Thursday 27 June 2019

WCCD officially welcomes first Icelandic ISO 37120 certified city

While in Iceland for meetings with representatives of both local governments and national stakeholders, the World Council on City Data (WCCD) President and CEO, Dr. Patricia McCarney, officially welcomed the Icelandic city of Kópavogur to the WCCD’s growing global network. Kópavogur is the first city in Iceland to become ISO 37120 certified, and the City achieved this certification at the highest possible, Platinum, level by reporting 97 of the 100 indicators within the Standard. 


Mayor of Kópavogur, Ármann Ólafsson and WCCD President & CEO, Dr. Patricia McCarney
Credit: Kópavogur City

Speaking at the certification ceremony at the Kópavogur Art Museum, Dr. McCarney presented the City’s WCCD ISO 37120 Platinum Certification to Mayor Ármann Ólafsson.  “On behalf of the WCCD, I would like to congratulate Mayor Ólafsson, City Council and city staff for their dedication to open, standardized and comparable city data. This standardized data will help to increase the quality of life for all citizens while driving evidence-based decision making and data-driven solutions,” stated Dr. McCarney.  “The City of Kópavogur stands out globally as a leader in working to create a more smart, sustainable, resilient, inclusive and prosperous future for its residents.” 


According to Mayor Ólafsson: “Kópavogur is extremely proud to be a part of the WCCD global network, alongside cities committed to working with high calibre data. In recent years, Kópavogur has worked to systematically improve the measurement of the City‘s operations. Monitoring the results of our city’s policies and objectives will lead to improved transparency and effective processes.”

Kópavogur is using key ISO 37120 indicators to benchmark and monitor the City’s performance on the global stage, in addition to its year-over-year progress against internal goals. Data reported by the City in accordance with ISO 37120 will also be useful for measuring Kópavogur’s progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals – a key priority for the City. (Read More: WCCD City Data for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals – Kópavogur 2019). 

While setting a global example in the high calibre of its data, Kópavogur specifically excels on a number of ISO 37120 indicators. For example, 100% of the city‘s total energy is derived from renewable sources such as hydroelectric power and geothermal energy. Additionally, Kópavogur is at the forefront of economic development and prosperity by supporting employment within the city, evident in their low unemployment rate of 2.16%. The City has also committed to becoming one of the WCCD‘s “Early Adopters“ of ISO 37122 – Indicators for Smart Cities. 

As a global leader in standardized data, the WCCD hosts a network of cities around the world who are committed to high-calibre data. The WCCD is now working with 100 cities across 38 countries. In addition to certifying cities against ISO 37120 – the first international standard for city indicators – the WCCD is inviting cities from around the world to become certified under ISO 37122 (Indicators for Smart Cities) and ISO 37123 (Indicators for Resilient Cities). For more information, please visit www.dataforcities.org, or contact info@dataforcities.org