Today, the European Commission invites European cities committed to sustainability to apply for the 2027 edition of the European Green Capital and Green Leaf Awards.
These Awards recognise and reward the efforts of European towns and cities that strive to reduce their local and global environmental impact while improving the quality of life for their inhabitants.
Winning cities will receive a financial prize and join the ever-growing network of leading European cities that share a common vision and expertise, inspiring others to follow their lead.
Speaking on the matter, Jessika Roswall, Commissioner for the Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, said:
“I am calling on our European cities to apply for the 2027 European Green Capital and Green Leaf Awards. This is an opportunity to show how sustainable you already are and to share inspiring stories and best practices with other cities on becoming greener. Most Europeans live in cities, so let us make them healthy and pleasant to make living, working and doing business as sustainable as possible.”
The European Green Capital Award is available for cities with over 100,000 inhabitants, while smaller towns and cities with more than 20,000 inhabitants can apply for the European Green Leaf Award.
The winner of the Green Capital Award will receive €600,000 and up to two Green Leaf winners will receive €200,000 each.
The financial prize supports the winning cities in implementing initiatives to enhance their environmental performance and in engaging with citizens, especially during their winning year. Additionally, all applicants will receive personalised feedback on their applications.
Process
Interested cities are invited to register for the contest via the EU survey to ensure they receive access to the relevant documents and the application form.
The deadline for applying is 15 April 2025
A panel of independent urban sustainability experts will review and assess the performance of the competing cities against the following seven environmental indicators:-
- Air quality
- Water
- Biodiversity
- Green areas and sustainable land use
- Waste and circular economy noise
- Climate change mitigation
- Climate change adaptation
Based on the experts’ recommendations and factual background checks, the Commission selects the finalist cities (expected around June/July).
The finalists will be requested by the jury to provide additional input on their sustainable governance and communication strategy.
They will be invited to present their vision to the jury, who will then select the winners (expected around October). Each year, one Green Capital and one or two Green Leaf winners are selected.
Find more on the process and rules here.
Background
The European Green Capital Award was launched by the European Commission to encourage cities to become greener and cleaner, and to improve the quality of life for inhabitants.
With over two-thirds of Europe’s population living in cities, cities play a leading role in the social, environmental, and economic transformation prioritised by the European Green Deal.
17 cities have won the European Green Capital Award and 19 smaller cities have won the European Green Leaf Award to date, forming an ever-growing network of leading European cities that share a common vision and expertise and inspire others to follow in their footsteps.
More information
Details
- Publication date
- 15 January 2025
- Author
- Directorate-General for Environment