© The City of Lahti
The City of Lahti is a Circwaste pioneering municipality and a FISU-municipality and now it is the first Finnish city to be appointed as the European Green Capital.
The title of European Green Capital is the European Commission's recognition of a city that is a pioneer in environmental activities, serves as an example to other cities and develops innovative solutions to environmental challenges.
Lahti’s strength in the competition was its ability to produce applicable environmental solutions for other cities and for various conditions. Lahti’s innovations in circular economy, good examples in water conservation, and its communal zoning scheme are solutions that can be easily used elsewhere.
“Lahti receiving the title is very important regionally, nationally and internationally, as Finland has never had a European Green Capital. Lahti will implement the idea of the European Green Capital in an excellent way and supports its ambitious goals”, says Mayor Pekka Timonen.
Lahti was one of the three finalists in the European Green Capital competition for 2021. Lahti competed for the title against Strasbourg and Lille, France. Originally the competition involved nine cities across Europe. The nomination took place at the awards ceremony in Oslo 20 June 2019.
The final cities were evaluated on the basis of the application’s twelve indicators depicting the state of their environment, progress on environmental issues, and future plans. Lahti scored the best in four areas: air quality, waste, governance, and green growth and eco-innovation.
More information
The City of Lahti website