The 2021 European Green Leaf Award has been awarded to both ICLEI Member Lappeenranta (Finland) and Gabrovo (Bulgaria), while the 2022 European Green Capital Award has gone to the City of Grenoble (France).
Lappeenranta was recognised for its commitment to developing into a model green city and ranked highly in all the award indicators. The city is home to the world-class research and innovation university which contributes to the city in areas such as clean energy research, sustainability, circular economy and water technology. Guided by the Lappeenranta 2033 Strategy, it was the world’s first city to start solely using EKOenergy certified renewable electricity.
Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius announced the winners 8 October 2020 at the official awards ceremony broadcast live from ICLEI Member Lisbon (Portugal) – the current European Green Capital.
Announcing the winners, Commissioner Sinkevičius said: “The winners and finalists of the green city awards have proven to be resilient and shown that, even in the most difficult circumstances like this year’s, rapid changes are possible. These success stories also show that sustainability and green transition provide solutions to cope with sudden crises and create better and healthier urban areas for EU citizens. As we continue to adapt to a new normal, our award winning cities will continue to play a leading role in implementing green solutions and creating cities that are fit for life.”
The winners of the European Green Leaf 2021 title will each receive €75,000.
The European Green Capital 2022 winner Grenoble, and finalists ICLEI Member Dijon (France), Tallinn (Estonia), and Turin (Italy), have each earned a place in the European Green Capital Network to share best practices and motivate other cities. Similarly, the other European Green Leaf 2021 finalists, the Danish cities of Elsinore, Nyborg and Ringkøbing-Skjern will join Gabrovo and Lappeenranta and previous winners and finalists in the European Green Leaf Network.
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