Green Cities Spotlights

What is the campaign about?

Green Cities Spotlights is an annual communication campaign built around key environmental themes, including air quality, noise, water, biodiversity and green areas, circular economy and waste, and climate mitigation and adaptation.

• A featured article on the website
• Social media posts
• Inclusion in the Green Cities Newsletter (when relevant)
• Potential reuse in reports and publications

The campaign is driven by contributions from the Green Cities Network . By sharing your initiatives, you help demonstrate how cities across Europe are making the green transition a reality.

Why participate?

By contributing, your city can:

• Increase visibility at European level
• Showcase concrete environmental actions and results
• Inspire other cities with replicable solutions
• Strengthen your positioning within the GCA/EGCL network

What kind of content are we looking for?

We invite cities to share clear, concrete and impactful initiatives, including:

• Local environmental projects and policies
• Innovative solutions or pilot actions
• Measurable results and impacts
• Community engagement activities

We are particularly interested in stories that demonstrate real change on the ground.

Highlight your “Local Hero”

To make the campaign more engaging and people-centred, each spotlight may include a “Local Hero”. This could be:

• A local NGO
• A community group
• A school or business
• An individual citizen

We encourage cities to highlight people behind the change—those actively contributing to the initiative and making a difference locally.

Bring your story to life

To enhance storytelling and increase visibility, cities are encouraged to submit:

• High-quality images or a Short video clips (1–2 minutes)

Videos could include:

• The mayor presenting the initiative
• Citizens or stakeholders sharing their experience
• On-the-ground footage of the project

Short, authentic videos can significantly increase engagement across digital channels.

How to participate

Cities can submit their contributions through a simple online form. The form will ask for:

• A short and detailed description of the initiative
• Key results and impact
• Visual materials (images, videos)
• Optional quotes and messages

Estimated time: 10–15 minutes

What happens next?

Submissions will be reviewed and selected based on relevance, quality, and thematic fit. Selected cities may be contacted for additional information. Content will be edited and adapted for communication purposes. Finally, cities will be informed when their story is published

A collaborative campaign

The Green Cities Spotlights campaign is a collective effort.

Cities and partners are encouraged to:

• Share and amplify published content
• Engage with posts on social media
• Promote their featured stories locally

Together, we can showcase the leadership of European cities in building a greener future.