Architecture and sustainability, protagonists of the Barcelona + Sustainable Agenda 2030 Awards

The fourth edition of the Barcelona City Council's 2030 Agenda Barcelona + Sustainable Awards has once again recognized and given visibility to extraordinary projects, initiatives, and actions in favor of a more sustainable city, including from the field of architecture. The awards have distinguished initiatives aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda and with the Citizen Commitment for a More Sustainable Barcelona 2024-2034.

This year, the competition—the second since the unification of the 2030 Agenda awards and the B+S citizen network—has also focused on buildings that, through their conception, design, construction, and operation, offer excellent responses to Barcelona's climate and sustainability challenges.

With 10 categories divided into two major groups, the Agenda 2030 + Sustainable Awards have given visibility to projects linked to the Sustainable Development Goals – people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnerships – and to the City Challenges – decarbonization, water saving, and heat adaptation. Hence, three of the six awards linked to the City Challenges have been specifically directed at the best solutions applied to buildings for decarbonization and water saving, as well as the best climate shelter located in a building.

A total of 59 applications from organizations in the Barcelona + Sustainable Network were submitted to the call, all published in summary format on the decidim.barcelona platform. The awards ceremony was held on June 11, within the framework of the Barcelona for Climate Days.

The awards are framed within the Climate Plan, specifically in the 'Let's Change for the Climate' axis, which aims to promote the culture of sustainability, leading by example and fostering participation. Among the awarded projects, notable examples include educational proposals to combat climate misinformation, support programs for people in situations of energy vulnerability, community composting models, innovative solutions to reduce emissions from the healthcare system, and new urban strategies to face heat waves.

Among the criteria most valued by the jury when selecting the winning initiatives are aspects such as the quality and efficiency of the initiative, participation, impact, replicability or scalability, and coherence.

The evaluation jury was chaired by Deputy Mayor Laia Bonet and included fifteen representatives from member organizations of the Citizen Council for Sustainability and the City Council.