The City of Helsingborg, Sweden, is a finalist in the European Green Capital Award 2023

The City of Helsingborg is one-step closer to becoming the European Green Capital in 2023. Helsingborg’s most prominent successes are linked to how the city has tackled environmental challenges associated with air, water, and noise pollution, waste management, energy efficiency, and climate change mitigation.

Each year, the European Commission presents one city in Europe with the European Green Capital Award. This is an acknowledgement of ongoing environmental efforts and commitment to becoming a sustainable city for its citizens and the planet. Helsingborg has long prioritised sustainable development at a policy level which, among other things, has resulted in a city run on 99.8% recovered and renewable energy, an extensive district heating grid, and a unique wastewater management system, also known as the Three Pipes Sewer System*. The city has been awarded as Sweden’s “Most Environmentally Friendly Municipality” several years in a row and plays a leading role in the Green Charter of Greater Copenhagen. Furthermore, several local businesses and residents have signed climate contracts as a show of commitment to city-wide sustainability efforts. During the international H22 City Expo in 2022, Helsingborg will be an arena for showcasing and co-creating smart solutions to promote more sustainable cities world-wide.

“Cities play a central role in achieving the ambitions set out in the European Green Deal, and with H22, Helsingborg is radically changing how the city works with its citizens, other sectors, and national and international actors to encourage more sustainable and greener cities. We now have an open, city-wide test bed for collaborating on scalable solutions that improve quality of life and stimulate long term growth,” says Henrik Frindberg, Director of Environment, City of Helsingborg.

The expert panel for the European Green Capital Award has assessed the applications based on twelve environmental indicators. Helsingborg’s application consists of 250 pages and describes in detail how the city works with air quality, noise, waste, water, nature and biodiversity, sustainable land use and soil quality, green growth and eco-innovation, climate change mitigation, climate adaption, sustainable urban mobility, energy performance, and governance.

“I am extremely proud of the work that Helsingborg has put in towards building an environmentally sustainable city. We will continue to accelerate our efforts and hope that we will win the European Green Capital Award 2023. That would give us the opportunity to showcase what we are doing in the city and at the same time inspire others,” says Peter Danielsson, Mayor of Helsingborg.

“Reaching the finals of such a large and important competition is something very positive. We would never have come this far without all the hard work done by the city’s employees over the years. The commitment from the business sector and civil society should not be underestimated either,” says Jan Björklund, Opposition Councillor, City of Helsingborg.

The European Commission will announce the winner later in the year, and the winning city will receive €600,000 during 2023 to be used in initiatives to achieve the city’s sustainability vision.

* The Three Pipes Sewer System is a unique system for separating three waste flows – one pipe for baths, dishwashing, and washing machines, one pipe for ground food waste, and one vacuum pipe for toilets. Over 2,000 new homes and offices in our urban renewal neighbourhood Oceanhamnen are the first in the world to use the new system at full scale – following its development in Helsingborg. The development facility RecoLab, the first of its kind in northern Europe, manages the system that recycles nutrients, water, and energy from the three waste flows.

For more information and media inquiries, please contact:
Henrik Frindberg, Director of Environment, City of Helsingborg, + 46 (0)42-10 50 25, henrik.frindberg@helsingborg.se

Jens Gille, Department Manager Environmental Office and Environmental Strategy, City of Helsingborg, + 46 (0)-42 10 50 52, jens.gille@helsingborg.se