The 10th European Conference on Sustainable Cities & Towns (ESCT) will take place on 1-3 October in Aalborg, Denmark. All cities, partners and experts seeking to contribute to the sustainable transformation of our cities and regions are cordially invited to attend the 2024 edition of European Conference on Sustainable Cities & Towns, which also marks the 30th Anniversary of the Aalborg Charter (1994) and the 20th Anniversary of the Aalborg Commitments (2004).

Across Europe, cities and towns of all sizes are developing Local Green Deals, as a response to the European Green Deal. The European Conference on Sustainable Cities & Towns - also called Aalborg2024 - will take a closer look at the ongoing trends, challenges and opportunities that define these Local Green Deals, and ask how we can become powerful enablers of sustainable, local change.

Participants can expect a fertile environment for tackling the most pressing questions, leading to discussions, knowledge-sharing and problem-solving. The Conference aims to inspire and motivate participants to further develop connections made at all levels at the conference, and to put plans into practice, to realise an integrated response to the climate crisis. Together, let’s make the EU Green Deal a reality on the local level!

The city of Aalborg and Aalborg 2024 both boast a legacy of positive impact; a three-time host to the conference, Aalborg continues to inspire change and innovation across Europe. In past years, governance tools such as Local Green Deals and Climate City Contracts have been developed to help local and regional governments bring stakeholders together and integrate their ambitions. Aalborg 2024 will look at local experiences with these tools so far and will explore what support is needed from EU decision makers in 2024.

Aalborg 2024 will maintain its characteristic informative, open, and interactive ambiance, upholding its 'PowerPoint free' format. Participants are enthusiastically invited to share their experiences and perspectives on an array of topics that delve into the challenges inherent in innovating to tackle the climate and biodiversity crises.

More information on Aalborg 2024, including on the programme and how to register, can be found at the Conference website

Leitat, one of Spain's leading technology centres, Acció, the Catalan Agency for Business Competitiveness, and the Provincial Council of Barcelona are excited to bring together cities, start-ups, companies, universities and technology centres for 2 days of inspiring keynote talks, panel discussions, and networking opportunities through their Innovation Marketplace and targeted matchmaking for the upcoming City Mission and city-related CL5 Horizon Europe calls.

This on-site event is financed by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades and the AEI, the Spanish Agency for promoting scientific and technical research and organised with the support of the Enterprise Europe Network, the largest business support network worldwide.

Whether you're looking for using innovation procurement to tackle local needs and drive the green transition, innovative solutions that match these needs, new markets for your cutting-edge innovations or concrete matchmaking opportunities for Horizon Europe funding, this event is for you.

Register now to secure your spot for this event in Barcelona! Places to this on-site event are limited and registrations will be accepted until 13 September 2024.

Highlights of the event include:

Innovation Marketplace:

• As a company/start-up, showcase your innovative solutions and present them to local public buyers for reaching new markets.
  Join the virtual info session for companies/start-ups on 10 September at 10.00-10.30 CET using this link.
• As a local administration, get to know leading-edge solutions stemming from Horizon 2020/Horizon Europe projects for meeting your local needs.
• As a university/research and technology organisation, bridge the gap between the development of innovative solutions and their uptake.

Matchmaking event: Meet new partner organisations for the upcoming Horizon City Mission calls and the city-related CL5 calls.

Especially for Municipalities: You can request free-of-charge technical assistance to cities by the Smart Cities Marketplace: Book a bilateral meeting with the Smart Cities Team (clicking on “Marketplace” and filtering “Project Cooperation” opportunities for “Free-of-charge technical assistance to cities by the Smart Cities Marketplace").

Inspiration and access to frontrunners: Get inspired by our keynote speakers and acknowledged panellists for learning about success cases of innovation uptake by and with the local public sector and about valuable insights from vanguard City Mission projects.

To use public procurement more effectively, it is crucial to measure and monitor the outcomes of public procurement procedures. The third EU GPP Helpdesk webinar of 2024 will analyse tools and techniques to effectively monitor and measure public procurement performance.

From life-cycle assessment tools to public procurement monitoring systems, this webinar will discuss the different methods that European Institutions, procurement experts, Member States and cities are using to measure the impact of public procurement. It will also explore how cost-savings, reduced pollution, positive social outcomes of public purchases can be measured and assessed, and feature best practice examples from across Europe.

Programme

• Welcome and introduction from the EU GPP Helpdesk, Anna Lupi, Legal and policy officer, Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, European Commission
• Sharmila Erizaputri, researcher on Green Public Procurement, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) on the Monitoring Progress in Green Public Procurement report
• Greta Ambrutytė, Head of the Sustainable Procurement department, Office of Public Procurement of the Republic of Lithuania on the development of an SRPP and the GPP Scoreboard
• Matej Cerovšek, Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Energy of Slovenia on the LIFE IP CARE4CLIMATE project, and the comprehensive analysis of the environmental, economic and social impacts of green public procurement in Slovenia.

To register for the webinar, click here

The conference is accredited as an official event of the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. It will be opened by Mr. János Bóka, Minister of EU Affairs. The conference will focus on the following topics:

• issues of increasing public procurement competition
• evaluation of European Union public procurement, the future of public procurement
• green public procurement: current sectoral EU legislation
• introduction of the public procurement authorities of the EU candidate states in the Western Balkans
• current decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union and their impact on domestic legal practice

The full programme of the conference can be found here.

To register, click here

This webinar will explore the impactful role of public procurement in reducing CO2 emissions within urban environments. It is part of ICLEI Europe's webinar series, targeted at its members (local and regional governments across Europe), highlighting how European cities are taking practical measures to make sustainability a reality. 

Public procurement is the process by which public authorities, such as government departments or local authorities acquire goods, services and works, and holds tremendous potential to influence market trends and drive sustainable practices. By incorporating sustainable public procurement (SPP) strategies, cities can significantly reduce their carbon footprints, promote green innovation, and set powerful examples.

The webinar will emphasise the importance of public procurement in meeting environmental objectives, showcase real-world examples from ICLEI members who have successfully included carbon-reducing clauses in their public procurement strategies and activities, and provide actionable insights for local governments looking to adopt and enhance SPP practices.

Programme

11.00: Welcome - Grace Sly, ICLEI Europe
11.05: Introduction to Sustainable Public Procurement - Dominique Sandy, Head of Sustainable and Innovation Procurement, ICLEI Europe
11.15: City Presentation, Municipality of Copenhagen - Lisbet Tegllund, Chief consultant, Economic Administration
11.30: City Presentation, Municipality of Utrecht - Lieske Jonge - Oostveen, Purchasing Advisor Socially Responsible Commissioning and Purchasing
11.45: Q&A
11.55: Wrap-up - Grace Sly, ICLEI Europe

The webinar is open to ICLEI members, Procura+ participants and Circular City Declaration signatories. To register, click here

This session, led by Valentina Schippers-Opejko, Chair of the Eurocities Work Group Public Procurement, is hosted in the context of the Eurocities Economic Development Forum, taking place in Bilbao (Spain) from 23-25 October.

The session will introduce the upcoming action plan of the Urban Agenda Partnership on Innovative and Responsible Public Procurement. Furtermore the session will also discuss opportunities for Eurocities members to contribute to expected revision of the EU Public Procurement Directive and opportunities of Strategic and Innovation Public Procurement in the upcoming period.

Eurocities' Economic Development Forum aims to advance the conversation on more sustainable and resilient cities via the interaction of three axes: people (skill development and talent attraction), space (urban innovation districts, tactical urbanism), and economy (innovative procurement, local entrepreneurship, and EU funding).

To register. click here