The deadline for the European Green Capital Award 2017 has arrived. This year, two of POCACITO’s case cities have submitted an application for this prestigious award, Istanbul and Portugal. By submitting an application for this award, Portugal and Istanbul are demonstrating that they have made progress towards becoming European Green Capitals.

Every year, an EU Member State is selected to receive the European Green Capital Award. This award is a high honor for Member States which recognizes the ambitious goals of cities to implement “green visions” to combat future climate change. The purpose of this award is to showcase how cities are going above and beyond in regards to transforming their economies and social structures in a way that brings them closer to becoming post-carbon societies. Not only does it showcase environmental innovation on the city level but cities which are chosen as European Green Capitals serve as models for other cities which are working to become greener themselves. Even winning cities can look to finalists for new ideas, which has been the aim of this award in the past and for the years to come.

The winning city will not be awarded until June 2015 after being evaluated by a panel of experts in 12 different categories such as local transport, eco-innovation, ambient air quality and water management. A full list of the categories can be found here.