Jan 22 2014
Siemens and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) today launched the second annual cycle of the prestigious City Climate Leadership Awards, opening up the application process for global cities demonstrating excellence in urban sustainability.
The focus of the 2014 competition is on recognizing innovative and environmentally impactful city projects as well as "hidden champions" – high-performing urban projects achieved in spite of financial constraints or difficult economic environments.
"The C40 & Siemens City Climate Leadership Awards are dedicated to the idea that cities are leading the way in addressing the risks posed by climate change. The success of our inaugural event in September 2013 made it easy for us to not only continue our efforts but expand on them by creating an open application process. And through the Awards process, we are creating a valuable platform to catalog and share the most innovative on-the-ground city driven solutions so that they can be recognized and emulated by others," said President of the C40 Board of Directors, Michael R. Bloomberg.
"We have launched our inaugural City Climate Leadership Awards with a big bang a few months ago. Now, for our Awards 2014, we are again looking for the gems of sustainable city projects worldwide. We want those trailblazing projects to serve as examples for other cities. Because it is in the cities that the fight against climate change is decided in," said Roland Busch, CEO of Siemens' Infrastructure & Cities Sector.
More than 140 of the world's major cities – both C40 Cities and those in the Siemens and Economist Intelligence Unit's "Green City Index" – can apply, finding details on eligibility, categories and criteria at City Climate Leadership Awards. Projects and initiatives may also be nominated by leading organizations in the climate and urban development sectors. The deadline for the submission of completed applications is March 31, 2014. The projects put forth by applying cities must be actively operating within the past two years.
An independent, seven-member judging panel consisting of former mayors, architects, representatives from the World Bank, as well as the C40 and Siemens will nominate around 30 finalists and select the ten winners. The Awards will be given in September 2014.
The 2013 inaugural awards honored ten cities from around the world for excellence in urban sustainability and leadership in the fight against climate change; an additional city won the "Citizen's Choice Award" – a digital media campaign that asked the public to vote for their favorite nominated project. The awards recognized cities whose performance in climate action will serve as a platform for other cities to learn from and benefit.
The City Climate Leadership Awards are part of a broader collaboration between Siemens and C40. The partnership includes making Siemens' technical expertise directly available to C40's network of cities, enhancing the ability of both organizations to help cities accelerate their climate action efforts.
For more information on the Awards and the projects of the nominated cities, go to: City Climate Leadership Awards.