Ghent and Leuven nominated as Europe's most sustainable cities
The European Commission awards a range of sustainability prizes to cities to reward their environmental efforts every year. The city of Ghent is currently in the running for the title of European Green Capital 2019. The city of Leuven may also find itself a winner in the category of European Green Leaf Award 2018.
The city of Ghent is among the five nominated for the European Green Capital 2019 sustainability prize. The other contenders are Lathi (Finland), Lisbon (Portugal), Oslo (Norway) and Talinn (Estonia). Since 2011, the award has been presented to cities with a population of more than 100,000 to recognise their efforts for the environment and their social and economic sustainability. To win the prize, the cities must convince the jury of the merits of their sustainability policies. They must demonstrate their ability to act as a role model and indicate how they will communicate this to the outside world. The winner will be announced in Essen on 2 June 2017. Essen is currently the proud recipient of the European Green Capital Award for 2017.
A prize for smaller cities is also up for grabs. The European Green Leaf Award rewards cities with a population between 20,000 and 100,000 for their environmental performance. The focus of this award lies in the creation of employment opportunities and green growth in the cities. The prize has been awarded since 2015 and the Irish city of Galway currently bears this title. This year, Leuven, Ludwigsburg (Germany) and Växjö (Sweden) are in the running for the award. The nominations are a great honour for the Belgian cities considering the record number of entrants this year.