Our Activities

The goals of the European Innovation Council are:
• Putting Europe at the forefront of market-creating innovation (fundamentally different from existing markets, e.g. through a new combination of physical and digital issues, of products and services, of technologies and business models).
• Providing EU added value by focusing on innovators / companies with the potential to scale up at European and/or international level.
• Intervening where private investors are unable to get a loan (e.g. due to higher technology, market, regulatory risks associated with market creating innovation), with the aim of crowding in private investment
• Complementing existing EU innovation initiatives that focus on established markets / technologies / sectors (e.g. through public-private partnerships, development of technology roadmaps/ sectoral strategies, etc.).

ICLEI supports the EIC by connecting procurers with unmet innovation and sustainability needs with EIC companies through market engagement events.

In order for national and local governments to better appreciate the need for safe walking and cycling facilities, Africa’s urban citizens need to challenge the widely held assumption that they all wish to drive cars by showing their support for walking and cycling. Various local initiatives around the continent (such as car-free days, place making, Open Streets, Critical Mass etc.) are inspiring citizens to reimagine and reinvent their streets to be accessible for all. African Mobility Month aims to celebrate these and other activities to raise the priority of walking and cycling in the continent’s development agenda.

The ICLEI EcoLogistics Community is the first city network globally committed to a sustainable urban freight future. The Community leads sustainable urban freight development in participating cities and drive global actions in the international stage through collaborative exchange and action plans and stakeholder engagements. Cities benefit from being part of the Community through the shared knowledge and resources made available to the network, as well as opportunities to disseminate their successes.

SOLUTIONSplus is coordinated by the Urban Electric Mobility Initiative (UEMI) and joined by 45 worldwide partners. The project aims to enable transformational change towards sustainable urban mobility through innovative and integrated electric mobility solutions.

Project cities will be able to demonstrate different types of innovative and integrated e-mobility solutions, complemented by a comprehensive toolbox, capacity development and replication activities. SOLUTIONSplus works closely with the UN Environment and the International Energy Agency (IEA) on a joint global urban e-mobility program that will significantly boost replication and impact of this innovation action.

A select group of approximately 15 Australian local governments is being invited to join a Pioneer Group. This group will register on the CWN global website and will then participate in a needs assessment conducted jointly by ICLEI Oceania and Swinburne University. The results will be used to develop a tailored package of resources and activities, targetting the highest needs of Australian local governments. The Pioneer initiative will take approximately 12 months and include several webinars and a national forum at the end of the year to report on the outcomes of COP15. This last step may of course be delayed due to the COVID.

>> See also project description.
ICLEI organizes five strategic workshops for the network members on four thematic vision clusters (future proof, 100% renewable, zero waste, human scale) and on the organization of an EGCA laureate year.
Develops a set of well-structured toolkits, combining print and online resources that inspire cities to embark on or further advance local sustainability transitions.
ICLEI also assesses a potential enlargement of membership of the Network of the European Green Capitals as well as provides recommendations for the inclusion of and/ or increased collaboration with other networks.
ICLEI further promotes the European Green Capital Network and highlights the benefits of sharing the inspiration through the dissemination of the latest information on the project developments and the toolkits to at least 150 other ‘target cities’.

ICLEI leads EXCESS’ communications and dissemination work package as well as specific replication activities with the aim of raising awareness of the benefits of PEBs, engaging industry and the public sector and roll out rapid replication of PEBs in Europe. The additional role of ICLEI in the project is to assess the proliferation of Plus Energy Buildings across the EU, by means of stock taking, interviews and statistical analyses.

Mitigating the impacts of climate change in the relevant sectors, with the preparation of a technical study of climate risk and the respective adaptation plan through the MOVE platform; Promote actions and measures to control and reduce GHG emissions by updating the GHG Inventory using the CLIMAS software and the GPC methodology; Establish paths to reach the commitment to neutralize GHG emissions by 2050 through an assessment of the best alternatives for reducing emissions in the sectors of the municipality; Share technology and information with the local technical staff to empower the municipality in implementing the proposed actions; Encourage public and private investments to adopt sustainable practices; Create a database for monitoring and supervising measures and for accelerating more ambitious, collaborative and environmentally correct local climate actions. Expected impacts: to position an ICLEI and C40 member city in accordance with the GCoM through the presentation of a historic series of GHG Inventory, dissemination of the study through the final report of the plan as an opportunity for international visibility

ICLEI is in the consortium to provide technical assistance on business modeling and stakeholder engagement. Under the project, ICLEI has recruited a local staff in Ulaanbaatar to carry out workshops and consultation meetings and surveys with households and homeowner associations, wisely utilize resources and knowledge from the TAP program, and structure business models on the basis of the knowledge of local energy politics and financial deadlocks.
Through the project, Ulaanbaatar City Government and the consortium will co-develop a feasible financial solution and a reasonable technical scope to kick-off precast residential retrofitting systems thinking. It is estimated that building retrofits can reduce 49-52% energy loss compared to the business-as-usual scenario and significantly contribute to Mongolia’s INDC target and enhance citizens’ living quality.

The event was organized by ICLEI SAMS in partnership with Secretariat for Infrastructure and Environment of , Regions4, Post 2020 Biodiversity Framework – EU Support initiative, the support of CETESB, Fundação Florestal, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS), Atlantic Forest Biosphere Reserve (RBMA), the envolvement of ICLEI Africa and Cities Biodiversity Centre representation. The event aimed to formulate contributions from several Brazilian actors regarding key points for the new Post-2020 global framework of the Biological Diversity Convention (CBD), which will be defined in the next COP15 of CBD. To this end, the “Letter of São Paulo” was prepared as a result of the event, as a document that compiled the local, subnational contributions, from the biosphere reserves, civil society entities, from the private sector, among others. With this, the intention is to reach a global agreement for nature and for people to be recognized by the 196 signatory countries to the Convention. The event featured moments of group work in sessions with some thematic axes and also expository moments of practices on these themes.

The project aims to improve the NDCs, including increasing ambition, as part of the Paris Agreement NDC update process; In addition to assisting in the accelerated implementation of NDCs, providing knowledge and technical training in the country. CAEP will provide support to countries through existing support programs of its institutional and associate members and through a dedicated Technical Assistance Fund that will use funding where existing support is not sufficient to meet the needs identified by countries. The Technical Assistance Fund is a joint financing mechanism with contributions from various development partners that will allocate resources to institutional members and Associates of the Partnership to respond to requests for updating and implementing the NDC.The World Resources Institute, as host of the Fund, will administer the contract, while the Partnership Support Unit is responsible for programmatic implementation.

ICLEI analyzes participating cities’ policies and existing initiatives, maps and engages with stakeholders in the food system, and identifies opportunities and barriers. As the project outcome, ICLEI will publish a report to demonstrate the initiatives taken by cities in East Asia, to develop narratives of the circular food system, as well as providing policy guidance and suggestions.

ICLEI will carry out desk-based research, interviews, discussion workshops, and generate case studies in investigating the activities that have been taken by cities, and further explore the potential for improving circularity. East Asia local governments participating in the project, will be provided with systems thinking to review the initiatives taken in their food systems and further optimize them. They will also be engaged in discussions with stakeholders across the value chain to better understand the barriers and potentials of implementing circular economy approach and strategies in the food system.

ICLEI KO is connecting this national & local event with global issues and trends. KO helps the co-organizer and hosting city see and know what front-running country and cities are doing at similar events and efforts. SDGs Studio that was introduced in the Global SDGs Festival took place in Bonn in May 2019 was replicated at KFSD. KO’s role is bringing new ideas and innovation from global society to this festival that has been long-lasting since 1999.

The project aims to support the integration of climate change and air pollution at the city level through capacity building. It contains four consequential activities:

1) Convene focus group discussions with city policymakers and experts (health, transport, infrastructure) for needs assessment regarding the knowledge and tools cities should obtain in integrating SLCP reductions into policies and practices;
2) Develop a training curriculum drawing from existing materials to support the integration of SLCP reduction into policies and practices for cities in Asia;
3) Work with 3 cities to integrate SLCPs reduction into relevant policies and practices;
4) Gather inputs to report on the CCAC DI indicators and associated data collection questionnaire/initiative reporting template.

Learnings will be well documented and shared in major regional events, such as the Beijing International Forum for Metropolitan Clean Air Actions, the Seoul Mayors Forum on Climate Change, and the ASEAN High-Level Seminar on Environmentally Sustainable Cities.

ICLEI will work on the Communication, outreach and inter-project collaboration and engagement area, which includes: Support to project communication (incl. communication strategy, 4 fact sheets, 4 policy briefs, 4 webinars, other specific events and presentations); Organisation and moderation of 4 city workshops and Organisation and moderation of 2 stakeholder workshops and one conference (incl. development of programme). These activities will help to ground the policy discussion, enable learning and develop targeted and operational recommendations for policy makers, practitioners, potential investors, and other relevant actors within and outside of the study regions to improve the design and implementation of GBI and highlight opportunities in creating markets for innovative solutions.