UBC Sustainable Cities Commission meeting in Greifswald

The first offline Commission meeting after the coronavirus-caused break: UBC Sustainable Cities invites you to Greifswald, Germany on 27–28 April 2022! The Commission meeting in 2022 will be under the topic "Sustainable Cities: Trends and Challenges in the Baltic Sea Region".
"We have the responsibility to preserve our beautiful Baltic Sea Region to ensure a future worth living for coming generations. I am very pleased to invite you to the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald to the annual meeting of the Sustainable Cities Commission,"
— Dr. Stefan Fassbinder, Lord Mayor of the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald
This Commission meeting will bring the diverse programme including exciting site visits and engaging discussions in addition to insightful presentations from your city peers around the Baltic Sea. The complexity of approaches from the UBC cities will enrich your knowledge on how to address common bottlenecks in sustainable construction, smart mobility and efficient use of resources. We will discuss:
- Sustainable cities in the Baltic Sea region: Strategic directions.
The new UBC Sustainability Action Programme 2022-2030 has been launched. UBC Sustainable Cities Commission will present the new vision for the UBC cooperation, developed on the basis of co-creation with the Member cities, and the ambitious goals of our network. We will get inspired by cities presenting their sustainable strategies and pathways to climate leadership. - Building sustainable cities – energy-smart construction perspective.
Building and construction sector plays a significant role in ensuring urban energy efficiency. We will learn about local examples from around the Baltic Sea highlighting sustainable and efficient municipal buildings planning and construction, addressing materials and technologies. - Building sustainable cities – biodiversity and climate adaptation perspective.
Climate change poses new risks to many spheres of the urban sustainability, biodiversity being one of the most vulnerable ones. We will hear about city examples of solutions for ensuring biodiversity while equipping cities with energy efficient solutions. - Sustainable mobility in UBC cities.
Smart, green, integrated and multimodal: UBC cities are actively addressing the urban mobility sector. We will look into city cases where the shift from cars to green and sustainable modes of transport is already visible. - Measuring sustainability progress in the cities.
UBC-CDP cooperation has continued since 2016, and now every year over 20 UBC cities disclose their climate actions in the global system. 7 UBC cities have been included in the CDP A-List 2021. We will discover why it is important to measure the sustainability progress, and how cities can benefit from it.
How to build sustainable cities and what decisions to take when planning urban areas? Join us in Greifswald to find solutions from different cities in the Baltic Sea Region!
Agenda for UBC Sustainable Cities Commission meeting in Greifswald
Site visits and get-together dinner
Site visit to Max-Planck-Institute for plasma physics
Welcome and presentations at the City hall
- Welcoming words by Lord Mayor of Greifswald Dr. Stefan Fassbinder
- “The Role of Cities in Climate Protection”, Prof. Dr. Andreas Loeschel, Ruhr University Bochum
- “Sustainable land use – our responsibility – what cities should do”, Prof. Dr. Hans Joosten, Greifswald University
Downloadable documents
Theme of the day: Sustainability – from building to city level
Welcome from the City of Greifswald
“Welcome words – What makes Greifswald special?”, Dr. Sylvia Schönfeld, Manageress of Lord Mayor’s office and personal consultant
Welcome from UBC Sustainable Cities Commission
Welcome from UBC Sustainable Cities Commission by Risto Veivo, Climate director of the City of Turku, Co-Chair of the UBC SCC
Sustainable cities in the Baltic Sea region: Strategic directions
- New UBC Sustainability Action Programme 2022-2030, Agnieszka Ilola, Acting Head of Secretariat of the UBC Sustainable Cities Commission
- Sustainable strategy of Greifswald, Dr. Stephan Braun, City of Greifswald
- Roadmap to the European Green Capital 2021, Elina Ojala, City of Lahti
- General discussion and comments
Building sustainable cities – energy-smart construction perspective
- Municipal buildings in Greifswald, Martin Stiller, City of Greifswald
- Renewable energies in the district heating of Greifswald, Nils Patzenhauer, Stadtwerke Greifswald
- Ecological and energy-efficient buildings, Jaanus Tamm, City of Tartu
- General discussion and comments
Building sustainable cities – biodiversity and climate adaptation perspective
- Sustainable land use activities, Thomas Beil, City of Greifswald
- Biodiversity and circular economy solutions, Lotte Suveri, City of Turku
- Solar offensive for roofs, Lea Marten, City of Hamburg
- ClimateSail – Youth education on sustainable development, Christoph Bauch, Referent climate education of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany
- General discussio
Sustainable mobility in UBC cities
- Inner city mobility concept of Greifswald, Saskia Rösch, City of Greifswald
- Integrated mobility plan, Lisa Wiechmann, City of Rostock
- General discussion and statements from the City of Lahti, Gävle municipality and City of Osnabrück
Measuring sustainability progress in the cities
- UBC-CDP cooperation in 2022, Étienne Métais, CDP Europe
- Green City Accord, Barbara Anton, ICLEI