Our offering

The Sustainable Urban Strategies hub operates on a territorial scale, adopting a cross-cutting and systemic approach that addresses every aspect of sustainable urban planning:

• energy and ecological issues, involving work on low-carbon territorial strategies
• economic and social issues, with the proposal of a new European sustainable city label

At this territorial scale, our work is aimed at local authorities in support of their transition towards more sustainable cities and territories, in line with their public policies and planning approaches. The task involves devising, testing and deploying innovative tools for addressing these issues.

The Sustainable Urban Strategies hub focuses on two major programmes, each dealing with complementary sustainable development issues:

1. Low-carbon Strategies for Territories programme
2. Ville Durable et Innovante (VDI) smart sustainable cities certification programme

Low-Carbon Strategies programme

The aim of this programme is to work with territorial actors to create the tools of the future, through R&D partnerships that we co-finance. These tools will assist in formulating more effective and operational low-carbon strategies, in alignment with the objectives of the French National Low-Carbon Strategy (SNBC).

Smart sustainable cities certification programme

The certification label will be finalized at the end of 2021 following an experimentation phase involving seven local authorities in France and will be open to all French local authorities [1] as from 2022. Initially, Efficacity and Cerema will be the agencies responsible for awarding the label to cities signing up to the approach and demonstrating – following a period of support from a VDI adviser and an audit – strong commitment and the realisation of initiatives promoting sustainable development.

[1] already involved in the ADEME Territoire Engagé Transition Ecologique programme and holders of Climat Air Energie (formerly Cit’ergie) certification.