The world continues to urbanize at an unprecedented pace and this year, for the first time ever, over half of the world’s population will be living in cities. While cities consume a major share of the planet’s resources and have often been the locus of the planet’s most serious environmental problems, they also symbolize a hope for a sustainable future. Indeed, environmental sustainability in this urban millennium can only be achieved through cities’ leadership. Moreover, this challenge cannot be addressed by cities working in isolation. Partnerships between and among local governments, utilities, universities, businesses, non-governmental, community-based, or international organizations are therefore an essential mechanism for turning the abstract idea of collaboration into concrete joint activities.

This publication profiles 12 examples of local government achievements towards sustainability and the specific partnerships with a variety of actors that have contributed to that success. They include:

• Five cases of local governments partnering with other local governments;
• Four cases of local government partnerships with international organizations and;
• Three cases of local governments linking with a range of academic and business partners.