EU Cities for Fair and Ethical Trade Award
The Award recognizes visionary EU cities which show leadership, and helps connect cities to exchange knowledge and share good practices in order to scale up cities’ efforts and their contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals.
The EU Cities for Fair and Ethical Trade Award ran through 2017 – 2021, as part of the EU’s efforts to raise awareness about how purchasing decisions of EU consumers can affect the environment and livelihoods of people in other countries – and the role that cities and local authorities have to play in making sure that those decisions are well-informed. Cities had the opportunity to showcase their efforts in raising awareness about and commitment to sustainable, fair and ethical trade – and to learn about new approaches from other cities and local authorities through exchange of good practices, ideas, initiatives, and experiences.
The first edition of the EU Cities for Fair and Ethical Trade Award took place in 2018. The call for applications was launched in December 2017. The city of Ghent was the overall Award winner of the first edition and was awarded the title of “EU City for Fair and Ethical Trade 2019“ in June 2018. Ghent convinced the jury with its all-encompassing city strategy that involves consumers, businesses and the international community. In addition to the overall winner, several cities received a ‘Special Mention’ for their achievements in four categories: Lyon (Innovation), Dortmund (Education and Community Participation), Madrid (Global Partnerships), and Saarbrücken (Inspiring Procurement Practice).
The second edition of the EU Cities for Fair and Ethical Trade Award took place in 2020. Shortlisted cities were invited to pitch their application in front of the Jury in September 2020 via video-conference. The Jury then chose the overall winner and individual category winners (‘Special Mentions’) by closed vote in September 2020. The Swedish city of Malmö has been declared the winner of the EU Cities for Fair and Ethical Trade Award 2021 at the Award Ceremony in October 2020 in Ghent, Belgium. Malmö demonstrated its commitment to tackling new challenges such as circular production, human rights diligence, and ultimately making it “easy for everyone in the city to do the right thing” − which is the city’s motto. The Special Mentions were also announced: Bremen (Global Partnerships & Outlook), Gothenburg (Public Procurement), Jelenia Góra (Rising Champion), Neumarkt (Community Engagement), Stuttgart (Monitoring Impact).
The EU Cities for Fair and Ethical Trade Award Network provided a platform where cities could share best practices, exchange information, learn from each other, and collaborate on joint actions and projects. The purpose of the Network was also to focus more prominently on the potential of the cooperation between EU cities and local governments in developing countries.
The Network was operational between 2018 – 2021. The members were the shortlisted cities from the first and second edition of the Award, as well as other applicants who won a Special Mention.
The Network met in person in 2019, hosted by the city of Lyon, France, and held numerous online meetings in 2019-2021. External stakeholders attended Network meetings in order to benefit from knowledge and best practices outside of the Network.
Cities have traditionally been hubs of global trade, serving as gateways for the EU’s economic links with the rest of the world. More than two-thirds of Europeans live in cities and towns. The bulk of the EU’s consumption is therefore driven by city consumers. As such, EU cities have great potential to drive sustainable, fair and ethical trade.
With this in mind, in 2017 the European Commission, Directorate-General for Trade (DG Trade), together with ITC, launched the Award initiative based on a commitment in the EU’s 2015 Trade for All communication on trade and investment strategy. The Award was designed to encompass the entire city ecosystem of sustainable trade by focusing on public policy but also taking into account efforts by and collaboration with civil society and the private sector. It considered both the policies and practices within EU cities driven by the local government authorities as well as those by other city stakeholders outside the government in support of sustainable, fair and ethical trade.
In order to develop a sound and impactful award concept, ITC convened a Technical Committee of around 40 members from the fields of sustainability, trade or city networks. In collaboration with ITC and DG Trade, this multidisciplinary group created the concept and specifications for the first Award. Based on learnings from the first award cycle and feedback from stakeholders, some adjustments were made for the second Award cycle. The Jury of the Award was made up of seven representatives from EU institutions, the private sector and NGOs (including city networks), as well as the Rapporteur from the Evaluation Committee.
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