ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability is a global network of more than 2500 local and regional governments committed to sustainable urban development. Active in 125+ countries, they influence sustainability policy and drive local action for low emission, nature-based, equitable, resilient and circular development.
They bring sustainability to a rapidly developing urban world.
ICLEI makes sustainability an integral part of urban development and creates systemic change in urban areas through practical, integrated solutions. They help cities, towns and regions anticipate and respond to complex challenges, from rapid urbanization and climate change to ecosystem degradation and inequity.
The local and regional governments in their network confront these challenges by incorporating sustainability into day-to-day operations and policy. They invest in the capacity and knowledge needed to design solutions and make decisions informed by data, scientific evidence and local realities and pressures. Their five pathways towards low emission, nature-based, equitable, resilient and circular development are designed to create systemic change.
They work in cities, towns and regions of all sizes, with varying capacities and challenges. Many have set and reached ambitious targets and are at the forefront of sustainability, pioneering new solutions and challenging the status quo. Others are taking early steps towards transformation, strengthening their systems and capacities to achieve sustainability goals.
Across the world, ICLEI brings the latest global knowledge and solutions to the local context.
Their Members and team of experts work together through peer exchange, partnerships and capacity building to create systemic change for urban sustainability.
ICLEI creates connections among the local, regional, national and global governmental levels. They advocate for robust national and global sustainability policies that reflect the interests of local and regional governments and their communities.
ICLEI forges strategic alliances with international organizations, national governments, academic and financial institutions, civil society and the private sector. They create space for innovation within their multi-disciplinary teams and work alongside their partners to create new ways to support sustainable development at the urban scale.
When a pioneering group of local and regional governments founded ICLEI, they took action before sustainability was widely viewed as fundamental to development. For decades, ICLEI efforts have continued to put sustainability at the top of the agenda for local and regional governments across the world. Over time, ICLEI has expanded and developed, and they are now working in over 125 countries, with global experts in more than 24 offices.
Through their collective efforts to build a sustainable urban world, ICLEI is shifting the trajectory of global development.
The ICLEI Malmö Commitment and Strategic Vision is their pledge to make sustainable development the only model for development in the urban 21st century. Their joint programs, projects, initiatives, research, capacity building and advocacy in ICLEI drive worldwide action towards sustainability.
At the ICLEI World Congress 2018 in Montréal, local and regional leaders across the ICLEI network released the ICLEI Montréal Commitment and Strategic Vision. Three years later, at the Virtual Launch of the ICLEI World Congress 2021 – 2022, hosted by Malmö, Sweden, the network refined and recommitted to this vision, The ICLEI Malmö Commitment And Strategic Vision 2021 – 2027.
ICLEI engages at the local to global levels, shaping policy and sparking action to transform urban environments worldwide. They build connections across levels of government, sectors and stakeholder groups, sparking city-to-city, city-to-region, local-to-global and local-to-national connections. By linking subnational, national and global actors, policies, commitments and initiatives, ICLEI strengthens action at all levels, in support of sustainable urban development.
At the subnational level, ICLEI drives change along five interconnected pathways that cut across sectors and jurisdictional boundaries. This design enables local and regional governments to develop solutions in a holistic and integrated way, creating change across entire urban systems.
