For the second year in a row Gothenburg has taken the title of the most sustainable city in the world. This year Gothenburg also won the Innovation award. The news was announced on Wednesday with the results of Global Destination Sustainability Index 2017. The index provides a broad international ranking of the progress cities have made toward sustainability.
This is great news for Gothenburg. The city and the visitor industry are strongly committed to sustainability. This is recognition that our efforts are proving successful,” says Camilla Nyman, CEO of Göteborg & Co.With a score of 92 out of a possible 100 points, Gothenburg came top of the list of meeting and event cities in the Global Destination Sustainability Index (GDSI). Gothenburg also took first place last year with a score of 83 points.This year, Gothenburg was also awarded the prize for best Innovation for the Got Event accessability app, developed for event visitors with vision or hearing defiencies.
GDSI was set up by the MCI Group in partnership with the International Congress and Convention Association, ICCA. Annika Hallman, Meetings Manager at Göteborg & Co, accepted the prize on behalf of Gothenburg at ICCA’s annual world congress in Prague on Wednesday:
“As a Gothenburger it makes me very proud to accept this in front of an audience from all over the world. It means a great deal to us when we come to persuade organisers to choose Gothenburg as a host city,” she said.The index measures every aspect of sustainability: ecological, social and economic. But to gain a high ranking in the index it is not enough to show that you have the support of the visitor industry, facilities and hotels; the city as a whole must also be engaged in sustainability issues.
All the cities are assessed on the basis of around 30 criteria. These include the city’s performance in recycling, waste management, environmental certification of hotels and restaurants, greenhouse gas emissions, traffic conditions, bike rental system and whether municipal and private companies have sustainability strategies in place.
Gothenburg gained the highest scores in all areas. The average score of 92 also means that Gothenburg has improved on its results for the previous year.
Guy Bigwood, Director of the GDS-Index, commented “The judges and I were incredibly impressed at the remarkable efforts and consistent progress made by the Gothenburg team. They demonstrated that even as a leader there is significant opportunity to engage stakeholders and collaborate to create new solutions that accelerate environmental, social and economic development.”
Scoring highly on sustainability gives Gothenburg a valuable advantage when it competes with other cities to attract large congresses, events and investment.
“The goal for Gothenburg is to be in the absolute top league. All the sustainability initiatives that the city takes in collaboration with local business contribute to this success. This is very much in line with our ambition to keep on pushing every aspect of sustainability,” says Camilla Nyman.
About the global destination sustainability index (gds-index)
The Global Destination Sustainability Index (GDS-Index) is a prize-winning grassroots Scandinavian initiative that evolved into the first-ever sustainability ranking for event destinations worldwide. A collaborative partnership between ICCA, European Cities Marketing, IMEX and MCI Group, it aims to promote the sustainable growth of international meeting destinations, highlighting best practices and responsible business tourism. In a world increasingly focused on responsible business and addressing our environmental impact, the GDS-Index helps destinations to engage clients with sustainability, align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and drive the adoption, promotion and recognition of sustainable practices in their city. Find out more at www.gds-index.com.
