EUROPEAN GREEN CAPITAL:Essen, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Nijmegen and Umeå shortlisted for European Green Capital Award 2017

Essen, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Nijmegen and Umeå shortlisted for European Green Capital Award 2017! Welcome to issue no. 17 of the European Green Capital Award (EGCA) & European Green Leaf (EGL) Ezine. In this issue, we are delighted to announce that four cities have been shortlisted for the European Green Capital Award 2017. Essen (Germany), ‘s-Hertogenbosch (Netherlands), Nijmegen (Netherlands) and Umeå (Sweden) are the four finalists of the European Green Capital Award 2017. The Award is presented to one European city with over 100,000 inhabitants every year, commending its achievements in environmental sustainability. EU Commissioner for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Mr. Karmenu Vella said: "Urban spaces can become transforming, healthy spaces. The European Green Capital Award is a way for cities to inspire this transformation. It is encouraging to see the calibre of these applications. The Award showcases the local efforts to improve the urban environment and promote sustainable growth. I would like to wish the cities the very best of luck as they advance to the next stage of the competition and I look forward to meeting the representatives in Bristol." Jury deliberations & Award Ceremony Bristol, the current European Green Capital, will host the Jury deliberations on 17th June, where the four shortlisted cities will present their future goals, their citizens' communication activities, and their readiness to act as a role model. Following the deliberations the European Green Capital 2017 will be announced the next day, Thursday 18th June 2015, at an official award ceremony in Bristol.  To learn more about Award process see here. We are also happy to announce that eight cities across seven European countries have entered the inaugural European Green Leaf 2015 Competition. Eight cities apply for inaugural European Green Leaf 2015 Eight European cities from seven different countries will be scrutinised by an independent international panel of Experts over the coming weeks to determine if they will be shortlisted for an inaugural European Green Leaf - a stamp of environmental approval from the European Commission. The following cities have applied: Inverness (Scotland) Lappeenranta (Finland) Ludwigsburg (Germany) Mikkeli (Finland) Mollet del Vallès (Spain) Siena (Italy) Strovolos (Cyprus) Torres Vedras (Portugal) EU Commissioner for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Mr. Karmenu Vella said: "The European Green Leaf is a thumbs up for smaller cities demonstrating an excellent environmental record. It is encouraging to see the quality of applicants in this first European Green Leaf competition. This initiative is an environmental showcase for smaller European cities". Eight applicant cities for European Green Leaf 2015  The Commissioner continued; "It is my hope that these applicant cities will develop links with other environmental front runners in Europe, act as role-models and inspire other cities to get involved. We now have a very healthy 'tree' to promote healthy spaces - the smaller cities as the green leaves, the capitals as the branches and the Commission as the trunk. I wish all of the applicant cities the very best of luck in the 2015 competition." The European Green Leaf (EGL) 2015 is a pilot competition aimed at cities with a population between 50,000 and 100,000. It recognises commitment to better environmental outcomes, with a particular emphasis on efforts that generate green growth and new jobs. Each year, an EGL will be bestowed on a maximum of three cities that demonstrate a good environmental record and green growth commitment, actively seek to develop citizens' environmental awareness and that can act as a Green Ambassador to other cities. The Expert Panel will perform a technical assessment of each entry, on the basis of six indicators covering Climate Change & Energy Performance; Mobility; Biodiversity & Land Use; Quality of Air & Acoustic Environment; Waste & Green Economy; and Water Management. Following the technical evaluation, a number of cities will be shortlisted in early May for the 2015 designation. The winner(s) will be announced at an award ceremony in June 2015 in the current European Green Capital, Bristol. For more information on the European Green Leaf please click here. Open Call for Expert Panel Members  Applications are now being accepted for persons wishing to become a member of the European Green Capital Expert Panel for the 2018 European Green Capital Award cycle. In the upcoming cycle, two indicator areas will be refreshed. The indicators for which applications are invited are: Indicator 3 - Green urban areas incorporating sustainable land use Indicator 5 - Ambient air quality The Panel is composed of 12 internationally acknowledged experts in our 12 environmental indicator areas: Climate change: Mitigation & Adaptation Local transport Green urban areas incorporating sustainable land use Nature and biodiversity Ambient air quality Quality of the Acoustic environment Waste production and management Water management Waste water treatment Eco innovation and sustainable employment Energy performance Integrated environmental management The current Expert Panel pictured with the European Commission and European Green Capital Secretariat in Ljubljana. Photo credit: Nik Rovan Persons with specific expertise in the areas listed above and that meet the following criteria are invited to submit their application form to the EGCA Secretariat. The criteria required for the expert panel are as follows: Degree qualification Minimum of five years post graduate experience in the specific indicator area Good level of spoken and written English On behalf of the European Commission the European Green Capital Secretariat will appoint the Expert Panel based on the correct balance of new and current experts, geographical balance, gender balance, qualifications, experience and availability. Between 8 and 15 applications for the title of European Green Capital is the norm to be received. The amount of work foreseen is in the order of, but not limited to, 10 days. The expert contract for the 2018 EGCA Evaluation will run from June 2015 until June 2016. For more information please read the Call for Experts page on our website here.  Launch of the European Green capital Award 2018 and European Green Leaf 2016   The European Commission will launch the search for the European Green Capital 2018 and European Green Leaf 2016 on Wednesday 3 June 2015. Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella will officially launch both competitions at a lunchtime event just before the official opening of Green Week at The Egg in Brussels. To register to attend the launch please click here. UPCOMING EVENTS 20 Apr Bristol, UK Green Youth Day: It's Our Future 21 Apr Bristol, UK Energy Tree Launch Event 8-10 May Europe Let's clean Up Europe 2015 11-15 May UK Walk to Work Week 2015 12-14 May Copenhagen, Denmark European Climate Change Adaptation Conference (ECCA) 20-21 May Barcelona, Spain The 18th European Forum on Eco-Innovation 20-21 May Vienna, Austria ICERE 2015 20-22 May Berlin, Germany Metropolitan Solutions 2015 20-22 May Utrecht, Netherlands ECOMM 2015 30-5 May- Jun Europe European Sustainable Development Week 5 May Bristol, UK Legacy of the Green Capital 19-20 May Bristol, UK Your Green Future 1-4 Jun Vienna, Austria 23rd European Biomass Conference & Exhibition 2-4 Jun Valencia, Spain 21st International Conference on Urban Transport and the Environment 2-5 Jun Nantes, France Velo-City 2015 3 Jun Brussels, Belgium Launch of EGCA 2018 & EGL 2016 3-5 Jun Brussels, Belgium Green Week 2015 6 Jun Bristol, UK EVOLUTION Bristol 8-10 Jun Bonn, Germany Resilient Cities 2015 9-10 Jun Goteborg, Sweden Towards Zero Conference 2015 9-13 Jun Brussels, Belgium 18th European Forum on Urban Forestry 13-14 Jun Bristol, UK Bristol Festival of Nature 13-21 Jun Bristol, UK Big Green Week 16-17 Jun Warwick, UK Sustainable Vehicle Technologies 2015 16-17 Jun Bucharest, Romania 2nd European Conference on Sustainable Urban mobility Plans 18 Jun Bristol, UK EGCA 2017 & EGL 2015 Award Ceremony 29-3 Jun-Jul Bristol, UK 52 IMCL Conference on Achieving Green Healthy Cities 3 Jul Brussels, Belgium EGCA 2018 Applicant Workshop 28 Sep Frankfurt, Germany European Transport Conference 2015 20-23 Oct Vienna, Austria Walk21 Vienna