The 8th European Conference on Sustainable Cities and Towns, a 2016 event hosted by ICLEI, the Basque Government, and the Provincial Councils of the three regional Basque capital cities, was awarded third place in the "Most responsible event" category at the EventoPlus awards in Madrid (Spain). The awards recognise the best events of the year held in Spain.

The 8th International Conference on Sustainable Cities and Towns gathered 800 people from across Europe in Bilbao to discuss ways to develop more sustainable societies. Measures were implemented to ensure a high level of sustainability at the conference, including the construction of the expo area with discarded materials, the supply of reusable bottles to attendees, the use of local products in meals, and the provision of free public transport tickets, allowing guests to move around the city without a car.

Measures were also taken to enhance water saving and lower energy consumption, leading to the event obtaining the "Erronka Garbia" certificate as an environmentally sustainable event.

The Erronka Garbia certificate, promoted by the public company Ihobe, guarantees the integration of environmental measures in the design and development of an event to minimise its negative impact on the environment.

For more information, click here (in Spanish).