Towns and Cities, Growing Greener

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Approximately 30 kilometres from Belgium’s capital, Brussels, lies Leuven, a charming, compact city of just under 100,000 citizens. Leuven is characterised by a wide range of landscapes, including lush parks, a beautiful botanical garden, 1,000ha of forest, and the river Dyle running through the heart of the region.

Leuven at a glance

A historic cityThe city has maintained many cultural relics

from its medieval past. All through the Middle

Ages, Leuven was characterised by numerous

churches, monasteries and convents, many of

which are still intact and are now very popular

tourist sights.

A young cityLeuven is largely known for its 600-year-old

university, KU Leuven. Thanks to Leuven’s large

student population (40,000), it is a lively, vibrant

and dynamic city.

An innovative city Regularly ranked in the top 100 universities in

the world, KU Leuven is known for its innovative

work and collaboration with scientific and

research institutions based in the city. This

wealth of shared knowledge makes the city a

hot spot for innovative research in a range of

different areas, such as climate change.

Leuven’s urban landscape is characterised by its historical buildings.

With 30ha of pedestrianised zones, citizens can stroll through the vibrant city streets.

Clockwise from Left to Right ©Toerisme Leuven ©Miechel De Paep

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• Youth City of Flanders 2017-2018

• Belgian Environment and Energy Award 2014

• Most Sustainable Belgian Municipality 2013

• Fair trade city since 2006

• The number one car sharing city in Belgium

• 30ha pedestrianised area

• 40,000 trees in public spaces and 70 parks

and open gardens

• Less domestic waste per person than the

average for the Flanders region

• 5km of bicycle lanes in the old city centre

• 20 charging points for electric bicycles

Leuven, a green city

Leuven’s Accolades

Leuven 2030 – Innovative climate change governance The NGO ‘Leuven 2030’, co-founded by citizens

and 60 different organisations, is working in

collaboration with the City of Leuven to achieve

a climate neutral future, uniting citizens,

organisations, companies, governments

and knowledge institutions to make this

transition. Committed to public participation in

environmental issues, Leuven is one of the few

cities in Europe to monitor its carbon dioxide

emissions monthly and share them online with

its citizens.

Leuven 2030 developed its own professional

communication strategy for its climate journey,

based on the principles of behavioural change.

Citizens are the key ambassadors for a green

and sustainable Leuven; their stories inspiring

others to look for solutions.

Green space and biodiversity The city of Leuven is committed to protecting

its wildlife; leading several biodiversity projects,

opening up covered streams and minimising

urban sprawl to safeguard its open space. The

reappearance of some very rare and valuable

species is a clear sign of success for the

ambitious policy on nature conservation which

has been in place since 1998.

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Leuven is home to the oldest botanical gardens in Belgium.

Leuven is striving to become the number one cycling city in Belgium through improving its environment for cyclists as well as pedestrians.

Cycle and pedestrian friendly city Leuven’s city centre is now car free thanks to

an ambitious circulation plan implemented in

2016, increasing levels of cycling by 30% and

reducing motorised traffic by almost 10% across

the entire city. With 5km of cycle lanes in the

city centre and the continuous addition of bike

stands (currently 18,000), cycling in the city has

never been easier. Travelling to Leuven by bike

has also been made possible with the creation

of cycle highways, such as the route connecting

Leuven and Brussels.

A clean city Leuven is a very clean city thanks to its policy

on domestic waste, maintaining a clean city

centre and monitoring illegal dumping. In 2016

the average amount of domestic waste shrank

to 118.40kg per citizen. This is lower than the

average in the Flanders region and over 80kg

less than the target goal for 2022 for small cities

in Belgium. The city has invested much effort in

the reduction of waste production by promoting

composting, reuse and repair.

WaterThe River Dyle plays an important role in

naturally cooling the city, however it also

leaves it vulnerable to flooding. Over the past

decade the city has focused on introducing

flood protection measures and thanks to the

construction of a wide spread sewer system, the

water quality has improved drastically. Citizens

can now enjoy a more open river running through

the city centre, and thanks to the improved

environment, the creation of green parks along

the Dyle has been made possible.

Air quality The decrease in motorised traffic, thanks to the

2016 circulation plan, has had a direct impact

on local air quality; in some places air quality is

up to 2.5 times better than before the plan was

implemented. To continue this improvement, the

city of Leuven and its citizens will embark on a

new collaborative project to use smart sensors

for measuring air quality.

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Leuven, European Green Leaf 2018As European Green Leaf 2018, Leuven would like to inspire other cities with its approach of involving the whole community to tackle climate change. In 2018 the many projects focusing on energy use, energy production, food consumption and mobility (amongst others), will further contribute to a sustainable, inspiring and climate neutral future.

Energy, a collective approachLeuven has brought together a range of actors

to reduce the city’s energy consumption and

promote renewables. For instance, ‘LICHT

Leuven’ a partnership of 15 organisations,

supports local, citizen-led solar and wind energy

projects, promoting renewable energy and civic

engagement and boosting the local economy.

Another example is the ‘Leuven Switcht’

campaign, which offers a simple tool to help

people change to the cheapest available green

energy contract.

Leuven 2030 is helping 18 partners introduce

substantial energy efficiency measures in

various large buildings in and around Leuven,

including offices, schools, elderly homes, social

housing, and cultural buildings, once again

demonstrating a commitment to collaboration

and knowledge sharing.

A local and sustainable food systemSustainable food consumption and agriculture

are also key topics for Leuven. Currently

working on a local food strategy involving over

100 stakeholders, Leuven aims to help local,

small scale agricultural enterprises reach their

potential in sustainable food production develop

a policy to reduce food waste at every step in

the food production chain.

MobilityThe city of Leuven aims to be a car free city. The

city will continue to support civic platforms,

such as ‘Straten Vol Leuven’ (Streets Full of

Leuven) and ‘Kom op voor je wijk’ (Stand Up for

Your Neighbourhood), to unite organisations and

citizens to accelerate this transformation and

ambitious modal shift.

Clockwise from Left to Right ©Toerisme Leuven

©City of Leuven ©City of Leuven

©Sofie Abts

Over the past decade much work has been put into restoring natural floodplains and constructing sustainable flood management infrastructure and improving water quality.

The Braem Project, an initiative from ‘Stand up for your neighbourhood’, worked with children’s organisation De Kettekeet, De Zevensprong school and local residents to set up a community garden.

• Galway

• Torres Vedras• Mollet del Vallès

European Green Leaf Award Winners European Green Leaf Award Winnaars

• Leuven 2018

• Växjö 2018

• Galway 2017

• Torres Vedras 2015/2016

• Mollet del Vallès 2015/2016

• Leuven

• Växjö

ec.europa.eu/environment/europeangreenleaf

European Green Leaf AwardThe European Green Leaf is a competition

aimed at towns and cities across Europe, with

between 20,000 and 100,000 inhabitants

which recognises a city’s commitment

to better environmental outcomes. It is

the partner competition of the European

Green Capital Award for cities over 100,000

inhabitants. Leuven in Belgium and Växjö in

Sweden are the joint European Green Leaf

Award winners for 2018. The Spanish city

of Mollet del Vallès and the Portuguese city

of Torres Vedras were the winners of the

inaugural European Green Leaf 2015/2016,

followed by the Irish city of Galway, who won

the title in 2017.

The European Green Leaf and European Green

Capital Awards are initiatives of the European

Commission. To find more information about

the winners, how to apply for the awards, how

the winners are selected, and for any other

questions, please visit our website below.

European Green Leaf AwardDe European Green Leaf is een wedstrijd die

bedoeld is voor Europese gemeenten en steden

met 20 000 tot 100 000 inwoners, en is een

erkenning voor de inspanningen die deze steden

leveren om betere milieuresultaten te behalen.

Het is een partnerwedstrijd van de European

Green Capital Award voor steden met meer dan

100 000 inwoners. De Belgische stad Leuven en

de Zweedse stad Växjö zijn de twee winnaars

van de European Green Leaf Award in 2018. De

Spaanse stad Mollet del Vallès en de Portugese

stad Torres Vedras mochten in 2015/2016 de

eerste European Green Leaf in ontvangst nemen,

gevolgd door de Ierse stad Galway, die de titel in

2017 kreeg.

De European Green Leaf en European Green

Capital Awards zijn initiatieven van de Europese

Commissie. Surf via de onderstaande link naar

onze website voor meer informatie over de

winnaars, hoe kandidaten zich kunnen inschrijven

voor de awards, hoe de winnaars worden

gekozen en voor alle andere vragen.