Eco-municipalities

An eco-municipality or eco-town is a local government area that has adopted ecological and social justice values in its charter. The development of eco-municipalities stems from changing systems in Sweden, where more than seventy municipal governments have accepted varying principles of sustainability in their operations as well as community-wide decision making processes. The purpose of these policies is to increase the overall sustainability of the community.

The distinction between an eco-municipality and other sustainable development projects (such as green building and alternative energy) is the focus on community involvement and social transformation in a public agency as well as the use of a holistic systems approach. An eco-municipality is one that recognizes that issues of sustainability are key to all decisions made by government.

In 1983 the Övertorneå community of Sweden first adopted an Eco-municipality framework followed by a formal organization in 1995 (SEKOM).

In becoming an eco-municipality, cities or towns typically adopt a resolution, based on the Natural Step framework (or Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD)), which sets the following objectives:

Communities in North America, Europe and Africa ranging in size from villages of 300 to cities of 700,000 have become eco-municipalities. In Sweden, over sixty municipalities have officially become eco-municipalities. They have formed a national association of eco-municipalities to assist one another and work to influence national policy. Whistler, BC, was awarded first place in a United Nations-endorsed international competition for sustainable communities. Its long-term sustainability plan, Whistler 2020, is based on the Natural Step framework.

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