Green Digital Charter by EUROCITIES

TEAM LEADER

Jan Franke , Jan.Franke@eurocities.eu

TEAM MEMBERS

The EUROCITIES team is

The EUROCITIES Green Digital Charter creates a framework for cities to use ICT as a main driver to improve energy efficiency. The Charter is a joint effort of EUROCITIES, the City of Manchester and Clicks and Links Ltd. It was launched at the EUROCITIES annual conference in November 2009.

Objectives

The Charter commits cities to reducing emissions through Information and Communications Technologies (ICT); therefore promoting progress in tackling climate change through the innovative use of digital technologies in cities.

The Charter includes proposals for action on emissions from ICT itself, but more significantly on the restructuring role that ICT can play in enabling greater energy efficiency and, as a result, greater low carbon activity. Furthermore, the Charter entails three pledges in this regard for cities to sign up to:

• Creating a partnership of cities on ICT & Energy Efficiency to

work through until the end of 2011;

• Deploying five large-scale pilots per city before 2015;

• Decreasing ICT’s direct carbon footprint per city by 30% by 2020.

How to get involved

Cities willing to sign up to the Green Digital Charter must present and discuss it in their municipal Council (or equivalent decision-making body democratically constituted with/by elected representatives). Once a decision to sign up is formally made, cities must provide the EUROCITIES secretariat with a signed version of the Charter. Local authority will be then included into the public list of Green Digital Charter signatories.

Implementation

The activities of the Green Digital Charter signatories are being coordinated through the EUROCITIES Knowledge Society Forum. The Forum offers an opportunity for signatories to present solutions and develop project proposals to advance their actions.

Some good examples

• The Digital Environment Home Energy Management System (DEHEMS) led by Manchester City Council that will help households cut energy bills through a revolutionary new online energy ‘dashboard’.

• Amsterdam’s Smart City initiative www.amsterdamsmartcity.nl where a number of small pilot projects in areas such as working, mobility and public spaces, are focusing on the use of innovative technology and stimulation of behavioural change. The most promising projects will be scaled up over the next couple of years.

• Bristol City Council has set Win place the Connecting Bristol www.connectingbristol.org programme, which incorporates a focus on ICT and Digital Infrastructure into its work towards Bristol as a “Green Capital”. Bristol has also just launched its community engagement web site

“The commitment of cities to setting targets to reduce their own carbon footprint and also to deploy five large scale ICT pilots for cities before 2015 is truly inspiring.”

Neelie Kroes, European Commissioner for Digital Agenda

“Europe’s climate targets will only be met through measures that help city governments to manage down their carbon footprint. The Green Digital Charter aims to be a catalyst for cities to work together to find creative and imaginative ways to become smart cities.”

Francisco de la Torre Prado, Mayor of Malaga.

“Real opportunities exist today for harnessing digital technologies to address climate change, especially to increase energy efficiency. Cities have a crucial role to play in achieving Europe- wide climate change targets in partnership with

EU institutions and Member States.”

Sir Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council