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Sectors: Construction and buildings Waste management Bioeconomy

The European Commission’s 100 Intelligent Cities Challenge

Updated on 19.09.2023

The Intelligent Cities Challenge (ICC) is a European Commission initiative bringing together 136 cities to achieve intelligent, socially responsible and sustainable growth through advanced technologies.

Target audience: EU initiatives
Countries: European Union

Activities on circular economy

All activities carried out by cities under the ICC will deal with the following thematic tracks:

  • citizen participation and digitisation of public administration
  • green economy and Local Green Deals
  • upskilling and reskilling
  • green and digital transition in tourism
  • supply chains, logistics and the economics of mobility

Countries

EU27 and also other countries such as Canada, the United States of America, Korea, Singapore, Colombia, and Kenya. 

Sectors

Because the ICC involves cities and because it functions as a whole, there are many sectors that may be involved in the activities carried out by cities under the ICC. This includes most sectors of circular economy (CE), such as: waste, air pollution, water, technology, construction and buildings, etc.

Key services provided for the circular economy

The main objective provided by the ICC is to provide advice and technical assistance to cities in order to lead the green and digital transition, while leveraging cutting edge technologies. The city transformation journey includes:
 

  • an assessment of a city’s needs and key enablers;
  • the city’s vision, strategy and action plan, which is co-created with key stakeholders like, for example, businesses, knowledge institutes, and citizens;
  • the solutions prioritised to achieve the vision and the strategic choices the city has made to scale these solutions rapidly.


Cities are also called to measure their performance through pre-set key performance indicators (KPIs). For instance, in order to effectively engage with the thematic tracks and overcome their associated challenges, cities are given access to the ICC’s transversal services.


These services offer flexible support to cities through cross-theme coaching so that cities can effectively plan for their digital transformations by refining and creating new effective strategies. Working with experts, cities will utilise these services to tackle common barriers and leverage local enablers.


These transversal services include:
 

  • Access to finance: aimed at fostering a transformation of practices to secure different sources of funding on the road to smarter, greener, and fairer economic development.
  • Innovative and social public procurement: commissions research and development activities and uses the public sector as early adopters of innovative solutions.
  • Open data platforms: through this service, cities are familiarised with data concepts and implementation paths via workshops and e-learning materials.

List of relevant material

Description of future collaboration with CCRI-CSO

  • The CCRI can disseminate to Pilots and Fellows different seminars and workshops from the ICC.
  • The ICC can develop webinars on the topic of circularity to be shared with the CCRI.
  • The CCRI can help the ICC to build synergies with their network with an aim to renew the network in the next phase of the ICC with new cities, which are still to be decided, and gain valuable knowledge on good practices.

Additional information

The ICC is currently developing and analysing a wide variety of case studies.

Please find below a non-exhaustive list of ICC examples:
 

  • Alcoy: Local energy communities in industrial areas – Implementation of a smart sustainable grid solution to monitor the consumption and efficiency of industrial areas. 
  • Algeciras: Water Management Initiative – Water distribution and sanitisation networks monitoring and advanced management system.
  • Waste Management Initiative – Foster an efficient and respectful waste management model.
  • Alicante: Intelligent Water Management – Use of IT and smartwater technologies to create an open platform for municipalities in the province, with a special focus on smaller municipalities.
  • Towards energy self-sufficient municipalities – Two initiatives: the creation of Local Energy Communities and an increase in municipal self-consumption. Municipalities need to implement actions to reduce their energy bills and their CO2 emissions. The main activities foreseen are: the launch of calls for subsidies aimed at local councils (provincial energy savings plan) to implement energy-saving actions in municipalities, and a specific call to promote the creation of local energy communities in the province.
  • Castello de la Plana: Integral Water Management – Design a comprehensive solution that boosts the recovery of the ecosystem and promotes sustainable consumption and the habit of saving and reusing water. The proposed initiatives and their main foreseen activities are:
    - Innovative Project in Wetlands (Act 2. Analysis of solutions).
    - Promoting NBS & SUDS (Acts 2–3. Report of solutions and execution).
    - Project for the recovery of water for irrigation (Acts 2–3. Report of solutions and execution).
  • Municipal Energy Efficiency Plan:
    - Acquisition of new low emission vehicles (Act 3. Study the possibility of changing the local bicycles to electric & Act 4. Study the possibility of giving a second life to electric bicycles batteries).
    - Renewal of lighting with energy efficiency criteria (Act 2. Elaboration of the project & Act 3. Provision of the system).
    - Energy efficiency in municipal buildings (Act 2. Installation of infrastructures/technologies).
  • Communauté d’Agglomération Paris-Saclay: Economic transition – The objectives of the Alliance focus on four areas:
    - Develop innovative circular business models that guarantee the durability of materials, products, services and processes, and the associated systems engineering models.
    - Putting the environment back at the heart of territorial and industrial strategic decision-making, while remaining competitive.
    - Reinforce traceability throughout the life cycle thanks to digital tools and enriched and reliable circular data.
    - Orienting the platforming of certain sectors of the economy towards platforms for the exchange of goods and services.
  • Corfu: Smart management of bins and smart fleet management – Using smart sensors to monitor the condition of as many waste or recycling bins as possible and to get data to coordinate the best collection routes, according to their fullness. At the same time, GPS trackers will be put on the municipality’s garbage trucks, so that citizens know when the trucks are close to their area.
  • Jyvaskyla: Ympyraks Network – Get more companies and SMEs involved in the network and strengthen the companies’ knowledge and skills regarding environmental responsibility and CE. Developing/finding indicators for environmental responsibility. Stabilising and establishing network as vital part of the ecosystem.
  • Leuven: Exploring (1) local companies’ needs to transition to CE and (2) the possibilities to create a CE hub – with a focus on innovative business models. Organising sessions with stakeholders and experts to share expertise, questions, insights and knowledge with each other. Involving companies in the different circular projects of the city.
  • Molina de Segura: Incentives for circularity processes in the industrial sector – Economic and non-economic incentives for companies to achieve zero waste.
  • CE awareness campaign – Awareness campaign on CE and good practices in recycling focused on the industrial sector.
  • Osijek: Sensor Data Collection – Even though the city is already using sensors to monitor waste in the city, the city would need to further develop its sensor data collection services through highly innovative pilot projects, which would help them utilise the new 5G infrastructure as well as Big Data directly provided by the 5G network.
  • Pori: Industrial Circular Economy – Green Economy is actively utilised in City branding, turning the city’s image from industrial to green and attractive to young people. Major CE events will be organised.
  • Skelleftea: Urban cultivation – Making explicit room for urban cultivation in the remodelling of Anderstorg that will sustainably utilise energy, water and biowaste.
  • Local energy grid/system – A system where energy can be shared, transferred, and generated within buildings and operations in the district/block using municipal or public infrastructure rather than private. Note; energy can be transferred via electricity, heating and cooling, for example.
  • Vari Voula Vouliagmeni: Producing standard soil conditioner – The municipality is a pioneer in the production of standard soil conditioner, which is produced from green and organic waste and has A+ quality. The Municipality signed a three-year contract with the University of Athens and WATT to process up to 10 000 tons of green and organic waste per year, which is translated into production of 20 000, 50-litre bags of high-quality soil conditioner (Vita Green Plus).
Target territory
Territories involved

large 500 000-200 000, medium 200 000-50 000, and small cities 50 000-5 000