Aalter Celebrates Three Successful Years of WCCD ISO 37120 Certification
AALTER, BELGIUM - March 18, 2024 - In a significant milestone for the City of Aalter, Mayor Pieter De Crem accepted the WCCD ISO 37120 Gold Certification, marking the city's third achievement of this prestigious award. The World Council on City Data (WCCD) President and CEO, Dr. Patricia McCarney, presented the certificate in a ceremony attended by city members of the College of Mayor and Aldermen, staff, and stakeholders, underscoring Aalter's commitment to data-driven decision-making and sustainable urban development.
This certification at the Gold level acknowledges Aalter's exemplary collection of high-quality data to foster internal benchmarking, strategic planning, infrastructure investment, localization of global goals and sustainable economic development. Throughout the certification process, Aalter demonstrated exceptional data collection practices that have significantly contributed to its recognition and resulted in over one hundred fully standardized key performance indicators for the city to use.
Dr. Patricia McCarney commended the City’s achievements, stating,
"Aalter's continued dedication to the highest standards of city data not only enhances its own urban management but also sets a global benchmark for cities globally aspiring to sustainable, smart, and resilient development."
Mayor Pieter De Crem expressed gratitude for the recognition and emphasized the city's commitment to leveraging data for the betterment of its community.
The ceremony highlighted Aalter's particularly celebratory data points yielded from its certification, including exemplary leadership in business, bicycle lanes, recreation space, healthcare, and sustainable water consumption.
The WCCD looks forward to continuing its partnership with Aalter, furthering the use of standardized city data to enhance urban sustainability and inclusive prosperity.
About the WCCD
The WCCD hosts a network of innovative cities committed to high quality, globally standardized and certified city data which is critical for driving innovation and more strategic and sustainable economic development. This data supports city leaders in establishing a baseline for building more resilient, smart, prosperous and inclusive futures for their cities and their nations.
Established in 2014, over the past 10 years, the WCCD has built the most comprehensive city data platform in the world and is now working in over forty countries and has certified over one hundred cities. The WCCD is the global leader in supporting cities to collect, report and use ISO standardized, third-party verified and comparable city data of the highest calibre. This vital data has applications ranging from investment attraction and economic development, innovation and business growth, strategic planning and progress monitoring, to internal and global benchmarking, to localization of global agendas, and, overall, developing smarter, more sustainable, resilient, prosperous and inclusive cities.
Working with professionals worldwide, the WCCD was instrumental in publishing the global first: now referred to as the ISO 37120 Series of Standards for City Indicators – the first set of key performance standards to support city data published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in Geneva. ISO 37120 – Sustainable Cities and Communities —Indicators for City Services and Quality of Life is the foundational document and the WCCD is now operationalizing two additional standards: ISO 37122 — Indicators for Smart Cities and ISO 37123 — Indicators for Resilient Cities across its rapidly growing global network. The WCCD has created the first ever certification system and hosts the Global Cities Registry® for ISO 37120, ISO 37122 and ISO 37123. Further building on this foundation, the WCCD establishes a global hub for creative learning partnerships across cities, international organizations, corporate partners, and academia to further innovation, envision alternative futures, and build better and more livable cities.
For more information, please contact:
Dr. Patricia McCarney
President & CEO
World Council on City Data
patricia.mccarney@globalcities.ca
