GREEN CITIES EUROPE
AWARD
Table of Contents
About The Award
The Award is an initiative of the European Nurserystock Association (ENA) together with nursery organisations in 13 European countries united in the international program Green Cities Europe. In this program, 13 European countries work together to highlight the added value of green space in the urban environment. Each European country in this program can delegate a national project. The projects will be judged by a jury that consists of a delegated jury member from each participating country in this Award.
Participating projects must be located in the participating countries: Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, The Netherlands and Sweden.
Eligible projects are very diverse. From school grounds to business parks and from hospitals to residential areas. Characteristic of the competing projects is that indoor and/or outdoor greenery has an important added value for users and the environment. This added value can be found in various areas such as real estate value, labour productivity, biodiversity, identity, climate control, future-proofing and the health and well-being of people.
Goal of the award
The Green Cities Europe Award encourages successful, ambitious, inspiring and innovative green infrastructures projects.
What projects participate
All inspiring projects that make optimum use of the added value of green infrastructures in the living environment can participate.
For imaging some examples:
- Interior planting of a school
- A new residential area with public gardens
- A business garden with workplaces
- A hospital with green treatment rooms
- A new city park with sports and play facilities
- A green renovated industrial estate
(Participating projects need to be fully realised and put into use no more than 5 years ago.)
Who is the participant?
Any person involved in the project can initiate an application. The official submitter is ultimately the party that financed the project.
Any costs?
Participation in the competition is free of charge. If you incur costs yourself, for example for submitting your project or for your presence at the prize-giving ceremony, these will be at your own expense.
The judging process
The application forms of the 13 nominated internationale projects are shared with all the members of the jury
Based on the supplied information and the public available information about the project, every member of the jury individually rates the judging criteria with 0-10 points (hgher is better), including a short motivation.
(Judging Criteria below) The members of the jury are allowed to request the participants for more information. The members of the jury may visit projects and consult with each other. This is not compulsory.
After all scores are submitted, the organising country will share the scores with all members of the jury. The project with the highest score will be selected as a winner. In the situation that two projects score the same, the jury will vote for the winner.
Award ceremony
The
award ceremony will take place in Brussels, in or near the Parliament building.
The prize
The prize consists mainly of honour. A lot of attention for the project in the (printed and social) media is expected.
In addition, the winning project will receive a ‘trophy’.
Who to contact?
If you have any questions, or need more details, don’t hesitate to contact the organisation. Each participating country also has a local contact. The members of the jury cannot be contacted unless they ask for it.
Interested in participating in the Green Cities Europe Award 2023? Please contact your local authorities:
Thank you for mentioning “Green Cities Europe Award” in the subject line of your e-mail.
The judging criteria
- Greenery (A double weighting shall be applied to this criterion!)
The greenery will be assessed on the right assortment for this application. Quality and diversity are taken into account. Special and unique applications may contribute to a higher appreciation. - The overall design (landscape and optional associated buildings)
The most important point of assessment is the integral design in which the elements in the project match each other. And where the project connects to its surroundings. The uniqueness of the design is an added advantage. - The contribution to the well-being of users
Depending on the type of project, visitors, patients, students, residents or employees benefit from the added value like well fare, productivity ans social cohesion. The size of the expected effect and the size of the group of profiteers determine the rating. - The impact on the climate
For the valuation, the impact of the project is estimated on the following components: Rainwater collection and discharge and temperature regulation. - The impact on the environment
Materials used are assessed for environmental impact during production and for circularity. If the project has a logical effect on the perception of noise nuisance and on the capture of CO2, NOx and particulate matter, this may be taken into account. - The impact on economic factors
For the assessment, an estimate is made of the relationship between the investment (construction and maintenance) and the revenues. This may include an estimate of the effect on property value in the surrounding area and positive impact on local economy (for shops , restaurants…). - Used constructing materials
It will be assessed on the right product choice for this application. Quality is taken into account. Special and unique applications may contribute to a higher appreciation. - Innovativeness and reproducibility
Innovativeness is appreciated. A good reproducibility of the entire project, or parts of it, improves the score. - Important remark!
The set-up of the award does not allow all criteria to be fully researched and factually substantiated. These cases are judged subjectively by the judges on the basis of their insights and experience and on the basis of the information provided by the participant. Only the jury chooses the winner. No correspondence is possible outside the jury about the content of the assessment process.
