Green Fund for Warsaw

@Zarząd Zieleni Miejskiej m.st. Warszawy

The Green Fund for Warsaw (Zielony Fundusz dla Warszawy) is a financing mechanism launched in 2021 in the city of Warsaw (Poland) for funding green urban spaces. The fund allows private companies to support existing greening initiatives in the city (e.g. "Million trees for Warsaw"), "adopt" an existing green space in the city, and cover the cost of its maintenance or fund their own project ideas to increase the number of green spaces in the city, improve the quality and increase the biodiversity. To date, the fund has attracted over 15 major corporate sponsors and enabled the creation of a new pocket park as well as to plant a variety of trees, bushes and pollinator meadows across the city. The fund supports implementation of AdaptCity - Warsaw's climate adaptation strategy.

Overview

Type of instrument:

Economic and fiscal instruments›Financing mechanisms /market-based instruments (e.g. taxes to generate revenue)

Challenges addressed

Ecologic connectivity
Water management (e.g. reuse)
Green space management (e.g. accessibility)
Flood risk: pluvial and fluvial / soil permeability
Heat stress and heat island effect
Air quality
Human health, comfort and well-being

Consideration of nature-based solutions:

The companies can fund maintenance costs of existing green urban spaces, planting of new trees and shrubs, creating pollinator meadows, renovation of parks, projects supporting biodiversity in existing green spaces, nature-based solutions for water management including retention ponds, rain gardens, replacing unpermeable surfaces with permeable ones, green roofs and green facades, as well as their own ideas, such as creating new pocket parks or community gardens.

Targeted (peri-)urban areas:

Parks and (semi)natural urban green areas

Allotments, community gardens or agricultural areas

Blue areas

Green areas for water management

External building greens

Urban green space connected to grey infrastructure

Good practice characteristics:

Support multifunctional NBS

Locally appropriate

Potential to be replicated / upscaled

Innovative

Policy business case

Inclusivity

Governance

Government body/bodies

Initiating body:

Warsaw City Council

Instrument design:

Details about how the instrument was designed:

In designing the fund, the municipality cooperated with an NGO Global Compact Network Poland (UN GNCP), which is part of an UN initiative United Nations Global Compact - a platform that brings together businesses working to advance sustainable development goals (SDGs). In cooperation with UN GNCP, the city designed the fund to maximise the opportunities to advance the SDGs in the city.

Involvement of non-governmental actors:

Citizens or community groups / NGOs

Type of actor involvement:

Co-planning or co-design of instrument (e.g. boards, advisory role)

Instrument implementation:

Type of involvement:

The fund is aimed primarily at private companies, although individuals can also donate to the fund. With a donation of more than ca. €1000 (5000 PLN), the company can decide how the funds would be spent. The companies can also choose to allow their employees to take time off to volunteer support nature-based solution implementation.

Type of non-governmental actors involved:

Implementation of NBS (e.g. with government funds)

Funding NBS projects

Targeted actors:

Private: household, real estate developer, business , financial

Financing

Sources of funding:

Public local authority’s budget

Private Foundation

Budget:

50 000€ - 100 000€

Details about instrument financing:

The city invested ca. €62,000 (300,000 PLN) to operate the fund.

Monitoring, evaluation and impacts

Is a monitoring framework in place?:

Did an evaluation take place?:

Achieved outcomes and impacts:

To date, 15 corporate partners have joined the Green Fund, with two investing over ca. €100,000 (500,000 PLN). The money from the sponsorships were used to create new pocket parks and plant trees, shrubs and create pollinator meadows across the city, and replace permeable surfaces with impermeable ones to advance the city's climate adaptation goals.

Success factors and lessons learned:

The fund provides an opportunity for the city to raise additional funds for new nature-based solution projects and maintenance of existing green spaces in city. It is attractive for the potential sponsors as it provides a straightforward way to conduct visible corporate social responsibility activities in the city where the businesses operate, making the city more livable and attractive. The fund provided private companies an opportunity to directly contribute to climate change adaptation activities in city. A dedicated website documents and promotes projects sponsored by each of the major funders. The website additionally provides information about benefits of different realisations, to nudge funders to support a variety of projects support green urban development, ranging from most obvious (planting of trees) to the less straightforward ones (biodiversity inventories).

Sources and further information

References

List of references:

Zarząd Zieleni Miejskiej m.st. Warszawy (2022), Zielony Fundusz, Available at: https://zzw.waw.pl/zielony-fundusz/

Sozosfera (2021), Zielony Fundusz utworzony w stolicy, Available at: https://sozosfera.pl/ochrona-przyrody/zielony-fundusz-utworzony-w-stolicy/

Miasto Warszawa (2021), Zielony Fundusz, Available at: https://um.warszawa.pl/-/zielony-fundusz

Zarząd Zieleni Miejskiej m.st. Warszawy (2022), Nasze realizacje, Available at: https://zzw.waw.pl/zielony-fundusz/nasze-realizacje/?st=1050&full=1

Portal Komunalny (2021), Warszawa ma nowy pomysł na pozyskiwanie funduszy na rozwój terenów zieleni, Available at: https://portalkomunalny.pl/warszawa-ma-nowy-pomysl-na-pozyskiwanie-funduszy-na-rozwoj-terenow-zieleni-424463/

Further documents

Weblinks:

https://zzw.waw.pl/zielony-fundusz/

Photos

@Zarząd Zieleni Miejskiej m.st. Warszawy