Sustainable Development Report findings open the door to dialogue toward an increasingly collaborative future
18/11/2024
The city’s performance – and that of the municipal ecosystem – across various dimensions of sustainability, including environment, mobility, housing, social inclusion, urban planning, governance, culture, and climate action, is detailed in the 2024 edition of the Sustainable Development Report, published for the eighth consecutive year by the Municipality of Porto. The data was presented during a public session that paved the way for dialogue on ‘The Future is Collaborative: The Municipal Ecosystem as a Catalyst for a More Sustainable Community.’
The report offers an integrated view of the city’s contribution to sustainable development, as well as to the creation of value for residents and for all those who work, invest, study, or visit Porto.
The 2024 edition continues the strategic vision ‘Future Porto – Caring for Porto, Caring for the World’, an impact aggregation project that the Municipality has been developing since 2020, aimed at monitoring local performance in relation to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Without sustainable cities, humanity will not be able to halt climate change or address the social impacts of population concentration
At the opening of the report presentation session, the Mayor of Porto described the document as ‘a trigger for reflection on the challenges we face in improving the environmental quality and quality of life in our city.’
Certain that ‘without sustainable cities, humanity will not be able to halt climate change or address the social effects of population concentration’, Rui Moreira emphasised the ‘crucial role of metropolitan areas in climate transition, social cohesion, and wealth redistribution’ – a role that, he stressed, must be embraced by municipalities.
With the presentation of the Sustainable Development Report, Porto City Council aims to ‘demonstrate how sustainability has been the central pillar of its governance’, describing the report as a ‘key tool for benchmarking, learning, innovating, and progressing.’
With the city scoring 69.9 (out of 100) in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, according to the Municipal Sustainability Index by the Portuguese Catholic University, Rui Moreira stated, ‘We are on the right path, but our ambition must remain constant.’
Sustainability must be seen as a building under constant construction – one that requires political will and social mobilisation
Rui Moreira therefore sees the report as ‘a call to action’, urging the city to continue ‘guiding its sustainability agenda by social and environmental values and developing actions grounded in scientific knowledge, measurable data, and best practices.’
‘Sustainability cannot be seen as a static goal, but rather as a work in progress, a building under constant construction – one that continually requires political will and, above all, social mobilisation’, he concluded.
The Sustainable Development Reports can be consulted on the Porto Municipality website.