The European Green Capital Award, organised by the European Commission and awarded in Valencia, Spain – a city that holds the distinction of European Green Capital 2024 – recognises and rewards local efforts to improve the environment and, thus, the economy and quality of life in cities.

Guimarães competed with the cities of Heilbronn (Germany) and Klagenfurt (Austria), having emerged as the winner after, in 2023, having already been among the three finalists.

The municipality of Guimarães will receive financial support (600 thousand euros) for the distinction, which will be applied to sustainability projects and initiatives, within the scope of the strategy carried out by the municipality.

Throughout the various phases of the award, the panel responsible for evaluating applications for the European Green Capital 2026, made up of seven independent experts, “highlighted Guimarães for its exceptional performance in seven environmental parameters”.

“Air quality, noise, water, biodiversity, green areas and land use, waste and circular economy, climate change: mitigation; and climate change: adaptation –, recognizing the municipality’s ongoing commitment to environmental sustainability”, reads a statement sent to Lusa agency.

The mayor of Guimarães expresses “his great satisfaction with this award, which he considers deserved, for the path that has been followed since 2013”.

“I want to congratulate the entire work team, technical and political, and all the members of the Guimarães 2030 Mission Structure, for the resilience they showed throughout this process of three candidacies. But above all, I want to congratulate, with special emotion, the entire Guimarães community, from the students at our schools to the Green Brigades, from the scientific to the business community”, says Domingos Bragança (PS), quoted in the statement.

According to the mayor, “everyone was important in this success due to the involvement they demonstrated, and everyone will be fundamental for 2026 to be another great moment of collective celebration for Guimarães”.

“It will continue with city revitalisation projects, promoting new initiatives with a view to climate neutrality by 2030, as well as initiatives to improve territorial conditions, waste management and biodiversity protection”, assures the municipality

The European Green Capital award is awarded annually and is aimed at European cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants that differentiate themselves in matters of environmental, social and economic sustainability.

The award is the result of a rigorous selection process, during which candidate cities must present arguments and evidence of what has already been implemented at the time and what will still be done to become more sustainable.