The European Green Capital and European Green Leaf awards are open for submissions

The EU Commission's search for the cities with the best sustainable policies is on

In December, the European Commission launched the next cycle of one of the most popular contests on sustainable living – the EU Green Capital 2024 and EU Green Leaf 2024. Cities, get ready to apply for the prestigious prize, while submissions are still open! The application process will be closed on 25 March.

The prize was conceived to promote local governments’ commitment to sustainable policies in the European Union. The winner of the Green Capital Award will receive a 600,000-euro prize, while the two winners of the Green Leaf will each get 200,000. The financial portion of the award is meant to contribute towards supporting the winning cities in the implementation of projects and measures enhancing environmental protection, especially during the winning year.

Grenoble’s fight against Doctor Azote

Grenoble in France was awarded the European Green Capital Award for 2022 and they kicked off the new set of initiatives on 15 January with a guided tour of the city aimed at children.

The main focus of the tour is constructed around fighting Doctor Azote, a supervillain who loves factory smoke and garbage and seeks to rule the city at all costs by setting up challenges all over Grenoble.

The past winners

The European Green Capital Award is open to cities with over 100,000 inhabitants and past laureates include Lahti, in Finland (2021), Copenhagen, in Denmark (2014) and Stockholm, in Sweden (2010, the first winner).

Tallinn was awarded the EU Green Capital prize for the year 2023 based on its holistic approach to green policy, free public transport and commitment to a circular economy, biodiversity and energy efficiency.

On the other hand, the European Green Leaf Award focuses on smaller cities between 20,000 to 99,999 inhabitants. Last year’s winners were Valongo in Portugal and Winterswijk in The Netherlands.

Valongo Municipality was singled out for the involvement of its citizens in decision-making processes, the municipal energy efficiency projects, the implementation of urban biological gardens, the door-to-door waste collection system and the creation of the inter-municipal associations Parque das Serras do Porto and Corredor do Rio Leça.

The township of Winterswijk, with a population of 29,000 people, received recognition for its National Landscape and sustainable energy efforts.