Traditionally, a Smart City has been defined as a city that uses information and communication technologies to make both its critical infrastructure, its components and utilities more interactive, efficient, making citizens more aware of them. This part of the definition focuses on the wider information technologies. In a broader definition, a city can be considered as “smart” when its investment in human and social capital and in communications infrastructure actively promote sustainable economic development and a high quality of life, including the wise management of natural resources through participatory government [source: Azkuna I. (red.), Smart Cities Study: International study on the situation of ICT, innovation and Knowledge in cities, The Committee of Digital and Knowledge‐based Cities of UCLG, Bilbao, 2012] →
One of the most significant acts adopted by the UN was the Millennium Declaration of 8 September 2000. The document was adopted on the 55th Special Session of the UN General Assembly which took place between 6-8 September 2000 on the Millennium Summit. The key concept creator was UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, who was the author of a report which laid foundations for the Declaration: “We the people: the role of United Nations in the 21st Century”. →
Panasonic company has built a sustainable town which can be used for introducing a number of complex ecological solutions for a house, a building or a town. The solutions combine energy technologies of the company with the environmental protection.
In this way Panasonic wants to promote energy-saving devices and to propose new solutions which blend the methods of generating and collecting the energy and controlling the energy use. →
Office areas are getting more and more comfortable. „Green” public buildings have become almost a standard today. In 2014 nearly 100 buildings were BREEM certified in terms of low energy consumption, while in early 2013 there were 150 of them. More and more often commercial centers and warehouses are getting energy efficient too.
Popularity of low energy use certificates is growing. Most of newly constructed office buildings in Warsaw and regional cities apply for a relevant certificate. →
On 16th May we are going to be thrilled with another edition of Long Night of Museums. On this occasion throughout Poland everyone is welcome to visit museums and other cultural institutions for free. The Ministry of Environment encourages to seize the opportunities for all visitors. →
Just about every major corporation today understands the importance of running a sustainable business. Generally speaking, this means one in which water gets conserved, energy and materials come increasingly from clean sources, and the social impact of the business is positive. The trouble is, until now there have been few ways to measure not only how brands are performing environmentally but also how the public perceives that performance. And how the public perceives a company’s greenness is becoming increasingly important. “More and more companies are looking at social purpose and corporate citizenship as part of their core offering,” says Jez Frampton, the Global CEO of Interbrand, an international brand consultancy. “Why? It helps drive purchases.” →
In mid April, in the Center of Warsaw, the permissible level of harmful substances was exceeded. The harmful substance is suspended dust PM10 (polluted particles with the diameter of up to 10 micrometers). The regional Inspectorate of Environmental Protection (Wojewódzki Inspektorat Ochrony Środowiska) warns that in near future the following substance levels will be exceeded as well: PM 2.5 (pollutants with the diameter of up to 2.5 micrometer), benzopyren and nitrogen dioxide. It will refer to the whole city of Warsaw and other towns and cities in the Mazowsze region. The reason behind exceeded levels of harmful substances is most of all coal and domestic waste used as heating fuel by individuals as well as vehicle transport. →
The conference in Wrocław was assessed by its participants as very successful. Both, the format (speeches interwoven with films showing best practices in sustainable development) and the organization. The attendees of the Wrocław conference called “Friendly city planning” had an opportunity to read abstracts of all presentations. Every speaker was well prepared for the speech. Here are the abstracts: →