International Trade Centre and European Commission launch second award for EU cities supporting fair and ethical trade
To promote awareness about fair and ethical trade, the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Trade have launched the EU Cities for Fair and Ethical Trade Award 2021 at an event in Brussels, Belgium. The award aims to highlight the role that European Union cities and their citizens can play in supporting sustainable trade.
The award was launched at the European Committee of the Regions, with presentations by ITC and the European Commission highlighting the details of the 2020 application process and sharing information on key milestones. The City of Ghent in Belgium shared its experience as winner of the first award and the event was live-streamed here.
“The purchasing decisions of EU citizens have a significant impact on the environment and on the livelihoods of people in other countries,” Dorothy Tembo, acting Executive Director of ITC, said. “Fair and ethical trade can help to enhance responsible production and consumption patterns and provide more sustainable opportunities to producers in other countries. It is also an important contributor to delivering on Sustainable Development Goal 12 on responsible consumption, and production.”
Following its successful first edition in 2018, the award created the Network of EU Cities for Fair and Ethical Trade – a platform for EU cities to share their experiences and knowledge.
The network currently includes Dortmund, Ghent, Lyon, Madrid, Malmö, Saarbrücken, and Vitoria-Gasteiz. This network meets meets once or twice a year on a rotating basis in member cities, in addition to regular online discussions. Shortlisted cities will be invited to join this network to share their knowledge and inspire other cities to become sustainable trade champions.
EU cities with more than 20,000 inhabitants are eligible to apply for the award which has an application deadline date of 12 June 2020. In their submission, EU cities should share their achievements across the social, economic and environmental pillars of international trade. They will be judged on their vision, relevant policies and the impact of their activities and initiatives. Along with an overall winner – to be awarded in October 2020 – several cities will receive special mentions for outstanding achievements in areas such as innovation or education initiatives.
For more information about the award, please contact: fairandethical [at] trade-city-award.eu (fairandethical[at]trade-city-award[dot]eu) or visit www.trade-city-award.eu
The the Sustainable Trade Champions Report 2019 can be downloaded here: https://www.trade-city-award.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/001-EUCFETA2021-Fair-and-Ethical-Practices-in-EU-Cities.pdf