Munich, Germany, 2010-Mar-24

The United Nations and Siemens joined forces today to make cities more livable and promote sustainable urban development. A framework agreement to this effect was signed today at the World Urban Forum in Rio de Janeiro. Siemens and the Siemens Stiftung will be partners in the World Urban Campaign (WUC) of the UN-HABITAT program, the United Nation’s agency for housing and sustainable urban development. The program brings together representatives of cities, government agencies, the private sector and non-government organizations with the aim of working on solutions for the cities of the future. The agreement will initially be in effect for three years.

“In Siemens, we are pleased to have a partner who already today is helping drive more sustainable development by providing innovative technologies and the necessary understanding of cities’ requirements,” notes Nicolas You, who is responsible for UN-HABITAT’s World Urban Campaign. Siemens will initially provide the campaign with experts in fields relating to various infrastructure challenges. In addition, joint projects are planned. The Siemens Stiftung will be active in the areas of education, basic infrastructure solutions and help for self-help.

Megacities around the globe are presenting humankind with growing problems. Today, more than half of the world’s population already lives in cities, and this figure is expected to reach 70 percent by 2050. These people need drinking water and clean air as well as efficient healthcare and transportation infrastructures.

Siemens can make a decisive contribution here. No other company has a similarly broad portfolio for meeting the needs of sustainable cities: from mass transit and mainline rail transportation systems to energy-efficient buildings and energy-saving lighting to power generation and water treatment.

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-HABITAT, is the United Nations agency for human settlements. It is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all.
The Siemens Stiftung was founded in September 2008 as a charitable foundation constituted under civil law, headquartered in Munich and endowed by Siemens AG with foundation capital of €390 million. The Foundation thereby continues the company’s over 160-year tradition of social commitment. The task of the Siemens Stiftung is to find answers to global social challenges, highlight opportunities and provide aid for self-help in emergencies. In line with the Foundation’s mission the focus of its activities are social commitment, education, technology as well as arts and culture. The Siemens Stiftung’s work is largely operational, i.e. it mainly initiates its own projects and implements these. Further information is available at: www.siemens-stiftung.org.

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