The C40 international guide 'Good Food for Healthy Cities' highlights Barcelona City Council's Green Commerce project as an example of best practice
The publication includes the Barcelona Municipal Institute of Markets initiative as a benchmark in the promotion of a healthy and sustainable food system through local commerce.
The Green Commerce project, promoted by the Barcelona Municipal Institute of Markets (IMMB) of Barcelona City Council, has been included in the international guide Good Food for Healthy Cities produced by the C40 Cities network. This publication, which has just been officially published, is designed to be a tool for cities to collaborate with the business sector and achieve a more sustainable, healthy and equitable food system.
C40 is a global network that brings together major cities that are committed to urgent action to combat the climate emergency. Barcelona is a member and actively participates in the working group on food systems, from where it contributes ideas and resources to promote climate solutions through the transformation of the food system.
In this way, the C40 guide recognises the key role of Green Commerce in promoting a commercial model based on local products, reducing the use of plastics and fighting food waste. This is a municipal programme that encourages market stalls to adopt sustainability criteria (local, organic produce, direct sales) and to be marked as “green” stalls to make it easier for citizens to identify sustainable options. The programme began in 2021 with a pilot trial in six markets and has expanded to involve 619 establishments out of the 1,105 in the city.
This initiative is part of Barcelona’s strategy to transform the urban food environment and strengthen the local economic fabric. It is the result of the collaboration between Barcelona City Council —through the IMMB and the Food Policy Commissioner— and the Federation of Municipal Markets (FEMM), with the aim of facilitating access to local, organic and healthy food for all citizens, and turning markets into agents of change for local commerce.
Barcelona’s participation in this guide is linked to its active commitment as a member of C40 and the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact (MUFPP). In accordance with this commitment, every two years the City Council reports a set of indicators that show progress in the application of sustainable food policies, a process that allows progress to be measured and experiences to be shared with other cities around the world.
The official presentation of the guide will take place in a special session of the MUFPP Global Forum on 15 October, a space where Barcelona will be represented as a city participating in this collaborative tool.
The guide is now available to download from the C40 Knowledge Hub.