“It is a recognition of our commitment to being a sustainable, healthy and innovative city”, says the mayor, Lluisa Moret
The mayor of Sant Boi, Lluïsa Moret, has collected this Thursday, January 18, the award that recognizes Sant Boi as the most sustainable city in Spain. After 15 editions, Sant Boi is the first municipality to win this state award twice in its highest category.
The Minister Isabel García Tejerina has presented the 2017 Sustainable City Awards during a public event that was held in the auditorium of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment, in Madrid.
Recognition of a sustainable, healthy and innovative city
“This award fills us with pride because it is recognition”said Lluisa Moret during the event, “to the effort and strategic commitment of Sant Boi to become a sustainable, healthy and innovative metropolitan city, which defends economic development that is respectful of its agricultural, forestry and river environment.”
The mayor was accompanied during the event by the deputy mayor of Ciudad Sostenible, Josep Puigdengolas, and the deputy mayor of Territory and Sustainability, José Ángel Carcelén.
The Environmental Forum Foundation has been awarding the Sustainable City Awards for fifteen years with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment and the collaboration of Ecoembes. The goal is to recognize “the municipalities and local entities of Spain that are committed to projects and actions aimed at promoting sustainability.”
Award for Sant Boi in the main category
The awards were announced this year in seven categories. Sant Boi has won the main category award, in the “Most Sustainable City”, for its global commitment to sustainability, embodied in the 'R that R sustainable' project.
The awards jury has assessed that the Sant Boi project “focuses on the integration of sustainability in decision-making in public management and in all sectors of the population to comply with commitments to reduce greenhouse gases.”Sant Boi wins the award for the second time
The city of Sant Boi is the first to win this award for the second time in fifteen years of history of the awards. In 2003 the work done to preserve the values of the local natural environment was valued. On this occasion, the actions carried out in the urban environment have mainly been taken into account to contribute to the global fight against climate change.
A privileged nature in a metropolitan environment
60% of the territory of Sant Boi is agricultural, forestry or river. This uniqueness turns the municipality into a metropolitan 'green lung' that enjoys very good air quality indices and a natural environment of great landscape, ecological and environmental value that citizens use and appreciate.
2003: award for the preservation of the natural environment
In a time of strong real estate speculation, sustainable urban planning and the pioneering implementation of a Local Agenda 21 allowed Sant Boi to preserve this privileged natural environment, become a benchmark in this type of policies and obtain the Sustainable City Award for the first time.
2017: award for environmental policies in the urban environment
Since then, Sant Boi's sustainability policies have taken an important step to respond to new challenges. In recent years, Sant Boi's commitment has focused on environmental protection of the urban environment to fight climate change.
The main political priorities in this area have been selective waste collection and sustainable energy management. The policies developed have generated important environmental, social and economic benefits and have been carried out involving a large number of social and economic agents in the city: companies, businesses, schools, entities...
Improving selective waste collection
Between the end of 2016 and the beginning of 2017, the city comprehensively changed the selective waste collection system. In one year, this change has made it possible to increase by 10,7% the amount of waste that is selectively collected in the municipality's containers (from 5.700 tons in 2016 to 6.300 tons in 2017).
Working towards more sustainable use of energy
The City Council has worked to use and promote the use of renewable energies and has managed to reduce its own energy consumption by half a million euros, thanks to the application of an ambitious efficiency plan. In the period 2005-2015, the city has globally reduced energy consumption by 11% and per capita emissions by 25%. Regulations have been developed to reduce atmospheric, noise and light pollution and work is being done to encourage more sustainable mobility.
Future strategy: healthy city, sustainable city
Obtaining the XV Sustainable City Award underpins the future strategy that the municipal government has begun to build to associate the name of Sant Boi with the concepts of 'healthy city' and 'sustainable city'. This strategy is intended to have the complicity of all sectors of local society.
From Bikefriendly Consulting We feel this award is our own and we express our gratitude to the Sant Boi City Council for offering us the opportunity to collaborate with them in the development and execution of their Urban Bike Strategy and the organization of the European Mobility Week.
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