ICLEI Europe has been honoured with the 2025 IFLA Europe Award, which recognises the work of exceptional organisations and people who believe that our way of perceiving and understanding the world – derived from our profession – could contribute to its development.
ICLEI Europe has been recognised for its leadership in driving a systemic shift from grey to green infrastructure across European cities. The award was presented during the IFLA Europe General Assembly in Brussels, where ICLEI Europe Regional Director Matthew Bach accepted the distinction on behalf of the organisation.
In his speech, Bach celebrated the partnership between ICLEI and IFLA Europe as a model for collaboration between policy-makers and landscape architects.
"We are no longer asking if a city looks modern; we are asking if it is resilient. The true measure of innovation today is not steel and concrete, but its integrated living infrastructure. This is the great pivot that unites ICLEI and IFLA Europe. We view Nature-Based Solutions as essential climate infrastructure," he said after receiving the award.
The award highlights ICLEI’s work in embedding Nature-based Solutions (NbS) into local policies through initiatives such as NetworkNature, Urban Nature Plans+, and the Berlin Urban Nature Pact. These efforts connect European cities to shared frameworks that make biodiversity goals measurable and binding, helping local governments deliver sustainable, beautiful and inclusive urban spaces.
ICLEI’s collaboration with IFLA Europe spans six years and has strengthened the link between design practice and political action. Bach described the work of local government officials and the work of landscape architects as "two sides of the same coin", uniting ICLEI’s policy and financing expertise with the creative implementation of landscape architects.
The recognition reaffirms ICLEI Europe’s role as a catalyst for the New Urban Landscapes movement – ensuring that nature is not an afterthought in cities, but the foundation of their resilience and regeneration.