Thriving Cities - Can the private sector help create sustainable urban environments

The World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) and Takween Integrated Community Development are launching the event: "Thriving Cities: Can the private sector help create sustainable urban environments?"

Tony Widjarnarso

Facilitator

November 7, 2024 | 15:00 - 16:00

Urban Library - room A

World Benchmarking Alliance

Netherlands

English

Reference:

UL-A 19

WUF12

Urban Library

Summary

In line with WUF12's thematic area “It all starts at home”, the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) and Takween Integrated Community Development are launching the event: "Thriving Cities: Can the private sector help create sustainable urban environments?". The primary objective is to foment and inform multi-stakeholder dialogues on the role of private actors and companies in shaping urban environments, based on key findings and insights from WBA’s 2024 Urban Benchmark and Takween's Tadamun initiative, as well as the recent publications and experiences of participant organizations Transport for Cairo, C40 Cities and the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities.

Our event will integrate all three priorities highlighted in the WUF12 background paper: “it all starts locally”, “it all starts together” and “it all starts now”. We acknowledge that “it all starts now” with the deadline for SDGs approaching. Our event recognizes the importance of fomenting a multi-stakeholder effort, with all-hands-on-deck to get us back on track and ensure sustainable cities; in other words, “it all starts together.” Also, given the overlap and intersection of the public, private and the civic, in shaping urban governance and our urban environments, our event will not only engage the private sector, but also other actors, including government and policy actors as well as academics and city experts with critical and innovative perspectives on the role of companies in cities. How does the private sector currently interact with government and policy actors in shaping cities? What is the impact of companies on the lives of urban dwellers and the built environment? These are questions that our event will try to address by adopting a local-to global-to local perspective. In this way, our event will fully align with the theme of “it all starts locally”, helping to translate global agendas into their implications for urban environments and communities locally.

During the event, WBA will be officially launching its 2024 Urban Benchmark results, which assesses and ranks the top 300 companies operating in urban environments within the real estate, transport, utilities, and construction industries, on their performance in contributing to sustainability and inclusivity. Takween will share key insights from its TADAMUN initiative, built on the premise that "all citizens have an equal right to their city, as well as a shared responsibility towards it". Their local perspective has a key focus on governance and highlights empowerment, elevating the role of citizens as active agents of change.

The event will build on the reports, publications, and expertise of WBA and Takween. The panel will be composed of: Tony Widjarnarso, Urban Benchmark Lead, WBA (Host Organization and Moderator); Kareem Ibrahim, CEO and Co-Founder, Takween Integrated Community Development (Co-Organizer); Farida Moawad, Research Lead, Transport for Cairo (TfC); Christel Bourbon-Séclet, Cities Finance Programme Director, C40 Cities; Roxana Slavcheva, Global Lead for Built Environment, World Resources Institute Ross Centre for Sustainable Cities.

Objectives

The primary objective of this event is to foment and inform multi-stakeholder dialogues on the role of private actors and companies in shaping urban environments, based on key findings and insights from WBA’s 2024 Urban Benchmark and Takween's Tadamun initiative, as well as the recent publications and experiences of participant organizations.

Given the free and publicly available information, insights, experiences and models that we will highlight during the panel, we hope to leverage the event to disseminate knowledge to a wide audience and encourage its the use by policy makers, investors, civil society and the public at large. Our objective can be broken down into the following three goals:

1. Clarify the potential of the private sector for sustainability for all actors that are shaping urban environments, with a particular focus on companies. We will aim to change behaviors through information and to create an environment of greater transparency.
2. Provide a feedback loop to local governments and policymakers. We are identifying key areas of urban sustainability as well as high-impact practices and case studies, to inform policymakers and expand the pathways for cooperation with companies.
3. Empower local stakeholders in their engagement with companies. The session will place valuable tools in the hands of allies and stakeholders for their engagement with companies.