Tech and nature unite: Exploring Tallinn's Green Capital Journey
We sit down with the Tallinn Green Capital team to understand whether the award is legit (or just greenwashing) and learn the value of progress over perfection in the climate fight
You may know Estonia as the birthplace of Skype or as the first country to introduce online voting, but did you know that the country’s capital, Tallinn, is turning its tech expertise into climate action?
In May 2023, we traveled to Tallinn to learn more about how the city is bringing sustainability to the forefront as the European Green Capital for 2023.
Since 2010, the European Commission has given the Green Capital award annually to a city with more than 100,000 inhabitants that is leading the way in sustainability. The Green Capital applicants are judged on a wide range of criteria and evaluated not only on their historic achievements but also their future targets.
Past European Green Capitals include national capitals you’ve probably heard of – like Stockholm and Copenhagen – as well as regional cities like Nantes, France and Essen, Germany.
Each European Green Capital receives a 600,000€ prize to implement environmental initiatives during their year with the title.
At the Tallinn Green Capital HQ, we met with Kaadi Aher and Maarja Pakats, who offered us an inside look at the achievements Tallinn has made. We challenged them on the progress they’ve made so far — and dove into their hopes for the city’s future as it heads towards the next decade of green development.
Introduction
The Green Journey (TGJ): Thank you so much for having us! To start, can you tell us a bit about how the Green Capital award works?
Kaidi: Each city that applies is judged on twelve criteria: local contribution to global climate change, transport, green urban areas, noise, waste production and management, nature and biodiversity, air, water consumption, wastewater treatment, eco-innovation and sustainable employment, environmental management of the local authority, and energy performance.
For Tallinn, our application really stood out on three elements: our commitment to biodiversity, eco-innovation, and sustainability governance, which falls under environmental management of the local authority.
Big wins for biodiversity
TGJ: What are some of the biodiversity initiatives in Tallinn?
Kaidi: Tallinn is a city with robust habitat diversity - we have parks, beaches, coastal cliffs, forests, meadows and more. So we’re starting from a point of pride with how accessible green space is, and how many species thrive in Estonia.
But with the Green Capital, our ambition is to build on these green spaces we have by introducing more ecological connectivity and corridors. So, for example, one of the main initiatives this year is the Pollinator Highway, a 13-km-long green corridor that will connect some of the habitats that already exist and provide pathways for animals, insects, and people to travel through the city more smoothly.
Maarja: We’re also restoring our bog in Tallinn. This is an interesting one, because there’s not always so much focus on wetlands and the role they play in a healthy ecosystem because they’re not always seen as so ‘naturally beautiful’ – but they’re incredibly important. In Tallinn, our bog has dried up in recent years.
Kaidi: And finally, another thing that falls under this category for us is the “Save our Sea Campaign”. Did you know that there are nine countries lining the Baltic Sea with a combined population of 85 million people? And there’s over 100 cities on its shores. So it’s a pretty dirty, polluted sea. Our goal is to change that - with the 30 cities interested in joining us - using a citizen-led campaign to do cleanups, protect biodiversity and more.
Excitement around eco-innovation
TGJ: Those are super exciting! You have a strong focus on nature - but we’ve also heard you have a strong focus on technology. What are some of the initiatives under eco-innovation?
Kaidi: One of the most exciting is that this year, in addition to being the Green Capital, Tallinn is also hosting the Clean Tech Forum Europe in November. And during that same week, we have the “Smart Cities Convention” and Tallinn Greentech week. So the city will be really busy, but it’s going to be an exciting time for climate innovation!
We also have a successful project called “Test in Tallinn”, where we invite both Estonian companies and businesses from abroad to test their climate-friendly and smart solutions in our streets and buildings. This year’s themes are urban mobility and energy efficiency - so as you look around the city, you might see things like self-driving buses being tested, or see free electronic bike parking.
Sustainability governance at the forefront
TGJ: What about sustainability governance? What does that mean exactly?
Kaidi: The idea started a while back when Tallinn was leading a project between European cities on how to use the UN Sustainable Development Goals in all levels of city government. It’s an integrated approach, which sustainability requires. To have a green city, you need a framework with a cross-functional task force, making sure that all the different departments are implementing environmental strategies instead of having one environmental department.
Progress over perfection
TGJ: On the idea of cross-functional environmental governance, when we’ve talked to locals during our visit, a few have expressed skepticism about the Green Capital initiative and pointed out some of the ways that the city needs to still improve its performance on sustainability, like in green transport.
Kaidi: Well, the biggest misconception about the Green Capital program that needs to be cleared up is that it’s not an award that’s just given when you’re at 100% - if that was the case, the same city would win year after year. The Green Capital award is really about progress - it’s about celebrating the achievements that have already been made, and understanding there’s work still to be done. And the goal is that the year spent as the Green Capital further launches Tallinn into that next stage of development.
The Green Capital award is really about progress - it’s about celebrating the progress that’s been made, and understanding that progress is continuous. And the year spent as the Green Capital allows us to focus on our strengths, identify our weaknesses, and continuously test solutions that will make Tallinn - and hopefully other cities - greener and greener in the future.
TGJ: So when we come back to Tallinn in five years, what are some changes we can expect to see?
Kaidi: I hope fewer cars - and much more greenery than we have even now. Better bike lanes. At least, these are some of the elements we’re striving for.
Maarja: Better infrastructure that allows you to continuously go ride your bike towards the center of the city. In five years, I hope that more people will be able to go to work with their bikes!
Lessons learned
TGJ: Now that Tallinn has been through the process of becoming the European Green Capital and seen challenges and successes along the way, are there any learnings you would share with a city of a similar size or situation?
Kaidi: Well, I think one of the biggest challenges with the environmental movement can be communication. You need to bring people along with the changes that are being made, because if you don’t bring people with you, you will fail. No one can make the changes that need to be made alone - whether you’re a whole country, or a city, or even just a person, you need a network that helps you and supports you along the way. That’s why it’s important to bring people along with the communication.
Maarja: It’s a process, and it’s not always easy. People don’t always like change. But you have to be persistent, to remind yourself that what you’re doing is for the greater good - and just keep going.
Kaidi: And this idea of managing change - I think it’s particularly relevant to the Green Capital program because across Europe, not all cities are facing the same problems. For example, in Grenoble [European Green Capital 2022] the big problem they worked on was cleaning up their air pollution which is bad in part due to their geographic location. Here, in Tallinn, that wasn’t a problem we faced, because we’re right by the ocean and have clean air to start with. But we have other problems and other changes we need to make. Change is the common thread.
TGJ: We always ask at the end of our interviews - what’s one thing that gives you hope when you think about the climate and nature crisis?
Kaidi: What gives me hope is just looking around right now - you see birds, bugs, plants, trees and you think OK, this gives me hope that there’s still a lot of nature left to preserve and save, so let’s make the most of it.
Maarja: I talk to a lot of young people who are engaged in the environment, really engaged. I don’t know if it’s because they’re afraid of the future that we’ll leave them or they just want to make things better. But their passion and focus is one thing that gives me hope.
Closing
After sitting down with the Tallinn EU Green Capital team, we’ve learned the ins and outs of the program! We’re excited to see what the future holds for the city as it embarks on the next steps of its sustainability transformation. Now, you might be wondering what YOU can do to help solve the climate and nature crisis. Here are three ways you can help:
Get inspired by the EU Green Capital Program: Even if you aren’t working for a city government, regular citizens can take lots of actions to make changes in favor of healthier cities, big and small. The program has some great starting ideas here.
Share your eco-innovations with the Green Capital team: Through the end of the year, Tallinn will continually be hosting competitions and is still looking for companies to participate in its Test in Tallinn program.
Spread the word: If you liked this story, or learned something from it, we encourage you to share it with your network.