History of the Green Digital Charter

The Green Digital Charter was a EUROCITIES response to the 2009 European Commission recommendation on mobilising Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to facilitate the transition to an energy-efficient, low carbon economy.

The response was initiated by Clicks and Links Ltd and the City of Manchester, as part of a ‘Greenshift’ campaign. The Charter was further realised (at that time) by the Working Group on ICT for Energy Efficiency of the EUROCITIES Knowledge Society Forum, led by the City of Manchester, whose work is now followed by the Working Group Smart Cities.

Currently signed by nearly 53 major European cities, the Green Digital Charter was launched at the EUROCITIES annual conference in November 2009 and further endorsed by the European Commission during a high-level conference in February 2010.

From September 2011 to May 2014, the Charter implementation was supported by the NiCE project, co-financed by the European Commission under the 7^th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development.

Today, the GuiDanCe project, financed by the European Union funding programme Horizon 2020, aims to support the coordination and further development of the Green Digital Charter (GDC) initiative. GuiDanCe ended in February 2018.

The initiative is recognised by public, private and European stakeholders as a reference and benchmark of excellence for innovative local action in the field of ICT for energy efficiency, and makes a strong case for quick, coordinated, and sustainable progress.