EU Commission Reappoints RPS to European Green Capitals Project

RPS has recently been reappointed by the European Commission to manage the European Green Capital Award (EGCA) project for another rolling four years. “We have managed the EGCA for the past three years on behalf of DG Environment across the EU’s 28 Member States operating in the 24 official EU languages.

The award is made to a city each year which is a role model for sustainable urban living” says Dr. Katie O’Neill, Project Manager for the project.

Last June Bristol, England was named European Green Capital for 2015, succeeding Copenhagen, Denmark who will hold the title in 2014. Previous European Green Capital cities were: Nantes, France (2013), Vitoria Gasteiz, Spain (2012), Hamburg, Germany (2011), and Stockholm, Sweden (2010). Criteria for the prestigious award, now in its fifth year, are climate change, urban mobility, biodiversity, air quality, noisescape, open spaces, water consumption, wastewater treatment, waste management, energy efficiency, eco innovation and environment management systems. The winning city must demonstrate high environmental standards and have an ambition to be a role model for other cities.

EU Environment Commissioner Dr. Janez Potocnik stated that “the European Green Capital Award has been very successful in attracting a wide range of interest throughout Europe. It is a celebration of cities that are rising to the challenge of successfully combining respect for the environment, excellent quality of life and economic growth”.

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton T.D. congratulates Dr. Katie O’Neill Project Manager and PJ Rudden Project Director RPS on being reappointed by the EU Commission to manage the European Green Capital City Award at the Sustainability Gathering in Dublin Castle

“Our reappointment confirms our strong management performance as EGCA Secretariat for the European Commission in technical environmental and communications terms. Apart from the benchmarking of major cities across Europe in environmental terms, we have pioneered and developed social media as a key communications channel to EU citizens especially to the younger generation who are a growing audience” states RPS Director PJ Rudden who is also Director of the European Green Capital Secretariat.

Contact:
PJ Rudden: pj.rudden@rpsgroup.com
Katie O’Neill: katie.oneill@rpsgroup.com