Driving resource-efficient cities through the power of standardized data - New partnership between the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) & the World Council on City Data (WCCD)
October 30th, 2015
New
York -
The United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) and the World Council on City Data (WCCD) have signed a new
partnership agreement to demonstrate the importance of standardized urban
metrics to drive sustainability and resource efficiency in cities.
Arab Hoballah, Chief of the Sustainable Lifestyles, Cities and Industry Branch at UNEP and
Patricia McCarney, WCCD President & CEO
The UNEP-WCCD partnership agreement,
which aims to support informed policy-making, was signed today at the Global
Forum for Human Settlements in New York by Arab Hoballah, Chief of the
Sustainable Lifestyles, Cities and Industry Branch at UNEP, and Patricia
McCarney, WCCD President and CEO.
Within the framework of UNEP-led the
Global Initiative for Resource Efficient Cities, UNEP and the WCCD will work
together with cities to pilot a resource efficiency toolkit, while also
achieving WCCD IS0 37120 certification. ISO 37120, the first international
standard for sustainable city indicators, defines a comprehensive set of 100
indicators that enables any city, of any size, to measure and compare its
social, economic, and environmental performance in relation to other cities
from around the world.
This pilot group includes, among other
cities from around the world, Brussels and Johannesburg together with other
cities globally. Johannesburg was one of the first WCCD 20 Foundation Cities to
achieve ISO 37120 certification.
Dr. McCarney said: “This new
partnership will further the shared goals of UNEP and the WCCD to help cities
around the world to become more sustainable, resource efficient and prosperous
through high-caliber city-level data.
UNEP and the GI-REC initiative is playing a leading role in addressing
the complex challenge of resource efficiency in cities. It is highly
appropriate the GI-REC toolkit uses the ISO 37120 city data standard as the
core of its measurement framework.”
Mr. Hoballah said: “As the world seeks
a global climate agreement at COP 21 in Paris in December, we are seeing that
city action on climate change and sustainability is critical. Our partnership
with the WCCD will demonstrate the value of the GI-REC and WCCD ISO 37120
certification to build city data, as an essential tool to drive policy making,
planning and investment for resource efficient cities globally.”
Mr. Etienne Aulotte from Brussels
Region said: “'The Brussels region sees great potential in developing a
holistic approach to a circular economy through the UNEP/WCCD partnership.
Working together with both institutions under the overall framework of the
Global Initiative for Resource Efficient Cities, Brussels will use standardised
data to promote resource efficiency at city and regional levels.''
With more than half of the world
population currently living in urban areas, and three billion more city
dwellers by 2050, urgent action is required to establish more sustainable and
resource-efficient models of urban development.
In this context, detailed and
up-to-date information and data on urban processes is essential: they help
policy-makers to assess the impacts of policies and infrastructure investments,
and can lead to better decisions and more effective actions. They contribute to
support decision-making with physical and social science knowledge, allowing
for comparisons across municipalities and regions. They can deliver
early-warning signals to prevent or reduce the impacts of environmental,
economic, and social shocks. Well-organized open urban data communicates ideas,
thoughts and values, and is important in holding governments and communities
accountable to their targets and goals.
For further enquiries, please contact:
James
Patava
+14169662368
“The World Council on City Data:
Created by Cities, for Cities”
Twitter: @WCCityData
UNEP Cities and Lifestyles Unit
Notes to
editors:
WCCD - Established in 2014,
the WCCD is globally operationalising ISO 37120 – the first international
standard for indicators on city services and quality of life. With 100
indicators, around 17 themes supporting city services and quality of life, ISO
37120 is supported by the WCCD Open City Data Portal which allows for
cutting-edge visualisations and comparisons.
The World
Council on City Data Foundation Cities include: Boston, Toronto, Los Angeles,
Buenos Aires, Bogota, Guadalajara, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Helsinki, London, Rotterdam,
Barcelona, Minna (Nigeria), Johannesburg, Amman, Makkah (Mecca), Dubai,
Haiphong (Vietnam), Makati (Philippines), Shanghai, and Melbourne.
UNEP - The United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) is the voice for the environment in the United Nations
system. Through its range of work areas, including, for example, climate
change, resource efficiency, and chemicals and waste, UNEP assists countries in
implementing environmentally sound practices that promote sustainable
development. Recognizing the growing need to address global environmental
concerns from an urban perspective, UNEP works with national and local
governments on urban environmental issues, supporting the integration of the
environment into cities’ long-term strategic planning, and the implementation
of policies that encourage sustainable, resilient and resource-efficient
cities.
GI-REC - The Global Initiative for Resource Efficient
Cities (GI-REC) is a UNEP-led initiative launched in June 2012 at the Rio+20
Summit. The initiative currently works with different stakeholders to promote
energy efficient buildings, efficient water use, sustainable waste management
and other activities. UNEP and its partners aim to assist cities in combining
greater productivity and innovation with lower costs and reduced environmental
impacts.
