Leuven Climate City Contract

40 Leuven cultural organizations commit to climate action

On 19 May, 40 cultural organizations from Leuven endorsed the ten guiding principles for climate action within the Leuven Climate Contract. By doing so, they committed themselves to actively working towards a future-proof way of operating in the coming years, with a focus on climate, well-being, and societal impact. They follow in the footsteps of 29 Leuven-based organizations, companies, and institutions that had already made this commitment.

Through their pledge, the cultural organizations also emphasize another important point: the climate transition is not only about technology, energy, or infrastructure. Culture also plays a key role in shaping how people perceive societal change and envision the best possible future for our city.

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Lawyers get to work on the Leuven Climate Fund

The Leuven Climate Fund is taking increasingly concrete shape. Together with the City of Leuven, investors, and project partners, Leuven 2030 is working towards a robust and future-proof framework for collaboration. The first pilot project is being prepared for investment and is expected to demonstrate that the fund can operate successfully.

At the same time, legal and financial experts are being brought on board to design the fund’s legal structure, ensuring a solid foundation for its future development and operation.

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Leuven 2030 brings partners of the Leuven Climate Contract together

In October, Leuven 2030 will once again bring together the partners of the Leuven Climate Contract for an afternoon of knowledge exchange and in-depth discussion. During a series of thematic sessions, participants will explore topics such as Leuven’s heat transition, mobility, solar energy, building renovation, and sustainable food systems. The connection between these themes and Leuven’s ambition to become a European Capital of Culture will also be discussed.

Participants will return to their organizations with new insights, practical examples, and valuable connections that can help them advance climate action and sustainability initiatives within their own work.

‘Impact Estimator’ to calculate the societal benefits of Leuven climate projects

How much value does a euro invested in climate action generate? With the Leuven 2030 Impact Estimator, we make the real benefits of climate investments visible. These benefits go beyond reducing CO₂ emissions and include improvements such as healthier air, greater energy independence, climate resilience through heat mitigation, and job creation.

The tool helps us better assess which breakthrough projects within the Leuven Climate Contract create the greatest societal value. It provides a powerful decision-making instrument for policymakers and investors alike, while also serving as an inspiration for other European cities.

In the coming months, we will focus on putting this tool into active use.

Message to Europe: Leuven and other European cities can provide strategic protection

From 6 to 8 May, more than one hundred European cities gathered in Vilnius for the annual NetZeroCities conference, the European platform that supports the ‘Mission Cities’, the more than one hundred cities committed to accelerating their transition to climate neutrality. Leuven was present not only as a participant, but also as a frontrunner.

Together with several other cities, Leuven used the conference to issue a clear call to Europe: cities want to do more than simply implement policies; they want to help shape Europe’s climate-neutral future. This call was set out in a joint position paper that received broad support. Leuven 2030 and the City of Leuven took the initiative in drafting the document and sought out like-minded cities in Vilnius that shared the same vision.

A step closer to a Leuven Climate Fund

On 11 June, we brought together 46 investors, financial institutions, and fund managers at De Hoorn in Leuven. The aim was to explore a new type of fund that intrinsically links financial and societal returns. This initiative was organised in collaboration with the City of Leuven and Impact Finance Belgium.

Many financial players have been working on their sustainability strategies for some time, but this was the first occasion on which so many organisations actively took up the challenge of jointly exploring how such a new model could be made possible. It marks another important step towards the establishment of a Leuven Climate Fund.

More than 20 participants signed a declaration of intent to support the creation of the fund, sending a clear signal that there is strong enthusiasm to move from ambition to concrete action.

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Leuven receives Climate Contract label as first Belgian city

Following the evaluation of the Leuven Climate Contract, Leuven has been awarded the Mission City Label by the European Commission. The Leuven Climate Contract passed the review process with flying colours.

The label serves as a strong mark of confidence, particularly towards the financial sector, demonstrating that Leuven has a credible and robust plan to achieve climate neutrality through broad stakeholder collaboration and concrete action.

Publication of the Leuven Climate Contract magazine

The Leuven Climate Contract, which we officially submitted to the European Commission in November, was transformed over the past months into an attractive magazine. It brings together the stories behind the breakthrough projects and commitments, complemented by in-depth interviews, insights from members of the Leuven network, an overview of the signatories of the guiding principles, and a first look at the financial strategy, the Leuven Climate Fund, that will help turn the ambitions of the Leuven Climate Contract into reality.

On our website, we highlight 10 breakthrough projects led by different partners. They offer an insight into the wide range of initiatives through which the Leuven network is working to implement the Leuven Climate Contract. These are just a selection of examples: significant progress is also being made across many other projects. Communication about those projects is led by the partners responsible for them.

29 organisations and companies commit to climate action

Nearly 30 organisations and companies in Leuven have signed the guiding principles of the Leuven Climate Contract. In addition to dozens of concrete breakthrough projects, the Leuven Climate Contract also includes these 10 broader recommendations, which organisations and companies can use as a reference framework to ensure that CO₂ reduction remains central to future initiatives.

By signing this declaration of commitment, they express their willingness to do everything within their power to put these principles into practice.

The first Leuven Climate Contract

On 23 November, Leuven 2030, shoulder to shoulder with the City of Leuven and in the presence of 400 key Leuven stakeholders, presented the first Leuven Climate Contract to the European Commission.

The contract includes:

• 86 breakthrough projects aimed at achieving an 80% reduction in CO₂ emissions
• 10 guiding principles that serve as a framework for ensuring CO₂ reduction remains central to future initiatives
• more than 30 partners that have committed to taking concrete action

In addition, the Climate Contract contains a financial chapter that provides insight into the financial mechanisms and leverage points needed to fund these breakthrough projects and support Leuven’s broader transition.

“Never before have we connected so many different perspectives. Never before have we brought barriers, concrete commitments, and the financial dimension together in this way,” said Katrien Rycken, Director of Leuven 2030.

Among those who joined us for the presentation were Patrick Child and Thomas Osdoba of the European Commission, Federal Minister Caroline Gennez, Leuven Mayor Mohamed Ridouani, former Executive Director of the European Environment Agency Hans Bruyninckx, Alderman for Climate David Dessers, City of Leuven CEO Geertrui Vanloo, and Leuven 2030 board member Simon Sterck.

Europe selects Leuven as a climate pioneer city

Inspired by the Apollo 11 mission to land a man on the moon, Europe aims to foster mission-driven innovation and provide concrete solutions to one of the world’s greatest challenges: climate change.

Leuven is one of the 100 cities selected by the European Commission from nearly 400 applicants for the mission “100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030.” Through this initiative, Europe supports the selected cities with expertise and financial resources on their path towards climate neutrality by 2030.

For Belgium, Leuven was selected alongside Brussels, Antwerp and La Louvière.