Since 2017, the city of Granada has been also adhered to the Seville Declaration, an initiative promoted by the European Commission and the European Parliament, a commitment on circular economy signed by 300 Spanish municipalities, thus showing their interest in this model of sustainable production and consumption.

Granada has been working for years towards the transition to the circular economy, a new economic and social system that aims to “produce goods and services while reducing the consumption and waste of raw materials, water and energy sources”, starting with the water sector.

One example is the transformation of the wastewater treatment plant into a biofactory that allows the increasing reuse of water and its transformation into energy, with the aim of achieving zero waste, zero energy and zero CO2 emissions.

Granada aims to develop a circular vision of the city in which institutions, businesses and citizens as a whole are involved, in order to create positive environmental results and new socio-economic opportunities for the city.

In 2017, the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness awarded Granada the title of “City of Science and Innovation”, which places the city as a benchmark for multidisciplinary research. In addition, Granada has its own “Granada, City of Science and Innovation” Awards in order to recognise and disseminate the scientific and innovative activity developed in the city, as well as a Science Board created to support science, technology and innovation and to bring together synergies to face the future scientific challenges to which the city aspires.

Granada belongs to the Spanish Network of Healthy Cities (RECS), a group of cities that, within the FEMP, have joined together under the principles and activities in line with the World Health Organisation’s “Healthy Cities” programme, in order to create the precise conditions and appropriate mechanisms to achieve a stable form of collaboration in activities aimed at promoting and achieving healthier cities, which is its main objective.

In addition, Granada is also part of the Local Health Action Network (RELAS), a project of the Regional Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the Andalusian School of Public Health, which works to improve the health of the population of Andalusian municipalities and cities.