Guimarães submitted application to become European Green Capital 2025

A pioneer in the field of environmental sustainability, the municipality has just submitted an application that puts it in the running for the international award. The winning city will be known in October.

The city of Guimarães has just formalised its candidacy to become the European Green Capital 2025. After having submitted a first application in 2017, reaching 5th place among the thirteen competing cities, the municipality has continued to strengthen its commitment to the sustainable development of the territory, over the past few years, developing high value projects.

Now, it has again submitted a new application, demonstrating its path and the goals to be achieved for seven sustainability indicators: i) air quality, ii) noise, iii) water, iv) nature, biodiversity and sustainable land use, v) waste and circular economy, climate change: vi) mitigation and vii) adaptation.

Throughout the application, Guimarães again demonstrates the importance of an integrative and multidisciplinary governance model – Governance Ecosystem 2030 – based on a commitment to research, involvement, education and environmental awareness, through Laboratório da Paisagem, the institution that coordinated this application. The writing structure of the Candidature included technicians from Guimarães City Council and participated entities, as well as experts in the various areas under evaluation.

The commitments of Guimarães to climate neutrality and Zero Waste, the commitment to environmental education through PEGADAS, or the structuring projects of Ecovias or retention basins, are some of the many highlights of this application, which brings together the work of various institutions of the municipal perimeter, including those who work more directly with the areas under evaluation, Laboratory of Landscape, Vimágua E.I.M. or Vitrus Environment.

The Mayor of the Municipality of Guimarães, Domingos Bragança highlights “Guimarães’ journey in the environmental area”, underlining that “this candidature shows great maturity and makes evident the success of the numerous projects in the transformation of the territory and the citizen. Guimarães shows that a heritage, historical and cultural city can also be a green city”.

It should be noted that, through the European Green Capital Award, the European Commission recognises local efforts to build more sustainable urban centres and thus improve the economy and quality of life of the population of the cities. Each year, the award is given to a city that has distinguished itself by consistently achieving high environmental standards and that is committed to setting ambitious goals regarding urban sustainability and the fight against climate change. The fact of positioning itself as a replicable and inspiring model for other cities in the promotion of sustainable practices is another of the points evaluated in the context of the attribution of this title.

Furthermore, only cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants from EU Member States, EU candidate countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland are eligible to apply for the European Green Capital title.

The shortlist of finalist cities for recognition as European Green Capital 2025 will be announced in June. The winning city will be announced in October. Guimarães is now in the running for the title and, in case of victory, may become the second Portuguese city awarded, after Lisbon won this title in 2020.