World Council on City Data

04/19/2024

The World Council on City Data (WCCD) is pleased to announce that the County of Brant has achieved WCCD ISO 37120 Platinum Certification, marking its fifth consecutive year of certification at this highest level.

This prestigious recognition underscores the County's unwavering commitment to executing its strategic objectives through the use of high-caliber, comparable, and annual data.

We commend Mayor David Bailey, the Council, and the entire community of Brant County for their exemplary leadership and dedication to data-driven decision making.

A special congratulations also goes to Alison Newton, Adam Crozier, Halie Gilmore, and Delia Reiche, without whom the certification would not be possible.

We look forward to our continued partnership with the County in the future.

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County of Brant Mayor David Bailey and WCCD President and CEO Dr. Patricia McCarney County of Brant, ON – The County of Brant is proud to...

03/22/2024

Congratulations to the City of Aalter, Belgium, on their World Council on City Data 37120 Gold Certification for 2022, marking the city's third achievement of this award presented to Mayor De Crem, members of the College of Mayor and Aldermen, staff, and stakeholders. This achievement underscores Aalter's commitment to data-driven decision-making and sustainable urban development.

This certification at the Gold level acknowledges Aalter's exemplary collection of high-quality data to foster internal benchmarking, strategic planning, infrastructure investment, localization of global goals and sustainable economic development. Throughout the certification process, Aalter demonstrated exceptional data collection practices that have significantly contributed to its recognition and resulted in over 100 fully standardized key performance indicators for the city to use.

The ceremony highlighted Aalter's particularly celebratory data points yielded from its certification, including exemplary leadership in business, bicycle lanes, recreation space, healthcare, and sustainable water consumption.

Congratulations to Mayor De Crem, Members of the College of Mayor and Aldermen, City Manager Luc Jolie, Els De Wulf, Sarah Samyn, Lucas Staes, and all of the staff and citizens of Aalter. The WCCD looks forward to continuing its partnership with Aalter, furthering the use of standardized city data to enhance urban sustainability, prosperity, and inclusivity.

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AALTER, BELGIUM - March 18, 2024 - In a significant milestone for the City of Aalter, Mayor Pieter De Crem accepted the WCCD ISO 37120 Go...

03/01/2024

We are pleased to announce that the City of Markham has been awarded World Council on City Data ISO 37120 Platinum-level certification for the fifth consecutive year! This certification, presented by Dr. Patricia McCarney during Wednesday’s Council session, highlights Markham's continued leadership in data-driven decision-making in Canada and globally.

Since joining the WCCD network in 2019, Markham has set a global example for cities utilizing trusted and standardized data to foster a culture of innovation, sustainability, and progress focused toward quality of life for all residents. This year's certification underscores the hard work and dedication of the Markham community, including city officials, staff, and residents, in advancing key indicators of sustainability and quality of life.

A special thanks to Mayor Frank Scarpitti, CAO Andy Taylor, Raj Raman, Bryan Frois, and all those involved in Markham for their unwavering commitment to data excellence.

Congratulations to the City of Markham on this remarkable achievement! We look forward to our continued collaboration toward creating more sustainable, livable, and data-smart cities.
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From left: CAO of Markham Andy Taylor, President and CEO of WCCD Patricia McCarney, and Mayor of Markham Frank Scarpitti. MARKHAM, ON – Fe...

01/22/2024

Congratulations to the Daegu Metropolitan Area for earning the remarkable WCCD ISO “Triple Certification” for the second time. This achievement marks Daegu as the first city in Asia to receive such a distinguished title. The certifications include WCCD ISO 37120 for Sustainable Cities, ISO 37122 for Smart Cities, and ISO 37123 for Resilient Cities.

The certification was presented to Daegu Metropolitan City representatives at the “Powerful Daegu” exhibit during the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Dr. Patricia McCarney, President and CEO of the WCCD, highlighted the significant collaboration between the WCCD and Daegu, a partnership that promises to grow even stronger in the future.

Dr. McCarney also extended an invitation to Daegu to participate in the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction’s MCR 2030 Program. Through their WCCD ISO 37123 certification, Daegu qualifies for the highest level of entry in this strategic global UN initiative. This participation will further enhance Daegu’s capabilities in addressing risk for a more resilient future for their citizens. Furthermore, Dr. McCarney invited Daegu to be among the first global cities to adopt the new ISO 37125 Standard – the inaugural global Standard for Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) Indicators for Cities, which is currently under development and soon to be published by ISO in Geneva.

Daegu’s commitment to technology and innovation was also recognized. Justine Hamilton-Arvisais, Director of City Certification, lauded the city for its high quality of life and economic development efforts, as evidenced by indicators like low unemployment rates, a high number of patents issued, and the provision of digital learning devices to students.

We anticipate continuing our fruitful collaboration with Daegu Metropolitan City and are excited to witness their ongoing leadership and contributions within the WCCD global network.

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Las Vegas, USA Congratulations to the Daegu Metropolitan Area for earning the remarkable WCCD ISO “Triple Certification” for the second tim...

11/16/2023

Congratulations to Mayor Steven Del Duca, leaders, staff, and citizens of the City of Vaughan on their "triple" certification from the World Council on City Data, for ISO 37120 (Sustainable Cities), ISO 37122 (Smart Cities), and ISO 37123 (Resilient Cities).

Vaughan's leadership in Canada and globally is truly commendable.

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(Please visit Vaughan's website to view the original release) (From left, top: CAO Nick Spensieri, Councillor Marilyn Iafrate, Councillor ...

10/27/2023

Congratulations to the leadership, staff, and citizens of Câmara Municipal do Porto on achieving Platinum World Council on City Data ISO 37120 certification for the fourth consecutive year! This achievement equips the city with high-quality data to inform decision-making. We look forward to continuing our collaborative efforts. 🎉

10/12/2023

The World Council on City Data joined global resilience leaders worldwide to participate in the United Nations Global Resilience Forum held in Dubai, as a guest of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030), the Dubai Resilience Hub, and Dubai Police. The Forum convened city mayors from across the globe, together with leaders of regional and national governments, and the private sector to address the widening gap between the increasing demand for more and the limited capacity for cities to finance these infrastructure investments. The Forum delegates agreed as signatories to an impactful Call for Action entitled “Scaling Up Urban Resilience for a Changing Climate,” to be presented at COP28 UAE E in Dubai later this year. The Call for Action advocates for data-driven resilience decision-making through the WCCD’s ISO 37120 Series, a global first by the WCCD.

During her speeches in the opening and closing panel sessions, Patricia McCarney, the WCCD’s President and CEO, emphasized the importance of better connecting four critical stakeholders—global cities, the WCCD ISO data, UNDRR, and private sector—across the resilient cities ecosystem. She highlighted the linkage of globally standardized WCCD ISO data including the most current work at ISO in developing standardized data for Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) to the needs of cities worldwide, directing the trillions of dollars available to cities from the private sector for investment through debenture markets. These elements, along with the Call for Action, set the stage for this year's critical COP28 process.

A heartfelt thank you goes out to the esteemed panelists who contributed to Dr. McCarney’s session on "Data-Driven Decision-Making for Resilient Cities: ESG Investment, Bonds, and Financing Resilient Infrastructure": Darryl Carpenter, Dr. Abhilash Panda, Dr. Hajar Saeed Al-Hubaishi, and Liza Velle Ramos. Your insights into the necessity of harnessing data to demonstrate the impact of resilient infrastructure development financed through bonds to bridge the gap between critical infrastructure requirements and the necessary capital contribution within cities were truly enlightening.

Additionally, we extend our gratitude to our esteemed colleague, Sanjaya Bhatia, without whom this Forum would not have been possible and Mahmoud El Burai for your expert moderation of the panel dedicated to linking the private sector to city resilience planning, of which the WCCD’s Director of City Certification and Data Applications, Justine Hamilton-Arvisais, was a part of. We also appreciate our global network that we had the privilege to connect with in Dubai, including Ahmad Ruhaiyem, Dr. Esam A. Halawani, Zean Campo, and others. We look forward to continuing the enriching conversations that began in Dubai.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates The World Council on City Data joined global resilience leaders worldwide to participate in the United Nations...

07/27/2023

Congratulations to the County of Brant on its fourth consecutive Platinum World Council on City Data ISO 37120 certification. The County is a leader with a focus on , citizen , , and . A special congratulations to Mayor Bailey, Alison Newton, Delia Reiche, and the team in Brant. We look forward to our continued collaboration together.

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Original release shared by the County of Brant: https://www.brant.ca/en/news/county-of-brant-achieves-4th-consecutive-platinum-certification...

07/14/2023

Congratulations to Mayor Abby Binay, the staff, and residents of Makati City on their World Council on City Data ISO 37123 Resilient Cities certification! With this WCCD certification, Makati joins a global network of and cities.

Read more: https://news.dataforcities.org/2023/07/makati-city-receives-wccd-iso-37123.html

Mayor Abby Binay today received the World Council on City Data (WCCD) ISO 37123 Early Adopter Resilient City Certification during virtual ceremonial awarding. Makati is one of the first cities globally to be WCCD-certified under the new ISO Standard, ISO 37123 Sustainable Cities and Communities – Indicators for Resilient Cities.

07/12/2023

Congratulations to Mayor Annette Groves, the staff including Erin Britnell and Rebecca Carvalho, and residents of the Town of Caledon on their World Council on City Data Data ISO 37120 Platinum certification! With this WCCD certification, Caledon joins a global network of cities.

Read our media release to learn more: https://news.dataforcities.org/2023/07/town-of-caledon-awarded-platinum-level.html

Today, the Town of Caledon received Platinum level certification from World Council on City Data for the implementation of ISO 37120 (Indicators for Sustainable Cities) standards in 2022. This means that Caledon’s data is of the highest quality and in conformity with the globally standardized definitions and methodologies. Read our media release to learn more: https://www.caledon.ca/en/news/town-of-caledon-awarded-platinum-level-certification-from-world-council-on-city-data.aspx