Malmö first Swedish city to join Climate-KIC

The City of Malmö has partnered with Climate-KIC to pave the way for continued urban transition for sustainable development in the city.

Malmö has over the past decades undertaken a journey from a traditional industrial city to a modern city of knowledge.

The City of Malmö, in southern Sweden, takes a holistic stance on sustainability, heeding its responsibilities as a local actor in the face of global challenges. Backed by ambitious political targets, city departments cooperate with each other, and with enterprises, universities and civil society organisations, in promoting environmental development as a vehicle for economic prosperity and social innovation. Today, through collaborative efforts after difficult years of deep recession in the 1980s and 1990s, Malmö is well known for its accomplishments in urban sustainability.

Acknowledging the complexity of challenges still ahead, while keen to keep pushing the envelope, Malmö became the first city in Sweden to join the Climate-KIC network.

“Through active partnership we want to increase our leverage, and the network’s, in paving the way for continued urban transition for sustainable development”, says climate strategist and Climate-KIC contact point Joakim Nordqvist. These are challenges that include and demand commitment from all parts of society.

Succinct descriptions of the City of Malmö’s sustainability ambitions are given in its Environmental Programme. Further information about local initiatives and efforts can be found on its Sustainable City website.

About Malmö

The City of Malmö, Sweden’s third largest city, is part of the Öresund region and has undergone a substantial urban reconstruction. Once an industrial city, Malmö is now known as as sustainable city with low energy houses and green roofs. The Western Harbour (Västra Hamnen), the flagship of Malmö’s redevelopment,  is now an attractive residential and business district with 100% locally-produced renewable energy and is described as Europe’s first carbon-neutral neighborhood . The Ecocity district of Augustenborg is world renown for its roof-top gardens. Malmö was further Sweden’s first Fairtrade City and is one of the world’s most bicycle-friendly city.  Read here about other sustainable initiatives in Malmö.