commission resulting in the city being awarded the Mission Label.

This Climate City Contract and Action Plan were submitted by Tampere and endorsed by the European Commission resulting in the city being awarded the Mission Label.

This Climate City Contract and Action Plan was submitted by Malmö and endorsed by the European Commission resulting in the city being awarded the Mission Label.

This Climate City Contract and Action Plan was submitted by Parma and endorsed by the European Commission resulting in the city being awarded the Mission Label.

This Climate City Contract and Action Plan was submitted by Leuven and endorsed by the European Commission resulting in the city being awarded the Mission Label.

This Climate City Contract and Action Plan was submitted by Lahti and endorsed by the European Commission resulting in the city being awarded the Mission Label.

This Climate City Contract and Action Plan was submitted by Kozani and endorsed by the European Commission resulting in the city being awarded the Mission Label.

This Climate City Contract and Action Plan was submitted by Kalamata and endorsed by the European Commission resulting in the city being awarded the Mission Label.

This Climate City Contract and Action Plan was submitted by Izmir and endorsed by the European Commission resulting in the city being awarded the Mission Label.

This Climate City Contract and Action Plan was submitted by Ioannin and endorsed by the European Commission resulting in the city being awarded the Mission Label.

This Climate City Contract and Action Plan was submitted in 2023 by Stockholm and endorsed by the European Commission resulting in the city being awarded the Mission Label.

This Climate City Contract and Action Plan was submitted by Guimaraes and endorsed by the European Commission resulting in the city being awarded the Mission Label.

This Climate City Contract and Action Plan was submitted by Florence and endorsed by the European Commission resulting in the city being awarded the Mission Label.

This Climate City Contract and Action Plan was submitted by Espoo and endorsed by the European Commission resulting in the city being awarded the Mission Label.

This Climate City Contract and Action Plan was submitted by Barcelona and was endorsed by the European Commission resulting in the city being awarded the Mission Label.

This session focuses on Energy efficient retrofitting of buildings, exploring transformative potential and innovative approaches from mission cities. Learn how it reduces environmental impact, improves comfort, lowers costs, and fosters resilience. Join us to gain insights for your sustainable initiatives.

This session focuses on Energy efficient retrofitting of buildings, exploring transformative potential and innovative approaches from mission cities. Learn how it reduces environmental impact, improves comfort, lowers costs, and fosters resilience. Join us to gain insights for your sustainable initiatives.

Compilation of short policy briefs fostering Nature-based Solutions for equitable, green and healthy urban transitions produced by EU-funded project REGREEN (Horizon 2020)

The second online Policy Lab will focus on Finance and Investment, with the Mission Cities of Valladolid, The Hague and Leuven presenting their challenges. This Policy Lab opens a space for exploring different policy scenarios and strategies to tackle city-level challenges in the field of Finance and Investment at EU level.

This open access book presents a catalogue of over one thousand indicators which can be used by cities' public administrators to monitor and evaluate social innovation action plans to support people-centred, collaborative or co-designed solutions to lower carbon emissions. Indicators are clustered according to a framework of social innovation solutions for climate neutrality at city level, developed by merging top-down academic knowledge with bottom-up pragmatic case studies. There is currently ...

This scientific study, published on the journal "Climate" provides bottom-up evidence of NZC Pilot cities’ (cohort 1 and 2) selection of non-GHG indicators through different levers of change, including participatory governance and social innovation, for assessing progress and the co-benefits of actions toward climate neutrality taken at the urban level. The resulting list of indicators, classified according to the SDGs, provides evidence of cities’ priorities and can be utilised by ...

The video covers: - timelines and requirements - periodic technical and financial report templates and required attachments

While answering the "City Needs and Pathways towards Climate Neutrality Needs assessment survey for cities", you might want to share the survey questions with different colleagues internally to collect the information. You can use this editable document to collect all the answers before submitting them online through EUSurvey.

Description of your case study

This webinar is part of a new webinar series, as part of our embedded tutoring on finance and investment, to provide insights on different sources of capital that can be utilised to help execute on your CCC and finance projects in the Investment Plan. Each session in the series will go through the detail of one financial product or vehicle with the aim of providing an understanding of how they can be deployed, and also provide a route for discussion with financial teams in the city. This ...

This webinar is part of a new webinar series, as part of our embedded tutoring on finance and investment, to provide insights on different sources of capital that can be utilised to help execute on your CCC and finance projects in the Investment Plan. Each session in the series will go through the detail of one financial product or vehicle with the aim of providing an understanding of how they can be deployed, and also provide a route for discussion with financial teams in the city. This ...

The city of Pécs, located in the South-Western part of Hungary, has been firmly committed to a climate policy, driven by a clear sense of purpose. In Pécs, which has almost 140 000 inhabitants and is the fifth largest city in the country, the two largest emitting sectors are buildings and transport, including private transport.

The city of Lund, in southern Sweden,has adopted critical measures in its heating system, as part of their efforts to achieve climate neutrality.

Climate change is a global challenge, and the Brazilian Amazon Forest is a particular concern due to the possibility of reaching a tipping point that could amplify environmental crises. Despite many studies on the Amazon Forest, this research was conducted in Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state, to address five gaps, including the lack of local citizen consultation on urban environmental issues, Smart Cities, decarbonization, and disruptive technologies. This study holds significance for the ...

The Cities Best Practice Series is aimed at learning from the best practices across Mission Cities! These monthly online sessions provide a platform to learn from the best on-the-ground experiences, fostering a discussion about key challenges, leaving space for questions, reflections and comparisons. The second session is dedicated to "Urban Mobility and Transport Innovative Solutions”. It highlights 4-5 Mission Cities who have developed innovative and impactful approaches to transport and ...

NZC SOLUTION OUTLINER / Identify and prioritize decarbonization solutions for your city The NZC SOLUTIONS OUTLINER is a tool developed to support the Mission Cities in getting the most ALIGNED SET OF SOLUTIONS that could contribute to their transition towards neutrality. The service uses contextual parameters such as ambition, barriers, enablers, and co-benefits to automatically present a LIST OF PRIORITIZED SOLUTIONS, from which the user can get more information.

The NZC Solution Bundles is a tool to inspire and show in a diagram how the technologies and levers can be combined together to implement solutions. It provides an interactive visualisation of city systems. Here you can have access to the tool. There will be a City Panel to validate the tool on April 30. If you want to particiapte, join us in the Group NetZeroCities City Practitioner Panel! Together, let's shape the future of our cities!

El Día Después (EDD) is a multi-stakeholder platform for networks to address the sustainable development goals, specifically SDG 17. There are four communities within this project: environment & health, cooperation & global governance, city transformation, and inequality & new economic model. Within these groups are experts and professionals from the field who collaborate to create different services towards change. Through these collectives, lessons can be drawn from ...

In the aftermath of Chernobyl, a handful of committed citizens decided to become active together in their community in the Black Forest and create a nuclear- and coal-free energy supply belonging to citizens. Today the EWS supplies people throughout Germany with green power and eco-gas and works in various ways towards bringing about the energy revolution.

EVA is a bottom-up initiative that promotes plant-based diets through cooking workshops & awareness. EVA believes that, on average, plant-based products have the greatest overall positive impact on the well-being of people, animals and the planet. Working on a larger scale with restaurants, hospitals and schools through guidance at institutional kitchens will have a large-scale impact.

Play!UC is an initiative that developed a series of serious games and following participatory processes to raise awareness and deal with the individual carbon footprint of young adults. The term ‘serious games’ can describe all kinds of physical or digital games that are developed and played not only for entertainment, but have a functional scope as well like education, training or exploration. Different games like a strategy board game that requires players to build an energy ...

NZC SOLUTION OUTLINER / Identify and prioritize decarbonization solutions for your city The NZC SOLUTIONS OUTLINER is a tool developed to support the Mission Cities in getting the most ALIGNED SET OF SOLUTIONS that could contribute to their transition towards neutrality. The service uses contextual parameters such as ambition, barriers, enablers, and co-benefits to automatically present a LIST OF PRIORITIZED SOLUTIONS, from which the user can get more information.

A comprehensive resource on the potential for decarbonising the textile and apparel industry through electrification of process heating. It details the sector's significant contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions and explores the opportunities for reducing this footprint by transitioning from fossil fuel-based thermal energy to efficient, clean electrified processes. The report analyzes four electrification technology pathways for the textile industry—industrial heat pumps, ...

In the city of Lund, in southern Sweden, a remarkable transformation towards climate neutrality has been unfolding. With a population close to 120 000 inhabitants, Lund has embarked on the ambitious mission of reducing its carbon footprint and pave the way for a sustainable future. In 2010, Lund took a significant step by committing to become a climate-neutral and fossil fuel-free city by 2030. The city's sustainability policy outlines ambitious targets, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas ...

Author: European Regional Development Fund Category: Co-finance Facility Published/Created by: European Regional Development Fund Link: https://urbact.eu/ URBACT is a European exchange and learning programme promoting sustainable urban development. It is one of the EU funding programmes solely dedicated to cities. The main goal of the programme is to increase the capacity of cities and support the exploitation of good practices thanks to the use of city to city ...

This article by the OECD Observatory of Public Sector Innovation (OPSI) interviewed pioneers in this field of innovation portfolios in various organisational contexts. Those interviewed include various city-level organisations (city of Helsingborg, Chicago, Lund), regional or national-level (10X investments in the US, Mexiro in Mexico) and those operating internationally (Democratic Society, EIT Climate KIC). They conducted a series of interviews with these organisations to ask them for ...

These are seven services and resources you can use to more effectively engage and involve citizens and stakeholders in your climate transition. These services are developed by experts in the fields of citizen participation and stakeholder engagement. They can be used on your own, with your transition team, or with support from an expert facilitator.   An Introduction to the Need for a Participative Transition: Why It Matters and How It Can Be Done Democratic decision-making and ...

The Indicator Framework describes a set of indicators for monitoring the impact of Climate City Contracts (CCC) in terms of: 1) Required Indicators: Direct Benefits – Impact on GHG emissions. and 2) Recommended Indicators: Co Benefits/ Co Risks – Indirect impact. Required Indicators represent an integral part of the CCC process. In addition, cities are encouraged to make use of a selection of recommended indicators most applicable to their local climate neutrality target and ...

On this page you can find the list of all NZC resources on social innovation for climate neutrality in cities: (1) quick read; (2) video; (3) Social Innovation Actionable Pathways map; (4) NZC Seasonal Schools resource; (5) Social Innovation Learning Club; (6) case studies; (7) methods to implement social innovation in cities; (8) Social Innovation assessment: process and outcome indicators; (9) NZC Deliverables on Social Innovation; and (10) scientific publications 1.Quick read on Social ...

This is a PDF version of the Ecosystem Activation Tools. You can find the digital version here: Engagement Strategy Tools   What are the Ecosystem Activation Tools? The Ecosystem Activation Tools are a set of resources which can be used to identify where to start when it comes to engaging the citizens and urban stakeholders in your city. The tools offer an opportunity to diagnose your most pressing citizen and stakeholder engagement needs. They also offers ways to find and pair ...

The Climate City Contract (CCC) is the result of a collaborative process aimed at systemically integrating and accelerating action across all sectors and at all governance levels to help your city reach climate neutrality by 2030. The outcome of this process is captured in the CCC document. This CCC Document Completeness Checklist (Checklist) has been created to communicate the key elements to include in your CCC document and help you track your progress. The Checklist is a part of the CCC ...

This webinar covers Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) and City Funds (1) what SPVs and City funds are and the ways in which they can be used (2) how these can be structured for your projects (3) sources of capital that can be used to capitalise them.

This Climate City Contract and Action Plan was submitted in 2023 by Zaragoza and was endorsed by the European Commission resulting in the city being awarded the Mission Label.

This Climate City Contract and Action Plan was submitted in 2023 by Stockholm and endorsed by the European Commission resulting in the city being awarded the Mission Label.

This Climate City Contract and Action Plan were submitted in 2023 by Vitoria Gasteiz and endorsed by the European Commission resulting in the city being awarded the Mission Label.

This Climate City Contract and Action Plan were submitted in 2023 by Valladolid and endorsed by the European Commission resulting in the city being awarded the Mission Label.

This Climate City Contract and Action Plan were submitted in 2023 by Valencia and endorsed by the European Commission resulting in the city being awarded the Mission Label.

This Climate City Contract and Action Plan were submitted in 2023 by Sonderborg and endorsed by the European Commission resulting in the city being awarded the Mission Label.

This Climate City Contract and Action Plan were submitted in 2023 by Klagenfurt and endorsed by the European Commission resulting in the city being awarded the Mission Label.

This Climate City Contract and Action Plan were submitted in 2023 by Cluj Napuca and endorsed by the European Commission resulting in the city being awarded the Mission Label.

This Climate City Contract and Action Plan were submitted in 2023 by Mannheim and endorsed by the European Commission resulting in the city being awarded the Mission Label.

This Climate City Contract and Action Plan were submitted in 2023 by Madrid and endorsed by the European Commission resulting in the city being awarded the Mission Label.

One-page, plain-English summaries on aspects of transport planning from robust peer-reviewed studies, released fortnightly by Prof Adrian Davis of Edinburgh Napier University’s Transport Research Institute. We aim to improve public policymaking and practice by making robust academic evidence freely accessible to local government transport authorities, advocacy groups, and public health practitioners working across Scotland and beyond. Our concise, de-jargonised summaries address a range ...

The Indicator Framework describes a set of indicators for monitoring the impact of Climate City Contracts (CCC) in terms of: 1) Required Indicators: Direct Benefits – Impact on GHG emissions. and 2) Recommended Indicators: Co Benefits/ Co Risks – Indirect impact. Required Indicators represent an integral part of the CCC process. In addition, cities are encouraged to make use of a selection of recommended indicators most applicable to their local climate neutrality target and ...

Presentation slides

Presentation slides

This session allowed Mission Cities to get a demo of the CCC Space on the Portal and an overview of the updated completeness checklist.

This session allowed Mission Cities to get a demo of the CCC Space on the Portal and an overview of the updated completeness checklist.

Crowdfunding is a type of crowd investing that collects funding from a “crowd” of retail investors, usually via an online platform. Unlike crowd-donation, crowdfunding or -investing collects funds from retail investors who can expect a return on their investment. Hence, it is a type of loan product, where interest needs to be paid. Thus, it is based on lending or reward-based models and investors can freely pledge their capital to projects they wish to support. In principle any ...

Partnerships between a government body and a private sector party whereby the private sector provides infrastructure or services that have traditionally been delivered by the public sector are termed as Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). PPPs come in different forms. A few of them are mentioned below. The level of ownership, financial responsibility and required know-how may vary across the different models. PPPs are widely used in Europe for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of ...

This report is part of EPEC’s work on monitoring developments in the public-private partnership (PPP) market and is intended to provide an overview of the role played by the EIB in financing PPP projects inside and outside of Europe since 1990. It covers a wide range of PPP transactions (e.g. design-build-finance-operate. design-build-finance-maintain, concession arrangements which feature a construction element, the provision of a public service and risk sharing between the public and ...

This policy brief presents policy recommendations on circular economy formulated by cities participating in the EU Cities Mission (Mission Cities) for EU decision-makers and European national authorities. These recommendations have arisen from discussions among twenty-one Mission Cities during the Circular Economy Policy Lab, facilitated by NetZeroCities

The major sources of revenues for local governments are taxes, user fees and intergovernmental transfers. Taxes such as income taxes, property taxes, land transfer (stamp duty) taxes, general sales taxes and sales taxes on special commodities (licences, permits, hotel occupancy, vehicle registration etc.) along with user fees form the current operating revenues (COR) of the cities. Once the operating expenditures are met, the COR is often used for short life expectancy assets or recurrent ...

This webinar provides Croatian cities the opportunity to better understand what the NetZeroCities project can offer and serves as a common space to exchange on climate-related topics and envisage common actions. To kick-start these discussions, this webinar presents the methodology and the resources developed by NetZeroCities. Then, there is a brief update on the current EU policy landscape which can provide various opportunities for Croatian cities to collaborate. For example, with the new ...

Please find the accompanying presentation slides, here. NetZeroCities Info Session: Pilot Cities Programme Boot Camp & Twinning Learning Programme - 21 February This webinar of the Call for Pilot Cities Cohort 3 NetZeroCities is for Mission Cities who are not yet a Pilot City within the Pilot City Programme and wish to undertake two-year, systems innovation-oriented pilot activities. It covers: Presentation on the PCP Bootcamp; Presentation on the Twinning Learning Programme.

Please find the accompanying recording, here. NetZeroCities Info Session: Pilot Cities Programme Boot Camp & Twinning Learning Programme - 21 February This webinar of the Call for Pilot Cities Cohort 3 NetZeroCities is for Mission Cities who are not yet a Pilot City within the Pilot City Programme and wish to undertake two-year, systems innovation-oriented pilot activities. It covers: Presentation on the PCP Bootcamp; Presentation on the Twinning Learning Programme.

Greywater is the wastewater generated in households or office buildings without serious contaminants, such as water from baths, sinks and washing machines. Greywater can be separated from blackwater (water from toilets or kitchens) and then treated on-site for direct reuse in toilets recharge or irrigation. Greywater is a relevant secondary source of water and nutrients. Many studies have analysed the environmental, economic, and energetic benefits of the reuse of greywater [1][2][6][7]. ...

NetZeroCities Pilot Cities Programme Bootcamp (Cohort 2): Online Collective Learning Session 1 (February 2024)

This webinar of the Call for Pilot Cities Cohort 3 NetZeroCities is for Mission Cities who are not yet a Pilot City within the Pilot City Programme and wish to undertake two-year, systems innovation-oriented pilot activities. It covers: NZC Impact Framework to create your impact logic and pathways; PCP Indicators Set; Indicator Selection & forthcoming Reporting Support; Sensemaking & Peer-to-peer Learning process. Acces presentation slides here ...

These are the slides from the webinar info session "Pilot City Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning & Sensemaking" of the Call for Pilot Cities Cohort 3 The webinar covered: NZC Impact Framework to create your impact logic and pathways; PCP Indicators Set; Indicator Selection & forthcoming Reporting Support; Sensemaking & Peer-to-peer Learning process. Acess webinar recording here: https://netzerocities.app/resource-4113

Please find the accompanying presentation slides, here. Pilot Cities Programme Info-session Cohort 3: "Eligibility and Assessment Criteria" - 06/02 This webinar of the Call for Pilot Cities Cohort 3 NetZeroCities is for Mission Cities who are not yet a Pilot City within the Pilot City Programme and wish to undertake two-year, systems innovation-oriented pilot activities. We covers: Call Timeline; Eligibility & Assessment Criteria Stage 1 (Eligibility), Stage 2 (Assessment ) and ...

Please find the accompanying webinar recording, here. Pilot Cities Programme Info-session Cohort 3: "Eligibility and Assessment Criteria" - 06/02 This webinar of the Call for Pilot Cities Cohort 3 NetZeroCities is for Mission Cities who are not yet a Pilot City within the Pilot City Programme and wish to undertake two-year, systems innovation-oriented pilot activities. We covers: Call Timeline; Eligibility & Assessment Criteria Stage 1 (Eligibility), Stage 2 (Assessment ) and ...

Presentation on what is social innovation, examples and benefits for climate neutrality, as presented at the 2023 summer schools

Map of social innovation actions with related indicators and links to case studies

This factsheet explores how implementing Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in cities can be a more financially viable alternative to conventional approaches. By outlining inspiring NbS case studies, this factsheet lists possible options for municipalities to fund NbS.

Method Description for Challenge Mapping

Challenge mapping helps to understand the barriers to innovation within a certain thematic area / challenge / societal mission and to indicate the most promising routes towards overcoming the barriers. The challenge map is a tool to engage with a certain community of experts to build this understanding and discuss the routes towards solutions. A ready challenge map provides a good overview of how different aspects are interconnected and where the ‘sore points’ are vs. what can ‘the ...

The customer journey map is a representation describing each step of the interaction that a user or customer has with a service, product, organization or system taking the perspective of the user. It is stated what the actions, the touchpoints with the service, product or system and the emotional state of the user for each of the steps. It can functions as a planning- and strategic tool to keep the focus on the final users for the final development and the prototyping of a new solution. It ...

This webinar session organised by the NetZeroCities EU-funded project focuses on mobilizing citizens and stakeholders for effective climate action. The presentation slides are available here https://netzerocities.app/resource-4101

Please find here the presentation slides from NetZeroCities webinar session on mobilizing citizens and stakeholders for effective climate action. Valuable insights were provided by representatives from Parma, Guimaraes, Lyon and Bristol. The webinar recording is available here https://netzerocities.app/resource-4100

Policy Labs - Info Session (24th Jan) Webinar Recording, here. Policy is an important lever in the systemic, mission-driven approach to climate neutrality, and the need for policy alignment and collaboration across all levels of government, including non-state actors, is critical for cities to reach their NetZero goals. The purpose of this info-session is to provide an overview of our mission-oriented policy approach and outline the opportunities to co-create policy innovation forums in ...

Policy Labs - Info Session (24th Jan) Accompanying Presentation Slides, here. Policy is an important lever in the systemic, mission-driven approach to climate neutrality, and the need for policy alignment and collaboration across all levels of government, including non-state actors, is critical for cities to reach their NetZero goals. The purpose of this info-session is to provide an overview of our mission-oriented policy approach and outline the opportunities to co-create policy innovation ...

Accompanying Presentation Slides, here. This webinar of the Call for Pilot Cities Cohort 3 NetZeroCities is for Mission Cities who are not yet a Pilot City within the Pilot City Programme and wish to undertake two-year, systems innovation-oriented pilot activities. We will cover: Ambition & Approach of the Pilot Cities Programme ; Call launch & documentation; Submission platform registration (organisation & individual). Part of the session will be dedicated to Q&A. The session ...

Webinar recording, here. This webinar of the Call for Pilot Cities Cohort 3 NetZeroCities is for Mission Cities who are not yet a Pilot City within the Pilot City Programme and wish to undertake two-year, systems innovation-oriented pilot activities. We will cover: Ambition & Approach of the Pilot Cities Programme ; Call launch & documentation; Submission platform registration (organisation & individual). Part of the session will be dedicated to Q&A. The session will be ...

Please find in this document the answers to all questions asked during the CCC Updated Resource Pack Info Session. 

This webinar provides you with all the information regarding the materials available to support you in drafting your Climate City Contract. Answers to all questions are provided in written in this Q&A document : https://netzerocities.app/resource-4094

En route to achieving climate neutrality, you will need to engage with citizens and urban stakeholders across your city. The Engagement Building Blocks offer a visual, collaborative, and playful way to learn and implement frameworks for designing such an engagement process. It can be used to explore alternative ways forward, assess needs, and reach agreement on key aspects between different stakeholders before you start the detailed ...

This documents (PDF) includes all the cards necessary to use the Engagement Building Blocks. Use the physical cards by printing and cutting them out. They are laid out to make the print and cut process simple and quick, so you can quickly start to use them.

Terms and meanings to help clarify and support your use of the Engagement Building Blocks.

This tool offers a visual, collaborative, and playful way to gain understanding of frameworks for designing citizen and urban stakeholder engagement processes. The tool helps to consider and evaluate the different elements that affect how best to build this process and takes you step by step through different choices that need to be made. The result is the framework of the design of the engagement process. It provides insights into which basic building blocks can best be used to build a ...

Mapping civic environments is the first step to visualize various individuals, groups and organizations, their roles, relationships, influence and impact on the city’s climate neutrality transition journey. It is by this process, that cities are able to make informed decisions on whom to engage in a strategic manner. To enable cities in carrying out this process and move beyond the usual suspects, it is important to empower them with simple intuitive mapping tools and effective guidance ...

Bresciani, S., Tjahja, C., Komatsu, T., & Rizzo, F. (2023). Social innovation for climate neutrality in cities: actionable pathways for policymakers. In De Sainz Molestina, D., Galluzzo, L., Rizzo, F., Spallazzo, D. (eds.), IASDR 2023: Life-Changing Design, 9-13 October, Milan, Italy. Abstract: The track [Changing] Organizations and Policies of the 2023 IASDR conference encompasses 30 original papers that revolve around four main contributions of design in this domain: (1) ...

Bresciani, S., Tjahja, C., Komatsu, T., & Rizzo, F. (2023). Prototyping for Policy Making: Collaboratively Synthesizing Interdisciplinary Knowledge for Climate Neutrality. In: International Conference 2023 of the Design Research Society Special Interest Group on Experiential Knowledge (EKSIG) Conference proceedings (pp. 104-116), Politecnico di Milano, Italy. ISBN: 9788894167436 Abstract: Cities around the world are confronted with the unprecedented grand challenge ...

This presentation provides you with all the information regarding the materials available to support you in drafting your Climate City Contract. The recorded webinar is available at https://youtu.be/l-TS96vYbuw

This video provides a summary of the European Commission's feedback to cities awarded the Mission Label for their Climate City Contracts (CCC).

This presentation consist of a summary of the European Commission's feedback to cities awarded the Mission Label for their Climate City Contracts (CCC). The event recording can be found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHJImw3H5Dc.

This presentation consist of a summary of the European Commission's feedback to cities awarded the Mission Label for their Climate City Contracts (CCC). The event recording can be found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHJImw3H5Dc.

The case outlines a new theoretical–methodological approach for the mapping and analysis of the social innovation ecosystems (SIE) in the city of Florianópolis, Brazil. The study was put into practice through the creation and implementation of a collaborative digital platform.

LAST UPDATE 18 DECEMBER 2023 This guidance document is designed to accompany the Investment Plan Template to give Mission Cities a reference point when developing their Investment Plans. Cities will build this plan on the back of the actions outlined within their Action Plan, and the content here should inform the way cities engage with the template documents. The 2030 Climate Neutrality Investment Plan is a newly developed concept and as this process will be iterative, we encourage cities to ...

LAST UPDATE 18 DECEMBER 2023 The Investment Plan template is designed to give cities’ administration a reference structure for the development of the Investment Plan. This will include potential constituent parts, such as tables and textual elements. This document is designed to adapt to cities’ needs and goals, maintaining a certain level of flexibility and adaptability to the way individual administrations operate. This document is accompanied by an IP guidance, which will ...

LAST UPDATE 18 DECEMBER 2023 This template provides a clear and instructive structure for the 2030 Climate Neutrality Action Plan to be created as one of the three parts to the Climate City Contracts, alongside the commitment document and the investment plan. The template follows a modular approach for cities to fill in section by section in an iterative process. The information collected via this template will serve as a basis for the CCC evaluation process to obtain the Mission Label.

LAST UPDATE 18 DECEMBER This CCC Commitment Document Template gives Mission Cities a reference point when developing their core CCC commitments. The document should be used to define key political commitments and priorities for the CCC and collect formal signatures from local government and other local stakeholders. The Commitment Document provides the basis for the subsequent development of the Action Plan and Investment Plan.

LAST UPDATE - 18 December 2023 This guidance document serves as a manual or 'how to' guide for compiling the CCC 2030 Climate Neutrality Commitments according to the provided template. It provides section-by-section descriptions, details and guiding questions on filling out the template. This guidance will be updated over time, based on city feedback, so please provide feedback and questions to us via missioncities@netzerocities.eu. Please also revisit this document ...

This guidance document serves as a manual or 'how to' guide for compiling the 2030 Climate Neutrality Action Plan according to the provided template. It provides section-by-section descriptions, details and guiding questions on filling out the templates. This guidance will be updated over time, based on city feedback, so please provide feedback and questions to us via missioncities@netzerocities.eu. Please also revisit this document regularly. Please also watch ...

This pitching deck is meant as an editable deck for Mission Cities to reuse and modify as needed to present the city’s selection as a Mission City and what this means for the near future. It is a key component of the Communication Playbook for Mission Cities. Text and figures can be directly edited in this template to adapt them to local context.  Graphic elements can be reused directly in cities' own presentations too using a visual bank linked in the document. 

Bresciani, S., Rizzo, F., & Deserti, A. (2022). Toward a Comprehensive Framework of Social Innovation for Climate Neutrality: A Systematic Literature Review from Business/Production, Public Policy, Environmental Sciences, Energy, Sustainability and Related Fields. Sustainability, 14(21). Abstract: Social Innovation (SI) is considered a key lever for supporting climate action and decarbonization. In addition to the adoption of technological innovations, novel social practices ...

Bresciani, S., Rizzo, F., & Deserti, A. (2022). Designing Systemic Change for Urban Ecosystems: A Framework for Assessing Social Innovation. In Cumulus Conference Proceedings Series 10/2023 Detroit (pp. 779-795). USA. ISBN 979-8-218-07901-7 Abstract: Developing systemic changes for decarbonization and adaptation to climate change at urban level is a complex challenge which requires considering a systemic approach. Numerous cases, frameworks and theoretical models are ...

View the presentation slides that provide guidance for the paired canvas: Co-creating Impact Pathways and Indicators for your City’s Climate-neutrality Transition: A 7-Step Process.

Impact Pathways and Indicators for your City's Climate-neutrality Transition: A 7-Step Process Connecting the CC Action-planning with strategic objectives and MEL. Downloadable Canvas

'Impact Pathways' tell a story about how systemic transformation is expected to unfold. 'Indicators' are a measurable data point used to track a city's progress towards achieving climate neutrality. These indicators evaluate the effectiveness of urban sustainability initiatives, such as reductions in carbon emissions or increases in renewable energy usage.

Industry is the second-largest global resource of energy sector CO2 emissions. In Europe the total final energy demand in the industry accounted for 2950 TWh/yr in 2020, 66% of which came from process heating. The main fuel source for fulfilling this demand is gas (36%), followed by coal (20%) and oil (8%). In Europe, EU paper production plants represented 20.5% of the world pulp production in 2018, still relying on fossil fuels for the 40% of its energy use. A vast majority of these plants, ...

There are plenty of rational arguments for implementing heat networks, as Heat Networks offer numerous advantages and opportunities. They are an efficient, reliable, and proven solution for increasing energy security while reducing the carbon footprint of heat. They are convenient and affordable for customers, yet profitable for owners. They enable communities to generate local jobs, increase social welfare, and bolster resilience in turbulent times. However, as we all know, humans are ...

Method Description for Ethnographic Interviewing

The Healthy Cities Generator is a freely available digital tool that makes it easy for urban planners, health professionals and policy makers to incorporate health factors into urban planning and urban factors into health policy. Want to explore the healthiest options for your city? If you want to improve your urban plan, devise a health strategy, or have a constructive dialogue with your stakeholders – reach out to see how we could help! Visit our website for more information: ...

Ethnographic interviews are a method used to understand deeply the actions and motivations of people behind a theme or topic of research. This process relies on a close connection between the researcher and the community they are working in. In creating connections the researcher is able to get a more rich understanding of how the community functions and what their motivations towards climate actions are for example, which is reflected in interviews with stakeholders. While it is not likely to ...

Cooling trees are appropriate at different scales: the isolated tree: in a park, a street or in a square; rows of trees along a street: on either side of a street, on one side of a street or in a central row; and at the scale of a city: forming what is called an urban forest. In terms of mitigation, trees contribute to carbon sequestration through photosynthesis, which transforms carbon dioxide into organic matter. This stored carbon is found: in the above-ground biomass: stems, ...

A comprehensive resource book for practitioners to map, analyse and facilitate systemic change. Includes many canvases and practical tools.

E-participation [1][2][3][4][5] enables citizens to use digital technologies or platforms, e.g., combination of geographic information systems (GIS), Web 2.0 and mobile technologies (including video, mobile messaging and Internet access), for communication, engagement and deliberation on policy or planning challenges.     Engagement and participation are vital tools in climate adaptation and environmental decision making as these entail increased community acceptance, ...

The problems we face today, such as climate change, inequality and ageing populations cannot be fixed by one department alone. They require a systems approach. This is a game for policymakers to explore how taking a systemic approach can unlock intractable issues in their policy areas. Playing “Systemic” will enable you to:    Learn about some foundational systems change frameworks, as well as some of the latest thinking on systems change for people working on social ...

A concessional loan or 'soft' loan is credit offered to municipalities at a below market rate of interest. Concessional loans could have lenient conditions, offer differed payments, grace periods, interest holidays or income contingent payments. They could also offer longer amortisation schedules than conventional loans.     Most municipalities are eligible to obtain low-interest (soft) or concessional loans to be able to finance activities that may not be the ...

Positive Energy Buildings, PEB, is a relatively new and more ambitious energy target than the Nearly Zero Energy buildings, NZEB. Currently, there is no official definition at EU level. However, there are several projects investigating the PEB concept. According to the EU EXCESS project (1,2), ‘‘a positive energy building (PEB) is an energy efficient building that produces more energy than it uses via renewable sources, with high self-consumption rate and high energy flexibility, ...

The two pillars of the decarbonisation of the buildings sector in Europe are a) improving energy efficiency and b) supplying with renewable energy sources both new and existing buildings. Recent developments show that energy developments at the neighbourhood or district scale can accelerate and improve the required quality to meet the requirements of the Paris agreement (1,2).  Acting at the neighbourhood level permits to better consider the energy interactions between the buildings and ...

Alternative cooling strategies based on improved thermal protection of the building envelope, and on the dissipation of a building's thermal load to a lower temperature heat sink, appear to be very effective.   These strategies and techniques known as passive and hybrid cooling have already reached a serious level of acceptance from both the technical and scientific experts.  The present document aims to inform and provide knowledge and recommendations on the use of ...

The use of passive cooling technologies in the built environment has reached a stage of high maturity. Passive cooling techniques are based on the use of techniques of solar and heat control, heat modulation and heat dissipation. While heat modulation deals mainly with the thermal storage capacity of the building structure, heat dissipation techniques are mainly associated with the disposal of excess building heat to an environmental sink of lower temperature, like the ground, water, and ...

The heat island phenomenon rises the temperature of cities, increases the energy demand for cooling and deteriorates comfort conditions in the urban environment. To counterbalance the impact of the phenomenon, important mitigation techniques have been proposed and developed.     It is widely accepted that an increase of the urban green infrastructure, and particularly of the tree cover, improves urban resilience [1-2]. Trees provide urban overheating reduction, pollutant ...

The heat island phenomenon raises the temperature of cities, increases the energy demand for cooling and deteriorates comfort conditions in the urban environment. To counterbalance the impact of the phenomenon, important mitigation techniques have been proposed and developed. Absorption of solar radiation by the materials of the building envelope and the city structure contribute to increasing urban overheating. Use of solar reflective materials, known as cool materials, helps to decrease the ...

The heat island phenomenon rises the temperature of cities, increases the energy demand for cooling and deteriorates comfort conditions in the urban environment. To counterbalance the impact of the phenomenon, important mitigation techniques have been proposed and developed.      The use of water in reducing ambient temperature is known from the traditional architecture. To evaporate water in the atmosphere, latent heat is used that contributes to decreasing the ...

The design and operation of zero or very low energy buildings started in the 2000s and even earlier. The basic idea is to use energy conservation technologies combined with renewable energy systems to decrease as much as possible the energy use of buildings (see Figure 1). Nearly-Zero Energy Buildings (NZEBs) have continuously gained acceptance by the market and the research community and several thousands of such buildings have been built and monitored.   The NZEB principle has ...

NetZeroCities is designing the Mission Cities Capital Hub to support the development and execution of city projects. The implementation of Investment Plans will require a holistic approach covering technical assistance, impact alignment and capital facilitation as well as private sector engagement. The Capital Hub is planned to be a city resource for facilitating funding and financing, investments, and technical assistance in support of city ambitions of reaching climate neutrality. On 23 ...

Start learning about Positive Energy Distrcits via a short e-learning module In the Smart City Lighthouse project ATELIER (H2020, Grant Agreement No. 864374), a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) was developed to provide an engaging e-learning opportunity for everyone who wants to learn about Positive Energy Districts (PEDs). It is hosted on a learning platform ("PED Learning Platform") that also offers the opportunity to exchange with peers and to share own experiences. Enrolling in ...

This guide walks through the principles of portfolio co-design, providing framing which can be reused in meetings or workshops with stakeholders to justify why portfolio co-design is important and how it can happen. We provide key intuitive metaphors to support a good understanding of what a portfolio is and isn't (the 3D cube) as well as intuitive visuals to convince other of the need for a collaborative approach to putting a portfolio together for the CCC Action Plan. This guide is a good ...

This exercise is focusing on evaluating the potential of a portfolio of actions for climate-neutrality with local stakeholders (whether from the local government or from the broader local ecosystem). This session is particularly adapted to build participants' understanding of what is a portfolio and, especially, what is a successful portfolio, while identifying the gaps of existing strategies. The exercise can be used to iterate current plans and refine a strategic portfolio for a CCC Action ...

Please find the video recording here. This session is organised to present and answer any questions regarding the two important parts of the Pilot Cities Programme: Boot Camp, which starts right after the selection of successful applications. Cities Learning Programme, which will match selected Pilot Cities with their Twinning Cities.

This session is organised to present and answer any questions regarding the two important parts of the Pilot Cities Programme: Boot Camp, which starts right after the selection of successful applications. Cities Learning Programme, which will match selected Pilot Cities with their Twinning Cities. Please find the presentation slides, here.

In just one hour, you’ll learn about carbon management, how to identify measures and actions and how to implement them. More importantly: Serge (CEO of Futureproofed and one of Al Gore’s two first European Climate Ambassadors) will share his experiences on transforming cities into climate-neutral cities. Your host, Serge de Gheldere, has been on a mission to change the world for decades. In 1999, he established an ecodesign focused engineering company. In 2006 he became one of Al ...

Please find the accompanying recording, here. This session hosts Pilot Cities selected during the 1st Pilot Cities Programme call. They share their projects, experiences and challenges during planning and implementing the Pilot Activities. Find Guimarães City's presentation, here. Find Bristol City's presentation, here. Find Nantes Métropole's presentation, here.

Please find Bristol City's presentation slides from the Pilot Cities Programme Info Session 4: Inspirational Session with existing Pilot Cities. Please find the accompanying recording, here. This session hosts Pilot Cities selected during the 1st Pilot Cities Programme call. They share their projects, experiences and challenges during planning and implementing the Pilot Activities. Find the full presentation, here. Find Bristol City's presentation, here. Find Nantes ...

Please find Bristol City's presentation slides from the Pilot Cities Programme Info Session 4: Inspirational Session with existing Pilot Cities. Please find the accompanying recording, here. This session hosts Pilot Cities selected during the 1st Pilot Cities Programme call. They share their projects, experiences and challenges during planning and implementing the Pilot Activities. Find the full presentation, here. Find Guimarães City's presentation, here. Find Nantes ...

Please find Bristol City's presentation slides from the Pilot Cities Programme Info Session 4: Inspirational Session with existing Pilot Cities. Please find the accompanying recording, here. This session hosts Pilot Cities selected during the 1st Pilot Cities Programme call. They share their projects, experiences and challenges during planning and implementing the Pilot Activities. Find the full presentation, here. Find Guimarães City's presentation, here. Find Bristol City's ...

Pilot Cities Programme Info session: Inspirational session with existing Pilot Cities - 26 September This session hosts Pilot Cities selected during the 1st Pilot Cities Programme call. They share their projects, experiences and challenges during planning and implementing the Pilot Activities.

The policy framework provides an overview of the EU level policies that are most relevant to achieving climate neutrality in cities by 2030.   The policy framework provides an overview of both regulatory and policy/strategy documents issued at EU level. It includes regulations which are currently in effect, as well as those which have been proposed by the Commission. It includes the policy and strategy documents produced by the Commission most relevant to urban climate neutrality, ...

The CCRI Methodology provides decision-makers with actionable guidance to help accelerate the transition towards the circular economy at local or regional level. The CCRI Methodology takes stock and draws on past and current efforts and initiatives aimed at deploying the circular economy at local level. Developed in the framework of the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI), this methodology is mainly designed to be used by policy and decision-makers operating at various levels of ...

Recording: NetZeroCities Pilot Cities Programme Info Session: Eligibility, Submission Criteria - 14 September This session is organised to answer the following questions: - who can apply to this edition of Pilot Cities Programme Call? - against what criteria will the proposals be assessed? - how to submit a project application? Part of the session is dedicated to Q&A.

Presentation Slides: NetZeroCities Pilot Cities Programme Info Session: Eligibility, Submission Criteria - 14 September This session is organised to answer the following questions: - who can apply to this edition of Pilot Cities Programme Call? - against what criteria will the proposals be assessed? - how to submit a project application? Part of the session is dedicated to Q&A.

The main goal of the project was to implement a complete solution for a smart and sustainable urban environment, which would inspire residents to make environmentally conscious decisions and would later be implemented in various European regions.

The purpose of Nappi Naapur is to increase real encounters between people who live close to each other. It is intended for neighborly help, getting to know each other, gig work and promoting the sharing economy. Everyone is welcome to become a user!

Viable Cities is a Swedish strategic innovation programme focusing on the transition to climate-neutral and sustainable cities. Viable Cities aims to create transformative system change based on the mission Climate Neutral Cities 2030 with a good life for everyone within the planetary boundaries. The mission means that cities' climate transition should take place from a broad perspective, where social, ecological and economic sustainability is taken into account.

Brainport Smart District (BSD) is a smart city district in the city of Helmond, the Netherlands

Better Reykjavik is an online platform for the crowdsourcing of solutions to urban challenges launched in May 2010. Better Reykjavik is a co-creation project of the Citizens Foundation, Reykjavik City and its citizens that connects them and improves trust and policy. It’s a platform for crowdsourcing solutions to urban challenges and has multiple democratic functions: Agenda setting, Participatory budgeting and Policymaking. Innovations include unique debating system, crowd-sourcing, ...

Case Study on streets converting into seasonal socialising spaces 

Pilot Cities Programme Info Session: Ambition, approach and technical information – call launch (7th September) This session is organised to present the overall Pilot Cities Programme Call, focusing especially on: - Its unique ambition and approach - Technical information regarding call's documentation, timeline - Call and grant management system - Part of the session will be dedicated to Q&A.

Pilot Cities Programme Info Session: Ambition, approach and technical information – call launch (7th September) This session is organised to present the overall Pilot Cities Programme Call, focusing especially on: - Its unique ambition and approach - Technical information regarding call's documentation, timeline - Call and grant management system - Part of the session will be dedicated to Q&A.

CCC Submission Information Session - 4th September 2023 This session is intended for cities planning to submit their CCC in autumn 2023. On 6 September, a dedicated space will open on the Portal for cities to upload their CCC Documents prior submission to the European Commission. Cities planning to submit their CCC in this window will have until 15 September to finalise the upload of their documents on the Portal. This session will guide you through the CCC space on the Portal and the next ...

Outcome harvesting is a method to identify, formulate then analyse and interpret the outcomes (positive and negative, intended or not) of an initiative. The process is stakeholder-centered and includes 6 steps that are helpful to collect evidence of what has changed for project stakeholders or beneficiaries and work backwards to evaluate whether and how the project has contributed to these changes. It is particularly adapted to evaluate dynamic and uncertain situations when it is difficult to ...

By utilizing an experimental design, such as A/B testing, users (i.e., citizens) are randomly exposed to different options, then results are compared. The aim is testing which solution is best. For example, when utilizing a service, half of the users are provided one version of the service (intervention A), while the other half of the participants are provided a different version (intervention B). Performance and other data are collected for all users for the two conditions: the best performing ...

TACSI strives to enhance social and economic well-being through their approach to accelerate social innovations. The organization has conducted experiments in the field of human-centered innovation, driven by the belief that individuals are the best experts on their own lives. By collaborating with those affected by the challenges they aim to address, TACSI creates effective innovations. They have been building scaling programs that seek to improve outcomes for people in relevant and dynamic ...

In this article by Moore, Riddell and Vocisano, it is argued that the process of scaling social innovations to achieve systemic impacts involves three different types of scaling—scaling out, scaling up, and scaling deep—and large systems change (LSC) is likely to require a combination of these types. The findings focus on the phenomenon of scaling, and the strategies by which actors can move social innovation impacts across scales. After broadening their problem frame to pursue ...

Social Innovation Canada is a network that aims to fortify the innovation ecosystem by providing an operational model that offers information, tools, skills, and a network for developing social innovations. By utilizing this model, practitioners can collaborate effectively, build stronger connections, align their efforts, enhance their capacity, and advance their knowledge in the field of social innovation. Social Innovation Canada operates within the framework of the Sustainable Development ...

Real Junk Food Berlin is part of the international organization The Junk Food Project that aims to raise awareness around the topic of food waste and new sustainable food systems. Their activities include the use of food that would otherwise go to waste and the conduction of workshops and courses sharing ways to avoid food waste.

Ride sharing service initiated by local football club PPJ started from an agile pilot and became a permanent activity in the club. After school, school children get transported from school to football training on a minibus. This saves time and reduces the number of total trips otherwise taken by each individual child driven by their [parent]. Lower price of early practice hours compensates the transportation costs.

15-Minute City is an urban plan established by the city of Paris whose goal is to make most daily necessities accomplishable by either walking or cycling from residents' homes in a maximum of 15 minutes.

The Green Squares project aims to support the local communities in climate action by piloting a model for joint engagement of residents, students, local artists and civil society in a collaborative process of co-designing solutions for neglected urban pockets in line with particular needs of local communities. The goal of the project is for communities to collaboratively design micro public spaces to improve air quality in Niš.

The goal is to create a residential quarter that prevents the necessity to travel more than 15 minutes to get the most essential goods and services, and therefore reduces the amount of carbon emissions related to transport – the key to averting the so-called heat-island effect. An important aspect of the implementation will be the involvement of citizens and the active cooperation of all parties (city units) to discuss about the problems, vision for the Climate Quarter and future ...

Five cities from across South-Eastern European and Central Asian region embarked on an exploration of a new approach to problem solving, which is rooted in systems thinking. The city councils began designing what are called systems thinking portfolios for urban transformation with the support of UNDP Europe and Central Asia.

Applause is a project led by the city of Ljubljana, Slovenia aiming to find solutions to invasive alien plant species (IAPS) in cities. Ljubljana is applying a zero-waste and circular economy principle to deal with these harmful plant species. Ljubljana is moving from a linear model for managing IAPS to a circular one that is valuable for the entire ecosystem. This process involves six steps: plant identification, biomass harvest, processing & storage, value recovery, final production, and ...

Finnish cities have been experimenting with a vision of sustainable living. The tool “1.5 Degree Lifestyles Puzzle” was used to help households and other stakeholders understand what changes they need to make in their lifestyles to significantly drop their carbon footprint. Individual carbon footprints were calculated at the project start and the development was monitored over time.

Terre & Humanisme promotes agroecology as an approach in transitioning towards more sustainable farming practices while training people in its application. The association aims to change production models to achieve higher combined economic, social and environmental production based on the founding principles of Agroecology. The association operates on three fundamental pillars: 1. Raising Awareness: To share agroecology (and its practices) as an approach and promote its adoption as a ...

Cities Presentations of Best Practice

Levers of a Sustainable City is a scaling model to accelerate the adoption of good sustainable practices in municipalities. It aims at turning means that have proven to work well into concrete action. The model consists of several interconnected methods and of a typology of scaling activities. The model emphasises the importance of learning from one’s peers as well as the need to highlight the added value that adoption of new practices brings about. The approach has been developed for the ...

The framework describes four stages in developing a scaling strategy: clarifying aims and goals for scaling, establishing what to scale up, choosing a route to scale, gearing up to deliver a scaling strategy. The writers identify four common routes for scaling-up: influence and advise; build a delivery network; form strategic partnerships and grow an organisation to deliver. Each route has a different focus and activities however, social innovators often pursue more than one strategy; some ...

Academic studies show that the journey from social to institutional entrepreneurship takes different configurations, depending on the initial conditions of the innovative initiatives and obstacles encountered during implementation. Therefore, five different pathways for scaling up social innovation initiatives were developed, consisting of different configurations of key variables, and informed by qualitative interview data from selected non-profit organizations.

Guidance on target setting and emissions inventories for the Climate-neutral and Smart Cities Mission

In the face of pressing environmental challenges, cities around the world are seeking innovative solutions to create a sustainable and livable future. From energy efficiency to waste management, transportation to urban planning, a multitude of strategies are being implemented to reduce our carbon footprint and promote a greener urban environment. The Joint Research Centre has produced a collection of documents to help cities identify how to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. At the buildings, ...

Futures Table is a method in a scenario process that offers a structured approach to analyse how different variables of a trend, development or change signal may develop in the future.

Method Description for Motivation Matrix

This session is intended for cities planning to submit their CCC in Spring 2023. On 6 March, a dedicated space will open on the Portal for cities to upload their CCC Documents prior submission to the European Commission. Cities planning to submit their CCC in Spring 2023 will have until 15 March to finalise the upload of their documents on the Portal. You get a demo of the CCC Space on the Portal and have the opportunity to exchange on the next steps for your CCC. Questions related to the ...

This session is intended for cities planning to submit their CCC in Spring 2023. On 6 March, a dedicated space will open on the Portal for cities to upload their CCC Documents prior submission to the European Commission. Cities planning to submit their CCC in Spring 2023 will have until 15 March to finalise the upload of their documents on the Portal. You get a demo of the CCC Space on the Portal and have the opportunity to exchange on the next steps for your CCC. Questions related to the ...

Civic Design Lab facilitates dialogues and co-creates solutions in collaboration with government agencies, local businesses and communities for improved public services by applying a racial equity lens, human-centred design and systems thinking approach. It helps local government decision making by designing current and future policies with the people, for the people and by the people.

Conclusions from Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President, European Commission

Closing Plenary, moderated by Patrick Child, Deputy Director-General DGEnvironment | Cities Mission Manager, with the participation of Natalia Chueca, Mayor of Zaragoza, and Dovydas Kaminskas, Mayor of Tauragė.

Pilot Cities: In the Spotlight gives each of the selected Mission and non-Mission Pilot Cities the opportunity to present their pilot activities in a short, sharp, and pithy ‘pitch’. This session also introduces the Pilot Cities Programme’s learning and sense-making activities and launches the next Call for Pilot Cities under NetZeroCities.

This panel focused on the local and wider impacts of the Mission. Panellists discussed how cities, citizens, and businesses can get the most benefit out of the Mission and how to best address both challenges and co benefits.

One year after the selection of cities for the Cities Mission, local authorities and their partners are working hard on their Climate City Contracts, while facing new challenges including an acute energy crisis. This panel is a political exchange on how the Cities Mission has already impacted Mission cities and how its high ambition can hold up in real life.

Day 2 of the Mission in Progress: Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Conference 2023: - Cities as Frontrunners of the Climate Transition with Barbara Trachte, State Secretary for the Economic Transition and Scientific Research, Brussels Capital Government and Kim Jørgensen, Director General and Permanent Representative Office of the EIB to the EU Institutions, European Investment Bank

Day 2 of the Mission in Progress: Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Conference 2023: - Keynote speech delivered by Marc Lemaître Director-General DGResearch and Innovation, European Commission

This session aims to focus on the urban climate action initiatives that require collective policy action. Mission Cities Copenhagen, Lisbon, Helsinki , Oslo, Paris, and Stockholm share local climate action initiatives that, to be effective, need policy coordination at the European level. Through a world café format, participants discuss policy needs, implementation challenges, and desired outcomes in groups using these climate action initiatives as examples.

Day 1 of the Mission in Progress: Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Conference 2023: - Peer-to-Peer City Exchanges, presented by Climate-Neutral City Advisor Jane McLaughlin provides participants with a space for sharing approaches, tools, and methodologies with fellow Mission Cities to overcome barriers you may be facing in the climate neutrality journey.

Day 1 of the Mission in Progress: Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Conference 2023: - Keynote Speech delivered by André Sobczak, Secretary General, Eurocities. - NetZeroCities Updates by Thomas Osdoba, Programme Director, EIT Climate-KIC as well as reflections on the Climate City Contract process and its evolution, and upcoming City Support for 2023 with Q&A.

This document includes a detailed review of the NZC Economic Model calculations and how they work to create an economic case analysis for cities. It also includes examples of how the model was used effectively in the EU Healthy Clean Cities initiative to help cities analyze costs and benefits as a foundation for the development of an effective strategic plan for decarbonization.

NetZeroCities Capability Building Module Investment Plan | Part C

NetZeroCities Capability Building Module Investment Plan | Part B

NetZeroCities Capability Building Module Investment Plan | Part A

The Circular Economy Life Cycle Cost (CE-LCC) model is an economic assessment model for the building sector. It is based on current Life Cycle Cost analysis, which calculates the total cost of a product from cradle to grave (such as sales price, use price, and disposal costs) to support decision-making processes during the development of products.     The CE-LCC includes properties of circular economy products, such as different lifespan of parts and components, design for ...

A digital twin presents a digital replica of a real object or process or a system and uses data from the real environment to represent, analyse, validate and simulate present and future behaviour [11]. Typically, connecting real objects with its digital twin enables testing new scenarios or models in real time without interfering with the real objects. Using digital twins, various forms of data analysis can be performed in the digital realm and results can be visualised, e.g., predictive ...

Currently, at the end of a building’s life the majority of its materials are sent to landfill or down-cycled into products of much lower value. To maximize the recovery and valorisation potential of existing materials in buildings and minimize waste in construction, optimal waste management at the end of life of buildings is essential. The right treatment and disposal of materials at the end of life can significantly reduce the construction sector’s environmental ...

Heat Pumps (HP) are conversion devices able to transfer heat from a lower temperature heat source into a higher temperature heat sink. HP can be used to provide heating, cooling, or domestic hot water both for residential and non-residential applications. There are several types of HP (electric compression heat pumps, gas driven HP, heat driven HP, etc.), with electric HP being by far the most  common. An electric HP is made of five main components: an evaporator, a compressor, a ...

Heat Pumps (HP) are conversion devices able to transfer heat from a lower temperature heat source into a higher temperature heat sink. HP can provide heating, cooling, or domestic hot water both for residential and non-residential applications. There are several types of HP (electric compression heat pumps, gas driven HP, heat driven HP, etc.), with electric HP being by far the most common. An electric HP is made of five main components: an evaporator, a compressor, a condenser, an expansion ...

Solar thermal panels are devices that convert solar radiation into heat and transfer it to a heat transfer fluid (typically water or an anti-freeze fluid) to be stored or to reach the point of use. Solar thermal systems are usually implemented with a water storage tank, to reduce the production-demand fluctuations, ensure high operational safety and good performance, and guarantee at least 25 to 30 years of lifetime.  The most common application is solar heating to produce thermal energy ...

Solar thermal panels are devices that convert solar radiation into heat and transfer it to a heat transfer fluid (typically water or an anti-freeze fluid) to be stored or to reach the point of use. Source: Jafari S, Sohani A, Hoseinzadeh S, Pourfayaz F. The 3E Optimal Location Assessment of Flat-Plate Solar Collectors for Domestic Applications in Iran. Energies. 2022; 15(10):3589. https://doi.org/10.3390/en15103589    FPC is the main solar collector technology installed in ...

The use of renewable energy sources to produce thermal energy is one of the key actions of the energy transition for reducing carbon emissions to the atmosphere. On-site generation of thermal energy from renewables can help local municipalities, cities and communities harness substantial environmental, economic and social benefits. The main technologies used for renewables thermal energy generation which can be adopted in cities are:   Solar thermal – It represents the ...

Building Integrated Solar Thermal (BIST) can be considered a typology of solar thermal collectors, which are directly integrated to the building and used to convert solar radiation into useful heat that can be used in different applications.     BIST typologies can be classified using different criteria, most commonly by the heat transfer fluid used in the solar thermal system which can be air, water or refrigerant. BIST using air as heat transfer fluid can be used for ...

Concrete is the most-used manufactured substance on the planet in terms of volume. It is used to build homes, schools, hospitals, workplaces, roads, railways and ports, and to create infrastructure to provide clean water, sanitation and energy [1]. Concrete is manufactured by mixing cement, water, aggregates and small quantities of chemical admixtures to improve its properties and meet specific product requirements. The direct CO2 emissions related to concrete largely come from cement ...

Passive building design means providing passive heating, passive cooling, and natural ventilation to maintain comfortable indoor conditions with no need for energy, by taking advantage of location (climate), orientation, massing, shading, material selection, thermal mass, insulation, internal layout and the positioning of openings to allow the penetration of solar radiation, daylight, and ventilation in the desired amounts [1–8]. When duly applied, passive design strategies are a ...

To decrease the heat gains of buildings, reflective or cool materials can be applied on the roof or the facades of buildings (1-3). Reflective materials are characterized by high solar reflectance (SR) combined with a high thermal emittance value (4).     Numerous reflective white or light-colored materials are currently commercially available for buildings presenting solar reflectance values ranging from 0.4 to 0.9, and emissivity values close to 0.9. Reflective ...

Photovoltaic (PV) systems represent the most used technology to convert solar radiation into electricity. A PV module is a grid of cells of semiconductor material, which is able to convert sunlight (photons) to electricity (voltage potential). The electricity from a module is generated in the form of direct current (DC), hence an inverter is required to convert it to alternating current (AC). A single PV cell is small (6”x6” square) and can produce only few Watts of power (1/2 ...

Photovoltaic (PV) systems represent the most used technology to convert solar radiation into electricity. A PV module is a grid of cells of semiconductor material, which is able to convert sunlight (photons) to electricity (voltage potential). Most typically, PV panels are installed on roofs or on the ground. Nevertheless, a promising application which can boost the use of solar energy is to integrate PV systems directly into the building envelope. Source: ...

Circular design of textiles involves designing textiles in ways that make them last longer, create less waste during their entire life-cycle, are made from non-toxic material and can be recycled (2).  The development and take-up of such solutions can benefit from the use of co-creation approaches in urban environment involving multiple stakeholders, such as designers, manufacturers, researchers, and behavioural scientists. Innovative technologies for customer-driven design and ...

Water scarcity is a concern not only due to a changing climate and a rise in demand, but also due to non-accountable losses within water distribution networks. In some parts of the EU, up to 80 % of water pumped into distribution systems is lost [Life SmartWater]. Leakages in large diameter main pipelines represent the highest share of the total water losses. However, the issue has been poorly addressed thus far, for example due to lack of access to pipelines. In addition, there is a lack of ...

Ocean contains a vast renewable energy potential, which could support sustainable long-term development and can be a crucial component in the world’s emerging blue economy. Ocean energy technologies are utilizing different resources. They can provide both reliable and stable electricity, as well as support other components of the blue economy, such as aquaculture and desalination.  The four main technologies developed are:  Wave energy: Utilizes the movement of waves ...

Mechanical energy storage (or electromechanical energy storage) systems are devices which convert electrical energy into kinetic or potential energy which can be reconverted into electricity at a later stage. Mechanical energy storage systems can be used in the grid to balance peak periods and to provide ancillary services including frequency, primary and voltage control to the power grid. The main technologies include pumped hydro energy storage (PES), flywheels, compressed air energy storage ...

Thermal energy storage (TES) systems can store heat or cold to be used later under varying conditions such as temperature, place, time, or power. The main use of TES is to overcome the mismatch between energy generation and energy use [1]. The main requirements for the design of a TES system are high energy density in the storage material (storage capacity), good heat transfer between the HTF and the storage material, mechanical and chemical stability of the storage material, compatibility ...

Solar thermal collectors are devices that convert solar energy into thermal energy available in a working fluid, which can be used to cover the heating loads or can be converted into electricity. Nowadays, there are many typologies of solar thermal collectors, which can be classified in many different ways. Nevertheless, solar thermal collectors can be distinguished between small-scale and large-scale applications. Small-scale collectors are mainly used in small family houses to generate ...

Thermal energy storage (TES) systems can store heat or cold to be used later under varying conditions such as temperature, place, time, or power. The main use of TES is to overcome the mismatch between energy generation and energy use [1]. The main requirements for the design of a TES system are high energy density in the storage material (storage capacity), good heat transfer between the HTF and the storage material, mechanical and chemical stability of the storage material, compatibility ...

Thermal energy storage (TES) systems can stock heat or cold to be used at a later time under varying conditions such as temperature, place, time, or power. The main use of TES is to overcome the mismatch between energy generation and energy use [1]. The key requirements for the design of a TES system are high energy density in the storage material (storage capacity), good heat transfer between the heat transfer fluid and the storage material, mechanical and chemical stability of the storage ...

Currently, the construction sector is mostly following linear economy principles – consuming non-renewable virgin materials, producing landfill waste, and producing an overall negative environmental impact. The construction industry is the biggest global consumer of resources and raw materials, consuming e.g., roughly 50% of the total steel production. In addition, 3 billion tonnes of raw materials are used yearly to manufacture building products worldwide [8][9]. In Europe, the ...

The use of renewable energy sources to produce electricity is one of the key actions of the energy transition for reducing carbon emissions to the atmosphere. On-site generation of electricity from renewables can help local municipalities, cities and communities to have substantial environmental, economic and social benefits. Indeed, generating electricity in the urban environment is possible to reduce transmission and distribution losses, and increase flexibility and energy security. The main ...

Urbanisation and industrialisation have led to reduced vegetative cover and decreased water storage in the subsurface, as well as the concentration and accumulation of surface runoff in sewage systems due to reduced infiltration into the soil [1] [2] [5]. Until now, no universally applicable urban flood management solution has been developed. However, hybrid measures that combine nature-based solutions (NBS) with conventional engineering solutions/grey infrastructure have been identified as ...

In order to accelerate their transition to climate neutrality, cities need to cooperate with their full local ecosystem of actors - including citizens, civic groups and stakeholders from the private and public sector – who need to be positively engaged in the challenge as a broad coalition of actors joining their forces. Together, they will need to build new governance models, reect on and co-create new solutions, co-decide upon and embrace climate actions for change, as a whole community ...

  Product labels for circularity can encourage consumers to make more environmentally friendly purchasing choices, thus nudging manufacturers towards a more sustainable production (16);  help extend product lifespan by promoting repair over disposal (4); and ensure correct sorting and recycling of end-of-life products.    They can include various lifecycle aspects, such as a product’s origin, energy efficiency, lifespan (i.e. durability, reparability and ...

Currently, 75% of European houses are energy inefficient, which means that much of the energy needed is simply lost [7].  There are several passive and active solutions to improve energy efficiency in buildings.    Passive solutions typically refer to solutions that reduce the amount of energy lost. They include façade isolation, roof isolation, insulation of heating tubes, energy-efficient windows, structural air tightness on doors and windows and other ...

Heat recovery in district heating networks is relevant for climate-neutral targets due to the replacement of fossil fuels in proportion to the use of waste heat alongside renewable energy sources. The exchange of heat and coolth among different buildings and sources represents an interactive way of satisfying thermal energy needs for space heating. Such exchanges can include those based on the rejected waste heat from the refrigeration of supermarkets that can be used in local residential ...

Thermal energy storage (TES) systems can  store heat or cold to be used at a later time under varying conditions such as temperature, place, time, or power. The main use of TES is to overcome the mismatch between energy generation and energy use [1]. The key requirements for the design of a TES system are high energy density in the storage material (storage capacity), good heat transfer between the heat transfer fluid (HTF) and the storage material, mechanical and chemical stability of ...

Different service providers offer services to help customers improve their buildings energy performance. These are typically called energy service companies (ESCOs). They can help achieve energy savings by implementing energy-efficiency and renewable energy projects [e.g. Houseful]. Typically, the service is delivered through Energy Performance Contracting (EPC), a business model where the solution provider guarantees the performance and receives a performance-based remuneration from the ...

Heat Pumps (HP) are conversion devices able to transfer heat from a lower temperature heat source into a higher temperature heat sink. HP can provide heating, cooling or domestic hot water both for residential and non-residential applications. There are several types of HP (electric compression heat pumps, gas driven HP, heat driven HP, etc.), with electric HP being by far the most common. An electric HP is made of five main components: an evaporator, a compressor, a condenser, an expansion ...

  Enhancing the thermal performance of building envelopes by improving the thermal properties of construction systems is possible by acting upon not just the insulation level, but also the thermal inertia through proper selection of the construction materials [1–3]. The building structure itself constitutes a source of thermal energy storage and plays a key role in buffering heat and in reducing indoor temperature swings [4]. Literature claims that it is impossible to design ...

Buildings represent the largest energy consumer in Europe. Deep energy renovation of the existing stock to reduce its energy consumption seems to be the most appropriate measure and a key policy to achieve emissions reduction targets. The largest part of the European building stock was built way before strict energy requirements were set and, given the long life span of buildings, it is expected that between 85 -95 % of the existing stock will be still under use by 2050 [1]. Given the ...

Buses are an integral part of urban public transport systems. However, urban buses are responsible for about 8% of the road transport Green House Gas emissions in EU [8]. Buses with internal combustion engines are responsible also for emissions of fossil carbon dioxide (CO2) as well as air pollutants particulate matter (PM) or nitrogen oxides (NOx). Thus, zero emission buses, have a significant potential in the reduction of transport related emissions in urban areas.  Zero emission ...

The urban air mobility (UAM) concept revolves around the use of highly automated aircraft (e.g. drones) to transport goods and people in urban and suburban areas. These aircraft fly at low altitudes, and are usually associated with the use of electric motors for propulsion, to achieve sustainable flights with no emissions during operation.    Urban air mobility is a new concept which, although still in research phase, is rapidly evolving and taking shape. To support it, the ...

The EC Communication on a European strategy on Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems [1] acknowledges the key role of digital technologies in the current transformation of the transport sector. Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) apply information and communication technologies such as journey planners, eCall (a system that automatically alerts emergency services in case of an accident), short-range communications for improving passenger safety and reducing road fatalities, and connected ...

DESCRIPTION:   Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility (CCAM) refers to the development of user-centered, inclusive and shared mobility concepts, for people and goods, that are based on automation and connectivity. These innovative mobility concepts aim to complement and integrate the EU transport system with the aim to make it safer, smarter and more sustainable. CCAM has the potential to transform the way we move and the way we travel: it can decrease transport accidents ...

NetZeroCities Call for Twin Cities Information Webinar | 12th June 2023 This webinar: 1) gives information about the Call for Twin Cities (Call guidelines, who can apply, selection criteria, timeframe, Pilot cities, Application Form etc) and 2) answers questions about the Call.

Greening cities is a transversal solution to numerous urban challenges, not only to support the transition towards climate neutrality, but also to improve biodiversity, social justice and resilience. Greening cities can include many diverse solutions, among them tree planting and the development of parks and natural urban green areas.    Tree planting and urban forest  Planting street trees, single line trees or group of trees, as well as trees in urban parks or urban ...

Water scarcity is a concern not only due to a changing climate and a rise in demand, but also due to non-accountable losses within water distribution networks. In some parts of the EU, up to 80 % of water pumped into distribution systems is lost [Life SmartWater]. Leakages in large diameter main pipelines represent the highest share of the total water losses. However, the issue has been poorly addressed thus far, for example due to lack of access to pipelines. In addition, there is a lack of ...

Hydrogen used as a fuel has emerged as an alternative fuel with multiple benefits. It is commonly used in its gaseous form to power a fuel cell, generating electricity, where it is completely emission free at point of use, with zero tailpipe emissions. Fuel cells are especially useful in-vehicle applications where the energy and power density of batteries is not sufficient, with also the advantage of low refuelling times.     In urban transport, there are some vehicle ...

Waterborne transport greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are on the rise, and they represent today almost 3% of global GHG emissions [1]. Ships entering EU ports emit 13% of the total EU transport GHG emissions [2], while inland waterway transport in the EU is estimated to emit 3.8 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year [3]. Apart from GHG emissions, shipping is responsible for water degradation, air pollution and noise pollution. All these impacts have a negative impact on cities and their ...

Urban rail transit (e.g. light rail, rapid transit, commuter rail, metro rail) is an important component of urban mobility and transport. With relatively low lifecycle emissions, electrified rail transport is considered to be key for the reduction of emissions in transport in general, and also in urban areas.     Railway networks in urban and suburban areas play a prominent role in major cities and highly dense urban areas, serving the daily needs of citizens and offering ...

An electric car uses electric power instead of an internal combustion engine powered by liquid or gaseous fuels like diesel fuel, gasoline, LPG or methane. It has been increasingly recognized that electric cars provide an opportunity to reduce global GHG emissions [3] and greatly increase air quality.   Even though the emissions by a vehicle determine only a part of total emissions related to mobility (apart from emissions during production of energy, production of a vehicle and ...

By 2050, the majority of people (67 %) will live in urban areas [1], one of the reasons why urban agriculture and gardening is becoming a topic of growing interest. In addition to providing fresh food to urban areas, community and rooftop gardens provide environmental, social and health benefits, as well as opportunities for economic development. Urban agriculture does not only address climate issues by supporting CO2 storage in urban areas, but it also addresses environmental issues ...

DESCRIPTION:   The new generation of district heating and cooling networks are based on low and/or ultra-low temperature sources of renewable energy and waste heat for heating as well as high-temperature cooling. Such networks provide key options for decarbonizing the thermal energy needs of the building sector and allow supporting strategies for climate neutrality in the urban context for reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions while increasing energy security. This factsheet ...

Thermal energy storage (TES) systems can store heat or cold to be used later, under varying conditions such as temperature, place, time, or power. The main use of TES is to overcome the mismatch between energy generation and energy use [1]. The main requirements for the design of a TES system are high energy density in the storage material (storage capacity), good heat transfer between the HTF and the storage material, mechanical and chemical stability of the storage material, compatibility ...

Solar thermal panels are devices that convert solar radiation into heat and transfer it to a heat transfer fluid (typically, water or an anti-freeze fluid) to storage or the point of use. Solar thermal systems are usually implemented with a water storage tank, to reduce the production-demand fluctuations, and have high operational safety, a great performance ratio, and can account for at least 25 to 30 years of lifetime. Solar thermal collectors can be mainly divided into two types: tracking ...

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) and utilisation (CCU) present themselves as crucial solutions in the emission reduction strategies for hard-to-abate industries that have few other decarbonization options, such as chemical, cement, and steel production. It can also be used in the production of hydrogen. CCS technologies prevent fossil-based CO₂ from entering the atmosphere by capturing it at the source and storing it safely underground so that it does not contribute to climate change. It ...

Photovoltaic (PV) energy policies can vary from one country to another and can change over time. In general, policies are designed to encourage the development and deployment of a technology by providing financial incentives, setting performance standards, and creating frameworks for the integration of systems into existing grids. In Spain, PV policy has been an important driver of the growth of the solar industry. The country has a strong solar resource and has implemented a number of ...

Vertical green infrastructure (VGI) has a great potential to support climate transition of compact urban areas. VGI does not compete for land use, but is able to support microclimate regulation through cooling capacities, to reduce noise pollution, to recycle and upcycle rainwater and grey water, to produce food or habitat for species, and to generate pleasant green spaces, with a significant aesthetic value. From a built environment perspective, these solutions can enhance buildings’ ...

Sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) are a wide category of water interventions to align modern drainage systems with natural water processes. SUDS comprise “a sequence of management practices, control structures, solutions and strategies designed to efficiently and sustainably drain surface water, while minimising pollution and managing the impact on water quality of local water bodies” [1].  SUDS can be considered more sustainable than traditional drainage methods ...

Currently, there is a widespread lack of awareness on the economic value of building products and components deriving from renovation, repurposing or change of layout in buildings. Especially in office and commercial buildings, the design might change the interior materials many years before technically necessary, leading to unnecessary waste.    The Residual Value Calculator is a model that provides insights into the residual financial value of building products, such as the ...

The built environment industry mostly follows a linear economy model: from extraction of non-renewable virgin materials, through manufacturing and constructing, to disposal in landfills. Registration and documentation of products and materials used in the built environment can help the transition to a circular economy, encouraging their reuse and eliminating waste, thus reducing the negative environmental footprint of the building sector [2].    Online Material and/or Building ...

Industrial symbiosis refers to an association between industries where companies’ waste or side products turn into input materials for another company, creating economic gain for both [8]. The word “symbiosis” is usually associated with relationships in nature, where two or more species exchange materials, energy, or information in a mutually beneficial manner. In the case of industrial symbiosis, it is industrial players or companies, often from different sectors but located ...

Flooding, along with related storms, is the most important natural hazard in Europe in terms of human and economic loss [12] and the intensity of flood events has grown in the last years. In urban areas, the waterproofing of soils is incrementally increasing flood risk due to the presence of roads, industries and houses. The intensity and the frequency of flood events will increase in the next years due to global warming and the consequent change in the global water cycle. The resulting ...

Green infrastructure means introducing vegetation on/in man-made buildings and constructions to provide environmental, economic, and social benefits (i.e., clean air and water, climate regulation, food provision, erosion control, and places for recreation) [1]. Green roofs advantages over traditional solutions include reduction of surface runoff in large cities, reduced urban heat islands, support to biodiversity, improvement of the durability of waterproofing materials, increase of energy ...

20% of all food produced in the EU is currently wasted. 70% of this waste stems from households and processing. Although actions are primarily needed to reduce food waste, existing waste can be recycled in several ways to capture valuable nutrients [1].    When selecting recycling solutions for food waste, the food waste hierarchy can be used as an indicator as to which solution to give preference (see visual) [2]. Reuse for consumption and high-value products, followed by ...

The stakeholders engagement and dissemination plan is for defining your strategy for engaging and communicating with your stakeholders. It is used for understanding the context based on experiences or by analysing the situation. It helps to identify how differences in circumstances of the environment are related to the project. With this tool you can clearly plan your interaction with different stakeholders. It can be used as a guide to the identification and representation of the outputs of ...

Solar thermal collectors are devices that convert solar energy into thermal energy available in a working fluid, which can be used to cover the heating loads or can be converted into electricity. Nowadays, there are many typologies of solar thermal collectors, which can be classified in many different ways. Nevertheless, solar thermal collectors can be distinguished between small-scale and large-scale applications. Small-scale collectors are mainly used in small family houses to generate ...

The basic principles in urban rain water management and retention is to mimic nature, meaning to stay as close as possible to the natural water cycle. In an ideal case, infiltration can store water and then release it as needed. However, in urban environments this is not always possible, therefore, rainwater should be stored in a buffer and gradually released to the natural environment [7].     Alternative solutions for rainwater management and retention are for example ...

The United for Smart Sustainable Cities (U4SSC) is a global initiative that provides an international platform for information exchange and partnership building to guide cities and communities in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The U4SSC is a UN initiative coordinated by ITU, UNECE and UN-Habitat and supported by other 16 UN bodies, that help support the development of institutional policies and strategies which encourage the use of digital technologies to facilitate digital ...

Data ownership refers to both the possession of and responsibility for information. Ownership implies power as well as control. The control of information includes not just the ability to access, create, modify, package, derive benefit from, sell or remove data, but also the right to assign these access privileges to others (Loshin, 2002). Data ownership is the right to control the use of data. It is the responsibility of the data owner to ensure that the data is used in a responsible manner ...

The concept of digital twins traces its origins to product development and simulations of the behaviour of physical objects. It emerged from manufacturing and prototyping such as those conducted by NASA and Formula One racing cars. The digital object that forms the twin looks the same and behaves the same as the “real” object, and so the digital twin can provide simulations and predictions. The application of digital twins not only provides accurate representation of complex ...

With the introduction of satellite images and geolocated data to a broad public, new opportunities are offered to city planners and governments to take informed decisions by quantitative analyses and even predictions based on these technologies. In doing so, urban phenomena, such as the relation of population demographics to current challenges of cities (as for instance, climate change in cities, crime or deprivation) can be discussed or future predictions of urban development modelled to ...

Public Code Management is a practice of developing and managing publicly funded software development openly. An ideal situation is to offer free software for everyone. In contrast to proprietary software development, the innovative solution is developed by public organisation with everyone able to share, explore, utilise, and improve the work. The core principle is responding to fundamental rights of individuals. Public code movement encourages towards openness (Source: Publiccode) For ...

Minimal Interoperability Mechanisms (MIMs) are the minimal but sufficient capabilities needed to achieve interoperability of data, systems, and services between buyers, suppliers and regulators across governance levels around the world. Because the mechanisms are based on an inclusive list of baselines and references, they take into account the different backgrounds of cities and communities and allow cities to achieve interoperability based on a minimal common ground. The MIMs are aimed to ...

Agile systems development, including prototyping and sandboxes, is a method of software development that emphasizes collaboration, flexibility, and rapid iteration. This approach is based on the Agile Manifesto, which advocates for a more flexible and responsive development process that can adapt to changing requirements and customer needs. In the construction industry, Agile systems development can be used to create digital tools and solutions that support the design, construction, and ...

Interoperable Europe is an initiative of the European Commission for a reinforced interoperability policy in the public sector. It evolved out of the ISA² funding programme of the European Union that supported the development of digital solutions to enable public administrations, businesses, and citizens in Europe to benefit from interoperable cross-border and cross-sector public services. That programme finished at the end of December 2020. The issue, of course, is still not solved, and ...

The local data spaces policy in the construction industry refers to the creation of digital representations of a building's data in a secure and controlled environment. This includes information about the design, construction, and operation of the building, such as building plans, specifications, schedules, and energy consumption data. The purpose of this policy is to provide a centralized repository of building data that can be easily accessed and shared by all stakeholders, including ...

Open data models refer to the sharing of data in a freely accessible format, allowing for greater transparency, collaboration, and reuse of information. In the construction industry, open data models can be applied to building information modelling (BIM), which is a digital representation a building or infrastructure. By using open data models, construction professionals can access and use building data more easily, leading to improved decision-making and increased efficiency in the design, ...

Building, structure and infrastructure content in cities is exchanged many ways. When software dominates in market it may be referred as ‘de facto’ standard, but technical guidelines and specifications are decided by its developers. Open standards, on the other hand, are freely available for anyone to use without any legal, technical, or financial restrictions. Those are a set of technical guidelines that ensure consistency and interoperability across different systems used in ...

The Measuring and Monitoring services and tools may include the following parts: learning info kit - why measuring & monitroring is important to enable good city governance, KPIs, impact and monitoring methods, data collection sources & respective ICT technology, tools and services to support measuring & monitoring of green and digital transitions. There are many EU research project currently running in Europe to support cities in measuring and monitoring tasks. The example ...

Urban development projects are usually complex tasks where failures based on environmental circumstances, such as flooding or strong winds, can cause disastrous outcomes. With the introduction of digital technologies and the availability of large amounts of data, various data-driven methods have been developed to inform leaders of such projects upfront on future situations and any possible effects of planned developments. This allows stakeholders to assess risks, evaluate designs and identify ...

IoT sensors are connected devices collecting and transmitting data over the internet. They can be monitoring environmental parameters such as temperature, humidity, air quality. Edge computing is technology doing data processing near the data source, so called at the edge network sometimes also called also fog. Together these solutions can improve performance and efficiency of environmental monitoring system because less data is transferred, and local processing reduces processing in main ...

Given the exponentially increasing amount of data being generated in cities and communities by many different agencies and the fact that much of this data could be of value to other agencies, increasing numbers of local data sharing ecosystems (Local Data Space) are being set up, where many different agencies can make useful data that they are gathering available for use by other agencies. The aim is to make it easy for organisations to offer up their data and easy for potential users of that ...

The renovation supporting solutions can potentially support users (Facility managers, Building owners, ESCOs) in the design and selection of most appropriate building renovation actions. In modern data-driven developments, this is achieved by leveraging the real-time data coming from the actual operation of the building combined with occupants’ behaviuor- and comfort profiles. With the support of  data science (i.e. AI algorithms) an alternative renovation scenarios for the selected ...

The Predicitve Maintenance supporting tools in general aim at the facilitating predictive maintenance tasks for various large energy systems (e.g. HVAC) installed in buildings. Existing modern real-time data based solutions are able to support recognizing building technical systems' malfunctions, inefficiencies and optimization possibilities. Continuous data collection and data analytics are enabled by installed smart building infrastructures (such BACS system and data cloud ...

City Dashboards are typically deployed by stakeholders such as municipalities, provinces or any other organization interested and involved in urban planning. Dashboards provide cities with visual insights about various indicators in their city environment, such as air quality, emissions, traffic, and road safety. These insights can be generated in real-time, based on different current, as well as historical, data that has been collected in the past. Examples of such data can be real-time sensor ...

There is a strong global interest on reducing CO2 emissions. Two cost-effective main routes for this are emissions trading and carbon taxes. CO2 trading platforms are digital marketplaces where businesses, governments, and individuals can buy and sell carbon allowances. It may include one or more exchanges, brokerage, and auctions for allowances. Services may be provided by private sector or government agencies. Actors purchase credits either for compliance (targets) or voluntary purposes. ...

City Platforms are a key part of any city architecture and cities and communities will each have a variety of different platforms at different layers of their overall city platform. The logic behind the use of platforms is straightforward – instead of using many separate applications containing duplicating functionally, all common functionalities can be collected into a platform and solutions which are built on top of that platform then only need to possess unique functionality. The ...

Building Information Model (BIM) and Civil Information Model (CIM) are digital tools transforming the construction industry. BIM is a set of technologies, processes, and policies of creating and managing digital representations of a building or structure, while CIM is focused on civil infrastructure facilities and sometimes called infraBIM. These tools enable stakeholders to design, construct and operate projects in city environment more efficiently. These tools help to manage life cycle of ...

Greenhouse gas (GHG) monitoring from space is a solution that uses satellites to measure carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N20) and ozone (O3) emissions in the atmosphere. Construction industry produces a significant portion of global GHG emissions, and buildings with their energy sources are one of largest contributors to these emissions. The technology allows to track the sources and movement of emissions. Carbon dioxide monitoring satellite (Source: ESA ...

There are a range of AI applications that can contribute to climate neutrality in cities, across various themes, including energy, transport and built environment for example by: Integrating and optimizing smart urban transport systems via mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) or other single on-demand mobility services; Optimizing energy production and consumption via home technologies with a focus on energy saving and behavior change; Monitoring changes in the natural and the built environment ...

Decision making in the urban environment is typically performed using a scenario-based analysis. Stakeholders define a base scenario, which serves as the current situation in a city. Additionally, a reference scenario in which e.g. a road is closed can be defined to study the effects of the closure and make a comparison with the base scenario. Source: TNO For a scenario-based analysis in a city it is required that multiple domains are covered, such as traffic, air quality, noise and energy. ...

Predictive modelling is a crucial element for both real-time management and long-term planning in urban areas. For example, road sensor data can be used for real-time traffic management in a city, while predictions based on this data can enable decision makers to study long-term effects of interventions in a city. Typically, predictive modelling is performed for one domain in isolation, such as traffic predictions. However, for an integral view on a city it is important to combine such ...

In urban areas, rainwater falls and runs off mineralized surfaces (asphalt, concrete, bitumen, etc.). For cities, this generates problems in terms of: water pollution: instead of being absorbed by the soil, rainwater is loaded with pollutants from the leaching of the impermeable surfaces on which it runs; flooding, due to an excessive volume of runoff water that can clog up the existing sewage system. This is why there are integrated rainwater management techniques at the plot level, ...

This NBS focuses on the delivery additional ecological components within a hard/built engineering approach to water management. They aid the reduction in pluvial flood risk in urban areas and improve the quality of water within sewerage systems. The main approaches and benefits of hard drainage flood prevention are: Hard-drainage flood prevention includes river engineering and dam construction to control the amount of discharge. Dams can be built to hold water back and release it in a ...

The EU Waste framework directive (Directive 2018/851/EU) defines a target to recycle 65% of municipal waste by 2035, along with separate biowaste collection or recycling at source by 2023. Composting is a natural method of waste recycling whereby the organic waste, under natural or induced conditions, is converted into organic fertiliser or soil additives. Community composting is a localised solution for recycling organic solids, wherein different waste generators from one or more urban ...

The natural and built environment that surrounds us largely dictates our behaviours. When it comes to transportation, the domination of the streetscape by car-lanes naturally leads to higher car ownership and use. To address this challenge, the development of well-connected green corridors can promote a modal shift away from cars and towards sustainable mobility means, whether this is walking, cycling or micromobility. Instead of concrete/asphalt roads with little to no vegetation, green ...

Urban Garden Biofilter is an air filter framed in an urban garden to reduce the emissions of underground car parks or other stationary sources of pollutant compounds in urban environments. This NBS can be adapted to existing car parks or tunnels, or included in the design of new infrastructures. Urban garden bio-filter, URBAN GreenUP project It is composed of three main elements: the extractor system to extract the polluted air from underground areas/ car parks; the plenum section to ...

Green filter areas are land application system, constructed to provide a buffer or pollution filter between industrial operations, roads, public spaces or walkways. Different typologies of vegetation have different performances and can be combined with solid barriers. Green Filter area in Colombia A specific application of green filter is used for treating water (wastewater). It consists of a plot area, sized according to the influent to be treated, which has forests installed and is ...

They are mainly shade structures with a total or partial vegetated surface.  Shelters in Valladolid (Spain), URBAN GreenUP project There are different types of shading structure, depending on the structure design and the type of vegetation used, e.g. structure could be textile or wood; vegetation could be climbing and hanging plants; and installation could be fixed to the façades or done by posts. Parklets in Izmir (Turkey), URBAN GreenUP project ...

Urban runoff can contribute to flooding and abrupt contribution to flow in peri-urban/urban streams. It is also frequently characterized by poor water quality, as runoff might contain a mix of contaminated sediments, pollutants, oils through to feltilizers and pesticides if these are not properly applied. In order to meet such challenges, alternative solutions exist, such as the one specified below. Constructed Wetlands (CW) are fully engineered systems using natural processes to treat water ...

The needs of sustainable and climate resilience cities are driven along with social, ecological and technological transformations. In recent years, technological advances have increased remarkably, which has prompted the exploration of how urban systems can be transformed into "smart cities". The use of information and communications technologies, the Internet of Things, and robotic systems and artificial intelligence have enabled the creation of "smart" technologies to ...

Green Pavements and hard drainage pavements are particular types of pavements made out of a porous concrete surface, open pore pavers or asphalt, with an underlying stone reservoir or water channels touching the soil. Those solutions allow water to filter on the inside and be absorbed by the ground -or drained via a drain tile- instead of running over. Types of green pavements. Source: www.pavershare.org Some types of green pavement may be: Traditional Concrete/Asphalt: the standard ...

Swales are shallow, flat bottomed, vegetated open channels designed to convey, treatand often attenuate surface water runoff. When incorporated into site design, they can enhance the natural landscape and provide aesthetic and biodiversity benefits. They are often used to drain roads, paths or car parks, where it is convenient to collect distributed in flows of runoff, or as a means of conveying runoff on the surface while enhancing access corridors or other open space. Swales can have a ...

Verges spaces are empty spaces that together add up to a large area with the potential to be used for pollinator (Diptera, Lepidoptera and Coleoptera) promotion, which requires management guidance to determine the floral species as well as provision to reduce collisions with vehicles. Providing shelters for pollinators is strategic as they often nest in fallen tree trunks, rocks or the ground usually removed by human activity. Management of road verges for pollinators In addition, in many ...

Healthy soil can serve as a vital carbon store. Climate-smart soil management is therefore crucial and can help to make agricultural practices more resilient to the consequences of climate change. Innovative technologies can improve fertility and soil biodiversity as well as reduce risks for erosion. Conservation agriculture practices such as minimum soil disturbance, permanent soil cover, and crop rotation also help to prevent carbon being released from the soil into the ...

Cities are amongst the biggest contributors to carbon emissions because of widescale urbanisation, while also being highly vulnerable to resultant impacts of these emissions due to climate change impacts. Solutions that reduce or capture more carbon emissions than they release are called carbon sinks. Urban carbon sinks refer to a combination of solutions focused on maximising carbon capture and sequestration through the plantation of particular trees in urban and peri-urban green spaces, ...

Solid and liquid/solid free waste fractions generated in households can be separated for further valorisation. Separation technologies include commercial mechanical techniques as screw press or decanting centrifuges. Once separated, the solid fraction can be converted into biogas in an anaerobic digestion unit to be used within the building. On the other hand, the liquid fraction (solid free) can be treated with indoor and/or outdoor Nature Based Solutions (NBS) such as multi-level green walls/ ...

Plastics are among the key sectors identified in the EU Circular Economy Action Plan. The need for solutions that promote circularity in this sector will be increasing as their consumption is expected to double in the coming 20 years. Plastic Waste Management refers to the prevention, reuse, recycle, recovery and disposal of plastic waste generated by households and companies in an area. Recycling plastic material refers to the process of recovering waste or scrap plastic and reprocessing ...

The transition to a low-carbon economy will lead to an exponential increase in demand for batteries and raw materials for batteries (such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese) - this supply risk could at least partially be reduced by system level circular economy (CE) approaches. CE is an economic system in which life cycle thinking, sustainability, systems thinking are at the core. CE concept aims to keep materials in use and design out waste and emissions by using recycled and secondary ...

There is a global need to find and use alternative protein sources in order to improve the sustainability of the food system. While alternative proteins are studied, the easiest shift in the consumers' diet is to exchange meat with fish intake. Nevertheless, this higher consumption must be done avoiding overfishing and improving the current catching processes: fish by-catch and discards account for approx. 30% of the total world capture fisheries, which translates into approximately 30 M of ...

As cities around the world are growing, we need to find new ways to feed growing urban populations. Our current linear food system is wasteful, inefficient, and resource-intensive. Roughly a third of the food produced worldwide is wasted and ends up in landfills, creating harmful greenhouse gas emissions. Cities (and their peri-urban regions) can take on a leading role in creating sustainable and circular food systems with better waste management. Closed-loop food systems not only decrease food ...

Grinded Bio Waste and Blackwater (water from toilets or kitchens) generated in households can be treated in Anaerobic Membrane Bio-Reactors (AnMBR) for the recovery of: Reuse of treated blackwater ( >90%) for toilet or fertigation, Compost: The sludge from the anaerobic digester can be emptied regularly to produce high-quality compost. Renewable energy. Absorption technologies can be used to ensure biogas quality. The solution would also include biogas cleaning to increase CH4 ...

Black Liquor is a by-product of pulp from mills that make products from trees, such as paper. It is currently used to recover cooking chemicals and produce high-pressure steam used in the pulp and paper-making process. It is composed of different ingredients from these processes such as lignin, hemicellulose, sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium sulfide (Na2S). Source: adapted from Hamaguchi, M., Cardoso, M., & Vakkilainen, E. (2012). Alternative Technologies for Biofuels Production in ...

The necessity for urban transformation towards a circular economy (CE) system is becoming more evident as urban population and waste generation are increasing. To face this challenge of decoupling the economy from natural resources extraction, the cities need to adhere to several programs and strategies established by national, regional and municipal levels such as CE Action Plans. Local policy makers can make public local commitment to tax and regulatory reforms, or promote legislation ...

Urban mining is the process of recovering and reusing materials of existing buildings. An Urban Mining Model is about preserving stock of materials present in existing buildings. It is an applied contribution towards stepping-up of circularity in the housing construction sector with a focus on optimal re-use of secondary building materials and, at the same time, reduction of CO2 relates to the use of new building materials. For city governments in particular, this model shows different ...

There is a clear need to decrease usage of non-renewable raw materials in many applications including packaging. In packaging this means usage of renewable raw materials and decreasing the amount of used packaging material. Target is to produce materials from renewable raw materials that can be used as packaging materials. Packaging materials are typically multilayer structures including several materials like foils, coatings, substrates and inks. There is also need to decrease the material ...

Currently, the share of the bioplastics from the overall global plastics production is only 1% (2.1Mt), and it is applied largely for packaging solutions. Globally, sustainability strategies of different countries include replacement of fossils with renewables, however, this intended increase in biomass use will potentially lead to trade-offs that need to be studied. In 2019, material use took up to 2% of global agricultural area, from this share biobased plastics covered approximately ...

A variety of new technologies and waste recovery systems are being developed in response to European legislation and market forces that aim to recover critical raw materials (CRM) from end-of-life appliances. These diverse resource recovery processes are often regrouped under the concept of “urban mining”, which considers cities’ waste streams as economically important reserves of metals needed for digital and low-carbon technologies. Recycling waste electrical and electronic ...

Urban biodegradable waste refers to waste from gardens and parks, food waste from households, restaurants, food services, and markets, as well as waste from food processing, excluding waste from forestry or agriculture, textiles, wood, or paper. Across the EU, between 118 and 138 million tons of biodegradable waste are generated each year, which makes up almost half of municipal solid waste. Urban biodegradable waste discarded in landfills poses a major threat for the environment as its ...

The anaerobic digestion of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) is a common process implemented throughout the world as it offers a sustainable source of biogas while valorising municipal waste. Anaerobic digestion also produces digestate, a nutrient-dense mixture that can be used by farmers as a high-quality fertilizer: Source: Adapted from: Anaerobic co-digestion is a variant of this process which refers to the mixing, digestion and treatment of two or more organic ...

Pay as you throw (PAYT) is policy instrument that charges citizens for the amount of waste they produce, so the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) services are considered as an utility. It is often linked with the purchase of trash bags directly by the citizens, usually marked with a code. Source: © 2014 WasteZero There are different types of pay as you throw systems, with different outcomes and effectiveness. Cash-based system: Residents pay an amount in cash for every bag they dispose of ...

Green hydrogen refers to electrolytic hydrogen produced using electricity generated from renewable energy sources, and also to hydrogen produced via different methods using other renewable sources such as biogas, biomethane, bio-waste and other renewable sources. Since hydrogen’s production translates into extracting it from its compound by using energy from other primary sources, it is an energy carrier used to move, store, and deliver energy. Source: Hydrogen Council ...

Solar heating technologies collect thermal energy from the sun and use this heat for drying purposes, for space heating/ cooling, or to provide process heat. With the advanced solar process heat technologies, almost 50% of head demand in the industrial sector could potentially be met. Heat in the lower temperature range (<80°C) can be provided with commercially available systems, such as flat plate collectors (FPC) and evacuated tube collectors (ETC). For medium-temperature processes, ...

The monitoring system is a time measuring tool aimed at monitoring, in the long term, the impact of the energy system. Thanks to the monitoring system it is possible to check the energy and environmental performance of the system collecting data such as water temperatures, water flow rates and energy consumptions. It allows also to verify the comfort conditions inside the building monitoring the inside air temperature. Monitoring system architecture, where: 1=equipment; 2=data logger; ...

Heat Pumps are conversion devices able to transfer heat from a lower temperature heat source into a higher temperature heat sink. Within the last years, due to its large potential, its use for industrial application, recovering heat either from renewable sources or waste heat has been in the focus of the thermal sector. Industrial waste heat represents a valuable heat source for heat upgrade technologies due to its relatively high-temperature level in the form of, e.g. cooling liquid ...

Replacement of equipment and machinery is defined as the “substitution of devices due to both economical operational cost reduction and/or the existence in the market of same kind of equipment with enhance characteristics”, and not necessarily due to failures or existent damage. The main benefits of renewal of equipment are: Maintenance cost: in general, maintenance and spare parts of old equipment increase along time in comparison with new devices, increasing the ...

Energy Management System (EMS) is the powerfull energy management concept that implies: Optimal integration of Distributed Energy Resources (generation, storage an consumption with special relevance of reneable energy) in the energy system, specially in the distribution and transport energy grids. The emerging and active participation of new energy profiles (active consumers, prosumers, aggregators...) in the energy framework, specially in the different existing and coming energy ...

Excess heat from certain processes can be a valuable resource for other processes within the industry and even for other industries or users, directly or after some transformation steps. In general industries have implemented solutions as long as these were cost-effective. However, heat recovery potential is still untapped due to a number of technical and non-technical barriers. Among them, the need to make the recovery cost-effective and the real possibility of reusing it by upgrading ...

Collective passenger transport can be defined in two categories: Conventional and high capacity public transport, which consists in transporting collectively citizens from one place to the other. Public transport systems usually operate along established routes and are managed on a schedule or timetable. The typical examples of mass public transport systems are buses, trains, trams, trolleybuses, or waterborne transport systems. High capacity public transport systems are the backbone of ...

Following the success of Unmanned Aircrafts, UAs (drones) in surveillance and remote sensing, drone delivery systems have begun to emerge as an alternative to trucks and vans for handling last-mile delivery. Drone delivery solutions are expected to reduce delivery costs, delivery time, congestion, GHG and local emissions in urban areas and hence free up space at ground level to create healthier, livable cities. Shared autonomous drone package delivery system operations The drone delivery ...

Mobility hubs provide a focal point in the transport network that seamlessly integrates different modes of transport, multi-modal supportive infrastructure, and turn spaces into places. It is designed and spatially organised in a way to facilitate access to transport modes and easy transfer between the modes, from rail, to buses, shared cars, shared bikes, and/or shared e-scooters, ride-hailing/shared taxis. Mobility hubs increase the inherent value of every single transport mode connected to ...

To reach the target of climate neutrality of European cities by 2030, it is very important to introduce renewable energy systems into the global energy system. To manage the fluctuating power generation of renewable energy systems, it is very important to use energy management techniques. One of the energy management techniques is to establish energy communities in these cities. e.g. AIT has made in cooperation with Wien Energie a study about energy communities as part of smart and sustainable ...

Microgrid is usually understood as sub-area of an electricity distribution network that is organized and operated independently but is connected to the public electricity grid. Several energy producers and consumers are connected to the microgrid, whereby its expansion is usually limited to campus, several buildings, or a neighborhood due to the limitations of the regulatory framework. The microgrid has an intelligent control system and optimizes operation in such a way that the highest ...

District heating and cooling systems consist of heating and/or cooling production facilities and distribution grids similar to electricity systems. They essentially produce heating and cooling energy remotely and transport it to the consumers. The sizes, temperatures, and energy supply options within these systems vary greatly across Europe and the World. The first and second generation of district heating systems usually refer to older and less efficient networks operating at high supply ...

Fuel Cells (FC) are electrochemical devices that transform hydrogen and oxygen to obtain water and electrical power through an oxidation chemical reaction. FC are known as gas-to-power (or hydrogen-to-power) technologies. Unlike batteries, the reactive compounds are consumed continuously and produce electricity on-site: Figure: gas-fuel cell that produces hydrogen instantaneously and produces el. and heat in residential units in Japan https://www.j-lpgas.gr.jp/en/appliances/ FCs ...

Geothermal energy has a long tradition in human history, from thermal baths to heating and power generation. It represents an important resource of renewable energy. The use of geothermal energy normally requires high temperatures to be viable. This often means deeper and more expensive drilling work. Some technologies can produce power at lower temperatures but they are more expensive and usually less efficient resulting in a higher production cost. The drilling works represent the majority ...

Distributed wind consists of wind turbines connected to the distribution level of the electric grid, to serve either on-site loads or local loads in the same grid. Use cases are utility (cooperative or publicly owned), industrial, residential, institutional, governmental, commercial, or agricultural. The most common grid applications are grid-connected microgrids, isolated grids, and remote off-grid [1]. In 2020, the average distributed wind project (excluding small-scale wind  <100kW) ...

Building envelope consists of all components that separate the interior from the exterior in a building, it includes the roof, walls and floor. The most important principle for energy efficient construction is a continuous insulating envelope all around the building, which is also key to maintain comfortable indoor conditions. Figure from https://passipedia.org/planning/thermal_protection Thermal insulation is a construction material with low thermal conductivity (U-value), often less than ...

Chemical storage refers to storing electricity that can be released as required though chemical processes. Known also as batteries that can act as chemical energy storage and become future energy generation solutions more efficient and profitable. They are especially interesting for intermittent renewable sources (e.g. solar or wind energy generation) for making efficient use of the availability. There is nowadays different types of batteries. Follows up a non-exhaustive list of typologies ...

Biomass includes all land- and water-based vegetation, as well as all organic wastes. As a renewable energy source, biomass is used for facility heating, electric power generation, and combined heat and power (CHP). For the cities, the preferable way of the utilization of biomass for electricity generation is in CHP plants with supply to a district heating network since this is the most effective way to use biomass. CHP is typically consisting of a biomass-fired boiler whose steam is used to ...

Co-generation is the simultaneous production of electricity and useful heat. In a regular power plant, the heat remaining in the generation of electricity is released to the environment, mostly through cooling towers or cooling water, whereas in a cogeneration plant, the heat is recovered for use in homes, businesses, and industry. Source: Energy transition - Cogeneration (https://wiki.energytransition.org/wiki/cogeneration/) Such a system has valuable properties to enhance the efficiency ...

Cities are a framework where the water-energy nexus is becoming critical due to demographic movements, economic growth, or the inexorable increase in the demand for both resources. Metropolises around the world are also facing global change pressures due to climate change and water scarcity, which are making it a challenge to continue to deliver core urban water services without increasing the impact on the natural environment. Urban water networks can be considered a source of renewable energy ...

A synthesized ‘NZC Civic Environment Mapping Tool’ has been developed to: -integrate key insights from the analysis of the various stakeholder mapping canvases -integrate elements from the NZC priority areas and levers of change that the cities will have defined as key entry points to their CCC process -provide Mission cities with a simple canvas to start their mapping process It captures diverse stakeholder types, resources and degree of influence, all situated within a framework of ...

A concept is a principle or an idea, which supports climate neutrality city targets, that can combine several solutions together. Below several concepts that can help in decarbonizing cities are presented by the Net Zero Cities experts:  By accounting for all three scopes of GHG emissions in a city's inventory, policymakers and stakeholders can get a more complete picture of the city's carbon footprint and prioritize mitigation strategies accordingly. For example, a city ...

A sewage heat recovery via pump system is designed to withdraw heat from warm wastewater (12-15°C) through heat exchangers, in a closed loop to avoid mixing; preheating cold tap water, and reducing heating demands and fossil fuel consumption. These systems can be implemented for individual buildings to pre-heat tap water for domestic hot water and space heating demands, or on a larger scale in sewer plants and channels having the potential to supply low-heat to a district heating network ...

Biomass is defined as organic matter derived from plants or animals available on a renewable basis. Cities can collect waste biomass to produce biogas, or can get the wood biomass from the region. As it is distributed worldwide, one of the advantages of biomass utilization for energy is that almost every country can utilize its own resources. Moreover, since it is easy to store, it can be used for peak load generations of electrical energy. Nevertheless, to ensure a secure supply, long-term ...

The built environment makes up almost a third of global greenhouse gas emissions and the embedded emissions of materials used in construction are contributing greatly to this. Concrete alone is responsible for 4 to 8% of the world’s CO2. Circularity in the built environment and the use of biobased materials can play a significant role in reducing cities’ carbon emissions. Schoonschip: A sustainable floating neighborhood. ...

Natural ventilation (or passive ventilation) makes use of natural forces, such as wind and thermal buoyancy, to circulate air to and from an indoor space in order to maintain good air quality. These ventilation systems work to regulate the internal air temperature as well as bring fresh air in and send state air out. This is largely achieved through the opening and closing of windows and vents which act as a source of air as well as exhaust. Natural ventilation: single-sided ventilation, ...

Heat Pumps (HP) are conversion devices able to transfer heat from a lower temperature heat source into a higher temperature heat sink. There are several types of HP (electricity compression heat pumps, gas driven HP, heat driven HP, etc.), the most common and efficient the electrical ones. When electricity comes from renewables, it can be considered green. Due to its versatility and high energy efficiency, the development of HP technology will be crucial in this transition toward ...

Street lighting is a fundamental service provided by municipal governments. It ensures safe transport, makes cities safer, and allows cities to look their best. Smart street lightings are characterised by the fact that the individual light point not only fulfils the function of the lighting, but also offers additional services for citizens. An increase in the scope of functions offers the linking of services and makes further services possible, such environmental monitoring (noise and air ...

The free-cooling systems are based on a simple idea: exchange indoor air with outdoor air, which allows you for conditioning a zone for free. Free cooling cannot be used alone as it depends a lot on climate conditions, so it is usually applied together with a mechanical ventilation system or air-conditioning system In air-to-air heat exchangers, there are three modes of function: heating, cooling, and free cooling. In the heating and cooling mode the system uses the outside air ...

The development of sustainable and climate neutral energy production will increase a lot of new fluctuating renewable energy generation to the grid. This increases the need for new methods to balance the electricity grid. Demand response is a method for matching the demand for energy to the available supply of energy (ISO/IEC 15067-3:2012). Demand response is typically classified as implicit and explicit demand response. Implicit demand response services include among others time-varying ...

Building automation and control systems contribute to the energy-efficient operation of buildings of all use types. They enable the energy-efficient and cost-effective integration of local renewable energy supply technologies, as well as the management of energy storage and flexibilities to optimally balance energy demand and supply in the operation of building energy systems. The market for building automation systems provides several tested approaches and commercial solutions e.g. BEOS from ...

Geothermal energy has a long tradition in human history, from thermal baths to heating and power generation. It represents an important resource of renewable energy. Geothermal heating plants can come in a variety of types depending on the geological conditions, availability of geothermal water and the needed supply temperatures in the heating system. Depending on the configurations and available resources, geothermal water can be used directly if at sufficiently high temperatures, using heat ...

In the case of PVT hybrid system, both heat and electricity is generated. The heat production of these panels can be used to reduce fossil fuel consumption and at the same time, satisfy the same supply of domestic hot water and space heating. The heat could also be supplied to a low-temperature district heating system to increase the RES contribution and avoid associated emission of GHG. The main limitation is the temperature range (typically, 45ºC supply), thus PVT is usually ...

Climate-smart greenhouses are making use of innovative solutions to adapt to changing conditions in cities as a consequence of climate change. They allow for food production in densely-populated urban areas with a minimal environmental footprint, using less resources (energy, water) and space than traditional greenhouses and adapting to changing conditions such as rising temperatures or risks of heavy ...

Joinery is the component used to dress the openings (openings intended to let light and people circulate), i.e. doors and windows. Windows play an essential role in bioclimatism. In winter they must capture free solar gain while reducing heat loss. In summer, they must limit direct solar radiation to avoid overheating, while enable natural lighting. Therefore, joinery is often supplemented by shutters and sun protection. Limit losses in winter: Single glazed joinery is inefficient. ...

From the land use planning perspective, urban green spaces or urban green areas are defined by Corine Land Cover classification[1] as “Areas with vegetation within or partly embraced by urban fabric. This class is assigned for urban greenery, which usually has recreational or ornamental character and is usually accessible for the public, and can also include small water bodies. It includes parks, gardens, city squares with greenery, vegetated areas, cemetery with vegetation, green inner ...

Current global developments put increasing economic and social pressures on urban systems. While current risks in key sectors such as water (water stress, scarcity, floods), ecosystems (soil, land, biodiversity, etc.) or food (decrease on production, irrigation, etc.) are clearly identified, existing solutions tend to tackle them individually with scarce considerations of intersectoral impacts (e.g. the use of water or energy in the food, or the use of water for energy production and how that ...

Industrial Symbiosis (IS) is an innovative approach that brings together companies from different sectors to promote the valorisation of waste, improvement of resource efficiency and reduction of environmental impact.(Optimising Environmental Performance of Symbiotic Networks Using Semantics - ScienceDirect) Industrial Symbiosis involves an exchange of products, by-products and/or waste between different industries. Industrial processes use resources such as raw material and energy to produce ...

The concept of the 15-minute city is one of the most prominent attempts to avoid or shorten trips in people's everyday lives. This can be achieved if essential services (e.g. shops, pharmacies, schools, work places, hospitals, leisure destinations etc.) are physically close to people's residential bases. The 15-minute city concept is thus tightly linked to spatial planning strategies and places strong emphasis on neighbourhood-based planning. The 15-minute city can be a major ...

Smart grid is the concept that describes the evolution of power systems to integrate and utilise techniques to adjust the flow of power to optimise the match between electricity supply and demand. The term "smart grids" is used to define the integration of new technologies and methods, often data-driven, in existing power system infrastructure. Sensing infrastructure, smart metering, information and communication technologies (ICT), such as sensing devices and smart metering; ...

Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is the process of capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere and permanently storing it in plants, soils, oceans, geological features, or long-lived products like cement, where it can be locked away for decades or centuries – this results in a negative emission. Negative emissions can be achieved through a wide-array of approaches, both technological and nature-based. Technological removal approaches include: Direct Air Capture and Storage ...

As it happens with some other subsets of sustainability term or its application (i.e.: climate-neutral city, smart-sustainable city), there is not unique and clear definition for the eco-district term. Generalist definitions describe an eco-district as an urban development aiming to deploy the objectives of sustainable development, focusing on integrating environmental, social and economic goals. However, there is also an innovative component in the way that urban development is developed; an ...

The European Commission’s Renovation Wave strategy​ [1]​ states that “The Commission will introduce Digital Building Logbooks that will integrate all building related data provided by the upcoming Building Renovation Passports Smart Readiness Indicators, Level(s) and EPCs to ensure compatibility and integration of data throughout the renovation journey”.    A digital building logbook is a common repository for all relevant building data. Functioning as a ...

The overarching process of Activating an inclusive ecosystem for change is at the heart of the Climate Transition Map approach, and is intended to expand and gain more momentum during each iteration (or turn through the Map). Co-create the portfolio process with an inclusive activation of your local ecosystems is key to support and enable a strong Climate City Contract. It’s important to create and coordinate a comprehensive portfolio of actions with a range of connected interventions ...

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are gaseous constituents of the atmosphere, both natural and anthropogenic. Water vapour (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4) and ozone (O3) are the primary GHGs in the earth’s atmosphere. Moreover, there are a number of entirely human-made GHGs in the atmosphere, such as the halocarbons and other chlorine- and bromine containing substances (source). GHG emissions caused by human activities - also called anthropogenic emissions - ...

European Commission Information Session - Tuesday 4th April

This guide will walk you through the tools needed to start to build your own systems maps. Although useful for anyone wishing to teach or learn systems mapping it is primarily designed for those facilitating systems change initiatives or running a systems innovation lab. The guide starts with a high-level overview of the value and relevance of mapping for those interested in changing systems. The body of the content is a composite of four main dimensions to mapping systems outlined on the ...

The systemic design toolkit is for change-makers willing to trigger a process of systemic transformation. The tools are meant to be used during collaborative co-creation sessions. This booklet will guide you through a selection of eight techniques from the toolkit. These are categorised according to different phases of the design process, but that does not mean that you cannot use them in different ways. We invite you to be creative, to use and adapt them to your project. We hope this kit will ...

This UNDP guidebook presents an approach to help a broad range of development practitioners prepare for, engage in, and manage systems transformation using a portfolio approach in complex development spaces. We developed this guidebook as a way to formalize our process and learnings to date, and leverage these to support others as they initially contemplate—and eventually work towards implementation of a portfolio-based approach for addressing complex development challenges in their own ...

This Systems Innovation Toolkit is designed as an open-source set of modules that can be used for enabling a systems change initiative in the context of addressing climate change adaptation and transformation. The toolkit is designed for a lab team, hub, or initiate aimed at create an ecosystem for systemic change around climate change. The building blocks of this toolkit are the canvases. Each canvas deals with one key aspect of systems innovation; the canvas will help you think through and ...

This is shared from the PROSPECT+ collection of replicable projects. PROSPECT+ fosters capacity building in regional and local authorities in order to finance and implement effective and efficient sustainable energy plans, including their proper monitoring and verification Link: https://www.h2020prospect.eu  

According to the Global Enabling Sustainability Initiative (GESI) [1], digitalization can improve: Healthcare and wellbeing, by mean of telemedicine (like in Norway), to support the healthcare system via phones, through the real-time air quality monitoring (like in the City of Cork), to warn people when the air quality is not good for sports, etc. Economic development and housing, through the sharing or peer-to-peer accommodation platforms (such as spareroom). Engagement and community ...

Radically reducing greenhouse gas emissions requires urgent and transformative action at scale. Quick technological fixes are not enough. The problems cities face in mitigating and adapting to climate change are complex, rooted in technical, economic, financial, organisational, political, cultural, and social systems. These are all interconnected and constantly adapting to one another, meaning their interdependencies can block necessary change. Inherited structures – such as planning ...

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By categorising stakeholders in a matrix, according to their impact, influence, importance, contribution, ability to block and engagement, an overall engagement strategy can be devised.

How to gain better insight into the groups of people you want to cater to, and the kind of needs they have, is a fundamental question for every project or organization. The Target Group canvas is a quick and easy way to work out an overview and develop an understanding of the different people your work might reach, and the resources you need to do so. Target Group is probably best used when you are trying to work out some initial ideas about who you want to cater to, and why. It is also a nice ...

The QuickStart stakeholder Engagement: Engagement canvas serves as a tool to quickly construct a plan, which can be used to effectively engage with a particular stakeholder.

The Stakeholder Analysis Table can be used to analyze the interest and motivation of stakeholders while setting-up a multi-stakeholder group. To conduct further analysis as the project evolves, to bring in any missing stakeholders and check on the relevance of the membership. It can be used for brainstorming, workshops and for idea knowledge exchanges after a proper mapping of the stakeholders to be involved. The following three columns describe the stakeholders’ possible involvement and ...

Stakeholder visualization is a tool for obtaining deep knowledge about your stakeholders and their needs, motivations and drivers for participating in your innovation. It will help you create an approach by creating a visual knowledge about stakeholders. This way you can customize activities about specific issues and take into account the needs and desires of your stakeholder. This tool can be used to deepen your insights in the stakeholders and determine the needed characteristics for the ...

The QuickStart Stakeholder Engagement: Analysis canvas serves as a tool to quickly construct a plan, which can be used to effectively engage with a particular stakeholder.

After a comprehensive overview has been created of relevant stakeholders, the Stakeholder Power Categories canvas will help to categorise and prioritise those stakeholders in terms of power and impact. Use methods listed below before applying this canvas.

The RACI framework is an effective way of defining roles and responsibilities in decision making. Through the mapping process, it is possible to identify the key stakeholder that need to be engaged to build consensus and arrive at a decision in a participatory manner.

The System Map is a visual representation of the system behind the innovation, whether it be a service or a product. It helps take on a systemic view of the solution and see connections between the different actors that might otherwise not have been perceived. It also maps out the flow of materials, energy, information and money throughout the system. This helps understand where possible opportunities might lie to increase value, efficiency and/or efficacy.

The Stakeholder Identification canvas aims to provide a comprehensive overview of relevant stakeholders, which include those who benefit from the proposed project as well as those who might be disadvantaged, as part of an inclusive approach to participation.

The Stakeholder Map is a tool for understanding who your partners are or might be and what their role is in relation to your organization. It specifies and visualises the different levels of engagement that the stakeholders may have. This model also states what role the specific stakeholders play in your strategy. It also states if the different stakeholders work together or are involved in co-production and co-design.

The Stakeholder ecosystem map tool aims at identifying and mapping stakeholders based on the sector they belong to and on their level of importance. It should be used at the beginning of the project and can be repeated several times during the project cycle to adapt the group if needed to observe changes that have occurred. It is a visualization tool used to identify stakeholders you are trying to reach. It is a tool for mapping actors that surround the city and those that could potentially ...

The community map enables users to map their urban stakeholders and prioritise them based on their power to be an ally, audience or influencer. The mapping is topic based and requires a focus area, initiative or action to be defined before starting the process. This method of mapping urges users to reflect on the impact of the action, which in turn defines who would be an ally, a target audience member or an influencer.

Stationary energy is related to energy use and supply in buildings. Buildings account for 40% of energy consumption in cities. Hence, a significant switch to renewable energy in all buildings and facilities is vital. Implement energy-efficient measures to reduce energy demand and improve energy efficiency. For 75% of the EU's existing building stock, energy performance is poor and the buildings were constructed before current energy requirements were in place. Only 11% of the EU’s ...

The cost saving acquired by minimising the consumption of energy by a private entity in an Energy Efficiency Obligation Scheme (EEOS) are utilised to fund the investments of the municipality. EEOSs are legitimately enforceable control mechanisms. The entities are assigned duties of meeting certain energy-saving aims by investing in eligible end-use energy-efficiency measures. This is achieved by setting up a quantitative energy-saving target that various enterprises are needed to achieve and ...

Residents go through several steps towards a natural gas-free home. We call this the customer journey to gas-free living. In the study 'Natural gas free living: the resident determines' an analysis was made of the drivers and barriers experienced by homeowners in the various steps towards a natural gas free home. Residents are at different stages of the customer journey. They may get stuck at each step if there is not enough incentive to move to the next step. The distribution of ...

Canvas that allows mapping key individuals in the ecosystem (champions, supporters and resistors) and their influence/power as a base to determine the Transition Team over time.

A comprehensive resource book for practitioners to map, analyse and facilitate systemic change. Includes many canvases and practical tools.

A comprehensive resource book for practitioners to map, analyse and facilitate systemic change. Includes many canvases and practical tools.

A comprehensive resource book for practitioners to map, analyse and facilitate systemic change. Includes many canvases and practical tools.

A comprehensive resource book for practitioners to map, analyse and facilitate systemic change. Includes many canvases and practical tools.

Cities are showing an increasing willingness to implement energy-saving plans. Integrated energy and GHG scenario mapping tools can support cities in this attempt. They can help to reduce energy consumption, maximize energy efficiency, and achieve science-based emission reduction targets. Mapping energy and gas consumption and determining energy demands, for example, helps to optimize energy supply systems. This can be done using Geographic Information System (GIS) as a helpful tool, such as in ...

The Turnkey Retrofit service is developed as a homeowner-centric renovation journey, transforming the complex and fragmented renovation process into a simple, straightforward and attractive process: all providers on one platform, where trust is key. Source: Turnkey Retrofit EU Integrated home renovation service supporting homeowners with a turnkey solution for: INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR HOME (INITIAL TECHNICAL AND SOCIAL/ BEHAVIOURAL DIAGNOSIS): digital solution providing an overview of ...

The Building Material Passport (BMP) is a document (either electronic or in paper format) that contains the information on products, components and materials existing in a building, as well as their quantities. These data are obtained from the information included in the BIM (Building Information Modelling) model of the building, based on the IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) standard. Depending of the Level of Development of the BIM model, additional external information on materials and ...

Ordinances and regulation are the legal mechanisms of local governments for land use and natural resource management. In many cases, both Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) and Green Infrastructures (GI) can be part of prevention and development instruments. They can preserve natural areas, reduce impervious surface cover and manage climate risks. Ordinances improve the connectivity of NBS and GI, enhance the surface they represent, avoid their deterioration. Local ordinances can protect wetlands, ...

A low-emission zone (LEZ) is an example of an urban vehicle access regulation (UVAR). A LEZ is a geographic area in a city where vehicle access is limited to those vehicles that meet certain emissions characteristics. A LEZ is a regulatory measure that enables a city to reduce the level of emissions in a given geographic area.  Low-emission zones are generally introduced in stages, meaning they become increasingly strict over the course of several years. This allows citizens and ...

Urban vehicle access regulations (UVARs) are means to reduce the number of vehicles entering a given geographical area. These can include regulatory measures (e.g. low-emission zone), financial measures (e.g. congestion charge) or spatial measures (e.g. creation of a superblock or reallocation of road space to create a pedestrian zone). UVAR measures can be put in place for reasons such as: to create more liveable space, to encourage more walking or cycling, to address delivery ...

Even the best sustainable mobility solutions will only be effective if they are used. Mobility Management refers to the promotion of sustainable transport and managing the demand for car use by offering services with the final objective of changing travellers’ attitudes and mobility behaviour. At the core of mobility management are "soft" measures such as information and marketing campaigns, awareness raising, mobility education, mobility info points, and school and company ...

The potential of smart technologies in the building sector was emphasised in the 2018 revision of the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and the Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) was introduced, followed by two legal acts in 2020 which establish the SRI as an official EU instrument. The European directive doesn't impose the deployment of the SRI on each Member State, it's for the moment optional, but Europe plans to further strengthen the SRI to ensure its ...

A Building Renovation Passport (BRP) is a document (either electronic or in paper format) outlining a long-term (up to 15-20 years) step-by-step renovation roadmap to achieve deep renovation for a specific building. It addresses the complexity of renovation works and ensures coordination throughout the different stages. They are conceived as an evolution of the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), as it supports building owners with personalised suggestions on their renovation options, while ...

Key EU legislations aim at transforming and decarbonising the European building stock. This includes: The Clean Energy Package for all Europeans – a comprehensive set of legislation that defines European climate and energy policy beyond 2020. The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), The Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), and The Renewable Energy Directive (RED) cover the main issues regarding building policies on a European level. A new Circular Economy Action Plan ...

Water is a fundamental and unique resource necessary for survival in nature and the development of human settlements. Within cities, water provides a series of tangible and intangible services to citizens, including drinking, sanitation, hygiene and amenity. Water interacts with other urban systems and infrastructure (e.g. flooding of roads, buildings) and includes a variety of possible uses (drinking and wastewater, blue-green infrastructure). In this perspective, water can improve or impair ...

Many companies have publicly declared their intention to become carbon neutral in following years. Some due to CO2 emissions price (which is experiencing high increases and implies higher costs for industries), some due to marketing strategies and some because they believe that they also need to contribute to the transition. The EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) already covers sectors not included under the ESR and makes polluters to decarbonize. Also mechanisms such as the Carbon Border ...

Integrated climate plans are the result of a well-coordinated strategic local process that generates a binding document, together with the local community. They show the path towards a meaningful and effective implementation of climate action in the city within a certain period of time. In this sense, an integrated climate plan must be one of first steps a city needs to take towards a carbon neutrality goal, structuring and aligning potential initiatives, resources, and decisions through a ...

The integration of land use planning and urban space management with mobility planning is a central strategy to reduce and avoid vehicle miles traveled and to shift motorised trips to zero or low carbon modes of travel. The development of housing and businesses should be oriented towards infrastructure and services for walking, cycling and public transport. Each carbon-free city needs an integrated approach for land-use and transport planning to create multimodal, inclusive, liveable and ...

Congestion pricing is a transport demand management measure adopted to reduce the impacts of traffic congestion on cities. It links the externalities of road transport directly to the travellers who produce them. They are implemented through the definition of tolling systems to influence short-term demand choices, forcing travellers to switch to sustainable transport modes and low impact road routes. Congestion charges can be introduced either in a defined geographical area or on a road ...

The built environment is responsible for ~40% of the EU’s carbon emissions (European Commission, 2020). Significant investments are required to implement demand-side, passive, as well as infrastructure-level energy efficiency (EE) measures to reduce these emissions in line with the global temperature rise. While traditional financing is available for new commercial energy efficient buildings, financing additional investments for EE measures in new community buildings –such as ...

City coaching is a type of non-technical intervention performed by an advisory body for members of a city's administration or city officials. This type of intervention can take the form of a meeting, a webinar, a workshop, or a training course lasting for a determined time, depending on the city's needs. The objective of city coaching on NBS is to develop the awareness, know-how and reflexes of participants regarding the benefits and challenges of adopting and implementing NBS. The ...

Those solutions aim at bringing together concrete experiences, different know-hows, views and approaches to design, between different actors, infrastructure plans and solutions using NBS. Involving different actors together entails a wider spectrum when considering methodologies, implementation plans and outcomes predictions. This can be done through a share of interests, needs, examples, skills and technical capabilities. Often these processes encompass social learning, and community ...

There is a noticeable potential to process Energy Performance Certificate (EPCs) to evaluate the environmental performance of the building sector at the city scale. Such assessment requires an open-access database and a standard level of EPC information reported by cities. Although a review on the availability of EPC databases revealed that several European cities currently report EPC databases, only a few have already provided a public open-access database (see external links section for ...

Energy transition commitments and policies mean people qualified to work in the sector and its supply chains will continue to be in great demand. The barriers in the educational system in terms of the energy transition are that education and training systems are reactive and require time to adapt since the design and implementation of updated and new courses or programmes is a complex task. Because of the fast upgrade of the technologies, the most recent potential, production and consumption ...

In the framework of their Sustainable Development Goal 17: Revitalizing the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, the United Nations defines capacity building as "the process of developing and strengthening the skills, instincts, abilities, processes and resources that organizations and communities need to survive, adapt, and thrive in a fast-changing world". Numerous EU programmes and initiatives, in all fields of economy and society, include capacity building and training ...

Circular economy strategies and projects in cities are often based on experimentation and pilots. This is both an opportunity for creating new knowledge and information, but also a challenge in terms of the human and technical capital needed to design and implement circular economy policies. In this context, capacity building refers to the initiatives and activities aimed at adapting human and technical resources to the challenges to be met. Training can be related to technical issues for ...

Transitioning cities toward fundamentally circular models require a broad range of expertise and activities. To perform this generational journey, it is key that municipalities, not only receive adequate advice but also are taught new ways to comprehend their urban metabolism, plan their journey, and enact change within their urban ecosystems. The governance of the circular economy in cities and regions: A Checklist for Action (OECD, The Circular Economy in Cities and Regions ...

Measuring and monitoring resource flows is key to enable an effective understanding of how cities work in terms of their fundamental stocks and flows, and consequently, to identify circular economy opportunities. Ideally, any circular solution should be based on a comprehensive analysis of the urban metabolism and a monitoring scheme should be settled since the early stages to evaluate the progresses towards circular loops on the one hand, and to overarching sustainable goals on the ...

The energy transition has far-reaching effects on the direct living environment of citizens. Changes at home, neighbourhood, and environment are necessary in order to achieve goals related to energy conservation and the generation of sustainable energy. The extent to which residents are involved in the process of making sustainable decisions has an important impact on the speed and outcome of such projects.  Customer journey to a natural gas-free home. Source: TNO, Natural gas-free ...

Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) is a technology that enables bidirectional charging possibility between vehicle battery to many different use cases such as homes, buildings, services, factories, power grids, or even another vehicle. V2X is often considered as a solution for emergency power supply in the event of a power outage or, especially in case of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) for inevitable grid problems when the peak energy demand is higher than the supply capacity of the grid. V2L (Vehicle to ...

A multi-stakeholder communication platform supporting the understanding and promotion of Nature-based Solutions (NBS) throughout Europe. The platform aims at supporting a continuous dialogue & interaction on NBS to: steer dialogue through forums and debates; identify, communicate & promote successful NBS; identify regulatory, economic & technical barriers; foster collaboration at local, regional, national & EU levels; develop synergy with other projects on NBS.

The International Cooperative Alliance defines cooperative as "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise". Cooperatives are people-centred enterprises owned, controlled and run by and for their members to realise their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations. Cooperatives bring people together in a democratic and ...