European Green Capital - grab hold of your mayor

Your city now has the chance to become the European Green Capital (EGC) [1] following previous winners Stockholm 2010 and Hamburg 2011.

The prestigious prize was conceived in Tallinn in 2006. Currently, the initiative is supported by more than 40 European cities, including 21 EU capitals. With four out of five Europeans living in cities, the environmental challenges are ever present for all of us. The aim of the EGC prize is to create role models by promoting cities that constantly take strong actions for the environment.

The award will be given to a city that:

- Has a consistent record of high environmental standards;

- Is committed to ongoing and ambitious goals for further environmental improvement and sustainable development;

- Can act as a role model to inspire other cities and promote best practices to other European cities.

Cities have everything to gain and nothing to lose by participating. Through the EGC competition cities can develop networks and cooperation and hereby inspire each other.

So if you think that your city is eligible for the price, go ahead and apply [2]. You need another 199,999 inhabitants besides yourself to qualify - and a mayor that wants to sign the application and have some left over space on the mantlepiece.