London has won a bid to host the Ecocity World Summit in June 2023. The summit is the global conference on sustainable cities, and brings together key urban stakeholders every two years from across the globe to focus on actions cities and citizens can take to rebuild our human habitat in balance with living systems
The hybrid physical-virtual summit will take place 6-8 June 2023 at the Barbican Centre and will convene representatives from communities across the city from school children, academia and professionals to investors, trade associations and political leaders, to share new thinking and maintain the energy and momentum generated by COP26.
A legacy project will deliver a new piece of sustainable infrastructure in London, developed through a collaborative process.
The London Festival of Architecture will provide a month-long backdrop with activation across the city throughout the month of June.
The bid to host the summit was supported by the following:
- UK government
- Mayor of London
- London Councils
- City of London Corporation
- Transport for London
- UK Green Building Council
- Royal Town Planning Institute
- Green Finance Institute
- Bartlett Faculty of Built Environment, UCL.
It was led by New London Architecture (NLA) in partnership with London & Partners, the Barbican Centre and professional conference organisers MCI.
Summit director, Amy Chadwick Till, will lead a programme committee of industry experts to shape and deliver the programme.
‘Sustainability at the top of the global agenda’
Sadiq Khan, mayor of London, said: “It’s fantastic news that London will be the host city for the Ecocity World Summit 2023. It has been great to see sustainability at the top of the global agenda in the wake of the COP26 summit, and the Ecocity conference in London will continue the sustainability conversation by bringing together business, political and community leaders from all over the world.
“Global cities have a big role to play in tackling climate change and environmental issues. London has shown its leadership by committing to a Green New Deal to help London become greener and fairer – creating new jobs and skills for Londoners and ensuring London becomes a net zero-carbon city by 2030 and a zero waste city by 2050.
“As the new Chair of C40 Cities, I am working with other Mayors and cities across the world to share ideas and collaborate, and conferences like Ecocity World Summit will help to enhance global cooperation.”
‘Inspiration and tools for cities to deliver on global needs’
Amy Chadwick Till, director of Ecocity World Summit 2023, commented: “Past Ecocity summits have an amazing track-record of enabling tangible local action; I am excited about the opportunity for our London summit partners to drive local change.
“By facilitating global knowledge sharing and highlighting new thinking, projects, and policies frameworks from around the world, we can offer inspiration and tools for cities to deliver on global needs.
Design workshops that tackle real-world briefs, a virtual offer that connects in cities with fewer resources, and city activation through the festival in June will, I hope, leave a powerful positive legacy beyond the 3-day summit itself.”
‘Embracing complexity and creativity at the core of change’
Kirstin Miller, executive director, Ecocity Builders added: “Ecocity Builders is delighted to welcome London as host of Ecocity 2023. Their winning bid, and its ambition to connect communities, ticked all our boxes.
“There was a clear understanding of cities as complex systems with multidisciplinary actors and sectors. More than that, we saw a level-headed approach to networking them all together to achieve ambitious goals and better outcomes.
“There is a lot we can learn from London, and, I think, a lot we can share as well. The most successful cities and neighbourhood are going to be those who figure out how to effectively collaborate and execute their plans. The London bid acknowledges this by embracing complexity and creativity at the core of change.”
