CONAMA Local
On 2-4 December, Viladecans hosted the seventeenth edition of CONAMA Local, one of Spain’s leading sustainability forums, turning the city into a national reference point for urban sustainability.
Organised by the CONAMA Foundation in collaboration with the Viladecans city council and the Barcelona provincial council, the meeting brought together, over three days, specialists from public administrations and organisations to drive solutions to environmental challenges. The event consolidated Viladecans as an epicentre for dialogue and action on the ecological transition at the local level.
This is the first edition of CONAMA Local to be held in a city that is not a provincial capital, demonstrating Viladecans’ commitment as a medium-sized city at the forefront of environmental protection and sustainability.
The event highlighted the need for collaboration, innovation and commitment from all levels of government to tackle the climate transition. “For Viladecans, hosting this congress is a challenge – we hope to showcase the actions that earned us the Green Leaf title and to draw inspiration to transform cities, because cities are where things happen,” said Olga Morales, Mayor of Viladecans, at the opening ceremony of an event.
The congress, which is also taking place in Catalonia for the first time, aimed to promote solutions and strategies for sustainability across areas ranging from energy and mobility to climate adaptation, circular economy and green infrastructure. “Global challenges are built through local diligence and municipal intelligence,” noted Antonio Lucio, President of the CONAMA Foundation.
In this regard, Encarni García, Deputy Mayor for the Environment and Sustainability of Viladecans, stressed that “this congress is a great opportunity to share experiences, learn from one another and move towards a more sustainable future, because the future is built locally”.
An intensive programme
Under the slogan ‘Connect. Act. Transform.’, the programme featured more than 40 technical sessions, debates and exchange spaces, with over 200 specialists participating in plenary sessions, specialised round tables, technical sessions, participatory workshops, exhibitions and meeting spaces on a wide range of topics, from energy and mobility to climate crisis adaptation, circular economy and green infrastructure.
In addition to the main programme, a number of side events took place during the congress, including:
- Several workshops led by the Spanish platform cities2030, promoting the decarbonisation of Spanish cities within the framework of EU Missions.
- The launch of the Task Force 360 by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, as part of the EU Urban Transitions Mission, to strengthen the coherence and complementarity of public policies that drive sustainable urban transition through science and innovation.
- A meeting of the executive board of the RedInnpulso Network (a network of Spanish cities committed to innovation and sustainable urban development, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange to drive local transformation).
- ‘NatUrbana Conecta Community of Practice: Experiences in Urban Renaturalisation and River Restoration within the City’s Consolidated Fabric’.
- A session organised by Fundación Biodiversidad of the Spanish Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge.
- A session on resilient cities organised by UN-Habitat.
Participants in the congress also had the opportunity to visit some Viladecans projects related to the main thematic axes:
- Mobility – A bike tour to visit representative projects.
- Waste/Circular economy – A visit to the new furniture collection system and Viladecans Repara, a community repair and reuse hub located within the municipal recycling centre, offering workshops, technical advice and skill‑building activities that empower residents to extend the life of their belongings, promote waste prevention, and foster environmental awareness and social inclusion.
- Adaptation – Participation in an urban tree planting activity and a visit to a retention basin, an infrastructure designed to prevent flooding in urban areas by regulating rainwater and runoff. This project combines this hydraulic function with the creation of a naturalised space that replicates a wetland, featuring native vegetation, water zones that promote biodiversity, and a pathway for walking and sports activities.
- Green infrastructure – A visit to the interpretation centre and tour of the Remolar‑Filipinas Natural Area, part of the Natura 2000 Network and a biodiversity hotspot in the Mediterranean, to learn about habitat conservation and restoration efforts, as well as research, education, and environmental awareness programmes.
Parallel activities
A series of exhibitions and participatory workshops was also organised during the congress to raise awareness among attendees and the wider public, encouraging more sustainable habits. This included the:
- Viladecans and Barcelona Provincial Council Institutional Stand dedicated to the Green Leaf recognition, where attendees were invited to contribute to the first ‘living dictionary’ of sustainability.
- ‘Interactive circuit of Viladecans’ ecosystems’, allowing participants and citizens to discover the municipality’s most emblematic natural spaces and its sustainability commitment through a playful, accessible and participatory route marked with temporary installations representing different ecosystems.
- ‘Water Operation’ by Aigües de Barcelona. A street exhibition offering essential knowledge on water management and responsible consumption, raising awareness about the sustainable use of this vital resource.
- ‘Viladecans BAT-ega’ by Viladecans City Council. An interactive exhibition dedicated to bats, aiming to bring this fascinating group of mammals closer to the public. The display debunks popular myths, highlights their crucial role in ecosystem balance and urban health, and invites reflection on how to contribute to their conservation.
- ‘Pedal for Energy’ by Barcelona Provincial Council. A hands-on activity where participants generate energy by pedalling static bicycles, helping them understand the value of energy, promote savings and encourage sustainable mobility. The final challenge is to generate enough energy to make popcorn.
- ‘Didaltruck’ by Solidança. A mobile textile self-repair service offering a van equipped with tools and technical staff to help users repair, transform or customise clothing items.
- “Reparatruck”, by Solidança: a service for the self-repair of small electrical and electronic devices (WEEE) and bicycles, providing tools and technical assistance to help users learn how to fix them.
Green Leaf Fans programme closure
On 3 December, Viladecans held a day of celebrations to bid farewell to its European Green Leaf City year, which was shared with the Italian city of Treviso.
It has been an intense year in which the city has continued to work on a number of projects that earned it this recognition, awarded by the European Commission to cities with fewer than 100 000 inhabitants that are committed to sustainability.
One of the year’s milestones has been the Green Leaf Fans programme, a community engagement initiative launched as part of the city’s European Green Leaf year, encouraging residents, organisations, schools, businesses and shops to share and implement sustainable best practices that contribute to a greener, more sustainable city. Participants act as ambassadors of sustainability by promoting everyday actions that help create a greener, healthier city.
On 3 December, several sessions were organised to give visibility and recognise the fans’ best practices – small, great actions that anyone can incorporate into their daily lives, yet which end up creating significant change, helping make a city a more liveable place.
In the morning, eight schools took part in a closing ceremony for the Green Leaf Fans school programme, where they received recognition for the good practices they have been implementing in their schools to care for and protect the environment. Some of the projects include school gardens, waste management and recycling projects and energy efficiency activities in schools. The approximately 250 students also participated in a school tree-planting in Marina Park, in the framework of the Viu Verd greening project, funded by NextGenerationEU.
At midday, it was the turn of the businesses and stores in Viladecans. In a workshop led by the consulting firm El Risell, the shops and businesses shared their best practices and committed to continuing to advance and incorporate sustainability and environmental protection as fundamental principles in their commercial activities. Participating local businesses and companies received recognition for their commitment to Green Leaf.
Finally, in the afternoon, the closing ceremony for the Green Leaf Fans programme for citizens and entities took place in the atrium theatre, attended by more than 100 people. The Mayor of Viladecans, Olga Morales, thanked the Green Leaf Fans for their active participation and commitment and called for continued work on environmental sustainability within the framework of the city’s mission to make Viladecans a carbon-neutral city by 2030, as well as for involvement in other initiatives such as the EU Climate Pact. Fans’ representatives presented good practices that have a major impact across categories, such as sustainable mobility, biodiversity promotion, and dissemination and awareness-raising. It was a very emotional day that encouraged citizens to continue their efforts to protect the planet, which must involve all the agents in our city (businesses, educational centres, organisations and associations, public administration, etc).
2025 has been the year in which Viladecans enjoyed recognition as a European Green Leaf city, but this is not the end! This award motivates the city and inspires its citizens to continue building a more sustainable, liveable city.