The new Sustainable Cities Platform, the online hub showcasing transformative actions by cities and civil society to inspire others was launched yesterday at the Habitat III Conference in Quito. The platform was announced in the Basque Declaration, with the aim to provide specific examples of its 15 pathways leading to more inclusive, resilient and productive cities and towns. The platform is supported by the City of Aalborg, the Basque Government and ICLEI.

The side event at HABITAT III saw a presentation of the Basque Declaration by Ruud Schuthof, Deputy Regional Director of ICLEI Europe, to an audience of over 100 participants. Roberto San Salvador, Director of the Cities Lab of the University of Deusto in the Basque Country, shared how the Basque Country has transformed into a sustainable region, thereby becoming a leading example in Europe.

The following panel discussion including also Pekka Sauri, Deputy Mayor of Helsinki, Finland; Oliver Weigel, Head of Division of Urban Development Policy at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety, Germany, and Albert Edman, Strategic development officer of the City of Umeà¥, Sweden, discussed how the Basque Declaration can help cities to move towards sustainability and support national governments to implement their commitments at global level.

For more information, read the press release.Image copyright: Image (ICLEI Europe) more   17 October 2016 Networks essential to growth of sustainable public procurement in EuropeVito Consoli, Director of the Regional Directorate for Environment and Natural Systems of the Lazio Region of Italy, has called on city and regional governments across Europe to join together to share ideas and collaborate on sustainable and innovation procurement. Mr Consoli's remarks were made in front of a packed audience at the Procura+ Seminar in Rome (Italy) on Friday.

"Sustainable procurement helps transform markets. By working together in sustainable procurement networks, we can engage with suppliers in a coordinated way and create a significant demand for sustainable products and services," said Mr Consoli. "Procurement networks are crucial for knowledge and idea sharing. Events like the Procura+ seminar bring municipalities together to share new sustainable procurement implementation tools and methodologies that can be transferred to other public administrations," he added.

The Procura+ Seminar, organised by ICLEI, gathered over 100 procurement practitioners and policy makers to discuss how sustainable public procurement and innovation procurement can be used to help public authorities meet strategic objectives in a cost effective way. The seminar was held in cooperation with the Lazio Region and the Forum CompraVerde-BuyGreen and organised together with the SPP Regions and GPPbest project consortia. The event also saw the launch of the 3rd edition of the Procura+ Manual. This tailored and updated guide to cost-effective sustainable public procurement includes the latest information on implementing the new procurement directives, addressing advanced sustainability aspects and introducing innovation into procurement processes.

For more information, read the press release. more

» Publication Date: 18/10/2016

» Source: Iclei Europe

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