Green Capital
Each year, the European Commission gives two awards to two cities: the European Green Capital Award to a city with more than 100,000 inhabitants and the European Green Leaf Award to a city with more than 20,000 inhabitants.
The European Green Capital Award is for cities that provide the impetus for change, make the effort, and strive to create a fully environmentally friendly city life.
Vilnius was named the European Green Capital for 2025, joining a network of other winners such as Stockholm, Hamburg, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Nantes, Copenhagen, Bristol, Ljubljana, Essen, Nijmegen, Oslo, Lisbon, Lahti, Grenoble, Tallinn, and Valencia.
Vilnius has long been known as the green capital in the literal sense — it is surrounded by parks and forests and more than 60% of its territory is green. But the European Green Capital goes beyond the colour green. It is about a wide range of environmental indicators, the city’s environmental vision and its implementation, its future plans and commitments, the involvement of city residents, and the sustainability of city governance.
Vilnius’ title of the European Green Capital for 2025 is an opportunity to be proud of what we have already achieved in terms of sustainability and greenness, but also an obligation to do even more to respond to the needs of our city residents and to build the greenest city together.
“Vilnius — The European Green Capital for 2025” application“Vilnius — The European Green Capital for 2025” presentation