ICLEI Europe recognises the importance of accelerating sustainable transitions across multiple sectors and levels of governance. One vital way in which this work can be achieved is through collaboration with small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

ICLEI Member Aalborg (Denmark) and the City of Amsterdam (the Netherlands) have joined forces with ICLEI Europe, the Network for Sustainable Business Development in Aalborg, and MKB Amsterdam to explore how synergies with SMEs can help localise the European Green Deal. This work will also foster growth and resilience in the cities’ local business ecosystems, and is aligned with (plus contributes to) the European Union’s goal of being the first climate neutral continent by 2050.

The involved cities will jointly create a working methodology to engage – and agree on actions together with – local SMEs, under the mechanism of Local Green Deals. Aalborg, for example, has already identified potential stakeholders with which to engage, including an engineering company, a poultry producer, a dairy farmer, an art museum, an event venue, an industrial producer, and a transport company.

By the end of their collaboration, the cities will co-design a Local Green Deal template that other cities, municipalities and regions can use to draw inspiration from. Aalborg and Amsterdam intend to sign and implement at least 10 Local Green Deals each as a way to validate the concepts and their template. These Deals are not only collaborative agreements, but also serve as united calls to action intended to spark societal and economic transformations. 

This work is being launched under the CLIMAA project, a new EU-funded project promoting the localisation of the European Green Deal. 

To read more about Local Green Deals in municipalities across Europe, click here.