Barcelona + Sostenible

Nine different types of awards will be given to business, associative, administrative and educational initiatives related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The awards ceremony took place as part of the 3rd Agenda 2030 Conference. This annual meeting is held to discuss joint strategies to create a fairer and more sustainable city, and where the SDGs’ annual report on their achievement was presented.

This week Barcelona is holding the 3rd 2030 Agenda Conference, which brings together experts, professionals and citizens every year to discuss joint strategies to create a fairer and more sustainable city, as set out in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of Agenda 2030 approved by the United Nations in 2015. These 17 goals aim to transform how we produce and consume and how society is organised. They represent milestones that call for a joint effort by society as a whole. Barcelona City Council created the Barcelona Agenda 2030 Awards in 2022 in this spirit. The aim is to recognise and disseminate innovative, high-quality actions that have a positive impact on the SDGs.

In total, nine proposals were awarded prizes and three special mentions were made from among the 42 nominations submitted. The ceremony was structured into three categories: action, involvement and education. Each category had three types of awards:

ACTION CATEGORY

• Award for the best initiative promoted by a company:
  • Biodiversity Project, by Damm.
  • Special mentions in the projects:
    • Cooperative platform for social inclusion in housing, by Kloosiv Housing.
    • CIBICO, by Naifactory

• Award for the best initiative promoted by a non-profit organisation. Ex aequo award:
  • Safehouses for drug users surviving violence, by Metzineres.
  • Ageless bike rides, by Associació Bici Sense Edat.
  • Special mention in the project:
    • TICtruck, by Mobile World Capital.

• Award for the best initiative promoted by a public administration:
  • AIRE: Cultural transformation through corporate values, Viladecans Town Council.

INVOLVEMENT CATEGORY

• Award for the best knowledge dissemination product on the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs:
  • Busquem changemakers, (Calling all changemakers) by Viladecans Town Council.
• Award for the best communication campaign to raise awareness of the SDGs: none.
• Award for the best initiative to promote participation around the SDGs:
  • Young people for equality: a participatory proposal, by Fedaia.

EDUCATION CATEGORY

• Award for the best initiative by a primary school:
  • The SDGs at school, by the Escola Dolors Monserdà – Santapau.

• Award for the best initiative by a secondary school:
  • SDG Fair, by the Institut Barres i Ones.

• Award for the best initiative by a regulated higher education centre:
  • La Salle Social Challenges, from the Fundació Privada Universitat i Tecnologia La Salle

The acknowledgements are honorary in nature and each of the winning nominations receives an award from the Barcelona Agenda 2030 Awards and is recognised as an ambassador for the Awards, thereby helping to disseminate these best practices in the city and beyond. In turn, the aim is to open up an annual space for meeting, reflection and mutual recognition for all the city’s political, business, academic and social stakeholders involved in the SDGs. Finally, the Agenda 2030 Awards are also an instrument to reinforce the positioning of the city of Barcelona as a benchmark for how cities are working to achieve the SDGs and make an impact.

Halfway point for the SDGs

2023 marks the halfway point for the SDGs. The first half is clearly marked by crises on a global scale, such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the outbreak of wars on the EU’s borders. As such, the 3rd 2030 Agenda Conference in Barcelona encourages us to reflect on its capacity to promote positive transformation. Despite the progress made in the first few years, the most recent reports published by the United Nations and the European Union paint a fragile and stagnant picture, inevitably marked by certain events and a sharp rise in the cost of living.

Barcelona City Council presented the fourth annual monitoring report on the 2030 Agenda, focusing on updating the 200 indicators for achieving the SDGs in the city as part of this conference. In summary, Barcelona has overcome the harshest effects of the health crisis over the last two years and its economy is showing great resilience, while keeping up with challenges such as education and greenhouse gas emissions. The report also finds that while achieving the 2030 milestones is complex, the degree of environmental impact or inefficiency is lower than in other cities and countries.

Read the full report here.