Page 25 - Shaping smarter and more sustainable cities - Striving for sustainable development goals

2.1 Environment and sustainability

Cities represent 75% of energy consumption and 80% of CO2 emissions on a global basis, and
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represent the largest of any environmental policy challenge . Therefore, sustainability and the
environment are the most critical components in the functioning of any city.

There is a clear distinction between the two terms (i.e. sustainability and the environment) that needs
to be made. According to the Brundtland Commission, sustainable development refers to the
environmental, economic and social aspects, whereas environmental aspects refer to the physical and
biological surroundings of a city.
The major attributes included under this dimension are the following:

 city infrastructure and governance
 energy and climate change
 pollution and waste

 social, economy and health
Multiple studies conducted in this field suggest that each of these attributes encompasses a series
8 9 10 11 12 13
of more granular categories and components, as described below .

Table 1 – Categories and components of the environment
and sustainability dimension

City infrastructure and governance

Policy and management Infrastructure

 Integrated environmental management  Urban planning
 Strategy  Buildings and physical infrastructure
 Municipal administration  Mobility, transportation and traffic
 Effective conservation  Public safety
Energy and climate change

CO2 emissions Energy
 CO2 from energy production  Energy performance
 Emissions per capita  Conservation

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7 http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable‐business/smart‐cities‐innovation‐energy‐sustainable
8 Esty D.C., Levy M.A., Kim C.H., de Sherbinin A., Srebotnjak T., Mara V. (2008). 2008 Environmental
Performance Index. New Haven: Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy.
9 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/europeangreencapital/applying‐for‐the‐award/evaluation‐
process/index.html#sthash.QXukMUww.dpuf
10 IBM smart cities web site
http://www.ibm.co m/smarterplanet/us/en/smarter_cities/overview/index.html
11 http://www.forrester.com/pimages/rws/reprints/document/82981/oid/1‐LTEQ9N
12 Murakami S., Kawakubo S., Asamai Y., Ikaga T., Yamaguchi N., and Kaburagi S. (2011). Development of
comprehensive city assessment tool: CASBEE‐City, Building Research & Information (2011) 39(3), 195‐210.
13 http://euronet.uwe.ac.uk/www.sustainable‐cities.org/indicators/ECI%20Final%20Report.pdf

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