CEN TC 465 Ad hoc Group Climate-Neutral Smart Cities and Communities

The Ad Hoc Group operates at the intersection of smart city development and Europe’s climate-neutrality ambitions. While these two agendas are frequently linked in policy discussions and strategic frameworks, their joint implementation in practice remains limited. The group identifies standards as a vital tool to scale and replicate successful practices across Europe.

Our work focuses on creating and consolidating synergies between existing European initiatives, programmes, and platforms working toward climate-neutral and smart cities. By scoping these efforts, we assess how they support the twin transition—digital and green—of urban areas, and showcase the innovation capacity and competitiveness of Europe.

In doing so, the group aims to identify gaps in the standardisation landscape, bring together key stakeholders, and mobilise critical resources to catalyse Europe’s transition. A key to our success has been the strong integration of cities and communities, whose stories, needs, and ambitions have shaped our work.

Key References and Alignments

The EU Mission “100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030” and Local Green Deals

This flagship mission has received strong recognition at both European and global levels. It provides a solid foundation for standardisation efforts in smart and sustainable urban development. When aligned with the legacy of the Intelligent Cities Challenge and its experimentation with Local Green Deals, it offers models for stakeholder integration and the formation of strong alliances to drive the twin transition.

The Digital Europe Programme

This key funding instrument supports the EU’s digital transformation goals, aligned with the 2030 Digital Compass and the Path to the Digital Decade. It has produced important outputs—such as frameworks on data spaces, local digital twins, and emerging concepts like the Metaverse and Citiverse. These digital tools empower local authorities to address climate challenges and accelerate Green Deal implementation.

Highlights from the Ad Hoc Group’s Work

The Ad Hoc Group submitted a comprehensive report with recommendations for the CEN/TC 465 work programme on climate-neutral and smart cities. This includes:

• A curated overview of relevant EU projects and initiatives

• A series of online and two in-person stakeholder events

• Five strategic guest presentations, including contributions from CEMR and DG RTD

• Eight city case studies on the twin transition, sharing key lessons, needs, and barriers

A formal liaison has also been established between CEN/TC 465 and the NZC project, reinforcing collaboration and knowledge exchange.

The recommendations are informing a joint policy brief by ICLEI and OASC, which will be published shortly. Furthermore, the report will be a key input to a broader NetZeroCities (NZC) analysis on standardisation opportunities. A joint NZC session on this topic included participation from Mission Cities and DG RTD.

The group’s work was also featured in the IEC Webinar on Positive Energy Districts (PEDs).

The presentation highlighted PEDs as nuclei for climate-neutrality implementation, but also cautioned against an overemphasis on technology at the expense of integrated, systemic approaches. True transformation, we argued, requires coalitions of industry, local governments, innovation centers, and citizens.

Standards are not just technical tools—they are enablers of scalable, inclusive, and impactful urban transformation. The work of the Ad Hoc Group demonstrates how coordination across initiatives, strong local engagement, and strategic standardisation can move Europe closer to its climate and digital goals.

The work was supported by:

• StandICT
• TIPS4PED
• NetZeroCities

I was fortunate to co-convene this group together with Martin Brynskov.