Private sector/corporate actor/company

It started with the “Let’s Plant for the Earth, Let’s Plant for Murcia” project, as Murcia’s committed to the United Nations Billion Trees Campaign. The city of Murcia committed itself in 2008 to plant 12 000 trees around the urban fabric through a series of action projects. The target was exceeded in 2010 with a total of 23 576 trees pledged and planted toward the campaign (Ref. 1).
In 2020, after having surpassed their 12,000 planted trees goal, Murcia has the new goal of planting 100,000 trees by 2030. It is a long-term project that the municipality committed itself to make (Ref. 5, 2020a).

In 2014, the Marseille Provence Métropole Urban Community commissioned five new stormwater retention basins in order to preserve the quality of coastal waters and reduce the risk of flooding (Ref. 4). In the past, in the event of severe thunderstorms the sewage networks became saturated and a portion of the water was then directly discharged into the sea without going through the sewage treatment plants (Ref. 1). This is seen as "one of the most important documents of recent years in terms of environmental protection. It foresees in the next 5 years, 185 million euros of major works" (Ref. 1).

When the national German railway company shut down parts of the former East station of Leipzig and its tracks in 2012, citizens developed an idea for its secondary use and came up with the concept of the "Parkbogen Ost" which represents a 5-kilometre long circle of bicycle lanes, footpaths and outdoor space surrounding the East of Leipzig. The city of Leipzig recognized its potential to connect the Eastern Leipzig with the city centre and developed the strategy further by issuing a "Masterplan Parkbogen Ost" as the base for a step-wise implementation of the project in 2013 (Ref. 5).

The scheme was designed to manage surface water runoff from a 1 in 30 year event and to always intercept and treat the, often more polluted, first flush of highway runoff (ref. 1). A total of 21 linear rain gardens (total of 148m2) were constructed within the grass verge, allowing for the constraints of access, below-ground services, street furniture and trees. The rain gardens utilise a combination of clean stone aggregate and proprietary units to create void space beneath a planted topsoil layer. They were designed to capture runoff from 5500 m2 of highway from a total surface area of 7100 m2 (ref. 1).

The Chirita dam is the drinking water reserve of Iasi. The lake is protected by law, with bathing or fishing prohibited. In 2013 it was cleaned and sanitized since it became an area where many people used to dump their house residues. As such a national campaign sponsored by an NGO having social responsibility claims implemented this NBS, which meant cleaning the shores of the lake (1).

JDS Architects Designed a Geometric Green-Roofed Youth Center for Lille, France. Organized around a massive courtyard, the three sections of the triangle building each feature a roof that serves as an integral part of its sustainability. The kindergarten roof was planned to be a vegetated garden area with a grassy play surface that helps cool the building. (Ref 1)

Green roofs were installed on two buildings the Wellness Hotel in Maximus Resort in Brno. The roofs have technical, ecological, and aesthetic functions. The main objective was to integrate the buildings of the Wellness Hotel to the surrounding greenery in order to create a quiet and undisturbed place for relaxation (Ref. 1; Ref. 2).

Kronsberg was built as a model district of sustainable urban development for the EXPO 2000, which motto was 'Humankind-Nature-Technology'. In the previously intensively farmed area, 3200 new dwelling unit was built. Among other sustainable technologies, the planners of the district developed a quasi-natural drainage system that aimed to provide the municipalities a sustainable alternative for traditional drainage (Reference 1, 2).

20 years after planning started in 1992, EXPO district of Kronsberg has proven its viability in terms of sustainable urban development and provided important foundations for advanced urban planning of new buildings in Hannover and elsewhere. The project was showcased in the ‘Crystal’ exhibition pavilion in London as a global standard for integrated construction. The ‘World Cities Summit 2012’ in Singapore also paid tribute to the residential area as one of the world’s hundred most innovative infrastructure projects (Reference 1, 2013).

This NBS is part of a building complex which includes also a mall. The PALAS urbanization complex, developed by IULIUS in Iasi, introduces the "lifestyle center" concept in the "mixed-use developments" market in Romania. Designed as a large urban, economic, social and cultural development project, PALAS contributes to the development of Iaşi by attracting foreign investors and repositioning the capital of Moldova in the national and international tourist circuit, bringing also new concepts to the Romanian business market. More than being a public garden, this green space is viewed as an endowment to the development of the city (1)

The Bizardin is the community garden of Hellemmes, created by the association AJOnc (Amis des Jardins Ouverts et néanmoins clôturés) on the initiative of a group of inhabitants. Managed by the locals, it gives life to the neighborhood where children like to play, watch insects, sow radishes, watch for frogs. A living garden where wild and cultivated plants come together and create a floristic richness often unsuspected by the simple passer-by, a result of many years of work. It is also an ideal place to observe as insects and birds swarm. (Ref 1)